Another curious read for you today as we welcome back Rachel's Random Resources! Author Joseph Lewis is currently on tour and not only do we have a spotlight on this thrilling titles, but we've got a Guest Post sharing the lives and times of the author himself
Ready or not, here comes today's title in the spotlight..
Fan Mail
by
Joseph Lewis
About the book...
A barrage of threatening letters, a car bomb, and a heart attack rip apart what was once a close-knit family of adopted brothers. Randy and Bobby, along with fellow band member and best friend, Danny, receive fan mail that turns menacing. They ignore it, but to their detriment. The sender turns up the heat. Violence upends their world. It rocks the relationship between the boys and ripples through their family, nearly killing their dad. As these boys turn on each other, adopted brother Brian flashes back to that event in Arizona where he nearly lost his life saving his brothers. The scars on his face and arms healed, but not his heart. Would he once again have to put himself in harm's way to save them? And if faced with that choice, will he?
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~~~ GUEST POST ~~~
by Joseph Lewis, Author of Fan Mail
Recently, I was interviewed on The Author’s Spot Podcast and you can find it [by clicking here].
The interview touched on my life and my writing, and of course, my newest book, Fan Mail. I hope you take a listen. The interviewer, K. E. Robinson, was prepared beyond belief. He knew my books and my writing, and it made speaking with him not only easy but also enjoyable.
As we talked about my life and how it led to and influenced my writing, I discovered some themes that occur over and over in my stories. Themes of family, of friendship and love, and of death.
Some background first: I am the second youngest of a family of ten- four boys, six girls. There is a twenty-year difference between my oldest sister and my younger brother. A funny story is that my mom was pregnant with my little brother, Jeff, at my sister Donna’s wedding. One year after Jeff was born, Donna gave birth to her son, Michael. My nephew is one year younger than my little brother.
As you might imagine, we weren’t wealthy in terms of money. One income from my father, who worked as a designing engineer, while my mom stayed home to take care of us, didn’t allow for many frills. Yet we were rich in other, more valuable ways. A house in the country on a river with only one bathroom that had to accommodate all of us, or should I say, we had to accommodate one bathroom. Forced closeness that resulted in my brothers and sisters becoming my best friends. And you can see this closeness, this love and friendship in my writing as it applies to my patchwork family of adopted brothers in the Evans family, especially in my newest book, Fan Mail.
The seven brothers who make up the Evans family are adopted. Two of them are biological, two of them are twins, and two of them are step-brothers. Only one is a singlet. As with many adoptions, there is a struggle to find a place and acceptance in the family.
In November 1993, my wife gave birth to our daughter, Hannah. One month and one day later, I was on a plane to Guatemala to pick up our adopted son, Wil. Two for the price of one and neither speaking English. For quite a while, we were trilingual: English, Spanish, and charades. A lot of charades. You can see where adoption comes from in my writing.
Flash forward to 2014. Kim and I celebrate our anniversary on July 11. Wil called us to wish us a happy anniversary and to give us some wonderful news. Wil got a job as a fashion photographer for a well-known company, and he was to begin on Monday. On Saturday, July 12, Wil was shot and killed as he walked home from lunch and some shopping. He was caught between two gangs, and the intended victim used our son as a shield so he could get away. Bullets don’t care about collateral damage. Ten shots were fired, one bullet struck someone, and that someone was our son, Wil.
I didn’t realize how death permeates my writing until the interview for the podcast. Brian, one of the Evans brothers, nearly dies while on a hunting trip that became a test of survival, in my book, Betrayed. Without giving away any spoilers, death and survival play an integral part of my newest book, Fan Mail.
The thing is, I don’t write with a theme in mind. I write to tell a story based upon an idea that occurs to me. Themes in writing come from my subconscious, I suppose, but they don’t show themselves until after the book is finished, after the edits, and then after publication. Yet, good
writing, impactful writing, will always have a theme or two for the reader (and the author) to ponder. You will find them in each of my books, and especially in Fan Mail.
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About the author...
After having been in education for forty-six years as a teacher, coach, counselor and administrator, Joseph Lewis has semi-retired and now works part-time as an online learning facilitator. He uses his psychology and counseling background to craft thriller/crime/detective mysteries, and has taken creative writing and screen writing courses at UCLA and USC.
Lewis has published eight books, all available on Amazon and each to excellent reviews: Taking Lives (May 2021) the prequel to the Lives Trilogy; Stolen Lives (May 2021) Book One of the Lives Trilogy is a BestThrillers 1st Place Award Winner for Crime Fiction, and a Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner; Shattered Lives (May 2021) Book Two of the Trilogy; and Splintered Lives (May 2021) Book Three of the Trilogy (May 2021); Caught in a Web (April 2018), which was a PenCraft Literary Award Winner for Crime Fiction and named “One of the Best Crime Fiction Thrillers of 2018!” by Best Thrillers; Spiral Into Darkness (January 2019), which was named a Recommended Read by Author’s Favorites; Betrayed November 2020 is a Top Shelf Award 1st Place Fiction-Mystery; Top Shelf Award Runner-Up Fiction-Crime; PenCraft Award 1st Place Winner, Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery Suspense, a Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner, and a Reader’s Favorite 5 Star Rating Winner; Blaze In, Blaze Out January 2022 has already won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award, A Reader’s Favorite Recommended Read, and was an Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers.com . Lewis has another thriller-crime-mystery, Fan Mail hitting the market March 30, 2023.
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Lewis has been happily married to his wife, Kim. Together they have three wonderful children: Wil (deceased July 2014), Hannah, and Emily. He and his wife now reside in Virginia.
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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you, and to the author for the guest post to share! (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
Thank you for the opportunity to share my story. I hope your readers enjoy it, and enjoy my new book, Fan Mail.
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