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International Writers Inspiring Change Featured Book: Fan Mail by Joseph Lewis

Updated: Sep 24







"Lewis takes after authors such as C.J. Box, James Patterson, and David Baldacci, as he immerses readers in his characters by having them in reoccurring roles and appearing throughout each of his books." -TheAuthorSpot.com


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?


"Fan Mail is not your usual coming-of-age novel given the plot’s dark twist. I have read every crime thriller Joseph Lewis has written and relish the way he carries his characters, in this case a family of adopted brothers, throughout each one. I eagerly look forward to the next." - Joan Livingston


"This book is actually from a series of books starting with the Taking Lives Trilogy. Each book may stand alone but I would highly recommend reading all of them. They start with young boys being kidnapped or forced by people they know into sex slave rings. Then follows them through their lives. As difficult as that is to read or comprehend, it is scary, but beautiful and touching watching a group of these boys grow over the years. I would say Joseph Lewis is my favorite author, and his books are so well written he is up there with authors like John Grisham." - Amazon Customer


"Once again the storyline did not disappoint. I have read all of the books in this series and look forward to many more." - Dachshund


"I thoroughly enjoyed Lewis’s Fan Mail. It proved heroes are not always the person you anticipated would be the hero or leader. They are often self-effacing, modest souls who do what needs to be done. Our hero acts wisely, helping family, friends, and acquaintances. Excellent read, and I heartily recommend it!" - Amazon Customer








Other books by this author





Author Amazon page




About Joseph Lewis



A short interview with the author


iWIC: Tell us what inspired you to write.


Fan Mail is a departure from my normal Thriller-Crime-Mystery, in that it is a coming-of-age story featuring one of my recurring characters, Brian Evans. He, along with six brothers are all adopted, and each has baggage. I wanted to write a story about the love of family, of sacrifice, and of putting others before self, even at the risk of death. While there is a thriller-crime-mystery to the story, it takes a backseat to the coming-of-age thread in this story.


iWIC: What inspired your book?


I wanted to feature the patchwork adopted family that makes up the Evans' family and their parents, Jeremy and Vicky. I felt I owed it to my readers to bring them up to date on what these characters are thinking, and how this thinking causes them to act and react. I come from a large family of ten, of which I am the second youngest. My wife and I adopted our son, Wil, from Guatemala when he was seven and when our oldest daughter was one month old. Family is, and always will be, important to me and it gives my writing depth.


iWIC: What are you aspiring to accomplish as a writer?


In sixth grade, I had a wonderful teacher who used to put three or four paragraphs on a notecard. She would call these story starters. The idea was that if we had spare time, we could grab one of the notecards and complete the story. There wasn't any credit involved, but she gave wonderful feedback. This lit the fuse for me. I've been interested in storytelling ever since. I've taken creative writing courses, extra English courses, and screen writing courses, but it wasn't until 1987 when I had a short story published. In 2014, my first book, Taking Lives, the Prequel to the Lives Trilogy, was published. I now have nine books published, have won almost 20 awards, and I received a contract for publication from my publisher, Black Rose Writing, for book #10, even though it isn't finished yet. I appreciate their confidence in me.


More about the author


Joseph Lewis has a new thriller/suspense book, Fan Mail (March 2023), and has already won a Silver Book Award from Reader's Favorites, a Maxy Finalist Award, an Eric Hoffer Award Nominee, and a Literary Titan Silver Book Award. Blaze In, Blaze Out (January 2022) has won five awards so far, including Best Fiction Crime Action Book of 2022 by BestThrillers.com. His previous novels include Betrayed (November 2020) which has won eight awards; Spiral Into Darkness as of January 2019, which has won one award; Caught in a Web (May 2018), which earned two awards. Previously, Lewis has published four books: Taking Lives, (November 2020) a prequel to the Lives Trilogy; Stolen Lives, (November 2020) Book One of the Lives Trilogy, which won one award; Shattered Lives, Book Two (November 2020); and Splintered Lives, Book Three (November 2020). Each book is in the thriller/crime genre, and each has garnered outstanding reviews. He writes a weekly inspirational blog, Simple Thoughts From A Complicated Mind, Sort Of at https://www.simplethoughtsfromacomplicatedmindsortof.com . He has an author website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com .

Lewis retired after 47 years as a teacher, coach, counselor and administrator. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Kim, along with his daughters, Hannah and her husband, Alex, and Emily and her fiance, Quavon. His son, Wil, is deceased (July 2014).



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