Featured Interview With Joseph Lewis
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I've written 8 books, including five that have won eleven awards, and one that earned a Best Seller's Ranking on Amazon. My first book was published at age 60, so I am a testament to the adage that you are never to old to pursue your dreams. I live with my wife, Kim, in Virginia, and we have three kids. Wil is deceased (July 2014), Hannah, who is married to Alex, and Emily. We have two dogs, rescues, who are a part of our family.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I've always loved to read. Always. My first short story, Dusty and Me, was published two weeks after my first draft. I wrote it after watching the movie, Stand by Me. It was published in 1987. I took screenwriting courses at UCLA and USC, more for understanding the craft of writing. My first book, Taking Lives, the Prequel to the Lives Trilogy, was published the summer my son died. An ironic title for a sad point in my life.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
As I said, I read constantly. I subscribe to Stephen King's belief that if you don't read, you aren't equipped to write. My go-to authors are James Patterson, David Baldacci, John Sandford, C.J. Box, Stephen King, and a new indi author, Mark Dawson. Typically, I read thriller-crime, which is the genre I write in. My ideas come from life. They come to me in the strangest ways. For my book, Spiral Into Darkness, it was a conversation with a psychology teacher about nature vs nurture. That evening, I watched a Criminal Minds episode about a serial killer. A question popped into my head: is a serial killer born or is there a trigger that causes someone to be come one.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Blaze In, Blaze Out was a joy to write. Typically, there are a group of adopted adolescent boys who are the main characters in my books with three cops thrown in to solve the mystery. In Blaze, I featured the three cops. I wanted to depict law enforcement as real people with real lives, real hurts and real loves. The fact that contract killers are out to kill them adds spice to the story. Blaze has received tremendous reviews and since its publication in January, earned two awards and a BestThrillers.com editor's pick.
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