Two Reviews: A Concert and A Book!
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Kim and I went to see Mary Chapin Carpenter, a country-folk artist, this past Sunday evening at The National in Richmond, Virginia. This was at least the second time we’ve seen her perform, if not the third. Neither of us could remember exactly. I know one performance was at the Universal Amphitheater in LA, on the Universal Pictures lot. A much larger venue than The National. I enjoyed both performances. The crowd at The National was mostly older, with a few youngish folks sprinkled in, and everyone sang right along with her.
Carpenter won two grammy’s, and her album Stones in the Road gave her a #1 Country Album on Billboard, and a #1 Hot Country Single for Shut Up and Kiss Me. This month, she will receive the ACM Poet’s Award at their annual ACM Honors. Personally, I don’t think she ever received enough credit for her writing, singing, or performing.
Carpenter’s lyrics and storytelling are nearly unmatched. I would put James Taylor and Carole King right there with her. Together with Carpenter, the three of them would form a mighty triumvirate, indeed! At age 62, Carpenter’s husky alto voice was excellent. She hit whatever note she needed to hit with ease. The musicians who performed and sang with her were outstanding, and it was evident they had been together for a long time.
She sang all our favorites and, listening to her, I was reminded of just how many great songs she had written. From He Thinks He’ll Keep Her (he was wrong!) to The Bug written by Mark Knopfler (I can’t possibly see him ever singing this and doing it justice) to Passionate Kisses to Down at the Twist and Shout to … well, so many more. It made the hour and forty-five minutes fly by.
She stopped here and there to tell a story or two, but mostly, just sang and played with and without her backing band. I enjoyed the smaller setting. It almost felt I sat in her living room. It was that intimate.
It’s a tragedy that modern radio doesn’t play artists like James Taylor or Carole King or Mary Chapin Carpenter anymore. And personally, I think any author would do well and learn quite a bit from these, and other, artists for their word choice and storytelling.
Her latest concert performance earned a solid and deserving 5 Stars!
Northern Comfort by Joan Livingston
Joan Livingston’s storytelling is unmatched, as is the way she paints a picture with her words. I am envious! Northern Comfort was a pleasure to read, as was her other works.
Northern Comfort is reminiscent of Grapes of Wrath, minus the migrant workers and drought. Both paint a picture of the harsh life of rural poverty in America. I found Northern Comfort a story of tragedy along with a bit of triumph. It showed the strength in people who we sometimes think don’t have it in them. And as I said, there is triumph as people make the best of their life, especially Willi and Miles- a relationship born out of tragedy. On the surface, there is little to hope for, but as you dig deeper into the book, you will see bits of hope bubbling to the surface.
Beautifully written, its setting and characters last long after the book is closed. If you shut your eyes, you feel the winter chill and freeze in your bones, and see the little town and all it offers, or doesn’t, as the case may be. Northern Comfort is the story of life in rural America, hidden behind billboards and skyscrapers, sometimes not seen because it is difficult to see and take in the reality that exists there.
For those of you who are interested, here is the link on Amazon for Northern Comfort by Joan Livingston:
Northern Comfort earns a 5 Star Must Read, and it’s one more winner from author Joan Livingston.
In Other News:
In the next few days, my brand new author website will become live at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com It is still being built, but I’m looking forward to it launching. I will keep you updated.
As always, thank you for following me on my writing journey. I’d like to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to add them to the section below. For your convenience, I listed my social media sites for you, along with descriptions and links to each of my books.
Connect with me on Social Media:
Author Website at: COMING SOON at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com
Author Blog at: https://www.jrlewisauthor.blog
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
Instagram at: https://www.Instagram.com/joseph.lewis.author
Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /
Betrayed : Two Top Shelf Awards: 1st Place Fiction-Mystery; and Runner-Up Fiction-Crime; A PenCraft 1st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!
Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS
A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Greed can be all-consuming, and seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx
Fan Mail : New Release! A Maxy Award Finalist, an Eric Hoffer Award Nominee, and a Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner!
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? https://amzn.to/3eNgSdS
Blaze In, Blaze Out: Best Action Crime Thriller of 2022 by Best Thrillers! A Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Readers’ Favorite Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read! A BestThriller’s Editor’s Pick!
Blaze In, Blaze Out is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://www.audible.com/acx-promo\
Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko, the head of a Ukrainian crime family, meant the end. It was only the beginning. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. Andruko hired contract killers to go after and kill O’Connor and Eiselmann.
The killers can be anyone and be anywhere. They can strike at any time. They care nothing of collateral damage. Andruko believes a target is a target, and in the end, the target must die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP
Caught in a Web : A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com
Caught in a Web is also available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka
They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. A violent gang, MS-13, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay.
Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696
Spiral Into Darkness : Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
Would you recognize a serial killer if one spoke to you? Vincent and Shirley didn’t, and now they’re dead!
He blends in, is successful, intelligent, and methodical. So far, he has murdered eight people. There is no discernible pattern, no clues, and no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets, and neither does their family or local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm
The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
Book One, Stolen Lives: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards!
Two thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives
