I Feel So Special!

So a good friend had to interview someone for his class, and felt inspired to grace me with the honor. He then wrote an essay on it, and I thought it was so cool that I had to share it. Without further ado:

Reading is a favorite pastime of many because it allows one to enter into a totally different world, leaving behind troublesome worries for the adventures of others. What we read is the product of creative minds, minds where these incredible stories originate. Imagine what it would be like to be a writer – a jumble of ideas constantly floating around in your head to write down. Imagine how it would be to see your favorite story play out right before your eyes, like in a movie. Then press pause and step into the screen. For young writer Jordan Bell, this is a reality. “It may sound strange, but I actually have regular conversations with my characters. It helps me get in their heads.”  Though it would appear that Miss Bell leads a rather ordinary life, what she dreams up is quite incredible.

Jordan Bell’s work has been consistently voted to the top of GoodReads.com’s creative writing section (a social book-reviewing site receiving over 20 million visits monthly), currently #1 under ‘Fiction’. “Diary of an Agent’s Sister”, Bell’s first novel and most popular work, is a story of intense action and espionage chronicling the life of young Sascha Dell who’s older brother is an important government spy. Sascha is sent to a top-secret witness protection/training facility that teaches her skills she needs to survive while being hidden from those who would do her harm to get at her brother. Eventually, thanks to all the training she’s received, she starts going out on her own missions. While transporting children of high-profile individuals to safety, she encounters mobs of angry men who seem more interested in herself than her cargo. The thrilling tale puts you in Sascha’s shoes as she chronicles her daily life and uncovers the alarming past that’s been hidden from her. While you’d think Bell got the idea for her story from the latest Bond movie, she says it was actually the real-life events of her brother’s job that inspired her.

Being a Border Patrol agent, Bell’s brother had to go through intensive training at a special facility to learn the skills enabling him to protect our borders from drug trafficking and violence.  It all grew from an idle thought – “I was thinking about how, technically, my own brother is an agent for Border Patrol, and that I am an agent's sister. From that point on, I began to wonder what the life of a secret agent's sister would be like, and my story was born.”  What sets Bell apart as a writer rather than the average reader? It’s her ability to take a simple idea from life around her and expand it into something greater.

Those who know Jordan more intimately have commented on the manner in which she often comes up with new ideas. Her good friend, [name omitted] says “We’ll just be walking around the mall and Jordan will notice something like, say, a bug flying around. Then she’ll think – ‘it would be really creepy if that bug were ten times bigger. What if all the bugs in the world were giants? What if the more we feared bugs, or anything else for that matter, the bigger they got? I just got a new idea for my story!’ And it will happen all the time, and next thing you know she’s pulling out her notebook and jotting down her next story idea.”

I was startled reading the comments of those who follow her writing online. Every entry is filled with die-hard fans begging for more to read. [Name omitted] on Goodreads.com comments “I've been locked in my room for the past day and a half doing nothing but reading this...okay, a few other things, but definitely unwillingly. Soo good. You have a serious talent, girl :D” But what really amazed me talking to Jordan Bell was how normal she was. She wasn’t an eccentric, socially awkward person, how I’d assumed such creative people would be. Rather, she seemed almost remarkably average. Yet those who know her only through her writing adore her. For Bell, writing just comes naturally. “I have always had a passion for reading, and I guess I had so many stories in my head that a few new ones started forming. What else was there to do except write them down?”

Our world would be much bleaker if not for writers who bring color into our often dull lives. These creative heroes are everywhere, looking for the next great story to be told. Next time you walk down the street, just remember that you could be walking past the next great Rowling or Tolkien. While a writer may look just like everyone else on the outside, put a pen and paper into his or her hands and you’ll see the world around you transformed into something amazing. 

How cool is that? I feel so honored.

And yes, I posted a new chapter of Diary: Year Two. I never intended to abandon our favorite agents, I promise. I simply got very, very stuck, and had a really long writer's block. So I spent my time on other stories until I could get over it. One day, I was sitting around and thought, "What if Alex did this...", and suddenly I had a plot again and knew how things were going to unfold. Now I'm having to literally pull myself away from writing so I don't fail my classes. I've caught the bug again, my friends. Look for another installment of Diary of an Agent's Sister: Year Two this Monday!

My Really Big News

I've written something new. For a ridiculously cute story, read everything. If you just want the big news, skip to the end. Oh, and italics from here on out are Codename:SAM's contributions.

Once upon a time, a girl of about thirteen was hired to tutor and clean for a family in her ward. Often times, the girl would find herself cleaning alongside the family's teenage son. They became friends. The two worked together for years, and eventually began meeting away from the home, going on adventures, getting into trouble, and generally just having fun. A few months before the girl turned sixteen, the young man presented her with his first gift:

a ctr ring the young woman had greatly desired

The young woman's sixteenth birthday rolled around, at which time the young man presented her with a dozen red roses, and asked her to be his girlfriend.

eww eww eww

Unbeknownst to him, the girl dried the roses and held onto them.

Unfortunately, the teenage romance didn't end well, and our heroine broke up with the young man.

Their relationship thereafter was in shambles. It went from silence and cold-shoulders to almost-a-romance, back and forth over the space of a year. Still, the young man bought her a gift for her seventeenth birthday. Knowing her love of writing and of things that whispered of eras past, he bought her a quill and ink pot. 

For the record, she wasn't expecting a gift that year. She still swore he was upset.

That's what she thinks.

Our young man left for two years to serve a mission, during which time the young woman missed (quite a lot) her friend of years ago. So she wrote him. Faithfully. For two long years. (Talk about dedication, right? Do any of you guys out there have a girl who will do that? Yeah, she's pretty awesome.) In return, he wrote back, and continued to send gifts on her birthday.

For her eighteenth, he sent her something straight from a missionary's heart:

For her nineteenth, he surprised her, and caused the girl to experience her first ever laugh-cry. (Success!)

He sent her a printed, bound copy of her first completed work of fiction. It looked like a book she would find in a bookstore (where it should be), and holds a place of honor on her shelf.

Eventually, the young man returned home, and the young woman apologized (for what??) and expressed her desire to be reunited with him. She surprised him by flying from Idaho for his homecoming (or rather, redefined surprise. She was talking to her roommates in Idaho one hour, and the next she was in my living room!). Once the young man rediscovered cellphones and skype, the couple remained in near-constant contact. The girl went home again for Thanksgiving, where this time, she asked him to be her boyfriend. Of course, he said 'yes'. 

For Christmas, our young man bought the young woman a beautiful and unique necklace (one of the girl's three eternal hunts, I'll have you know. That thing doesn't exist anywhere else in the world), and hand-crafted her a wooden box to keep it in.

Unfortunately, some four-legged creatures got to the box. (I swear I'll kill those dogs)

After Christmas, the couple traded places. He left for Idaho, while she stayed in Temecula. Still, they kept in constant contact. They talked. And talked. And talked. They made plans and secret schemes. He sent her flowers on Valentines Day.

 One specific weekend in February rolled around, and the young man flew to California. The couple met with her parents, got their approval and blessing, and then the magic began. 

First, she was blindfolded.  Then, she was driven in circles, and finally, led over treacherous fields and dirt paths. When the blindfold was taken off she was sitting...in the middle of the meadow, where the couple had spent many nights stargazing. The young man surprised the young woman with:

And then...

"Let's go get some dinner."

That's it? the girl thought. We talked to my parents, he dragged me out here for this big show and...rootbeer?

She shrugged and followed regardless. They gathered their things and walked over the next hill, where written in glowsticks was:

He then handed the girl a package, which contained:

And inside that:

A ring, on the chapter titled "The Unbreakable Vow"

Codename:SAM then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

 And I said yes.

Originally posted 2/17/12

Back In The Game

I've written! If you meander down goodreads way, you'll notice that there are new chapters available of both We Never Knew and Diary of an Agent's Sister: Year Two. With Codename:SAM away at school and nothing for me here at home, much of my time has been spent working and, well, writing. I've got a lot in store for your favorite characters. Check weekly, because I will be updating at least one story every week. Except maybe in two weeks. Because, well, Codename:SAM will be coming home for a bit. And that's just how it goes.

The End and the Beginning

I finished my third semester of College, passed the first part of my EMT exams, and got myself a boyfriend who's kind of sort of the best ever. How do I know?

Check it out:

This boyfriend isn't any random boy I picked up off the street. This is Codename: Sam, the one I've been so anxious to get back, the one who printed Diary of an Agent's Sister. His latest claim to fame? He found a seller that custom-made Sascha's dreamcatcher necklace for me. Isn't it incredible? Isn't he incredible? I am so blessed.

All of these incredible events, as well as the prodding of some dear friends, have prompted me to make an announcement:

I will be posting the first chapter of Diary of an Agent's Sister: Year Two on goodreads.com on Christmas day. (That's 12/25/11, just in case you don't observe it.) It will most likely be in the late afternoon or evening. Of course, this is assuming I can tear myself away from Sam long enough...no, I'll do it. My friends and fans have been so supportive over the past couple years, I owe everyone the only present I can really afford to give this year.

Have a Merry Christmas! And if your celebrate something else, I hope your holiday is incredible. Travel safely wherever you go, and have a great week!

Love always,

Jordy

Food For Thought

Hypoxia

Hey faithful readers. Missed me? I certainly missed you, that's for sure. So I'm all moved in to my apartment up here at BYU-Idaho (you know, the sister school of BYU, that one school with the football team and Jimmer? Yeah, that one). Anyway, I've been writing bits and pieces here and there for at least three different stories. Yes, Diary of an Agent's Sister: Year Two is still on a front burner, but so is the story of Liz.

Liz is a runner. Her parents are gone for the weekend, and what promised to be a nice, peaceful weekend turned into something from a nightmare. Two evil men have marked Liz as their prey, so she needs to do what she does best: run. She runs to the home of a coworker, Duke. Instead of finding Duke and his parents, she finds Duke, his parents, his sister, and his thirteen unofficial siblings, most of whom have criminal records and look just as scary as--if not scarier than--her predators. Her new adopted family has sworn to protect her, but now the question is, can Liz run fast enough?
Read the first three chapters of Fast Enough on goodreads here.

Meanwhile, I'm neck deep in my EMT class. There's certifications left and right, chapters to read every night, and stories upon stories from the instructors. I'm taking a full course load, and tomorrow I'll begin the job hunt. I have enough chapters of Fast Enough so that I can post one or two a week for a little while, at least.

Also--a huge point of excitement in my life--Codename: Sam, the boy who printed the bound copy of Diary (remember?) is coming home from his two-year mission in Virginia for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in twenty-five days!!! How exciting is that? I haven't been able to hear Sam's voice or see him in person in almost two full years, and finally I'll get to properly hug him in gratitude for the massive gift he gave me.

I hope you're all having a fantastic week, and that everything works out well for everyone in the week upcoming.

Love always,
Jordy

Teasers!

Back up to school this week. Maybe a regular posting schedule with it? We'll see. Until then, Year Two is officially being written by scene, not sequentially. Hence why I have not been uploading everything. Anyway, a few lines from stuff I've done lately, just for fun:

"I wear yummy lipgloss so I can taste it and look pretty, not so you can eat it all off!"
"Mmm, minty."

“She’s my partner, it’s just an alias.”
“Okay.”
“You…you don’t believe me.”
“What? Alex, of course I do.”
“You don’t. You still don’t trust me. After everything, you don’t trust me. What can I do to make you understand? I’m coming back. I love you, Sascha Dell. Why don’t you see that?”

Last, but not least:

“They’re dead. They shouldn’t be able to do this to me anymore. I was nothing more than a lab rat to them. One they only realized they couldn’t euthanize easily after I’d been created.”