[Forward][Back]

Back home again, I was beginning to think that I’d be in Indiana forever doing…not much of anything. I got another retail job in a card shop. My friend from college was still in town so we started going to this book store that had a poetry hour.

I was back to writing. Not what I thought I would be writing, but I fell in love with poetry because it gave me an outlet. Also at this time, a friend from my job introduced me to Robert Jordan. Now, I mostly only read romance. I’d read other things here and now, but not often. I loved the Wheel of Time series. This man was a genius. My television and movie watching always led to sci-fi/fantasy and action. These books brought that to me in the form of reading. I couldn’t get enough. I think this helped broaden my reading horizons. After this I was reading all kinds of different stuff. Tom Clancy, John Grisham and I never gave up on my romance. I think that has always been my fallback.

I was thinking about going back to school but then I said this is it. I’m going to write a story. I had no idea what I was doing. It was a hot mess, but I finished it. My first manuscript. Now, what did I do with it? I found a few publishers to shop it around to. I didn’t know you should have an agent first. Heck, I really didn’t even research that well because I sent one copy to someone who had died! I only sent it to a couple places. I really wasn’t that serious about it at the time and once I got that first rejection I was done. I put it aside and thought about what I should be doing.

My sister was in the Air Force. She joined right after High School and is a year older than I am. I thought about going that route after school, but didn’t want to follow along. It seemed that I was always following in her footsteps and I didn’t want to do that. Until I did. Lol. I joined the Air Force, practically recruited myself. I went in, took the ASVAP, told them what I wanted as my MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) and signed the contract. Most people didn’t think I would make it or could handle the military. I was too soft, they said, wouldn’t be able to take the yelling. I proved them wrong and made myself a stronger person in the process.

By the time I was done with basic training I was a different person. I felt better about myself and was ready to take on the world. Then it was off to Tech School. I signed up to be a Computer Operator. You may ask why I would choose computers. Well—my goals had changed. Now I figured I would serve my time in the military and see about joining the FBI when I was finished. Think about all the stories I could tell then!

Tomorrow: Jambrea Jo Jones Day Four: The Letdown
Bio
Jambrea Jo Jones has lived in Indiana for most of her life with a few detours. She enlisted in the Air Force, but didn’t do as much traveling as she’d like. She’s trying to make up for that now. She started to review books and decided it was time to follow her dream of being a writer and hasn’t looked back since. To learn more, visit her website www.jambrea.com