Out of the Woods | ✓

a.n. | the end?

Hey, reader,

Here we are. On the last page.

To say thank you seems so simple compared to all the words I want to say. This journey would not have happened in the time that it did if it weren't for the undying love that you - yes, you - have given it. To say thank you seems like a cop out when I wish there were enough words in every language to tell you how much I appreciate the love you have given Miles and Jensen in their weird little story.

I went into NaNoWriMo 2019 with a goal: 20,000 words in one month. I didn't meet it. And I felt a little upset about that, but I met my 20,000 goal a couple weeks later. December 12, I believe. For what it was worth, I was still proud of myself. Little did I know this story was - quite literally - going to become a part of my soul. Out of the Woods is my personal horcrux. Who did I kill to get it? The old writer in me. The one who updated twice a year. The one who got writer's block and let it consume her. The one who stared at empty word documents for hours and tried to figure out why the words weren't coming.

Out of the Woods let me find my voice as a writer. It helped me find my passion again. Showed me that this was what I can do with my life and when I light a fire, it can't be tamed. The first chapter of this book - the good old cast + synopsis - was posted October 30, 2019. My goal was to finish this by Jensen's birthday, August 7, 2020. And here we are, a couple months from my self-imposed deadline. I couldn't be happier, and I hope you feel the same.

Jensen and Miles' story began one October night after I saw Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood for the second time in theatres. And I said to myself that I really, really wanted to write a Hollywood story. Delving into the ideas of Macaulay Culkin and Kylie Jenner, Miles was born. A man who didn't know anything other than Hollywood. Jensen was different. Jensen came from an old teacher I had in high school who guest-starred in The Flash, Supernatural, Bates Motel, the list goes on. He had such a passion for the craft that was undeniable even as he taught the drama class I was in. Jensen is who I think he could be with that passion, mixed in with a little fear of the unknown that I think we can all relate to. Add a few kooky side characters - the personalities of which I've stolen from those closest to me, whom I love dearly - and I had a story to roll with.

I couldn't imagine it could turn into this. And I'm so happy it did.

Will this be edited? Of course. Eventually. When I have a moment to come down from my high of finishing it. But this first draft is exactly what I could've wanted and more.

Now, you might be thinking, where does this go from here? It's a romantic comedy, does this mean it's all over? For a while, I thought it would be. I thought that Jensen and Miles were finished as soon as I wrote the end. Key word thought. An idea came to me while I was about halfway through this story. And I could not let it go. It ate me up inside. Screamed at my you are never writing another sequel promise to myself that I should do it just this once. Because my brain knows how much I love Jensen and Miles and it could not let me just sit there when I could be writing them some more.

(I even went so far as to create and Instagram poll with my closest writer friends asking if I should write a sequel based on X idea.) (Spoiler alert: Jordin Yes won by a landslide.)

Remember that August 7, 2020 deadline? Well, I've decided to use it for something else.

In The Clear will be released then.

I can't guarantee that the updates will be at the same rate as this book. But what I can guarantee is more Jensen, Miles, their weirdo best friends, and a whole new antagonist they never thought they'd have to face. There will be a superhero movie, a podcast, and maybe even a new last name for a special someone. ;)

We've reached the end of this story, everyone. But, hey, isn't there always something to talk about?

Bye for now, hopefully see you in In The Clear in August,

xoxo Jordin