Chapter 30 Fan Art by bizarre.ponies
Although some prisons do allow inmates to receive pre-approved items, the majority do not. In my research, the ones that do allow items to be sent do not allow items that are available to purchase through the commissary. Many places do allow paperback books and magazines to be sent as long as they are new and sent directly from the publisher or a seller such as Amazon. Letters are checked for contraband items before the inmates receive them. Some institutions will only accept postcards—nothing in envelopes. Unfortunately, Edward is in state prison that does not allow care packages. This was alluded to in Chapters 8 and 9.
Chapter 8 Excerpt:
I looked into sending you frosting, but according to the WSCF website, I can only send you letters.
Chapter 9 Excerpt:
We can’t receive anything from the outside. You shouldn’t be thinking of sending me things anyway.
The idea of a big, fancy parole hearing where the inmate stands before a board of people and pleads his case is all very Hollywood. In the research I’ve done (and keep in mind I have no experience in this field. I’m only sharing what Google told me), the process of applying for parole is very straight forward.
Six months before an inmate’s eligible parole date, they may fill out an application for parole. They have to include why they feel they should be released and their plan for once they are out. Their prisoner files and application are sent to the parole board where they are reviewed by three individuals who decide whether to release them. Decisions are based on things such as their behavior while incarcerated and if they will be a risk to the public. The inmate is notified of their decision in writing. If they are approved, they will be released on their eligibility date. If the date has passed, they will be released as soon as possible. If they are denied parole, in most cases they have to wait a year before applying again.
I’m not saying the prisoner never appears before the board. It’s just not the general rule.
Disputes can be made, but it sounds like it’s not a very common occurrence. The parole board only allows a claim to be filed if they had erroneous facts or were missing pertinent information from the original filing. A prisoner can’t dispute the decision simply because they didn’t like it. Sometimes in these cases the inmate does appear before the parole board, but not always.
First degree assault is a class A felony in the state of Washington and carries a sentence of 93–123 months in prison for first time offenders. Armed or first degree robbery is also a class A felony, and possession of a controlled substance can carry a sentence of up to 5 years.
Edward was sentenced to 14 years with possible parole after 11. His sentence could have been much worse.
Edward’s is PhontPhreak’s Handwriting, Bella’s is Dawning of a New Day, and the title on the banner is 28 Days Later.
I didn’t put much thought into the handwritten fonts, but I wanted to go the opposite of canon. For Edward, I wanted something messy. For Bella, I wanted a pretty, easy to read cursive that looked like how a young twenty-something college student would write.
Yes, the Cullens will all play a small part in the story, but they won’t be the collective Cullens to whom everyone is accustomed.
This story just started and I’m already obsessed. The chapters posted so far have been strictly letters between the two, but the author said that it will eventually become a narrative. I love the idea of this story and I also love that it features Olderward! *cheers* Go check this fic out, you’ll be addicted just like I am!
The author even made pdfs of the letters with a handwritten font and everything! How cool is that? You can check those out here.
I also love her story Running for Home, if you haven’t read that one you should check it out as well.
OMG you MUST read this story. It is so good!! Ooza has even gone through the trouble to put these letters on her Blog and they have real handwriting and everything. It makes it such a real trip to take. I highly recommend this story. Ooza is a Fantastic story teller and the idea is so compelling, I am begging her for updates. You can find the story here: Inside Man and you can find the letters here on her Blog: Garden of Sin The story is not complete – but Ooza promises me that she is trying to update as quickly as her real life will allow. I know you will not be disappointed!!
Joe Wright – awesome director of Pride&Prejudice, Atonement, and a bunch of other epic flicks – maintains that letters are very uncinematic and can slow down the pace of a narration. While this is true for movies, where letters can be burdensome and tricky to render, literature has thrived for centuries on the genre; the main reason being that letters and replies are the most direct way to bring two distinct voices and points of view into a narration, and grant each main character the limelight they deserve.
This latest fanfic effort from Ooza is just an example of that – two characters that live separate lives because of their circumstances come into contact via letters, and their closeness blossoms with every message.
Bella is a psychology major and decides to enrol in a programme that involves corresponding with inmates of various state penitentiaries who have expressed the wish of having outside correspondents by posting their profiles to a website. Her choice falls on one Edward Masen.
A guarded, but frequent correspondence ensues. Bella’s letters are light-hearted but supportive and caring. Edward is also guarded, but for a set of wholly different reasons. Their closeness grows and gets more endearing with every letter.
The Inside Man becomes the Inside Friend, who might become the Outside Friend, since Edward will be up for parole soon. As his mind is burdened with material problems such as finding shoes and money and avoiding fights, he slowly opens his heart to Bella, and starts to rely on her more and more with every letter. Bella is still cautious but can’t remain unaffected by this man and his troubles. When he finally breaks down, she agrees to visit him.
Monday’s update portrayed Bella’s visit with Edward at Waterview penitentiary. A very emotional, intense encounter. Both break down – Edward because he can finally reach out and find a supportive shoulder and a loving hug, Bella because, again, she is more affected by this man than she thought she’d be.
It is never easy to achieve in a fanfic a distinct voice for two characters as diverse as Bella and Edward are, but Ooza is doing this to perfection. Bella’s writing is more playful, cautious but loving, helpful but not prying, respectful but eager at the same time. She cracks jokes – that lighten up the atmosphere and occasionally send Edward into a tailspin.
Edward holds back all the time – because of his past, because of where he is, because he has learned to live without hope, until…until Bella barges into his life. And there, everything he has denied himself becomes a necessity – writing to her, learning to open up, waiting for her letter, wanting to know everything about her. He keeps most of his emotions in check throughout his letters, and then……his curiosity and his walls just crumble, in the space of a few words. He is, of course, rough around the edges, but wins you immediately over with his…..overwhelming cuteness.
Yes, I called him cute. How else would you define PS’s like these?
p.s. What do you do for fun?
p.s. What is your favorite food?
p.s. What do you look like?
p.s. When is your birthday? You don’t have to tell me exactly. Maybe just the month or the season it’s in.
p.s. Why did you pick me?
p.s. How far did you make it before you read this?
p.s. Do you think someday we could be real friends?
p.s. Will you visit me? I can’t do this alone anymore. I need someone.This makes me thing most forcibly of a Beatles’ song that says….”PS I love you”…..Wondering how long before we get a PS like that?
Lo and behold, for here we have…. Prisonward!! It was the very theme of this story that drew me into its web. Lonely, angsty Edward writing from the prison to an innocent Bella. It is always easier to confide in a stranger rather than someone you know. Edward is up for parole and his fear of not making it propels him to seek friendship and comfort outside his isolated cell. Bella responds, cautiously, but slowly finds herself unable to resist the pull of her imprisoned friend.
Salient features: The unique theme of the story is its USP. It’s a concept I have never encountered before and the chapters, though short, are written mostly in the form of letters. Call me an old-fashioned romantic, the thought of people falling in love by writing letters makes me swoon. E-mail simply cannot compete with the anticipation of waiting for a letter. The crisp white envelope, the smell of ink and the cure of your beloved’s handwriting! Yup, definitely swoon worthy!! But most of all, it is the process of getting to know a complete stranger with no interface other than the letters. The slow bonding, the gradual increase in trust and the painful revelations of mistakes made in the past… it all adds to the unique goodness of the story.
Read it and you will not regret it!!
Hold on tight because I am so excited about this story that I may come through your screen and force you to read it…like by force…perhaps, I’ll withhold Robporn from you…yes, I am THAT serious!
I know you’ll thank me.
Inside Man is a story of people getting to know each other in unusual circumstances and seeing if what we share via paper or even on-line can hold up to what we share in our real lives. Edward is about to be paroled (maybe) and he wants to reach out to someone on the outside to re-acclimate to talking to “normal people”.
Bella is in college and an assignment presents itself and she decides to take a chance on getting to know a stranger. The letters between the two are amazing and draw you in so much that you find yourself waiting for the next one with as much anticipation as the characters.
If read on ff.net the letters represent a chapter.
If read on ooza’s blog, Garden of Sin, then you can see the progression of the story via the actual letters between the two characters.
Inside Man takes the time to really build the connection between two people who know that what they are experiencing via these letters may not translate to the real world.
The banner’s tagline: “p.s. Do you think someday we could be real friends?” really hits at the heart of this story.
It hit me hard.
Read it.
Have you ever bitten your nails like there is no tomorrow? Have you ever waited for that email to come that you know will make your day better? Have you ever stared at the screen of your computer wishing you had powers to make that update appear when you need it the most? Have you ever peeked into your phone during a business meeting, at church or in a PTA meeting to see if “it” had arrived? Have you ever… who am I kidding? If this was the drinking game “Have you ever” I would be so drunk right now, because the answers to all those questions for me is yes, yes, yes, YES!!! (And by Yes, I don’t mean thoooose yeses… but just in case… drink!!!) Lately the reason for my behavior is Inside Man written by Ooza.
Inside Man is the story of Edward Masen, 35, who in his own words:
I’ve made a lot of stupid choices in my life that I can’t take back, but I’m trying to be a good man now. I’m usually a happy person, but sometimes the loneliness of incarceration is overwhelming. I need a friend.
Bella Swan, 21, has just finished her junior year at college, is encouraged by her professor to participate in the write a prisoner program, in which she befriends none other than Edward Masen.
This is the premise of the story, but in reality what you get is the story of a man wanting to believe and trust in life, in people and most importantly in the possibility of his future.
Bella, without knowing how impactful her role is in Edward’s life, starts to open the window for hope.
What I love about this story is how in the simplicity of their exchange, the unspoken words or in this case unwritten words are more powerful than any written exchange they could have.
Little by little, Bella starts bringing Edward out of the obscurity that is his life, and by this I’m not referring of an Edward full of angst. What dreams are you allowed to have when your life is lived between 3 walls and bars? How do you cope with this and who do you become?
Edward is approaching his parole hearing and he’s afraid. Afraid for allowing himself, hope, and for that hope to be snatched away from him if the hearing doesn’t go in his favor.
Edward is starting to believe in the possibility of a future, of being able to have some frosting again, all with Bella’s help. How? Asking Bella simple questions that allows him to gain insight into her life and moments that we all take for granted: What do you do for fun? What is your favorite food?
I know what you’re thinking… “Seriously, caro2lalala, is that what you call exciting? Nail biting action?”
The answer is yes, and this is where the amazing Ooza pulls you in. She does this in a way that you’ve never experienced before. It starts growing on you and building up to the moment where you suddenly realize that this story has become your obsession, it owns your smiles and your nails!
The story is heartfelt, warming, Edward is broken and you feel for him. Edwards is broken because he’s alone, he has no family or friends. Where he is, he brought in on himself and he knows it and has comes to terms with it. This is where Bella finds herself, being pulled in by this stranger and his needs to believe. Bella continues writing to him even though here assignment is over.
Needless to say that through these letters a friendship starts to blossom, but even more important something they both need from one another: trust. Trust to be able to move on to the next step. In one of his letters, Edward asks Bella:
“Do you think someday we could be real friends?”
and in the next:
Will you visit me? I can’t do this alone anymore. I need someone.
As you read the story you will come to realize the poignancy of this moment in relation to Edward’s character: he is not a man who likes to ask for help, and it makes this plea all the more desperate.
I won’t reveal the outcome of this moment. What I will say is that it will be better than what you might expect. Get ready for an explosion of feelings. Not what you might imagine. You will find yourself gasping for air, with your hand on your heart, speechless. It will have a different meaning for each one of you and again props to Ooza for writing this moment and many others in an unexpected way, true to the story and the characters, true to seducing you without you noticing.Have you ever smiled all day, just because? Have you ever felt fulfilled with written words, read during a stolen moment? Have you ever felt guilty because you want to write in your review that this is your favorite story ever (yes, I realize this is possible and it’s ok for it to join my list of 100th “favorite ever” story)? Well… * grabs bottle of booze and pours, 1, 2, 3 drinks * the answer for me to all of these is Yes!!!
And if you said no to the last question, or want to play this drinking game with me, then you know what you have to do.
I love this story. As soon as I read the first couple of chapters, I was hooked! I love the style in which it’s written. Each chapter, for the most part, is a letter from Edward or Bella. It’s interesting to see them write back and forth and learn more about each other as they do. The connection that these two share is perfect. Each of them is looking for something, though so far only one seems to realize that. I love that ooza has included a few chapters with real life stuff, like phone calls and daddy/daughter talks. We also get to meet Bella’s annoying, leaching friend Jacob, which is a fun chapter. It’s nice to see the two of them tease and torment each other, and feel the lightheartedness between them. It’s a nice contrast to the seriousness between Edward and Bella.
This story is incredible. I am SO completely enjoying it, and I can’t wait to see what the author is going to do next, especially after the last chapter when Edward called Bella and they talked about… Well, you’ll just have to read it for yourself to see.
I (SweetLovinCullen) found this fic last week while I was looking through Tumblr, I never normally read fics that are already this far in but as soon as I read the first chapter I was intrigued as to where this was going to go and how it would all work out in the end. I could not put the fic down, I put off getting ready, read it in the car on the way out and the way back (don’t worry I wasn’t the one driving lol) and then started reading it again as soon as I got in. I adore it.
Bella is a psych student going into her final year and on the suggestion of her professor takes part in a program where people write to those serving prison sentences. She comes across Edward’s profile and begins writing to him. The first 17 chapters are their correspondence back and forth and I loved those chapters. I loved seeing their relationship develop and grow.
Throughout the fic you know Edward is awaiting a response to his parole request and I won’t ruin the outcome for you but the way he talks to Bella when he gets the answer is awesome and gave me hope.
I don’t want to give too much away but if you aren’t already reading Inside Man you should. It’s worth it I swear, oh and I warn you. You’ll want to hate Charlie in this fic. I definitely know I do!
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