J.W. Bell’s life reads like an adventure story. He was a Field Artillery Officer in the Army for ten years, is well-versed in long-range and large-caliber weapons, and is an expert with small arms — handguns, rifles, and machine guns. Oh yes, he trained with explosives and is excellent with hand grenades. His military thrillers use actual terminology and weaponry. The military courtesy and discipline portrayed are accurate. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S., living in Hawaii for several years. He coached gymnastics for a time and worked for years as a roughneck in the oilfields of Oklahoma. He became a teacher with a lifetime teaching license to teach music and drama. He composed his first symphony with a start on his second. He is single and lives in Arkansas on a small acreage with six of his children, three boys ages nine to fifteen, and three girls ages nine years to Seventeen. There are four other children from the last marriage, two boys, twenty years old, and two girls, nineteen and seventeen, with one grandchild. He has two older daughters living in Little Rock with their families, including five more grandchildren. There are three dogs, three cats, one pony, one pet pig, and two goats on the acreage. The animal population varies depending on how prolific they are.
There is always something happening around the house. One child is home-schooled, everyone has chores, and J.W. carves out time to write.