About Jessica Bell
Photograph by Tasos Giannakakis
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Jessica Bell is an award-winning author/poet, writing/publishing coach, graphic designer, and singer-songwriter who was born in Melbourne, Australia.
In addition to having published a memoir, four novels, three poetry collections, and her bestselling Writing in a Nutshell series, she has been featured in a variety of publications and ABC Radio National shows such as Writer's Digest, Publisher's Weekly, The Guardian, Life Matters, and Poetica. She is also the Publisher of Vine Leaves Press, and CEO of Independent Publishing Assistance. For more information about Jessica’s other projects, visit, iamjessicabell.com. |
GO: A Memoir about Binge-drinking, Self-hatred, and Finding Happiness
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All it took was one secret drink at fifteen for Jessica Bell to binge-drink herself into oblivion for the next ten years.
In 1980s Australia, Erika Bach and Demetri Vlass, who founded Ape the Cry and Hard Candy, two of Melbourne’s iconic indie bands, encouraged Jessica with unreserved love to pick up the guitar and write her own songs. But Erika’s back problem became a nightmare of pill-popping, alcohol abuse, and anxiety attacks, and Demetri retreated into silence for fear of triggering Erika’s drug-induced psychosis. To escape the madness at home, and the torment of hating herself, Jessica experimented with bisexuality in a high school rife with bullies, lost her virginity to rape, and tried to supplement absent love with unprotected one-night stands. All under the influence of alcohol. Until one day alcohol nearly drove Jessica off a cliff. Jessica had to look at herself honestly and frankly. Why did she keep running from reality, and more importantly, herself? And was finding happiness from within, possible? |
Praise for GO
“Admirable” The Sydney Morning Herald “Ends on a note of optimism, of finding a sense of self amidst extreme chaos” Newfound Journal “One of those memoirs that will stay with you” The Compulsive Reader “Highly relatable” Babydolls and Razorblades “A testament to the power of the human spirit” Writers' Know-How “I'll admit it. I was won over.” Karl Drinkwater “A great, touching and very eye-opening experience.” Avalinah's Books “Gut-wrenchingly open and honest – the like of which we haven’t seen that often since Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.” T E Shepherd “A moving, frightening, intense and beautifully-narrated page-turner” Bookmuse |
How Icasia Bloom Touched Happiness
OUT September 21, 2021. Pre-order now available.
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Imagine being put to death for the crime of your child's unhappiness.
This is the tale of Icasia Bloom: how she is caught up in a story not initially her own, and how it changes her world. In a Globe controlled by a trusted yet elusive leader who has granted immortality to those who live by The Book, misfit Icasia Bloom is doomed to die young for the crime of her child's unhappiness. Like all 'Tatters' she gets food by bartering, and when she brings customers to the new local bakery, she meets another borderline outcast, Selma Beyett, whose plight touches her. Selma’s husband Jerome must die in six months if his quest for perpetual happiness is not successful. What starts as a desperate attempt to save Jerome takes the two women on a profoundly enlightening search for happiness. Icasia questions the Globe's judgement on its people and on the nature of happiness itself. Heart-warming, yet strangely unsettling, How Icasia Bloom Touched Happiness, questions everything we take for granted, and takes a long, hard look into our souls. |
Advanced Praise
"A heartfelt novel ... a welcome twist of convention" The Booklife Prize "Exploratory, frightening scenarios... followed by a curveball epilogue... satisfaction is a matter of the soul’s survival. Foreword Reviews “A gem of a novel.” The Wishing Shelf “A touching, deceptively deep novel for anyone who ever loved.” Bookmuse "A refreshing dystopia that captivates and charms." Stephen Oram, author of Eating Robots “Icasia is one of those beautifully crafted characters that we can see the best of ourselves in.” Monkey Review “I have not been so comforted by a novel for a long time.” K. Parsey, writer “A quick, delicious and important read... that is, if you are constantly wondering what this life here is for.” Elaina Battista-Parsons, author of Italian Bones in the Snow “Wow. A book I will be thinking about for a while to come.” Perry Iles, editor “A metaphor for our times, lives and society, and shows what we should strive to achieve.” Peter Snell, bookseller “This novel is indeed a rare bird.” Jean Gill, author of the Natural Forces series “Totally absorbing race against time.” Steve Zettler, author of Careless Love |
The Writing in a Nutshell Series
In “Bird by Bird,” Anne Lamott says a writer needs to focus on short assignments to avoid feeling overwhelmed. She refers to the one-inch picture frame on her desk and how it reminds her to focus on bite-sized pieces of the whole story. If you focus on one small thing at a time, the story will eventually come together to create a whole. The same applies to learning writing, editing, and publishing craft. If writers focus on one aspect of the craft at a time, the process will seem less daunting, and piece by piece, it will come together.
With more than ten years’ experience as an editor and writer of English Language Teaching (ELT) materials for various ELT publishers worldwide, I know that “breaking down” language and tasks into smaller focus areas is an effective learning method. After much experimentation on myself, and volunteer aspiring writers, I discovered it is extremely effective with writing, editing, and publishing too. And so the Writing in a Nutshell series was born. Read more here.
Not only is the Writing in a Nutshell series an excellent addition to any creative writing, editing, and/or publishing course, but it’s also a great primary learning tool for aspiring writers and self-publishers.
With more than ten years’ experience as an editor and writer of English Language Teaching (ELT) materials for various ELT publishers worldwide, I know that “breaking down” language and tasks into smaller focus areas is an effective learning method. After much experimentation on myself, and volunteer aspiring writers, I discovered it is extremely effective with writing, editing, and publishing too. And so the Writing in a Nutshell series was born. Read more here.
Not only is the Writing in a Nutshell series an excellent addition to any creative writing, editing, and/or publishing course, but it’s also a great primary learning tool for aspiring writers and self-publishers.
The Bell Collection
Need to read something raw and real? Something that's going to make you feel a little uncomfortable? Then you're in the right place. Get down and dirty (and sometimes teary) with the dysfunctional families in my contemporary Australian fiction and poetry.
“Jessica Bell is a force to be reckoned with in contemporary fiction ... Dysfunctional families, introspective protagonists, secrets, lies, tragedy and historical baggage crop up in several, but the key issue here is the voice. The settings of Greece and Australia, the varied perspectives of all ages, the rich layers of story world and characters you care about so much you want to reach in there and hold/shake/strangle them. An exceptional writer who adds more than literary skill to her work. There's an artistic and musical angle in her work, which adds its own aesthetic. She deals with a child's reverie and a drunk’s rant with equal authenticity and gets right under your skin ... This is a writer who is going to attract a passionate fan club.” JJ Marsh, author of the bestselling Beatrice Stubbs series
“Jessica Bell is a force to be reckoned with in contemporary fiction ... Dysfunctional families, introspective protagonists, secrets, lies, tragedy and historical baggage crop up in several, but the key issue here is the voice. The settings of Greece and Australia, the varied perspectives of all ages, the rich layers of story world and characters you care about so much you want to reach in there and hold/shake/strangle them. An exceptional writer who adds more than literary skill to her work. There's an artistic and musical angle in her work, which adds its own aesthetic. She deals with a child's reverie and a drunk’s rant with equal authenticity and gets right under your skin ... This is a writer who is going to attract a passionate fan club.” JJ Marsh, author of the bestselling Beatrice Stubbs series
Omnibuses
If you’re into reading eBooks and you’d like to purchase multiple books, you might be interested in snapping up the following digital collections.
More Interesting Stuff
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Photograph by Niki Topouslidou
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