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Jessica Bell

Goodreads Author

Born

in Melbourne, Australia

Website

http://www.jessicabellauthor.com/

Twitter

MsBessieBell

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry

Influences

Raymond Carver, Margaret Atwood, Marilynne Robinson, Jeanette Winterso ...more

Member Since

May 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jessica_bell

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If Jessica Bell could choose only one creative mentor, she'd give the role to Euterpe, the Greek muse of music and lyrics. This is not only because she currently resides in Athens, Greece, but because of her life as a 30-something Australian-native contemporary fiction author, award-winning poet and singer/songwriter/guitarist, whose literary inspiration often stems from songs she's written.

Being the daughter of a semi-famous rock 'n' roll duo from Melbourne, she grew up surrounded by song. For a while it seemed logical to travel the musician's path, especially when her first band, spAnk, hit it off in the Melbourne indie music scene back in the late 90s. Although she spent her years writing and recording dozens of songs she decided she als If Jessica Bell could choose only one creative mentor, she'd give the role to Euterpe, the Greek muse of music and lyrics. This is not only because she currently resides in Athens, Greece, but because of her life as a 30-something Australian-native contemporary fiction author, award-winning poet and singer/songwriter/guitarist, whose literary inspiration often stems from songs she's written.

Being the daughter of a semi-famous rock 'n' roll duo from Melbourne, she grew up surrounded by song. For a while it seemed logical to travel the musician's path, especially when her first band, spAnk, hit it off in the Melbourne indie music scene back in the late 90s. Although she spent her years writing and recording dozens of songs she decided she also had a love for the written word, and began to pursue a career as a writer.

She started as a poet, drawing from her musical background and etching her thoughts and feelings into verse. Those stanzas soon turned into sentences and paragraphs, and eventually into published books. Her literary voice is said to overflow with "lyrical descriptions, unique metaphors, tight dialogue, and an abundance of sensory detail." She has also been told she has the ability to take a seemingly ordinary three-chord type story and turn it into a main stage event.

In addition to her novels, her poetry collections (including FABRIC, which was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2012), and her pocket writing guides (WRITING IN A NUTSHELL SERIES), she has published a variety of works in online and print literary journals and anthologies, including Australia's Cordite Review, and the anthologies 100 STORIES FOR QUEENSLAND and SHADOWS AT THE STAGE DOOR, both released through Australia's, eMergent Publishing.

Additionally, she is the Publishing Editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal, the Coordinator of the Writing Day Workshops which take place throughout the United States, and makes a living as an editor/writer for English Language Teaching publishers worldwide, such as Pearson Education, HarperCollins, Macmillan Education, Education First and Cengage Learning. ...more

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Jessica Bell’s books

Average rating: 4.22 · 1,097 ratings · 369 reviews · 41 distinct works • Similar authors

	String Bridge 3.89 avg rating — 208 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Book 4.27 avg rating — 78 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bitter Like Orange Peel 3.52 avg rating — 83 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dear Reflection: I Never Meant to be a Rebel 4.28 avg rating — 65 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fabric 4.49 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Show & Tell in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Telling to Showing (Writing in a Nutshell Series, #1) 4.13 avg rating — 108 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	White Lady 4.18 avg rating — 51 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Twisted Velvet Chains 4.66 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal 2012 by Jessica Bell (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Dawn Ius (Goodreads Author) (Editor) , Adam Byatt (Contributor) 4.83 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Indiestructible: Inspiring Stories from the Publishing Jungle by Jessica Bell (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Alex J. Cavanaugh (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) , Anne R. Allen (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.53 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Jessica Bell's Blog

NO WHINING ALLOWED by Rick Moore

In order to explain myself and why I undertook my latest recording project, I first need to do something that will no doubt sound like whining.

I was raised in a home where I was forced to burn my Christmas presents and watch my younger siblings endure brutal beatings. Had I not ended up a ward of the state and a foster child, I may well have ended up like my half-brother, who died in prison w... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on February 21, 2018 09:23 • 40 views

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Series by Jessica Bell

Writing in a Nutshell (6 books)
by

Jessica Bell (Goodreads Author)

4.21 avg rating — 234 ratings

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Jessica is Currently Reading

Jessica Bell is currently reading

M Train

by Patti Smith (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 20, 2015 01:05PM

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Dear Life: Stories

by Alice Munro

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Sep 01, 2015 02:09AM

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The Poisonwood Bible

by Barbara Kingsolver

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Sep 04, 2014 11:50AM

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Jessica Bell rated a book it was amazing The Sovereign by John Ward	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 23, 2018 01:43PM · like
Jessica Bell rated a book it was amazing Hillcrest—Oakden: The Diary of a Psychiatric Nurse by Christine Hillingdon	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 04, 2018 04:51AM · like
Jessica Bell rated a book it was amazing Tazia and Gemma by Ann S. Epstein (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 17, 2018 07:58AM · 1 like · like
Jessica Bell rated a book it was amazing In a Flash! Writing & Publishing Dynamic Flash Prose by Melanie Faith (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 15, 2017 04:11PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of In a Flash! Writing & Publishing Dynamic Flash Prose by Melanie Faith. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — In a Flash! Writing & Publishing Dynamic Flash Prose by Melanie Faith <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Bell rated a book it was amazing Shade of the Paraiso: Two Years in Paraguay, South America: A Memoir by Mark Salvatore	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 15, 2017 03:23PM · like
Jessica Bell rated a book it was amazing The Taste of Cigarettes by Jon Vreeland (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 25, 2017 12:49PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Taste of Cigarettes by Jon Vreeland. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Taste of Cigarettes by Jon Vreeland <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Bell wants to read The Mother I Imagined, The Mom I Knew: A Hybrid Memoir by Paul Alan Fahey (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2017 04:17AM · like
Jessica Bell rated a book it was amazing Vine Leaves Literary Journal: A Collection of Vignettes from Across the Globe by Jessica Bell (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 29, 2017 03:51AM · 4 likes · like
Jessica Bell rated a book it was amazing GUTS: A Memoir by Janet Buttenwieser (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 21, 2017 03:27PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of GUTS by Janet Buttenwieser. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — GUTS by Janet Buttenwieser <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jessica Bell and 2 other people liked Clare Flynn's review of Dear Reflection: I Never Meant to be a Rebel (A Memoir): "This raw, unsparing, insight into life as the only child of a pair of gothic rock musicians is a compelling read. Jessica Bell grew up in Melbourne in a home where her parents struggled to make ends meet and her mum, Erika, battled against the str..." Read more of this review »
Jul 31, 2017 06:44AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dear Reflection by Jessica Bell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dear Reflection by Jessica Bell <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Jessica Bell

“If music were wind, I would live in a hurricane.”
― Jessica Bell, String Bridge

tags: contemporary-fiction, music

14 likes

“Learn the rules, then break them intelligently.”
― Jessica Bell

11 likes

“I don’t know how to pray,
but I’ve seen them do it
on TV; kneeling by a bed
in nightgowns, hands woven
like secret friends.”
― Jessica Bell, Twisted Velvet Chains

tags: poetry

5 likes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Goodreads Librari...: Please remove a book from my account	3	19	Jun 11, 2014 11:27PM
ALLi Goodreads Group: * Meet the Authors & Giveaway: Nov 15th	808	417	Nov 27, 2014 08:41AM

Jessica’s Quotes

“Poetry is eternal graffiti written in the heart of everyone.”
― Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Americus, Book I

tags: poetry

1456 likes

“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.”
― George S. Patton Jr.

2753 likes

“That’s what love is like: mother of the greatest bliss and stepmother of the most tragic misery.”
― Stefanos Livos, A Life In A Moment

tags: bliss, happiness, love, misery, mother, sadness, tragic

7 likes

“Learn the rules, then break them intelligently.”
― Jessica Bell

11 likes

“Think of literary fiction as a meal with intricate scents, flavors, and textures that you can’t recognize unless you chew with your eyes closed.”
― Jessica Bell

tags: literary-fiction

3 likes

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