Rewind.

Melody loves to play guitar. She almost becomes a rock star. But then she falls in love with Alex and gives birth to her daughter, Tessa.

Fast forward.

Melody loves her daughter and her husband, the music promoter. Her guitar sits dusty in the corner of her bedroom.

Skip.

Melody can't bear it any longer and plots a return to the stage, and the person she used to be. But the obstacles she faces along the way--are nothing--compared to the tragedy that awaits.

Pause.

Her desire to have an affair? Well, Button Boy is quite charming ...

This book is not The Book. The Book is in this book. And The Book in this book is both the goodie and the baddie.

Bonnie is five. She wants to bury The Book because it is a demon that should go to hell. Penny, Bonnie's mother, does bury The Book, but every day she digs it up and writes in it. John, Bonnie's father, doesn't live with them anymore. But he still likes to write in it from time to time. Ted, Bonnie's stepfather, would like to write in The Book, but Penny won't allow it.

To Bonnie, The Book is sadness.

To Penny, The Book is liberation.

To John, The Book is forgiveness.

To Ted, The Book is envy.

But The Book in this book isn't what it seems at all.

If there was one thing in this world you wished you could hold in your hand, what would it be? The world bets it would be The Book.

*Semi-finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2012: Best Poetry

"From "Spandex" to the Greek kafeneion, there are unexpected juxtapositions and discoveries to be found in Jessica Bell's poetry Fabric. This voice is equally inspired by the quotidian, Greek jargon words, and the mythic figures of Echo and Narcissus, Aphrodite, and, of course, Euterpe, the muse of music and the lyric. The interstices of the so-called ordinary with the always larger dramas of feeling and its consequences are among the subjects this young poet explores in her vivid weave of language." ~Adrianne Kalfopoulou, author of Wild Greens, Cumulus and Passion Maps

"Jessica Bell's FABRIC is a rich collection of poems that take the reader on a deep tour of the psyche. Charting and moving across politics of language, Bell explores love, pain, failure and redemption from a variety of angles. Most of the poems sit at the fragile threshold of instinct and meaning, using symbol and sensation to get to the shock of denouement. This is a significant collection that bears multiple readings, each time yielding something fresh." ~Magdalena Ball, author of Black Cow and Repulsion Thrust

Twisted Velvet Chains is a collection of poems which follows the experiences of one woman growing up with a bipolar, drug addicted, gothic musician mother. Each poem represents specific moments of their life that embrace vivid rich imagery, and illustrate the turmoil of emotions both experience while together. The collection is divided into four parts that flow one into the other from childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and post-death.

*This novel contains coarse language, violence, and sexual themes.

Sonia yearns for sharp objects and blood. But now that she's rehabilitating herself as a "normal" mother and mathematics teacher, it's time to stop dreaming about slicing people's throats.

While being the wife of Melbourne's leading drug lord and simultaneously dating his best mate is not ideal, she's determined to make it work.

It does work. Until Mia, her lover's daughter, starts exchanging saliva with her son, Mick. They plan to commit a crime behind Sonia's back. It isn't long before she finds out and gets involved to protect them.

But is protecting the kids really Sonia's motive?

Note: This story is told from the point of view of multiple characters.

Muted: It's illegal to wear clothes. In some streets, it's also illegal to sing. Concetta, a famous Italian a capella singer from before "the change," breaks these totalitarian laws. As punishment, her vocal chords are brutally slashed, and her eardrums surgically perforated. Unable to cope living a life without song, she resolves to drown herself in the river, clothed in a dress stained with performance memories. But Concetta's suicide attempt is deterred, when she is distracted by a busking harpist with gold eyes and teeth. Will he show her how to sing again, or will the LEO on the prowl for another offender to detain, arrest her before she has the chance?

She: A girl's brief encounter in limbo, following a suicide attempt, after being sexually abused by a priest. God in limbo is represented by She. She has been misinformed about how faith is advocated on Earth, and sends the girl back for another chance at life, in the belief that she must repent for her sin. This story explores the notion that it is blasphemous for religion to be institutionalized, because no matter what one believes, there will always be something or someone that contaminates its worth. The only faith anyone needs can be found within one's own heart and soul. *Disclaimer: This story is not in any way a direct criticism of religion, or a representation of the author's beliefs, but simply a creative exploration of the concept.

Note: This is a collected edition of two works previously published separately.

Six women. One man. Seven secrets. One could ruin them all.

Kit is a twenty-five-year-old archaeology undergrad, who doesn’t like to get her hands dirty. Life seems purposeless. But if she could track down her father, Roger, maybe her perspective would change.

The only problem—Roger is as rotten as the decomposing oranges in her back yard according to the women in her life: Ailish, her mother—an English literature professor who communicates in quotes and clichés, and who still hasn’t learned how to express emotion on her face; Ivy, her half-sister—a depressed archaeologist, with a slight case of nymphomania who fled to America after a divorce to become a waitress; and Eleanor, Ivy’s mother—a pediatric surgeon who embellishes her feelings with medical jargon, and named her daughter after "Intravenous."

Against all three women’s wishes, Kit decides to find Roger.
Enter a sister Kit never knew about.
But everyone else did.

Revised 2019 Edition

Have you been told there's a little too much telling in your novel? Want to remedy it? Then this is the book for you.

In Show & Tell in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Telling to Showing you will find sixteen real scenes depicting a variety of situations, emotions, and characteristics which clearly demonstrate how to turn telling into showing. A few short writing prompts are also provided.

Not only is this pocket guide an excellent learning tool for aspiring writers, but it is a user-friendly and simple solution to honing your craft no matter how broad your writing experience.

NOTE: This book is included as Part 1 in Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft.

Revised 2019 Edition

Have you been told you use too many adverbs and clichés in your writing? Want to remedy it? Then this is the book for you.

In Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions of Adverbs & Clichés into Gourmet Imagery, you will find thirty-four examples of prose which clearly demonstrate how to turn those pesky adverbs and clichés into vivid and unique imagery. Extra writing prompts are also provided at the end of the book.

Not only is this pocket guide an excellent learning tool for aspiring writers, but it is a user-friendly and simple solution to honing your craft no matter how broad your writing experience.

NOTE: This book is included as Part 2 in Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft.

Revised 2019 Edition

Have readers told you that they can’t seem “get into” your novel? That could be because it lacks the sensory information required to effectively hook your readers’ attention. Would you like to remedy this? Then this is the book for you.

In The Six Senses in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Bleak to Bold Narrative you will find eleven real scenes which illustrate how utilizing the six senses can bring your writing to life. In each demonstrated transition you will find a BLEAK passage (prose lacking sensory information), and a BOLD passage (the BLEAK passage revamped to make it more appealing by utilizing sense in an indirect and/or stimulating way). Writing exercises are also provided.

Not only is this pocket guide an excellent learning tool for aspiring writers, but it is a light, convenient, and easy solution to honing your craft no matter how broad your writing experience.

NOTE: This book is included as Part 3 in Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft.

Revised 2019 Edition

In Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft, writer, editor, and publisher, Jessica Bell, guides writers through a variety of “before” and “after” writing examples demonstrating the transition from weak to strong writing, and encourages them to follow her example through clear and simple self-teaching steps.

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 how to write. 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.

Not only is Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft an excellent addition to any creative writing course, but it’s also a great primary learning tool for aspiring writers, and a great booster for more experienced writers to use to hone their craft.

NOTE: This book is also broken down into three separate workbooks (available to purchase separately) should writers not need practice in all areas: Show & Tell in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Telling to Showing; Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions of Adverbs & Clichés into Gourmet Imagery; and The Six Senses in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Bleak to Bold Narrative.

Revised 2019 Edition

In Polish Your Fiction: A Quick & Easy Self-Editing Guide, writer, editor, and publisher, Jessica Bell, offers her tried and tested advice on the quickest and easiest ways to polish different areas of writing style, consistency of prose, grammar, punctuation, typography, and layout. Each section is armed with a numbered checklist for moments when writers need that “at-a-glance” reminder and nifty Microsoft Word tricks that will save time. At the end of the book there are also magnificent accounts of editorial mistakes other authors have made during their careers, to show that no matter how many times a book is edited, something always slips through, and to therefore not be so hard on oneself.

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 editing a manuscript. If writers focus on one aspect of the editorial process at a time, the task will seem less daunting, and piece by piece, it will come together to form a piece of very polished work.

Not only is Polish Your Fiction: A Quick & Easy Self-Editing Guide an excellent addition to any self-publishing course, but it’s also a great primary learning tool for aspiring authorpreneurs, and a great booster for more experienced authorpreneurs to get their manuscripts in excellent shape before sending their work to a professional editor.

Revised 2019 Edition

In Self-Publish Your Book: A Quick & Easy Step-by-Step Guide, writer, editor, and publisher, Jessica Bell, does not overwhelm you with all information available—she explains exactly what one needs to know, without the faff, by following a foolproof, cost-efficient, time-efficient, extremely easy-to-follow, step-by-step, self-publishing method. By following this method, a writer can have their book go from manuscript to published book within one week. They’ll learn how to: prepare their manuscript in Microsoft Word, design their paperback and eBook cover, prepare their front/back matter and blurb, format their paperback interior & eBook, proofread their designed pages, register with desired retailers/distributors, export their eBook to a retail-ready file, and upload their paperback and eBook to retailers/distributors.

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 publishing a book. If writers focus on one aspect of the publishing process at a time, the task will seem less daunting, and piece by piece, it will come together to result in a quality product the author can sell with pride.

Not only is Self-Publish Your Book: A Quick & Easy Step-by-Step Guide an excellent addition to any self-publishing course, but it’s also a great primary learning tool for first-time self-publishers as it allows them to get their feet wet without committing too much time or money to the process, while simultaneously producing a quality product.

Don't need paperbacks? Then save $$$ by snapping up the complete collection of the Writing in a Nutshell series in digital format, revised and updated in 2019. This Omnibus includes the following:

Book 1
Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft

Book 2
Polish Your Fiction: A Quick & Easy Self-Editing Guide

Book 3
Self-Publish Your Book: A Quick & Easy Step-by-Step Guide

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.

The first book, Writing in a Nutshell: Writing Workshops to Improve Your Craft, I guide writers through a variety of “before” and “after” writing examples demonstrating the transition from weak to strong writing, and encourage them to follow my example through clear and simple self-teaching steps. This book is also broken down into three separate workbooks (available to purchase separately) should writers not need practice in all areas: Show & Tell in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Telling to Showing; Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions of Adverbs & Clichés into Gourmet Imagery; and The Six Senses in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Bleak to Bold Narrative.

In the second book, Polish Your Fiction: A Quick & Easy Self-Editing Guide, I offer my tried and tested advice on the quickest and easiest ways to polish different areas of writing style, consistency of prose, grammar, punctuation, typography, and layout. Each section is armed with a numbered checklist for moments when writers need that “at-a-glance” reminder and nifty Microsoft Word tricks that will save time. At the end of the book there are also magnificent accounts of editorial mistakes other authors have made during their careers, to show that no matter how many times a book is edited, something always slips through, and to therefore not be so hard on oneself.

In the third book, Self-Publish Your Book: A Quick & Easy Step-by-Step Guide, I do not overwhelm with all information available—I explain exactly what one needs to know, without the faff, by following a foolproof, cost-efficient, time-efficient, extremely easy-to-follow, step-by-step, self-publishing method. By following this method, a writer can have their book go from manuscript to published book within one week. They’ll learn how to: prepare their manuscript in Microsoft Word, design their paperback and eBook cover, prepare their front/back matter and blurb, format their paperback interior & eBook, proofread their designed pages, register with desired retailers/distributors, export their eBook to a retail-ready file, and upload their paperback and eBook to retailers/distributors.

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.

"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. Jessica Bell is 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

String Bridge: Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage--and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits.

The Book: Bonnie is five. She wants to bury The Book because it is a demon that should go to hell. Penny, Bonnie’s mother, does bury The Book, but every day she digs it up and writes in it. John, Bonnie’s father, doesn’t live with them anymore. But he still likes to write in it from time to time. Ted, Bonnie’s stepfather, would like to write in The Book, but Penny won’t allow it. To Bonnie, The Book is sadness. To Penny, The Book is liberation. To John, The Book is forgiveness. To Ted, The Book is envy. But The Book in this book isn’t what it seems at all.

Bitter Like Orange Peel: Six women. One man. Seven secrets. One could ruin them all. If Kit could track down her father, Roger, maybe her perspective would change. The only problem—Roger is as rotten as the decomposing oranges in her back yard according to the women in her life. Against all three women’s wishes, Kit decides to find Roger. Enter a sister Kit never knew about. But everyone else did.

White Lady: Sonia yearns for sharp objects and blood. But now that she’s rehabilitating herself as a “normal” mother and mathematics teacher, it’s time to stop dreaming about slicing people’s throats. While being the wife of Melbourne’s leading drug lord and simultaneously dating his best mate is not ideal, she’s determined to make it work. It does work. Until Mia, her lover’s daughter, starts exchanging saliva with her son, Mick. They plan to commit a crime behind Sonia’s back. It isn’t long before she finds out and gets involved to protect them. But is protecting the kids really Sonia’s motive?

"This muscular and brutally honest collection of poems appeals to the senses. The poems are dark, some are disturbing, all are vivid." Stephen Parrish, Editor of Lascaux Review

Twisted Velvet Chains: Follows the experiences of a young woman growing up with a bipolar, drug addicted, Gothic musician mother. Each poem represents specific moments of their life that embrace vivid rich imagery, and illustrate the turmoil of emotions both experience while together. The collection is divided into four parts that flow one into the other from childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and post-death.

Fabric: A rich collection of poems that take the reader on a deep tour of the psyche. Charting and moving across politics of language, Bell explores love, pain, failure and redemption from a variety of angles. Most of the poems sit at the fragile threshold of instinct and meaning, using symbol and sensation to get to the shock of denouement.

Muted: A short story in verse. It's illegal to wear clothes. In some streets, it's also illegal to sing. Concetta, a famous Italian a capella singer from before "the change," breaks these totalitarian laws. As punishment, her vocal chords are brutally slashed, and her eardrums surgically perforated. Unable to cope living a life without song, she resolves to drown herself in the river, clothed in a dress stained with performance memories.

She: A short story in verse. A girl's brief encounter in limbo, following a suicide attempt, after being sexually abused by a priest. God in limbo is represented by She. She has been misinformed about how faith is advocated on Earth, and sends the girl back for another chance at life, in the belief that she must repent for her sin.

***From the singer of the well-known dream-pop group, Keep Shelly in Athens.***

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

Previously published as ‘Dear Reflection: I Never Meant to be a Rebel’.

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.