Jessica Bell


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Stuart ...
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Jessica Bell

Goodreads Author


Born
in Melbourne, Australia
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences

Member Since
May 2010

URL


Jessica Bell is a multi-award-winning author/poet and singer-songwriter who was born in Melbourne, Australia.

In addition to having published a memoir, five novels, three poetry collections, and her bestselling Writing in a Nutshell series, she has been featured in a variety of publications and radio 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 a highly sought-after book cover designer. She currently resides in Athens, Greece, with her partner and son, and a pile of dishes that still don’t know how to wash themselves despite her consistently teaching by example.

For more information visit: iamjessicabell.com

To ask Jessica Bell questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Jessica Bell Hi Jason. I think I'm in a perpetual state of anxiety and insecurity when it comes to my writing. No matter how much praise I garner, there is always …moreHi Jason. I think I'm in a perpetual state of anxiety and insecurity when it comes to my writing. No matter how much praise I garner, there is always going to be a voice in my head telling me that I'm not good enough. I think it's a slight case of Impostor Syndrome, and I also believe that every creative person, whether a writer, artist, musician, etc, is going to feel like this a lot of the time. So, I guess there isn't anything really that shakes my confidence except my own sense of myself. I really am my worst critic!(less)
Jessica Bell Hi Lorenzo,

Good question! I'd say the best thing to do is to study up on the "show, don't tell" technique. Through showing rather than telling, you en…more
Hi Lorenzo,

Good question! I'd say the best thing to do is to study up on the "show, don't tell" technique. Through showing rather than telling, you enable readers to actually FEEL what is going on, instead of just reading about what it going on. For example, notice the difference between the following examples:

Telling:
My mother got drunk again last night and passed out on the sofa. She looks like a disgusting street bum and the house smells like vomit and cigarettes.

Showing:
I watch a glob of drool vibrate in the corner of my mother’s mouth with every breath of air that struggles through her sticky cracked lips. Strands of stiff bleach-blonde hair, clumped together and matted below her ear, look petrified with dried vomit. Her fingers twitch. She has two black nails from when she jammed them in the hinge of the alcohol cabinet door. She groans. One eye opens. A vibrant crystal blue bordered with a yellowy, bloodshot white. Her eye closes, and she sits up, blindly reaching toward the coffee table for her pack of 50s. It’s empty. She scrunches the packet and throws it across the room. It lands between an urn and an empty bottle of gin on the mantle. She opens and closes her mouth in what seems an attempt to rehydrate it, and clicks her tongue, as if tasting something foul.

Hope that helps!






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Average rating: 4.12 · 1,574 ratings · 568 reviews · 76 distinct worksSimilar authors
String Bridge

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Show & Tell in a Nutshell: ...

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How Icasia Bloom Touched Ha...

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The Book

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Bitter Like Orange Peel

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White Lady

4.12 avg rating — 60 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions
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Fabric

4.35 avg rating — 52 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions
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The best of Vine Leaves Lit...

by
4.81 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2012
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Twisted Velvet Chains

4.61 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions
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Garnet by Jennifer Severn
Garnet
by Jennifer Severn (Goodreads Author)
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The River Was Waiting by Cordelia Frances Biddle
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Quotes by Jessica Bell  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

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

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

“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

Topics Mentioning This Author

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

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

“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

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

“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

148718 ALLi Goodreads Group — 164 members — last activity Apr 28, 2015 07:44PM
ALLi Goodreads Event
220 Goodreads Librarians Group — 303332 members — last activity 3 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
73787 The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) — 855 members — last activity Jul 24, 2025 08:31PM
This group is moderated by Jessica Bell, publisher of Vine Leaves Press. Jessica is also a widely published indie author and a Goodreads Librarian. Sh ...more
1164388 Vine Leaves Press — 264 members — last activity Nov 11, 2025 03:40AM
Read one or more of our books? Want to discuss your reading experience directly with the author? We can make that happen.
77447 Virtual Writers — 2342 members — last activity Oct 07, 2025 02:30AM
Helping readers and writers connect. Virtual Writers is a popular online writers’ community committed to showcasing established and emerging writers ...more
37292 Q&A with Margaret Atwood — 841 members — last activity May 23, 2023 05:55PM
Join bestselling and award winning author Margaret Atwood for a discussion group in celebration of the paperback release of her novel The Year of the ...more
59176 Australian Women Writers Challenge — 971 members — last activity Oct 29, 2022 10:17PM
AS AT JANUARY 1st 2022, THIS GROUP IS NO LONGER IN OPERATION. This group is for participants in the Australian Women Writers Challenge. Everyone who ...more
40645 Q&A with Shauna Kelley — 5 members — last activity Dec 04, 2010 03:10AM
I am a new author, reeling in both the joy and delight of seeing my book in print and learning the process. It's a strange, new world, and one I am ha ...more
106626 Get Your Shorts in a Bunch — 387 members — last activity Feb 06, 2019 02:13PM
Short Story Anthologies. Here's the place to read and discuss them. ...more
63354 Harsh Realism — 219 members — last activity May 01, 2017 12:05PM
Literature that depicts the harsher side of life, but in a realistic manner.
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Comments (showing 1-10)    post a comment »
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message 10: by Maureen

Maureen Mullis Hellow Jessica, thank you for adding this fellow author into your circle of friends here on Goodreads. I hope you'll add my novels including the cozy mysteries (What Would Nancy Do?, Lethal Prescription), In the Company of Women, The Christmas to Remember and Finding Normal to your to-read list. I look forward to reading your book reviews and recommendations. Happy reading!


Jessica Bell Christine wrote: "Thanks for being my friend"

thanks for accepting!


Christine Hatfield Thanks for being my friend


Jessica Bell Trisha wrote: "Hey Jessica, cheers for the friending over here too :D Hope you are reading all sorts of goodness! My struggle is always deciding what to read next from my book shelf!"

Ha! Yes, I struggle with that SO often ... there are too many good books out there!


Trisha Hey Jessica, cheers for the friending over here too :D Hope you are reading all sorts of goodness! My struggle is always deciding what to read next from my book shelf!


Jessica Bell Haha :) Thanks, Georges!


Jessica Bell Likewise! :) Have a great weekend!


message 3: by Elcio

Elcio Brito thanks for the add! have a wonderful weekend!


William O'Brien Hi Jessica - Thank you for your friendship!
Please visit my website http://www.peteradarkenedfairytale.co.uk
to view a sample page and many other snippets about the book.
Expected release date late Jan.
Best wishes, William


message 1: by Acép

Acép hi, howdy...
thanks for the confirm


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