Jess: A Novel of Hell and Ecstasy

by Jon Bendera

Dayton, Ohio. In a darkened alley behind a downtown strip-club, an old man is beaten to death by a group known locally as ‘The Stripper Mafia.’ Jess watches from the sidelines, appalled but unable to make herself intervene.Jess is an attractive woman. Not beautiful exactly, but striking. She stands out. People notice her, are drawn to her. Jess moves through the world, through life, like a whirlwind, and each person she touches, no matter how random, is affected. “It’s my fault,” she thinks. “I killed this guy.”Believing she’s responsible for Old Bill’s death, Jess leaves the gritty strip scene of Dayton behind and heads west, her Mitsubishi Spyder eating up the miles. No hotels, no rest.Jess’s journey westward isn’t just an escape from her past. For Jess, life has always been a search to find her place in the world. And now, through a chance meeting, she believes she’s found it in a man she’s only met once.Freezing rain pelts the windshield.Travel isn’t new to Jess. In the early 2000s, she travelled the country with a top-tier boy-band. Groupie, confidante, lover, Jess had it all. Until she had enough and moved on. Moving on was Jess’s usual stock and trade, even in jobs. Model, drug dealer, artist, stripper. Jess treated them all with professionalism and a willingness to accept exactly who she was – no excuses, no regrets. The car swerves... Jess looks around slowly. Lights of emergency vehicles revolve and flicker. Her head feels as if it’s in a fishbowl, her vision distorted, cloudy; sound muffled. It’s all a dream, she thinks. It has to be a dream. She’ll get up, restart the car, be on her way. Life will go on. Won’t it?A life well-lived flashes before her eyes.

381 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2013

About the author

Jon Bendera was born and raised in Canada. But once his undergrad in Toronto was finished he travelled the world. After a few years of travel, while sitting in a canoe on a New Zealand river, he realized all he ever wanted to do was write. So he went back to school, knowing he needed discipline to stay focused.

He finished his Masters in VA and his PhD studies in Boston. His Masters Thesis, "Song of Ourselves", a creative fiction, won Creative Thesis of the Year. During his studies he taught English Literature in Virginia and Boston. He then moved west to Arizona, where he continued to teach until he realized... he wasn't writing. So he quit teaching.

He now lives and writes 6 months of the year in Arizona and 6 months in Canada. His written work includes "Great Artists Steal", a book of poetry, a number of short stories, including "L.A. Harmony", which was turned into a short film, and a documentary entitled "Running Ragged, Running Scared" dealing with wild mustangs. Most recently, he published his first novel, "Jess: A Novel of Hell and Ecstasy" and co-wrote/co-created a feature film "The Colter Chronicles" with his brother, Todd Bendera. His next projects include two more novels in the Hell and Ecstasy series and a new series of novels entitled "The Conn Games", the first novel of which is called "Madd Conn."