Add your spirits of choice and stir Writing across genres Reedsy

Add your spirits of choice and stir Writing across genres Reedsy "Add your spirits of choice and stir": Jessica Bell, Independent Author Jessica Bell  has written her way across a variety of genres: in fiction, a variety of thriller and drama novels; in non-fiction, writing guides including the ’†¦in a Nutsell’; poetry; and the vignette, a form she’s resurrected with the Vine Leaves Literary Journal. So where to start? With our interview below!We talked to Jessica about being an indie author, how she works creatively, her style, and the benefits of being part of great indie associations like the ALLi! Enjoy!Jessica Bell  is Australian novelist, poet, and singer/songwriter/guitarist who lives in Athens, Greece. In addition to her novels, her poetry collections (including  Fabric, which was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2012), and her bestselling 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. Additionally, she is the Publishing Edit or of  Vine Leaves Literary Journal, and the Coordinator of the  Writing Day Workshops  which take place throughout the United States on a rolling basis.  REEDSYWhen did you found Vine Leaves?JESSICA BELLIn late 2011, with Co-Founder Dawn Ius.REEDSYWhy vignettes? What’s attractive about them?JESSICA BELLLess rules, more freedom! â€Å"Vignette† is a word  that originally meant â€Å"something that may be written on a vine leaf.† It’s a snapshot in words. It differs from flash fiction or a short story in that its aim doesn’t lie within the traditional realms of structure or plot. Instead, the vignette focuses on one element, mood, character, setting or object. It’s descriptive, excellent for character or theme exploration and wordplay. Through a vignette, you create an atmosphere.REEDSYThrough Vine Leaves Press, it seems like you’re able to use your skills as an indie to help others release their work. What motivated you to s tart doing this?JESSICA BELLActually, I don’t really help others release their work, though I am open to answering questions if people want to reach out. As well as using it as a publishing platform for my own work, Vine Leaves Literary Journal run an annual vignette collection award. Through that we choose single-author vignette collections to publish. At the moment, that’s the extent of what the press offers. So if you want to be published by us, you need to write a vignette collection, and you need to submit it to the award. What motivated this? I want the vignette to be more recognized as a â€Å"form† rather than what some people like to call â€Å"stream of consciousness.† A vignette is so much more than a stream of consciousness and deserves some of the limelight.Oh gosh †¦ how do I answer this without sounding completely up myself? Ha! I’ve had many fabulous comments that I cherish and keep in a file on my computer for those horrible d ays that I doubt myself. One that was especially exciting was in a recent review of muted by the current Poet Laureate of Florida nominee! He said: â€Å"This utterly brilliant short work is not merely dystopian; that is too easy a label. It is a wholly organic, poetic warning of a future where a master may ‘dress his staff in false expression’ and other, more dire, imaginings. There are too many gifted turns of phrase and images for this to not be regarded as an extraordinary outpouring of poetic narrative.†REEDSYThank you for your time Jessica.