Writer
ABOUT JODY
Jody Hobbs Hesler has written ever since she could hold a pencil and now lives and writes in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Growing up, she split time between suburban Richmond, Virginia, and the mountains outside Winchester, Virginia. Experiences of all these regions flavor her writing. Her debut story collection, What Makes You Think You're Supposed to Feel Better (Cornerstone Press) is now available, and her debut novel, Without You Here (Flexible Press) is forthcoming September 10, 2024. She teaches at WriterHouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, and serves as assistant fiction editor for The Los Angeles Review.
SELECTED EXCERPTS
The Replacement Wife
trampset, March 8, 2024
You don’t like Celia. You don’t like how her fingernail polish always matches something she’s wearing, not the most obvious thing, like her shirt, but some subtle shade from her scarf or from the design on her printed skirt. You suspect her wardrobe consists of an array of cross-coordinated hues of floral shirts, patterned scarves, nail polish, and eye shadow, guaranteeing the perfect harmony of any combination she might choose.
Other People's Pain
The Westchester Review, Summer 2023
The sound of tamping grounds raps like gunfire and Vera jerks in surprise. The woman in front of her lasers her best understanding glance Vera’s way, as if she’s made the same connection. Even though neither of them was at the office building that day. TV cop shows are as close as Vera has come to hearing real gunshots, and she doesn’t watch them anymore.
Things Are Already Better Someplace Else
The Los Angeles Review, March 2021
Your Beverly is a smudge of a child. A shadow of herself, but powdery pale so she catches what light there is and shimmers in it. When her daddy pulled up to the curb, she must have figured he wouldn’t see her. When was Bucky ever looking for her? She’s his own child, but you have to force him to watch her nights you work late. His mama’s your only other choice, but she won’t say yes unless you ask him first.
CONTACT
Please direct all media and speaking inquiries to Jody Hobbs Hesler’s publicist, Julia Borcherts, julia(at)kayepublicity(dot)com, 773.878.0722