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. She is the author of the novel Without You Here (Flexible Press) and the story collection What Makes You Think You're Supposed to Feel Better (Cornerstone Press). She teaches at WriterHouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, and serves as assistant fiction editor for The Los Angeles Review. To invite her to speak at an event or Zoom into a book club or classroom, please contact her via her contact page.
SELECTED EXCERPTS
Never Gone
Bull Literary Journal, November 2024
During court proceedings, the advocate she’d been assigned kept telling her that everything Ronnie did was his fault. Only his. She re-played that message in her mind until she believed it. Or mostly believed it. But people judge. You can see it in their eyes, a calculation of how much trouble knowing you is worth.
Scare the Shit Out of Everybody
Little Patuxent Review, Summer 2024
Whispers surge like cicada buzz until a pop in the hallway sucks the breath from the room. One giant soundless inhale that feels like it rearranges the molecules of the air around us. Was it Alfie? It could've been the click of a heel, a school resource cop walking the perimeter, checking that everything is safe. Maybe it was too quiet for a gunshot. How would I know?
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.
CONTACT
Jody Hobbs Hesler is available for virtual and in-person book clubs and classroom visits, speaking engagements, and conference appearances. Query for availability.