From leaving home at 14 to becoming a popular fiction writer, Jazz Ford could well be the epitome of a rags to riches story. Justin Flynn speaks with the Belmont mum of three.
Jazz Ford left home at the age of 14, was a high-school dropout, bullied relentlessly and would later develop anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder panic attacks so severe that she had to give up her job.
It was a rough start for the now mum of three from Belmont. Growing up in Bendigo, Jazz fled her family home and was raised by her grandparents until she was 16 before moving out and renting with her brother in Geelong. She says her grandparents are still “amazing” and that her grandmother is the kindest person she knows.
But with independence comes responsibility. And the bills never pay themselves.
Jazz was forced to almost beg for a place in a course that would see her gain a certificate three in aged care and community care. She was considered too young, but won the spot and had nine years in the job, which she adored.
But the anxiety and PTSD didn’t stop. Things got so bad Jazz couldn’t even go to a supermarket without having a panic attack.
Divorce was the next thing to occur in what was already a long list of setbacks.
But one thing that comforted Jazz during her younger years (she is now 36) was writing.
“I got into it when I was 14 and moved in with my grandparents and had my little cousins come over regularly and found I was naturally making up stories on the spot and they would want more,” Jazz says.
“It was a very good coping mechanism because I grew up with a lot of trauma.”
But a house fire in her early 20s saw all her written memoirs literally burn away.
“I didn’t want to write again, I just went through a very depressing stage,” she says.
“I remember thinking I’ll never be able to write that again so why bother.”
Jazz remarried and had another daughter and then COVID hit and with it, lockdowns. Lots of them.
With her son and two daughters at home, she decided to write again.
“I wasn’t working and I wanted to utilise my time and had all these stories in my head for years and thought that I’m just going to have to start writing them,” she says.
“One paragraph turned into a chapter and that would turn into another chapter and then a whole book.
“I couldn’t stop and I love it. It made me happier. I rarely have anxiety or panic attacks anymore.”
What nobody could really predict, though, was just how popular Jazz’s writing would get. And how quickly.
In the 18 months she started writing again, Jazz has released nine novels and become a best seller for one of her publishing companies, as well as in the top 10 and even number one on many reading apps.
“Two of my stories have even reached the top 1000 on Kindle out of millions of other stories,” she says.
“I am currently working on book five of a werewolf fantasy series, which is the last book of the series, and just released ’The Lycan’s Daughter,’ which is the sequel to ’Alpha Maximus: The Last Lycan’.
“I have a zombie apocalypse series based in Australia that I am working on, as well as other fantasy books and series.”
‘Alpha Maximus’ has been read almost one million times on one platform.
“My books are not for the faint-hearted and contain trigger warnings,” Jazz says.
“I look forward to writing my zombie series, which is from the point of view of a little girl who survives and grows up during the apocalypse in Australia, and the many other books I intend on writing over the next couple of years.”
Jazz now has 11,500 followers on TikTok and now earns enough to support her entire family.
“I’m earning enough money that my husband doesn’t have to work and he’s only 37,” she says.
“We are looking at buying a house next year because I have such a large deposit already.”
Although Jazz is now very happily married and her husband couldn’t be more supportive, she is learning to teach her daughters that sometimes “you just have to be your own hero”.
“My daughters are learning that you don’t have to have a husband or a man to be successful or happy,” she says.
“You can do things yourself. Anyone can be independent. I think I resonate in my books because I had such a hard upbringing and had to be my own hero.
“I write a lot of stories about women or men who have been abused or in a difficult place or shunned and they all end up with a happy ending.
“I think people just enjoy reading fiction where people have a hard life and go through so much but come out the other side.”
While things worked out eventually, Jazz has advice for people who are doing it tough.
“Reach out and speak to someone whether it’s your doctor, friend or loved one,” she says.
“When I was first diagnosed with anxiety I was ashamed and embarrassed. It was a taboo subject. I already had a hard enough time being bullied at school even by teachers or by family members. So I felt very ashamed and lost and remember crying a lot and feeling really ashamed.
“The best thing I ever did was eventually reach out and was so surprised at how many friends had anxiety or depression or suicidal thoughts.
“It’s becoming more common to talk about. Nobody should be ashamed or belittled for having a mental illness.”
