Bel Vidal is the pen name of an Australian-Bolivian writer based in Sydney. Her fiction, non-fiction and poetry have been published in English and Spanish under her pen name, her real name and other pseudonyms. Soon after arriving in Sydney, she received an Australia Council (now Creative Australia) grant to publish a bilingual collection of poems and stories, Arcoiris de Sueños / 'Rainbow of Dreams'. An earlier draft of her novel ‘Exuberance’ was short-listed for the Varuna-Harper Collins Award for manuscript development and awarded the Varuna Residential Masterclass. It was independently published in 2023, followed by her story collection 'Tales of Suburban Castaways' in 2024. Bel holds a BA in Communications, majoring in Creative Writing (UTS), and a Masters in Writing for the Media (Macquarie University). She works in the not-for-profit sector as a communications and media professional, and is also a mental health advocate, book lover, bush walking enthusiast, traveller, blogger and firm believer it is never too late to start something new. In the 198th episode of The HYBRID Author Podcast host Joanne Zara Ellen Morrell, author of young adult fiction, women's fiction and short non-fiction for authors chats to Bel on: blending lived experience with fiction Mental Health month, promoting awareness and reducing stigma, particularly about bipolar type 2 in her novel 'Exuberance' ways to give a book several “lives” over time Bel’s advice for authors who want to translate their own mental health journeys into fiction in a way that resonates while still protecting their own wellbeing and much more.