Alex J. Bell Biography

Author / Illustrator

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona on a five acre Mormon commune dubbed The Bell Patch™, Alex has been sketching on everything since in utero. As a late teen, he was plucked from one desert and plunked into another one—Salt Lake City (#UtahIsDrySaveWaterOrDie).

One cult mission, two college tries, and three careers later, Alex (working as an artist in animation, gaming, web design, and tech) has an aggressive portfolio of illustration, brand, UI/UX, pre-vis, with a never ending appetite for all-things Nintendo, and gummy candy. But above all else, he nurtures an overzealous passion for story.

Which brings us to why you are here: ROOK LAND—Alex’s personal life work, and the reason you have most likely connected with this website. ROOK LAND is all of the important content Alex has taken in his life, and stuffed into one giant, glossy, sci-fantasy saga about female rage, empowerment, and inner strength.

Alex is happily married to creative partner and relationship guru, Heather Holmgren. He has two step-children, Reagan and Molly, a giant doodle named Tracker (aka Runghee Bunghee, Feevy Blisty, Pupperoni, Tricky Tracky, Oooby Gooby, Schmimpky Schmampky), and a black cat named Ridley (yes, after the Metroid villain).

Teresa Crumpton

Editor

A natural resource unto humanity itself. Teresa Crumpton is a master of storytelling, and editing. She has become crucial to the progress and quality of the ROOK LAND saga. 

With seasoned editing work on over a hundred published books, Teresa’s one-of-a-kind talent is foundational to making ROOK LAND’s illustrated stories as accessible and appealing as possible to readers.

Teresa lives in Flushing, Michigan — her and Alex collaborate virtually through video calls. 

Heather Holmgren

Producer  |  Relationship Therapist

Heather Holmgren 

She is a LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist), life coach and successful businesswoman (SimpleModern.org). For 13 years, Heather has been both creative and romantic partner to Alex. She is very committed to supporting ROOK LAND, and has played a guiding role in launching the franchise and assisting in story outline guidance.

Heather co-wrote the first half of ROOK LAND 1: Pearl (first edition) with Alex, and brings a key ingredient to the ROOK story formula, which is the use of psychotherapy.