Louise A. Jackson

I grew up on a ranch in Central Texas a long time ago. I went to a one-room school in first grade. I went to a three-room school for four years. That's when I learned to write. My grade was in one row and, when the teacher finished our lesson and went on to the next grade in the row next to me, I had to keep busy with my assigned schoolwork, then find something else to do. I read every book in the school library, which consisted of four shelves at the back of the room. My mother, an English teacher, found pictures that told stories in old magazines. She cut them out and pasted a picture on every third page of a composition notebook

"Louise," she told me, "when you are tired of reading, write a story about one of these pictures and bring the notebook home. I'll read the story and help you make it better."

I did that. First, I wrote a paragraph about what I thought happened before the picture. Next, I wrote a paragraph about what was happening in the picture. Finally, I finished the story with telling what I thought might happen after the picture. Mama would put her arm around me as she read the story. She told me the parts she liked and suggested ways I could make parts better. That was the beginning of my writing career.

Later, I was an elementary teacher and a university professor of literacy. I lived in Wyoming and Missouri. Now I am back in Texas. I am presently working on a new novel set just after the Civil War and am also beginning a new website that I hope you'll like - louiseajackson.org. I like to read, write, visit with friends, travel and walk my Norfolk terrier, Kashi.