Luke C Jackson

I am a Melbourne-based author and educator. I write most days, although I don't always write fiction this regularly.

Sometimes it can be a few weeks between working on chapters, because I have a lot of other writing commitments, including writing textbook chapters. But I'm always thinking about the next story I want to tell. My wife can attest to that.

When I was in high school, I was not a particularly good student. I wouldn't describe myself as a 'bad' student either, but I tended to be very selective about what I spent my time on.

If I liked a subject, I would work hard to complete the work to a high standard, even if it meant working in my spare time. If I wasn't interested, though, there was nothing my teachers could do to get me to work.

Where I did do well in high school was in writing. I still remember a pivotal moment in my writing career; it dates back to an afternoon in year eight. I was sitting in English class, barely paying attention, when my teacher said he wanted us to write a story . He made only one stipulation: that the story must contain the line 'A bottle of champagne stood on the table, two glasses beside it. One was half full, the other half empty.' I wrote from the perspective of a young woman whose car had broken down and knocked on the front door of a nearby house. When she gets inside, the guy seemed helpful enough, and she even accepted a glass of champagne. Then, for no apparent reason, he attacks her. When I finished reading my story, I looked up. Some students looked pale, others' jaws hung open; my teacher was gripping his markbook white-knuckled. That day, I learned that stories have power. I have kept writing ever since.

I began writing seriously at the age of eighteen, and won first prize in Hawthorn Secondary School's inaugural writing award with my short story The Calling. The school gave me a trophy and a cheque for fifty dollars - my first paycheck as a writer. I later used the short story as the first chapter of an as-yet unpublished vampire novel of the same name. Over the last few years I've written novels, articles, movie reviews, text book chapters, screenplays, and a children's picture book.

Currently, I'm interested in telling stories using Transmedia, meaning that the story takes place across a number of mediums, such as television, books and the web. I am also writing a number of games for the teen market, which is a fascinating process.

You can learn more about my work by visiting www.lukecjackson.com