‘Autistic License’ - a review of Mark Haddon’s novel ‘The Curious Incident’, by Luke C Jackson

Recently, I was asked by Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper to write a review/article about ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ by Mark Haddon. I hadn’t read the book before, so I sat down and read it once through in about six hours. If you haven’t read the book, I strongly recommend it. You can view the article at full-size by clicking the image below.

‘Sleeper’ is launched!

After battling their way through rabid shoppers in the hunt for bargains in the Smith Street factory-outlet district, a group of more than 60 people showed up for the launch of my spy novel, ‘Sleeper’.

Sales were steady all afternoon, with copies of the novel nearly selling out. Thankfully, Laura was up to the task.

It was great to see old and new friends, particularly those who had helped me to research the novel. In the background is Mathuraa, a Sri Lanken-born Australian girl whom we met at a Dominoes pizza restaurant overlooking the Himalayan range; on the edge of shot is Vinita, who helped me out with a few details during the editing process, including pointing out that I’d spelled one of the main character’s names incorrectly!

After eating some Indian-themed food (in keeping with the novel’s location), everybody listened to an amusing speech by Kelly McDuff, my partner and travel companion, as she outlined some of the differences between me and the resourceful and courageous protagonist of my novel. Following her speech, I spoke briefly and read an action-packed scene.

Then, it was time for me to sign …

… and sign…

… and sign.

Thanks to everyone who made the 19th of August such a terrific day. It was amazing to hear how many people were planning to go home and read ‘Sleeper’ that evening. The mission has well and truly begun!

If you’d like to learn more about the novel, or pick up a copy for yourself, click here.

ABC News Online reports, ‘Australia’s Own Spy Kid’

In the lead-up to the release of ‘Sleeper’, I was interviewed by Gary Kemble, from ABC News Online’s arts blog, ‘Articulate’. The interview offers insight into my process when writing my first spy thriller:

‘Even before beginning Sleeper, I was a fan of spy novels, movies, TV and computer games. I knew the genre - what I liked about it, and what I thought had been missing - and loved the idea of bringing to life a really cool female character for this age group, who could stand alongside her male counterparts and open up the genre for people who might not have considered reading a spy novel before.‘

Read the complete article by clicking here.

‘Sleeper’ receives a rave review

Horrorscope reviews ‘Sleeper’: ‘The prose in Sleeper is sharp, effective and clear and the Indian setting – a country that the author visited in preparation for the book – is rich and authentic. The characters are complex and entertaining, and the story packed full of twists and turns.’ High praise from Mark Smith, who has reviewed all my novels so far and considers ‘Sleeper’ to be the most accomplished. To read the complete review, click here.

Inpress magazine reports: ‘Slasher on the cheap’

Melbourne’s Inpress magazine has given ‘When Evil Reigns’ a glowing review. According to reporter Tony McMahon, the movie is ‘a refreshing, resourceful and, let’s not forget the most important part, downright scary melding of the epidemic and slasher horror sub-genres’.

He goes on to say that, ‘With characters you actually care about (rare for a horror film), a super scary location, and a great score by Ryan Granger, this local no budgeter stands up comparatively well against classics of the genre like ‘Night of the Living Dead’ and the obviously much more expensive ‘28 Days Later’.’

It was fantastic to talk to Tony, who clearly has a real love for the horror genre, and the article is already generating interest from the wider Melbourne community about the imminent release of ‘When Evil Reigns’ on DVD.

If you’d like to read the rest of the article, click here.

If you’d like to learn more about how to order ‘When Evil Reigns’ on DVD, click here.

Interview wrap-up

From now on, this blog will be the place you can find links to my latest writing news, reviews and interviews. However, I have done some interviews over the last few months that I thought you might find interesting. I’ve provided the links below.

The Nerd Network, February 2006: The Nerd Network is a site designed for people - like me - whose taste in books, films and computer games may be considered ‘Nerdy’. It’s a terrific Australian site, and I was really happy to be asked to do an interview with them. Where else would an author get a question like, ‘Which superhero would you like to be?’ To read the interview, click here.

Horrorscope, November 26, 2005: Horrorscope is one of my favourite Australian sites, providing visitors with the latest horror and speculative fiction news. I was delighted to do an interview with them. It was conducted while I was writing ‘Summer’s End’, and sheds some lights on various aspects of the novel’s construction and plot. To read the interview, click here.

Jacaranda, Writer-in-residence, Term 1 2006: In term one this year, I had the opportunity to get to know some of my readers when I did my first writer’s residency … Online. This is something I look forward to doing again in the future, when even more of my novels will be in circulation, meaning that I will be able to interact with students from a wider range of year levels. To see how the residency went, click here.

Book review wrap-up

Since I’ve just set up this blog, I’m going to post links to a couple of reviews that have been released about ‘The Unclaimed’ and ‘Sleeper’ over the last few months.

Horrorscope reviews ‘The Unclaimed’: ‘Luke C Jackson’s debut novel is a disturbing dark horror/thriller written in the guise of a Scooby Do style mystery … The Unclaimed opens with all the elements of a friendly, coming of age teen drama, exploring themes such as friendship, marital breakdown and first love as Andy and Jenna attempt to fit into the town. The tone then slides into a mystery with the apparition of the ghost before a dark twist sends the story spiralling into the suspense horror genre.’ Intrigued? Check out the rest of the review here.

Horrorscope reviews ‘Summer’s End’: ‘Adolescent fiction is a tough market to crack. With a plethora of media on offer including video games, movies and the internet – literature is often overlooked for faster, newer mediums. Unlike adults, teenagers don’t have as much patience with a story and are far more direct in their appraisal. If they do decide to read, the book had better hook them fast, be genuine in its representation of teenage life and keep them engrossed until the end. It’s a tough ask, but one that Melbourne author and high school English teacher Luke C Jackson has managed to pull off.’ This is a highly complimentary review, and one I’m very proud of. Check it out by clicking here.

A school student reviews ‘Summer’s End’: One of the most pleasing things for an author is to receive positive feedback from their target demographic, in my case teenagers. I was delighted to read this review of ‘Summer’s End’ by a Melbourne schoolgirl named Emily: ‘Why did Principal Scotch disappear so suddenly? Why are the residents of Summer’s End acting so strangely? Summer’s End is the second book by Luke C Jackson, though it is the first that I have read. In fact, I picked up Summer’s End and read the whole thing within a single day. I couldn’t put it down! I am not much of a reader - I usually spend my time looking at magazines - but Summer’s End really got me hooked …’ Want to know why? Read the review by clicking here.

Do you agree or disagree with these views on my novels? Feel free to comment on them by using the ‘comment’ function in this blog or by visiting my Message Board. I’d love to hear from you!

‘The Unclaimed’ and ‘Summer’s End’ win first prize!

Along with the textbooks, anthologies, teacher support materials and select group of novels that make up the English Alive program, my first two novels have been awarded first prize in the Australian awards for excellence in educational publishing in the category ‘Best Series’ (Secondary).

In presenting Jacaranda with the award, the Australian Publishers Association called the English Alive series ‘bold’ and ‘comprehensive’ and acknowledged that it ‘recognises that students learn in many differnt ways’. This is terrific news for all involved, and already seems to be leading to more sales of both the textbooks and fiction.

Apparently, I am the only person working on the project to have written both novels and textbook chapters, which is pretty cool. The great thing about winning a prize like this is that you’ve already received so much positive feedback on the work itself that it truly feels like a bonus.

If you would like to learn more about the English Alive series, you can do so by clicking here.