Inessa
Jackson (RL 93)
Looking back on your time at Redlands, were there any teachers, subjects or experiences that helped spark your creativity or shape your path toward writing?
I had Mr Peter Cornish (Headmaster 1981 – 2002) for 3-unit English in year 12. While studying Waiting For Godot, I complained it wasn’t a proper story because it just went round and round, it had no end. I remember Mr Cornish looking at me over his glasses, then quoting Picasso. “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist”. Rule breaking?? This shocked me at the time but has proven invaluable. It’s helped me feel confident adding surprising twists and turns to my story. And to take creative risks.
Editing Redelations (the school paper) with two other gifted writers was a wonderful introduction to finding good story ideas. Like PR or novel writing, the best ideas are the ones your audience will relate to. Crafting engaging articles helped me develop a writing style, although, looking back, we were probably a bit heavy on the ‘creative’ side (but who ever let the truth stand in the way of the good story?!)
From PR at eBay to published author, your career path has evolved significantly. What advice would you give to Redlands students or alumni considering a bold career change or creative pursuit?
Go for it! Life is extraordinarily short, you don’t know when it’s going to end, and it’s such a waste not to follow a passion. Be brave. Think about what your 80-year-old self would encourage you to do. There’s always a way to make big life changes work. And if you want to embrace your passion, I’d say start small by learning your craft, then be courageous and explore what really excites you.
The other thing I’d mention was I never got higher than 60% in any English assignment or exam. It didn’t come naturally to me. I tried so hard, but it didn’t happen. Now, looking back, I think it was that ambition to achieve more that’s driven me towards being a published author. So much is possible if you put the work in, stay focussed when it gets hard (it always does), and want it badly enough. You have to follow your heart, then your head.
Devil Mountain explores themes of mystery, resilience, and human connection. What inspired you to write on these themes?
I was inspired by a huge fight over the redevelopment of my kids’ overcrowded primary school. Originally built for 200, there were nearly 500 kids when the government announced plans to go into the bush behind the school.
The opposition from the environmental lobby was intense. At one P&C meeting, an elderly woman with long white hair spoke about the irreversible damage to the bush, and how it would destroy the fragile connection humans have with the environment.
The room fell silent, and she pointed her finger at us. “You will regret this,” she whispered, then left, and a mum next to me quietly asked, “Was that a witch?”
And suddenly there it was: a heated fight over a development in a small town, the body of a murdered local, and a secret coven of witches who worship the environment on a creepy mountain … That’s all it took.
Mystery comes from the one big question in the book: who killed this popular GP and why? Then there are lots of little mysteries along the way to keep the pages turning.
Mystery is also about people in our communities who practice pagan worship, often secretly (did you know the NSW law against witchcraft was only repealed in 1969?). The book explores some of the mysteries of the spiritual world… and asks if magic maybe does exist.
And resilience is all about putting your MC through a nightmare to see what they’re prepared to do to get what they want. We want heroes who won’t give up, to reflect real battles in our own lives and inspire us to keep fighting.
If you could relive one day from your school years, which would it be and why?
I would relive the day I met one of the most wonderful people in my life. I started Redlands on a Monday, mid term in year 8 and because there wasn’t an initiation program at that time, I didn’t have any friends and was quite sad and lonely. But the best day of my school years was meeting Christal George on the bus home. We laughed and chatted and she took me under her wing. Suddenly I belonged. Best day ever.