Writing Down Under

If you ask me why I write, I'll tell you I don't have a choice. The words batter down the walls of my subconscious until I have to let them out on the page (or keyboard) or lose my mind. Some would argue (and I'm thinking of my children here) that writing hasn't actually saved me from madness and they're probably right. I like to think it helps make my characters more interesting.

I've had some moderate successes with publication - short stories, articles and now three poems about to be published in an anthology. My real love is writing for adolescents as I have an affinity with their deep emotions and questions about life and believe it's a shame we lose that capacity for such deep processing as we grow older, and perhaps not so wise. For a couple of years - alright, I'll be honest, it's more like five! - I've been scribbling and tapping my way through two novels aimed at the nine to fourteen year age group and I plan to finish at least one of these in 2009.

This wouldn't be a complete bio unless I mentioned my passion for social justice issues, particularly with regard to equality between the sexes, the existence of which I find little evidence for, believing that in recent decades, society has simply swapped one form of oppression for another...a form that is both covert and more insidious. You'll find my feminist essays here; my short stories here; my poetry here; and my novel extracts here.

If you enjoy my work, or if you have any constructive criticism to offer, I'd very much like to hear from you. I can be contacted at writingdownunder@gmail.com, or simply use this contact form.

Melinda Jensen