Teaching Provides Inspiration for New Novel

Award-winning Australian writer and the current Creative Writing teacher at the World Bank, Patricia Mackintosh, has used her teaching experiences at an all boys school in Australia to write and publish a new novel – "The Devils Madness."

McLean, VA (PRWEB) June 28, 2003 - Award-winning Australian writer and the current Creative Writing teacher at the World Bank, Patricia Mackintosh, has used her teaching experiences at an all boys school in Australia to write and publish a new novel – "The Devils Madness." Having been a teacher in a boys high school in the late 1960s gave me great insight into the ways in which teenage boys behaved at that time," explains Patricia.

The school was in one of the poorer areas of Sydney, so it was difficult to adjust at first, but to my advantage was the fact that I was not far removed in age from the boys in the senior years. In time, they tended look on me as a confidant," continues Patricia. I was teaching Art, which was, in the last two years of high school, a selective subject, and one which they had chosen to do. This set me a little apart from teachers of ‘regular subjects, inasmuch as this subject wasnt forced upon them. They actually liked doing it, so I wasnt regarded as ‘the enemy. I became a quasi counselor (counselors were not a part of the school system in those days) and in one instance, was called upon to help a fifteen year old boy who had lost his father."

Writing "The Devils Madness" also has helped her become a better Creative Writing teacher at the World Bank. One of the most important things I learned through the writing of the novel is perseverance. Its no use being spasmodic with writing, and especially with a novel. If you leave it for any length of time, you forget what your characters are doing and what they have done. At least, I do, and I find similar difficulties with writing students. I actually had one who served me up the same story twice for two completely different assignments - and she had no recollection of handing it in the first time," says Patricia. Another thing which I knew, but which was reinforced is the fact that no matter how much you love a word, a paragraph, a character, whatever – if it doesnt enhance the story, get rid of it. This isnt an easy thing to do but its essential if the writing is going to work. That old adage – less is more."

"The Devils Madness" is a rich portrait of four friends growing up in Australia during the 1960s and the effect the Vietnam War has on the lives of two of them, one as a soldier, the other as a conscientious objector. Patricia Mackintosh artfully balances humor and poignancy as she dwells on the themes of death, the Catholic Church, Australias role in the Vietnam War, and the normal trials and tribulations that everyone faces as they grow up and learn about the people and world around them. Through the eyes of Jonathan, one of the friends and primary voice of the novel, we re-discover the world again and understand the true meaning of friendship.

Patricia Mackintosh, a native of Australia, is an award-winning writer with a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Western Sydney. After teaching at an all boys high school in Sydney for a few years, she decided to write full-time and is the author of many short stories and the co-author of two pet care books –"Dog Log" and "Cat Log." Patricia is the editor of the Australians in Washington newsletter and teaches Creative Writing at the World Bank. She is a member of the Maryland Writers Center, the Australian Society of Authors, and the New South Wales Writers Center. Patricia currently lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband. This is her first novel.

If you would like to receive a review copy of the book or to schedule an interview with Patricia Mackintosh, please contact Jennifer Hughes, publicist, at jennifer@booksintl.com or 703-443-0997.