The Louise Story

Louise is the author of six books. She has a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Professional Writing, a Master of TESOL Education and a Master of Secondary Education with teaching methods in English and EAL. Louise has written two academic papers and writes curriculum and short courses.

Louise was born to migrant parents and had the unique experience of being raised in Australia in a Maltese bubble. Her childhood consisted of large family gatherings, loud Maltese conversations and Maltese folk singing, ghana. Listening to her dad and his siblings exchange stories through song planted a love of storytelling in Louise's heart. This love was strengthened by the car ride stories of her childhood. Whether on a long trip or waiting in the car for a family member, stories were aplenty, about a pig who yearned to take up smoking or a silly duffa named Gahan who took his mum literally when she asked him to pull the door behind him. Along with the Maltese long goodbye, this cemented Louise's passion for storytelling. Even if relatives had spent hours visiting each other, it was only when they stood up to leave did they begin another story, this time about future successes and envisioned outrageous failures. Lasting almost as long as the visit itself, these long goodbyes were like a novel epilogue.

Louise later spent time writing poetry. She wrote greeting cards, scrolls and even memorial plaques. She spent the good part of a year selling her poetry at markets and fetes and writing and reciting poetry on special occasions for family and friends.This enriched her writing pace and rhythm and initiated her love for literary devices. However, it wasn't until she started her writing courses that she considered writing as a profession. While doing a Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing, Louise submitted a proposal to the Independent Education Union's (IEU) Jan Bavinton Award and put forth the children's book that she had been writing in one of her units of study, Ella's Handbag. Louise won the $3000 grant and award, and the book was distributed to every Catholic and Independent primary school in Victoria. Similarly, Louise's relationship with School Crossing Victoria (SCV) began at university. After connecting with the Chairperson of SCV as part of a school project, Louise was invited to write a school crossing safety book as part of SCV's school crossing safety initiative. Lollipop Whistle's Woes was not only endorsed but also sponsored by SCV and several Victorian councils and organisations. Louise's other book, A Birthday Boy Named Jesus was first published by the Christian division of Wombat books and her latest book, Garden of Choices will be published by ArkHouse.

Parallel to her creative writing journey is Louise's academic writing endeavours. During her career as coordinator for English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS), she co-wrote English courses for healthcare and community workers, VCE English and EAL, and she wrote entire ELCOS courses, paying attention to the mechanics of English in reading, writing, speaking and listening. These experiences gave Louise the insight to write two academic papers - one being her thesis investigating international students studying in Australia and their preparedness for secondary school. She has presented on these topics on respected platforms including Columbia University and Monash University. Louise incorporates this knowledge in her books to encourage her readers with faith and empower them with analytical English skills.

Louise currently works at a Catholic Secondary School as an EAL expert, English and Communications teacher. She is the Chapter leader of OMEGA Christian Writers (Melbourne) and a host and member of Melbourne Writer's Social. Louise has three grown children and a beautiful little grandson. She lives in Melbourne Victoria.