By Ewen McRae
Neill Jones has already left a strong imprint on the Melton community, and he’s ensuring an even longer legacy with his series of junior fiction books.
Mr Jones taught at Melton South Primary School for 26 years, finishing in 2013, and is now living in Point Lonsdale as he battles terminal cancer.
He returned to Melton recently to launch the second and third books in his ‘Fearless Four’ series, which he said began as a writing exercise for his pupils.
“I have some very fond memories of teaching at Melton South, and some of the students remembered me and came along to the book launch, which was lovely,” Mr Jones said.
“One year I had a class of boys who just hated writing, and I started doing an exercise where they would write a five minute story, and I would do it too. About seven weeks in, the boys didn’t want to stop writing, so they found a love for it.
“We launched the most recent books in Melton, and … over 100 [people] showed up, so that’s great to see.”
Mr Jones said he has written 27 short stories which he is hoping to publish in time. He based his own stories on the fictional adventures of his son, Thomas, and his friends, and said he hoped to inspire young people to write themselves, and develop a lifelong love of books.
Details: www.whitelightuniversal.com.au/neill-jones.
