OIU News recently caught up with Mark Lamprell (OR1976). Mark is an acclaimed writer of novels and children's books published in sixteen countries and twelve languages, including the novels The Full Ridiculous, The Lover's Guide to Rome, The Secret Wife, and most recently, Things I Need You To Know. He also works internationally as a writer and director in film, with movie credits including Babe Pig in the City, My Mother Frank, Goddess, A Few Less Men and Never Too Late. 

 I started by asking Mark of his early days at School and how he came to be a writer. "I remember telling aunts and uncles that I got into Riverview, because in those days, you know, you had to sit an entrance exam. And I remember the pride of the family and how proud I felt that this was my opportunity. And for a little guy who had been born in an orphanage in Concord West, this was a big opportunity. My Dad passed away when I was in year 7, so for me it was, you know, it was more than a community—it was a family. And the Jesuits really became my Fathers if you like, the male role models in my life. Was the house full of books? Yes. There were a lot of books, but it wasn't full of books. Really I credit Joe Castley with my writing career. At the end of my novel, The Lovers Guide To Rome, in the acknowledgments, I write, "And finally, thank you to thank you to two people for their support and inspiration. 

One from the past—Mr. Joseph Castley, English master extraordinaire, who taught me at St. Ignatius College in Sydney, Australia, and one from the present, my agent. How did the Jesuits prepare you for your success? "They provided a kind of nuclear fuel—of both a sense of mission and a sense of self-belief—that sent us out to do things. I remember, and you'll probably remember too, writing AMDG on top of every single page, every single piece of work we did. Not that I thought about it very much at the time, but when one pauses to reflect upon that you write, "To the greater glory of God" on every piece you do, it's bound to give a young man a sense of purpose. And I often reflect on that, even though I'm actually not a person of faith in particular, writing AMDG informed me so much, because it contains an otherness, it calls you to something beyond yourself—you're not just doing this for you, you're not just doing this for the School, you're doing this for some greater thing, you know, and I think that was sort of a philosophical idea that launched me." 

 On parenting today I don't envy anyone raising kids now in this environment, where they're all on all devices, and they're all sitting. You see them sitting in the same room looking at their devices rather than at each other. It's going to be very interesting to see how this washes down for this generation, because they're not a generation where their parents have had to deal with it when they were kids. So that, you know, these kids now will have the developed skills as parents to know what to do more than we do. It's such a tricky technological time—the irony of isolation and yet incredible connection at the same time. What advice would you give a young Mark, a 21 year old Mark? My advice would be to proceed with optimism and faith, really. It's so important to believe. Without faith and without hope, in particular, there is no hope. And you need to proceed as if the direction that you're heading in is the right one. And you need to also understand that life will throw curveballs and that your direction may change and you need to embrace that as a good thing, not a not a bad thing. 

So, in a sense, walk through the doors that are open, make the best of every opportunity that is given you, even though it may not appear to be exactly the opportunity you want. And don't give up. If you give up, only one thing is certain— what you want to achieve will not happen. If you don't give up, it still may not happen, but it's your only hope of making it happen."