Kelvin Templeton’s debut novel Collision was launched on October 22 in Melbourne. The Footy Almanac community has followed the progress of the book over recent months, since Kelvin became an Almanac member, and also spoke at one of our lunches at the All Nations in Richmond. It was a terrific afternoon which had us all looking forward to the release. Well, it’s here and available.
We’ll publish a number of pieces in relation to Collision over the coming days, including an extract (next week) and a review from Mic Rees (soon after)
Today, though, we start with a few words that Kelvin has penned about his interest in reading, ideas and, eventually, writing himself.
by Kelvin Templeton
It all began for me with reading, and the wonderful feeling of being transported to another place through reading. It first happened early in primary school. I can’t remember the book, but I do remember it was like a seismic event, and I’ve been hooked on reading, mainly fiction, ever since.
Initially, it was boys’ own type action and suspense, such as Alastair MacLean’s The Guns of Navarone and Ice Station Zebra and the Bond books of Ian Fleming. I remember finishing Ice Station Zebra one Christmas holiday when I was around ten and being bereft when I got near the end, because I didn’t want to leave its atmosphere.
In my teens, it was the French realist/naturalist writers Flaubert, Balzac, and Zola, who made the biggest impression.
When you read a lot, as I have, there can come a time when you want to try it yourself. That happened to me. It was only then, when I did start, that I came to realise how difficult a task writing a novel is.
But it did help that my initial aims were modest. Like many people who played elite sport, as time passes, that period of your life starts to feel like a dream. You know it all happened, but somehow it doesn’t feel completely real. So, I began by describing in words a time and place important to me: the mid-1970s to mid-1980s Melbourne football world.
Football life back then was characterised by fierce tribal loyalties, muddy suburban grounds, sex, booze and a casual attitude to violence on the field. I wanted to capture the spirit of that time, from where the modern game emerged, and when many players, now seeking compensation for concussion-related damage, played.
But that’s mostly about the scene, and you need much more for a novel. So, I created a character, Joshua Shamrock, and put him into that setting and made him a young star with boundless talent—the next big thing. Then something happens, and his world is turned upside down. Because the primary purpose of Shamrock’s life is to be a football star, when that hope is gone, he faces the question ‘Who am I?’ Most of the book is about how he tries to answer that question. So, the central theme of the story is the search for identity.
During the course of writing the book, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Hilary McPhee. I would send Hilary a chapter or two, then go over to her place and sit with her in her kitchen, where she would tell me what she thought. It was during the two to three years I worked with Hilary that a few sketchy chapters became a story.
From there, the challenge was to find a publisher. Here, I have been fortunate to have John Timlin as my agent. I’m forever grateful to John for all his guidance and support.
Now the book is out in the world thanks to Wilkinson Publishing. I hope those of you who read it enjoy the story.
Copies are available directly from Wilkinson Publishing, from the usual online sellers and some bookshops such as Readings (Melbourne), Gleebooks (Sydney) and Dillons (Adelaide).
To return to the www.footyalmanac.com.au home page click HERE
Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.
Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?
And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help keep things ticking over please consider making your own contribution.
Become an Almanac (annual) member – CLICK HERE
Congratulations Kelvin. Looks a terrific book.