It’s 1975, and in the western suburbs of Melbourne, 20-year-old Joshua ‘Clover’ Shamrock is a goal-kicking sensation for the Bulldogs footy club. The game of Aussie rules has always come naturally to him. Then, his career comes to an early and tragic end. Shamrock’s self-worth has been tied to his status as a star sportsman, and with his career over, he now finds himself ill-prepared for life after football. As the years go by, an increasingly reclusive Shamrock nears rock bottom with only his loyal partner Justine to prop him up. But even she has her limits. And when a journalist who is planning to write a feature article on the fallen hero comes snooping, bearing dark secrets from Shamrock’s past, the former star must face the toughest opponent of all—himself. In doing so, he finds a strength he never knew he had and a craft that could finally help him rebuild his life.
Kelvin Templeton is much more than just another former AFL champion penning another ‘footy’ book to add to the bookshelves. After a football career where he won a Brownlow Medal, Two Coleman Medals and elevation to the AFL’s Hall of Fame, Kelvin pursued new challenges in business and through post-graduate studies in Australia and at The University of Pennsylvania in the USA. During his business career he lived and worked overseas in the Middle East for 15 years. Kelvin now lives in Melbourne. He has been an avid reader of fiction all of his life. Collision is his first novel.
* Collision takes you behind the scenes of elite sport, its players and their lives like never before. The reader is transported into the changerooms and out onto the football field and sees the game through the eyes of the main character, Joshua Shamrock.
* The story captures the mood of the period from the mid-70s to the mid-late 80s, including the tribal nature of football, the sex, the booze, and the casual attitude towards violence on the field.
* This period is where the modern game emerged. It’s also the time when players and former champions of the game are now experiencing harmful, long-term effects. The story shows how concussion-causing head injuries were a natural outcome of a much more brutal game.
* But Collision is more than a footy book. It’s a story about the search for identity, the fleetingness of fame and the power of secrets.
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Publicity:
* The book is already generating strong media interest with promotions including The Front Bar, speaking events and a Footy Almanac lunch already confirmed. We will pursue direct promotions through the Western Bulldogs, Melbourne and Sydney Swans (author was CEO for 7 years) with potential member mail-outs and book signings.
