Jeff Dowsing

A few years ago I penned a satirical blog on my suburb that to my surprise went viral. Then there was my curiosity for the novel writing process, combined with having lost motivation for writing sport (but not for writing). Figuring I had an interesting location overdue for a story, all that was left was the small matter of devising the plot!

Initial influences included two memoirs - Anson Cameron's 'Boyhoodlum' and Jimmy Barnes' Working Class Boy. Both are filled with anecdotes either too hilarious or too horrendous not to be true, vividly painted in distinctly Australian colours. However, as a fictitious storyline, Undercurrents allowed me the freedom to weave versions of experiences and develop characters in a way that facilitated a broad range of issues and emotions.

On reflection, this was a fascinating period to be growing up - a time where optimism competed with fear. The threat of nuclear war had been usurped by the threat of AIDS. Meanwhile, Australia was basking in the glow of the Bicentenary celebrations and there was a sense of being on the cusp of some futuristic world. Yet in suburbia nothing much had changed since the 1950's. There had been technological advancements but relatively benign compared to today. And there was more freedom - for better or worse people were left to their own vices. Nowadays there's a day or a week for every disadvantage and disadvantaged group, there's no stone left unturned in this quest for a Utopian society. Notwithstanding, and maybe this is nostalgia talking, people seemed generally happier despite the political incorrectness and denial and lack of support for their traumas and addictions and mental illnesses and discrimination.