Fox’s Footy
Paula Xiberras
I’m once again chatting to the lovely David Lawrence on the publication of his third book ‘Fox Swift and the Golden Boot’ in the Fox Swift/Cyril Rioli series.
David says that in 2002 he worked in Launceston at, what he jokingly refers to at ‘a real job’ as a Mobil Oil wholesale manager. He tells me he thinks Tasmania ‘is beautiful’ and particularly loves Hobart.
When he did finish his career as a financial analyst he moved on to what he always wanted to do, comedy writing and performing. He confides to me that even at his real job he would indulge in passion for comedic writing by writing funny emails and ‘funnies’ in the work newsletter. David wrote for performance comedy and worked for a show called ‘The Big Bite’ as well as ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and ironically, ‘Fox Footy’.
With the proper placement of an apostrophe Fox Footy became ‘Fox’s Footy and so the footy tales of our protagonist, Fox Swift.
In this third in the series ‘Fox Swift and the Golden Boot’, Fox visits the Tiwi Islands, birthplace of the Digger team’s inspiration, Hawthorn player Cyril Rioli. There Fox gains an education in the island’s amazing natural world, inhabited by water buffalo and yellow snakes! David tells me, part of his research for the novel saw him visit the Tiwi Islands and his own incident with the scales is written into the book as a scenario for Fox’s dad.
To go to the island a small plane is required and visitors have to be weighed for the plane flight. In the novel, Fox’s dad has some difficulties with the weighting!
David went to Cyril’s old school in the Tiwi Islands to do some brainstorming for the novel with the students, about what they envisioned for Fox Swift if he were to make a visit.
The book also addresses the issue of cultural differences and how to reconcile religious observations with playing footy. Again, a real life situation of Richmond’s Bacher Houli and his need to observe fasting for Ramadan while still having enough energy to play footy inspired the book’s Aslam Khan observing Ramadan by eating early in the morning before the fasting period begins.
Also keeping to the books previous theme of equality we see football players of different nationalities as well as a percentage of female football players populating the book because as David says female players are a growing part of the game. Half of David’s readers are female and of those, there may be some that don’t like football but like the story. David hopes the book shows diversity and respect for that diversity.
With Fox growing up and achieving a scholarship to boarding school, Exford College at the end of the novel, we may see the next novel focus more on Fox’s younger brother Chase who true to his name will be ‘Chasing’ to catch up with his older brothers exploits on the footy field.
Once again the superb illustrations that accompany the book are done by Jo Gill and as David says these are instrumental in engaging the more reluctant readers and encouraging them to be ‘drawn’ in (pardon the pun) by the illustrations and want to read more to understand how the drawings were arrived at.
The book also includes some comedic situations that involve laxatives, Miss Carey’s termite tirade and the destruction of the administration building!
An additional feature of the book is a footy dictionary which explains some footy terminology.
‘Fox Swift and the Golden Boot’ is out now published by The Slattery Media Group.