Thirroul writer Susan McCreery shares the story behind her new novella

All the Unloved is set in an apartment block in ’90s Bondi. I began writing it first as a novel about three years ago, in February, which also happens to be the time when I make several trips to Bondi on a Sunday to compete in the ocean swim series.

Ocean swimming brings me joy and I regularly train with a group in our coastal waters, especially round Thirroul, Sandon Point and Bulli.

Instead of parking by Bondi Beach, I usually find a spot in the back streets and walk. I love walking past the old apartments and houses, the gardens, the school (which transforms into the Bondi Markets on Sundays), and then you have the breathtaking sight of the brilliant blue ocean.

It was after one of these Bondi days that I began All the Unloved, with no particular plan. I started with a brief description of the ocean and the skate park (the novella features an 11-year-old girl who’s a skater), and then zoomed in to sisters June and Salvia seated on a bench. Then to an art deco apartment block. Soon the other characters began to appear.

At the time I thought I was writing a novel. My first novel was with my agent, so I needed to work on something new while I was waiting. But by the time I’d reached 65,000 words I realised it wasn’t going the way I wanted and I made the decision to cut, to transform it into a novella.

All the Unloved is the story of what happens when brilliant young author Rebecca moves in to the building. Wounds and desires are exposed and secrets unravel. The 11-year-old, struggling with her mother’s coldness, finds her heart blooming under Rebecca’s attention; the girl’s stepfather is overcome with lust; a lonely and fragile violinist falls desperately in love; a queer couple are forced to confront their future; a flame is reignited when two people meet again after decades. We have mother love, lusty love, unrequited love, queer love and old love.

It’s the story of what happens when you believe – or hope – that you are loved when you have felt unloved for so long.

All the Unloved is published by Spineless Wonders. Hayley Scrivenor will launch my novella at the Thirroul Railway Institute Hall on 26 March at 2pm, all welcome. I will also be speaking at the Newcastle Writers Festival (31 March-2 April) and Collins Booksellers Thirroul at 6pm on 28 April.

Visit www.susanmccreery.com.au and follow @SusanMcCreery2 on Twitter