Hello gentle Reader.

As some Readers may be aware, It’s All Lies: A True Story was written as part of National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo). NaNoWriMo is an annual event, the purpose of which is for participants to attempt to write a novel of 50,000 words in the space of a month, i.e, between November 1 and November 30. It’s a fantastic event, extremely well patronised and I’d recommend anyone who loves to scribble to take a shot at it – I’m hoping to participate again this year.

The other thing about It’s All Lies: A True Story is that it is based on actual events that occurred in Melbourne, Victoria Australia during January 2004. The details have been chronicled within my own online dairy, Journal of a Fallen Angel. But it is important to note that it is based on actual events; that it another way of saying that the story is a fictionalized account.

Pretty much everything that happened in that terrible year has been included in the story. But there is a wealth of material that certainly did not happen, and I wouldn’t want any Reader to walk away believing otherwise. For example, the whole incident where Michael’s drip is laced with morphine…? Nah, never happened, I promise you.

But the characters (and places) of It’s All Lies: A True Story drawn their inspiration from the ‘real world’. Some of the characters are amalgams, drawing inspiration from two or more real life counter parts; there was a Drew Ducharme, and yes he did die tragically, though certainly not in the manner described in the story, and in fact he died long before the events of January 2004; there is an Alexander Simmons wandering out there in the world – a somewhat disquieting thought. And yes, there’s even a Nicky French. Admittedly, Nicky is based on two friends, though I hasten to add neither is as superficial as Nicky appears to be. And as for Sevastian Von Dahl…? Well, let’s just say he is an example of an amalgam, representing dozens of individuals I’ve had the pleasure of meeting over the years.

In writing this ‘afterword’, it seemed like a good opportunity to talk a little about the characters, for those of you who may be interested. The characters of Puck and Michael are both based upon myself, and represent two aspects of my own nature, I suppose; Puck is the one who seeks to understand and find answers to this terrible, twisted and tragic tale; Michael is that aspect of my own self who once tried to end his life. In his role as ‘narrator’ of the story, Puck acts as my own personal efforts to understand what I did to myself – and what was done to me by another.

In the wake of the real life events of 2004, I was understandably disturbed (to put it mildly), and focused a lot of my time and energy into attempting to understand it. As we mark the second anniversary of those same events, I can honestly tell you, gentle Reader, that I – like Puck, perhaps – am no closer to really understanding the ’why?’ of it all. But I have found some degree of peace, due in no small part to writing It’s All Lies: A True Story. I guess it has helped to expel a couple of demons.

The other thing is that I have always wanted to write a series of mystery/thriller/whodunit styled novels with a gay guy as the main character. But I never quite knew how to get started or what his focus and motivation were going to be… until NaNoWriMo came along and I recognised it as an opportunity to not only do something creative and challenging for myself, but to also sweat out some of the horror and pain I was carrying around. Of course, I didn’t want the story to be all doom and gloom and depressing, hence the inclusion of characters like Nicky, Goldie Knox and Wanda Wonderpussy – subtract them from the story and it would’ve been a dark and depressing tome indeed!

It amazes me how easily the story and the characters just fell into place. I guess it was easy for me as I’d lived the story. But that can also be a draw back, too. It was my hope that I wouldn’t get bogged down in my own ‘stuff’ and end up preaching to Readers, as well as flirting with self-pity and so forth. I sincerely hope that the story does not come across in that manner.

One of the wonderful things about providing the first draft online has been getting feedback, much of which has surprised me. To be honest, I was concerned that 99% of Readers would hate the character of Nicky French with a passion. How wrong I was! He has proven to be possibly the most popular character, although that title could also go to his nemesis, the fabulous Goldie Knox. And I must confess to a feeling of tremendous satisfaction when I read emails or hear people get quite heated and seething with loathing for the likes of Sevastian Von Dahl.

It is, however, kind of odd to hear comments regarding Puck, given that he is essentially yours truly. Recently one Reader was speaking of their almost overwhelming feelings of frustration towards Puck, because of his ”… stubbornness…”, ”… obsessiveness…” and ”... pig-headedness…”, as well as the way in which he treats his love interest, Drew Ducharme.

I’ve never written anything in the style of a mystery/thriller/whodunit before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, in terms of how difficult it might be and the process of exposition and other tools often used within the genre. Once again, as the story had its roots in reality and I knew it so well, that helped tremendously. But it was a learning experience and one I enjoyed.

For example, I found it useful to create a ‘calendar’ of the days the story covered and note what key events took place at what time of the day, as well as how and when those events might surface further along the story in a timely fashion. This was a particularly helpful tool to ensure continuity.

Before the first word was written, I knew who the characters were going to be and what they were going to be like. But there were one or two exceptions. Originally Puck’s love interest wasn’t going to be Drew Ducharme but instead a fellow named Elliot Prince, a rather vain, materialistic and parasitic fellow whose focus was ‘keeping up appearances’. But without a doubt, the story works better with Drew Ducharme, who has a subtler, yet pivotal, presence. The character of Michael went through a few changes of a ‘cosmetic’ nature. Originally I’d planned to name him Joseph, then changed it to Kelly, then Tristian before finally settling on Michael McDermott. The choice of name came from the fact that both ‘Michael’ and ‘McDermott’ are part of my own name – indeed, McDermott had been one option considered for my Christian name.

This may or may not be of interest to some Readers, but a number of conversations and events described within the story – of a more incidental and/or ‘innocent’ nature, are taken from real life; one of my personal favorites is the ’Trainee Arsehole’ exchange, where Puck describes the first time he met Sullivan Dale. That conversation really took place (if you’re really interested, you can click here to go to the online journal entry that covers that real life exchange) and it amazes me to this day that the real life counter part to Sullivan Dale never complained to my then bosses about my calling him a ‘trainee arsehole’. But as is noted in the story – you can get away with almost anything, including murder, with a well-placed smile.

But what’s ahead for Puck and his friends? There are several more stories mapped out and I am presently in research mode for Ripped, the second in the series. I can tell you that there will be lots of changes in their lives over the course of the series for it’s always been my aim for the characters to be organic – to grow, as people do. Relationships will change; friends (and enemies) will come and go. One thing I will say is that the events of It’s All Lies: A True Story have long term effects on many of the characters, particularly Puck, and provide strong incentive for him to get himself into all sorts of adventures as he continues to seek the answer to the question ’Why?’

I’d like to leave you with a sneak peek of the ‘teaser blurb’ for Ripped: -

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Be well and happy, and I hope that Life is being kind to you and yours.

With thanks,

Jay Kerin,
East St.Kilda,
Victoria Australia


January 6, 2006

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