The Telltale Lie follows a prickly Vancouver schoolteacher as a strange clue after his father’s death sends him searching for his true identity, only to uncover a dangerous web of secrets, wartime history, and political unrest. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of defining one’s identity. Staking a claim in who we are seems to be of critical importance and takes up an extraordinary amount of our time in our lives, from toddlers, through our teenage years, and well beyond. So, I thought it would be fun to explore an aspect of this as a globe-trotting identity mystery. I love history and digging into the past – you never know what you’ll find. And I found some remarkable things while researching this story that truly resonated with this theme.

Treyton Chase is witty, wounded, and often difficult. What inspired his sharp-edged voice?

I wanted to create a character who comes across as confident, smart, and perceptive, but a character whose confidence and abrasiveness are his flaws. It makes him less aware of the lies he tells himself. His obvious competence is often undermined by these flaws. I think of him as a loveable jerk. But his humor and wit allowed me to soften his abrasiveness – to make it palatable – which I believe is critical to following his character development.

Why did you choose 1968 Vancouver and Paris as the backdrop for Trey’s search for identity?

Originally, I was attracted to the idea of starting a character in a familiar new world (Vancouver being one of the youngest cities on the planet) and slowly pushing him deeper into the past (Paris, then Istanbul, and finally Van, Turkey) as he uncovers forgotten personal and national history. He starts in Van and ends in Van – the past-is-present sort of thing. The original title was ‘This Same Sun’. And, while a skeleton of this idea remains, the story steers more towards a deeper dive into identity.

I’ve long been fascinated by the perpetual protests in France. It seems every time I visit, there is some strike going on that incapacitates some critical part of the infrastructure. I believe these have their roots, in large part, in the spirit of 1968, where those protests essentially shut down a country. It wasn’t an isolated thing either – there were significant protests throughout the world that year. They can’t be painted with a single brush, but they reflected a deep human angst about the times, the politics, and class identity that was expressed disparately and clumsily by students and others as the angst gathered steam. I’ve always felt that these kinds of events are as much about defining yourself and bonding with individuals who appear like-minded as they are about justice, and therefore a perfect canvas for a story about identity.

The novel explores the lies families and nations tell. Which part of that theme was most important for you to examine?

Treyton’s personal story is the anchor, of course, but it allowed for the exploration of bigger ideas. There are several moments in the story where Trey reflects on his greatest sin, the sin of self-deception. He’s consciously aware of this, and yet he falls for it all the same, fueled by anger and resentment. We see him convincing himself of things (and perhaps convincing the reader at the same time) that the truth is a lie or a lie is the truth. Every one of us is guilty of this. Most readers of my book fall for the same simple deceptions (and they’re not always particularly subtle), and are genuinely surprised at the end of the story. I think being made aware of this process – going through it via Trey’s story – is critical to exploring the theme. And I think it’s critical to understanding the times in which we live. We humans are capable of deceiving ourselves into voting for corrupt leaders who are obviously motivated by their own self-interest. We often get caught up in someone else’s agenda, particularly when it’s fueled by feelings of anger and resentment. And we bond with others who feel the same. Sure, genuine ignorance plays a role, but empathy and altruistic thinking tend to realign our compass. As a famous disciple once said, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” That is where this story naturally led me.

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