Fibs, White Lies and Porkie Pies.

When I was young, I remembering staying home from school with a tummy bug. I heard my mum explain to someone on the phone that we couldn’t make it because I had gastro. Having never heard the word ‘gastro’ before and imagining it to be some sort of terrible insult, I was incensed that Mum would tell this lie about me. I rushed up to her while she was still on the phone and cried at the top of my voice, “I don’t have gastro!” As you can imagine, Mum wasn’t very impressed. I’d made her look like a liar. Kids have an in built sense of what is true and what is false. It’s how they can tell such creative whoppers in the first place.

As a child, I found the concept of truth quite confusing. On the one hand, adults explained that it was wrong to lie. On the other hand, I observed grown-ups fudging the truth. (“Don’t tell your mother I bought you an ice-cream.”; “No, no, your new haircut looks fabulous.”) I learned that telling the truth was far more complicated than merely avoiding lying.

In my latest book, Lucy the Lie Detector, I wanted to explore this grey area, and all from the perspective of a feisty young girl. Lucy appoints herself chief ‘Lie Detector’ and her mission is simple: find out what is truth and what’s a lie?

In the end, lying is a complicated matter, something Lucy finds out as she navigates this tricky path.

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