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1968. After her father gambles away the family home, seven-year-old Kate and her mother, Nora Wallace, move to Chidley House, a quaint boarding house in Fremantle, where Nora is employed.
Alice Chidley occasionally allows Kate to watch the newly acquired TV, presenting an illusory world to the young child. Ex-teacher, Miss Tillman encourages her to be more than "Just Kate". Stan and Syd Blennerhasset fuel Kate's imagination with facts and made-up stories. With this background of fantasy unintentionally created, Kate warms to make-believe and hidden truths as a way out from her unwanted existence. When Chidley House is sold, Stan gives Kate a diary as a parting gift.
After leaving school, Kate endures a job in a cafe and evening typing classes. Absorbing etiquette and subtle manipulation from her new wealthy friend, Fiona Noble, she waits for the opportunity to have a similar lifestyle, embellishing her family's situation and social standing with untruths.
1977. Securing a job at an upmarket boutique as Katisse Blanchard, Kate is worlds away from her past. Her subtle lies continue as she builds a life amongst society's elite, recording her exploits in a diary.
But has Kate's attitude, shaped by comparison of others' lifestyles, created overtures for a life of illusion?
Are her diaries full of lies or enriched truths?And will she regret any of it?
About the author
PERTH-BASED Barbara Gurney is a fiction writer and poet. Her novels are diverse in their storyline, but all have a connection to people and places, to desires and self-growth. She tackles everyday characters who see beyond reality or, in her newest novel, Diary of Lies, a main character who creates her own reality. The idea for Diary of Lies came from considering a response to the question - "What are you doing tomorrow?" Our answers invariable are truth-based. But what if we embellished - "Having dinner with the Premier", "Jetting off to Hawaii"? Who cares? No one really. That is the assumption - until they get out of hand.Her fourth poetry collection is due out in 2023, and will be connected to her newly-found passion for art. Having thirteen publications on her shelf, and many awards on file, she's pleasantly gratified at the success of her writing.She becomes a writing, painting hermit during the Western Australian heat, but is generally open to coffee and cake on any given day!
