Guest post written by author Holly James
Holly James holds a PhD in psychology and has worked in both academia and the tech industry. She loves telling stories with big hearts and a touch of magic. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband and dog. Nothing But The Truth is out July 12th 2022.
The hook of my debut novel Nothing But The Truth involves simple magic: a woman wakes on her thirtieth birthday and is unable to lie. While discussing the book with others, I’ve noticed a trend in reaction. I usually get an initial laugh—what comical disasters would befall a Hollywood publicist suddenly bound to the truth!—followed by a sobering realization about what a woman’s forced honesty would actually mean.
I find it remarkably telling that a woman’s honesty is enough to be a hook for a book in the first place. That women are expected to comply and perform and obey in dishonest ways just to get by—in intimate relationships, at work, in society in general—to the point that there is room to center a story on the simple premise of going against that grain. And my protagonist doesn’t even go against the grain by choice: It takes a magical intervention for her to be able to speak the truth about injustices as minor as uncomfortable undergarments and as major as being harassed at work because social norms dictate silence. Her experience reflects the reality that so many women face, in particular the expectation to accept the status quo without complaint.
Throughout her day of honesty, Lucy is repeatedly met with surprise—from herself and others—over what comes out of her mouth when she speaks the truth. I aimed to capture genuine reactions to how these honest scenarios would play out in real life. For instance, when Lucy blurts to her younger coworkers that their boss makes her uncomfortable, all three of them are stunned speechless. When Lucy admits to her best friend that she actually hates spin class and doesn’t want to eat a spoonful of yogurt for breakfast, her friend looks at her like she’s lost her mind. These two examples represent the extremes of what Lucy confronts during her day but also show the wide spectrum of what women are expected to keep quiet about and comply with, from something as large and significant as workplace harassment down to individual diet and exercise habits. These seem like subjects that should be freely spoken about, and yet Lucy cannot confront them without the help of a magical intervention. In fact, she doesn’t even completely realize they are obstacles until she is forced to be honest with herself.
Lucy also experiences several moments of genuine fear over telling the truth, despite not being able to control it. This too reflects what many women face and at least partially accounts for the status quo of silence being maintained. Fortunately, in this fictional reality, Lucy’s honesty is met with support, albeit not without some consequence. I found it important to portray a positive outcome for a woman going against the grain and standing up for herself, even if it did prove challenging. She finds help from coworkers, friends, and even a love interest who believe she is doing the right thing, despite the risks it carries. Her honesty helps others realize that it is time for them to speak up too, and together, they start a small workplace revolution that changes everything. But, again, none of this would have happened without the magical intervention that sparked the change.
The fact that Nothing But The Truth is fiction speaks volumes about reality. We have to imagine a world where a woman can be freely honest. And it is perhaps even more telling that the consequences of her honesty involve comical mishaps, shock, and even fear despite the honesty finally leading to change and growth. The story shines light on the many, many things that women are expected to lie about and how those lies shape our lives. While at times humorous and others serious, it shows how a single day of full honesty can touch all aspects of life and change everything. To me, the ultimate statement this story makes is that it’s a story worth telling at all.
