Why is Tell Me Something True so special to you?

I began writing this book when I was twenty-two years old, working as a young  journalist on a Sydney newspaper, dreaming of one day being a novelist. Although it’s being published as my twentieth novel, it’s actually my first.

For more than forty years it has been gathering dust and memories in my bottom drawer, where I have mockingly referred to it as ‘Australia’s greatest ever unpublished novel.’ Occasionally, I would pick it up and read a few pages with mixed feelings. Sometimes I told myself, ‘Wow, that guy could really write.’ And at other times, I cringed and thought it was self-indulgent drivel.

Since then, it has been rewritten and reimagined because I’m older and wiser and hopefully a better writer, but the story and the characters have never changed. I loved the book then. I love it now. It will always be special.

Can you tell us about the character of Arlo and his brother Luke?

Arlo Hackett is the narrator and the beating heart of the novel. We meet him in 2001 on his release from prison, having served twelve years for being an accessory after the fact to a terrible crime. Arlo pleaded guilty because he believes he could have prevented the tragedy and, if so, people he loved would still be alive.

Luke is Arlo’s younger brother, a gentle giant of a man with a childlike wonder, who will always struggle to navigate the world because he takes everything he is told quite literally. He idolises Arlo and loves working with horses and being the oldest altar boy at St Patrick’s Church.

Does the town of Yulara exist?

Yulara is based on the small town where I spent my primary school years. Gundagai is built on both banks of the Murrumbidgee River on the Hume Highway, about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. It has been immortalised in countless songs and ballads and poems. I chose to call it Yulara in the novel because real people live in Gundagai and I didn’t want anyone to think I’d based characters on real people.

Are parts of Tell Me Something True autobiographical?

There are many scenes from my childhood and countless locations – including the schools, cinema, showground, various shops, cafes, the bridges and the river  –  which plays a big role.

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

I want them to fall in love with the characters and to get angry and sad. But mostly, I want them to thrust the book into the hands of their friends and family, saying, ‘You have to read this and then we’ll talk.’

Will you continue to set books in Australia?

I certainly won’t wait for another twenty books. At the moment, I have an idea, which is marinating and taking shape in my mind. 

What are you working on next?

For the past few months, I’ve been hanging out with Philomena McCarthy, the young London policewoman, now a detective constable, who comes from a notorious family of East End gangsters. You just know that Phil’s career and her father’s ‘business interests’ are going to collide and cause fireworks. I don’t have a title, but it’s coming in 2027.