I am thrilled to have Paul with a guest post today ~ thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for organizing.
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Genre: Psychological thriller
Publication Date: September 22, 2025
Estimated Page Count: 320
Standalone Novel
Author Content Warning: Sexual and violent scene
“The Lies We Tell and the Voices We Believe”
by Paul Clayton
I’ve always been fascinated by beginnings. Four of the most powerful words in the English language are probably: Once upon a time. They pull us in immediately. They promise that something is about to happen, and we lean forward, eager to know what’s coming next.
But beginnings aren’t always so neat. Where do our stories really start? Perhaps the day we’re born, but in truth, we measure our lives in other markers. School. First job. Falling in love. Heartbreak. Losing someone. Getting older. These are the chapter headings of our personal novels.
As an actor, I’ve learned that the story begins the moment you step into view of an audience. But what the audience sees is just the surface. Behind that entrance lies all the work you’ve done on the backstory: What made that person who they are? What shaped their choices? When you act, the script is your anchor. The playwright has already given you the bones of a life.
As a writer, it’s rather different. You are the playwright. You don’t just inhabit the character; you create them from scratch. In my thrillers, I want readers to feel that my characters spring to life in their imagination from the very first line. The challenge — and the fun — is that I have to do the heavy lifting of building the backstory, so that when a character steps onto the page, they already feel fully formed.
I confess, I don’t type my stories. I speak them. I dictate into a computer, which then valiantly attempts to transcribe my mutterings. Occasionally, it produces a sentence that makes no sense at all — my Yorkshire vowels can be murder on voice recognition software. But the upside is that I’m giving my characters a literal voice as I create them. I hear them as I write them, and their voices tell me how they want to tell their story.
And that brings me to something else I’ve learned both as an actor and as a presentation coach: it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Audiences — and readers — judge credibility not by the words alone, but by the delivery.
In My Lie, Your Lie, this is crucial. Every character tells their own version of events. Each one has a story they want you to believe. But do we? Do we trust their voice? Do we buy into their narrative?
Patrick, once a soap star, presents himself as the wounded husband. His younger partner, Barney, frames himself as the man trapped in an empty relationship, yearning for something more. And Marcella, drawn into their world, insists she’s simply following her heart. Each one wants the reader on their side. Each one manipulates through tone, through omission, through emphasis. Just like in life, it’s not the words alone — it’s the way they’re told.
And this, I think, is why thrillers can — and should — have moments of humour. Someone once told me thrillers couldn’t be funny. I’ve always thought that was absurd. Even in the darkest places, humour survives. It’s how we cope. A grim truth seen through the wrong pair of eyes can suddenly become absurd. A sharp one-liner, a wry observation, even a disastrous colonic irrigation at a health farm (yes, that really is in the book) — these flashes of comedy don’t dilute the suspense. They make the darkness more believable, because that’s how life actually is.
When readers told me that The Punishment and The Hoax had “laugh out loud” moments, I took it as the highest compliment. I want my thrillers to be twisty and sinister, yes, but also human. And human beings crack jokes in the middle of funerals, mutter sarcasm in hospital waiting rooms, and trip over their own shoelaces while running from danger. To deny humour is to deny reality.
In My Lie, Your Lie, the lies themselves are deadly serious. Betrayal, obsession, revenge — they drive the story to its darkest turns. But the voices telling you those lies can sometimes make you laugh, even as you shiver. That’s the balance I love to explore.
So where does the story begin? For Patrick, Barney, and Marcella, it begins with a betrayal. For me as the author, it begins with a voice — a line spoken into my computer, a muttered confession, an argument half-overheard. And for you, the reader, it begins when you open the book and decide which voice you’re going to believe.
Because in the end, My Lie, Your Lie isn’t about who’s telling the story. It’s about whether you trust them. And what happens if you discover you shouldn’t.
Book blurb:
He thought heartbreak was the worst part.
Then came the need for revenge.
Patrick Tyrrell’s perfect marriage shatters the day his husband, Barney, leaves him—for a woman.
Marcella. Beautiful. Alluring. Dangerous.
Patrick can’t let it go. Why her? Why now? The questions consume him — until obsession turns to something far darker. As unsettling events unfold and violence creeps closer, Patrick faces the one temptation more powerful than love or jealousy:
Revenge.
But revenge has its own price. And once it begins, there may be no way back.
A taut, unsettling psychological thriller about betrayal, obsession, and whether vengeance ever truly heals the wound — or only feeds it.
Purchase Links
Author Bio – Paul Clayton is a familiar face on screen, best known for his roles as Sophie’s dad in the BAFTA-winning Peep Show and Graham in the acclaimed Him & Her. Currently, he appears as Drew Peacock in EastEnders, Dennis in Disney’s sequel to The Full Monty and has featured in Brian and Margaret, Wolf Hall, House of the Dragon, and over 300 stage and screen roles.
He’ll be seen in the new ITV thriller Secret Service, and in Season 3 of House of the Dragon
Beyond acting, Paul is an internationally recognised creative event director and sought-after presentation coach. His previous thrillers, The Punishment and The Hoax, have gripped readers, while his books for actors—So You Want to Be a Corporate Actor? and The Working Actor (both published by Nick Hern Books)—offer invaluable industry insight.
He lives in London with his partner.
Social Media Links –
X – Claytoncast
Insta – Claytoncastgram
Giveaway to Win a Signed Copy of My Lie Your Lie (Open to UK only)
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
https://gleam.io/wkyhA/win-a-signed-copy-of-my-lie-your-lie-open-to-uk-only
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