Aea Varfis-van Warmelo's Debut Novel Explores Lying and Deception

Aea Varfis-van Warmelo's debut novel, 'Attention-Seeking Behaviour,' is written from the perspective of a compulsive liar. The unnamed narrator admits early on to being a liar, describing dead bodies, her job assisting a demanding CEO, and a side gig for an investigative journalist, while falling in love with 'Normal Ben.' The novel intersperses essay-like digressions on American psychologist Paul Ekman, who wrongly believed micro-expressions are universal and can reveal true emotion. The narrator details Ekman's influence on airport security and legal proceedings, highlighting its malign impact. The book originated as a creative non-fiction monograph about lying, with Varfis-van Warmelo intending to make herself a liar by writing it. She discovered a universe of pseudosciences more destructive than expected. The fictional elements began with determining the narrator's character, a shadow version of herself. The love story with Normal Ben emerged as a foil to the narrator's spikiness. The book includes research on police interviewing techniques applied to a sexual assault case, exploring how testimony relies on memory. Fragmentary sentences are used to implicate the reader in building the narrative. Varfis-van Warmelo is working on a next book about acting and psychological realism. 'Attention-Seeking Behaviour' is published by Peninsula Press.