Visions of Old Main’s steep hill, Herbert’s Taco Shop, Aquarena Springs and the Green Parrot paint a nostalgic picture of life in San Marcos 40 years ago.
Jeff Mudd, self-employed author and journalism alumnus, published his ninth book, “Truthfully Based on Loose Events: A College Examination,” on Jan. 26.
The book centers on various characters while they navigate life at Texas State University in 1986, then-called Southwest Texas State. There is a main focus on fictional character Colin, an incoming freshman, and his experience in college as he discovers himself through newfound freedom and a little help from others around him.
“It’s about your freshman year, which I found to be amongst the most interesting year , for many reasons,” Mudd said. “And it just covers the first semester of several people here in college. I wanted to write about freshman year specifically, kind of that moment when freedom shows, you’re dropped into adulthood and [they] said, ‘Learn how to live now, kid.’”
Mudd said while the story takes place in 1986 and Texas State’s campus changed drastically over the years, the feeling freshmen have toward their first semester at college remains the same. Though the book focuses on a young student’s self-discovery, Mudd said he doesn’t consider it to be a typical coming-of-age novel but a “monumental time and in one’s life” type book, for moments people look back on and never forget.
“It’s really more about belonging, how everyone’s trying to find their people during that first semester,” Mudd said. “It’s a beautiful mess that first semester, and you’re trying to find your identity, find your place.”
The book isn’t completely based on a true story, but Mudd used his experience as a former Southwest Texas State University student to add a personal touch. Through Mudd’s journey of discovering his passion and direction as a young adult navigating newfound freedom and limited responsibility, to eventually graduating and becoming a renowned author, he is able to relate to a freshman undergoing similar life transitions.
“I’m the inspiration to the main character, Colin, who’s a West Texas kid like I am. [He’s] kind of dumb and young, and I would say closely mirrors [me],” Mudd said. “But you know, I’m a writer, so I’m allowed to take writer’s liberties as well.”
Like the main character, Mudd was in a fraternity and maintains friendships with his Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers to this day. Jeff Frost, political science and business alumnus, was Mudd’s fraternity “little brother.” Frost said he viewed Mudd as a conduit of information.
“I met him when I first pledged, which was a little bit after he did, probably a year [after],” Frost said. “So, he was assigned to me as my big brother in the fraternity. He showed me some ropes and looked out for me. And yeah, [I’ve] known him since I was 18 years old.”
Mudd and Frost have remained friends to this day, and Frost said he was shaped by the relationships he had as a freshman, which reflects the relationships written in Mudd’s novel.
“Having that friendship, and long, long friendships, like 38 years, shaping each other with our good qualities and our bad qualities,” Frost said. “We blended and became one. We [as freshmen were] brand new to everything, just like [Mudd] described so well in his books. It was definitely a blend of personalities and cultures that really solidified me. That first year really solidified what I could be and set me up for incredible success.”
Frost kept in touch with Mudd after graduation through calls and texts. He said he has admiration for his longtime friend and Mudd’s work as a writer.
“I’m so proud of [Mudd] and all the stuff that he’s been cranking out lately,” Frost said. “Just amazing to see somebody you know do so well with something very tough: writing and publishing media.”
Bobby Ward, journalism alumnus, said he considered Mudd a loyal friend since the two met their freshman year of college during fraternity rush.
“[It’s] hard to find someone that will be loyal that long and that is a blessing,” Ward said. “[He’s] just a really good friend and supportive.”
Although Mudd said life can be difficult, especially during major transitions like the first semester of college, he maintains a strong mindset even when faced with challenges. Mudd implemented his “keep going on even with life gets tough” mantra into the novel.
“I’d say it’s kind of my whole life philosophy,” Mudd said. “‘Keep going,’ pretty simple, but that’s what I do. That’s what [Colin] did, too: Just keep going. I know that’s not very poetic or anything, but you’ll find as you get older, you have little sayings and you little pep talks you’ll give yourself, and that’s my little pep talk: ‘Just keep going, because life ain’t easy.’”
For more information on “Truthfully Based on Loose Events: A College Examination,” visit Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GJSQZZZB/ref=zg_bsnr_g_4465_d_sccl_17/000-0000000-0000000?psc=1.
