Author seeks lifelong secrets

      Ted DeCorte wants people to unburden their souls.
      Some people have done a lot of different things in their lives without getting caught. Now there is an opportunity for them to spill their guts via the Internet as part of DeCorte's book, "Things I Didn't Tell My Mother."
      "All of us get to a point where we do reminisce and we think of things, whether they're incredibly stupid or fairly significant," DeCorte said. "We all have skeletons in our closet, one way or another. Some of them may be more serious than others."
      DeCorte came up with the idea for the book about a year ago as he was sitting around the pool visiting with friends and family in Phoenix. The topic of conversation eventually turned to childhood escapades, much to the chagrin of DeCorte's mother.
      "I was watching my mom, and there was something we had said, and she just looked at us very startled and said, `I didn't know you guys had done that,' " DeCorte said. "Pretty soon we realized that there were things we might have done that we hadn't really told our parents at this point in our lives."
      On the drive back to Nevada, DeCorte thought about compiling a book with people's stories, but didn't do anything with the project for about six months. He started his research by contacting friends and business contacts for their childhood stories before creating a Web site, http://members.xoom.com/GVWRITE, where people can tell their own stories.
      "I've got mixed emotions because there are still incidents in my past that I wouldn't share with anyone," DeCorte said. "For one, some of them are just plain stupid. You just don't want anyone to know about them at all. But I give people the opportunity to submit things anonymously. I certainly will respect that. That sort of opens up the door for people to be able to share things and know they don't have to be exploited to their bosses, co-workers and family members."
      Since unveiling the Web site in July, DeCorte said most of his responses have come from people within the Las Vegas Valley. However, he has received stories from as far away as Australia.
      "Some of them are very charming," DeCorte said. "Some of them are a little sick in some ways. And it will be my job as an editor to put this together in some type of usage that will be entertaining, educational and enlightening.
      "I may even edit myself out of the best-selling spot because I may hold back on some of the more juicier, the more tainted types of stories, just out of my own personal sensibilities. I don't know. I'll just have to wait and see."
      DeCorte, vice president of operations for Nevada Pacific Dental, said more than 60 percent of responses have come from women. While some of the stories he has received stem from rebellious acts which were committed after receiving punishment, such as damaging a parent's prized possession without their knowledge. Others are more emotional: Some respondents have written simply to tell their deceased mother or father that they loved them.
      "Even though some people are open to share their deep, dark secrets, most of us are still fairly guarded," DeCorte said. "And we will share a story that is still in the area of respectability or acceptability and may not still go into that area that is really grim for a lot of reasons."
      DeCorte said he is trying to create a primarily lighthearted book, but said he does welcome the more serious revelations. He does not, however, want to be privy to any Monica Lewinsky-like tales or murder confessions.
      "I've put a disclaimer that I do not want anything shared with me that I, later on, will have to go to a grand jury," DeCorte said. "I don't want to know about it. I don't want any future politicians sharing anything with me that, later on, I would have this knowledge."
      "Things I Didn't Tell My Mother" is just one aspect of DeCorte's Web site, which is dubbed the "Eclectic Mouse Experience," after a 1960s rock group. The site also provides links to other interests of DeCorte, including music, history, books, news organizations and his alma maters. DeCorte, who once worked as an aide for former U.S. Rep. James Bilbray (D-Nev.), has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Arizona State University and a master's degree in United States history from UNLV.