A Personal Note from Freya
Sometimes, a topic grabs me and won’t let go until I’ve written it out of my system. This book marked a subtle but distinct shift for me. It was edgier. It had undeniably darker themes. It was also the first time that I had to choreograph two main characters and not just one. I was fascinated by the sex industry – specifically who the punters actually are. I was appalled/captivated by the fact that it’s frequented not by the Dirty Mac brigade – but by normal blokes. For my research, I went into phoneboxes and took the calling cards of the girls – and simply phoned and said “Er – hullo, can I have a quick chat…” Again, this book was very humbling for me. But quite tiring to write. Especially because I had to be true to my characters – which meant they simply had to go their own separate ways at the end. Many of my readers didn’t like this – they understood, they agreed with me – but they didn’t like it at all. I was immensely flattered by this response – that the book, the characters could be that compelling. On a lighter note, how lovely to see Sally and Richard all those years later…!