Faceless [antikvár]

Introduction People often ask me about the titles of my books. The idea for this new one came to me while I was researching. I was interviewing a very nice woman whom I had known for a good few years. She'd been a prostitute for most of her life and was always kind enough to keep me up to date on the pavement jargon and with anecdotes about her working life. Anyway, the two of us were talking over a bottle of wine when she said something I shall never forget. She had been, in her day, 'a well-paid brass' as she put it herself By then, though, she was older and on the slippery slope that age invariably brings to women who sell themselves for profit. Laughing, she said, 'We are faceless women, Tina, living faceless lives. Our punters are faceless. If I took a bloke on and he came back ten minutes later I wouldn't even recognise him. If we met again in the supermarket we wouldn't know one another.' Well, she gave me the tide of this book. Since then her phone has been cut off and I can't seem to track her down. I heard she'd died of AIDS. I hope she is happy wherever she is. She was a good laugh and a good mate. You know who you are. If you read this, give me a call and let me know you are OK. This one's for you and for all the laughs we have had over the years.