READERSVOICE.COM: In a way that some police are over-suspicious or nurses are over-safety conscious because of what they see all the time, which they think happens everywhere all the time, do you think your time managing brothels gave your world view a bit of a slant at all, or did you manage to keep it in perspective?

SUSAN PAMELA BROOKE: Mm, interesting question.

I think the final chapter of Hurry, Wife Sleeping and in particular the last paragraph sums up my view on the whole infidelity issue that brothel life provokes – bearing in mind these are my personal views and not those of a professional doing an in depth study.

For a time my world view did take on an unpleasant slant and yes, at times I did struggle to keep everything in perspective and remain objective, but on reflection I learned so much about the male and his needs that oddly enough it has shown me the way to a happier and more fulfilling relationship with my partner (not that I’d recommend that type of work to any woman as a way to understanding her man) and is the basis of my current ms which is also non-fiction.

I’m incorporating some stories from the brothel not in Hurry, Wife Sleeping into this new book because they are pertinent to what was happening on the outside at the time I was managing the brothel.

Intrigued? Good!

RV: You said your book aims to wake women up about men, but I was wondering if most of the readers of your book that you’ve met have turned out to be women or men?

SPB: True, I did write the book for women but it seems there are also men out there reading it, although I suspect for very different reasons than the women.

So far those who have gotten back to me (men and women) after reading the book have expressed how much they enjoyed it.
One funny comment came from a man whose wife, while reading it apparently kept giving him sideways looks. He mentioned that the regular fishing trips his wife allows him away with the boys were now looking a bit dodgy!

RV: I thought you were very fair and accurate in your descriptions of men, and the book had a really good pace, full of good stories. I was wondering what other feedback you have had from readers, and whether you received any surprising opinions or comments.

SPB: Thanks. I was very determined to keep the book and its tales authentic in all aspects by not glamorizing it in any way, shape or form, but having said that, it was never my intention to name and shame nor was it my intention to denigrate men either. So every account happened exactly as written. Of course there were many, many incidents of really nice, decent men coming in but they didn’t hold any funny, interesting, sad, bad or quirky stories for the book so although I kept note of them they remain in my journals – for now.

RV: What projects are you working on at the moment?

SPB: Currently I’m working on another non-fiction ms which is autobiographical in type and somewhat of a sequel to Hurry, Wife Sleeping, although was actually running concurrently at the time. During the years I worked at the brothel my personal life began to unravel in a very dramatic ‘life imitating art’ sort of way as a result of the type of work I was doing and the effect it had begun to have on me, and this ms covers the journey of betrayal.

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