Ronald Irwin

I am thrilled that Tracey Farren’s Whiplash is being launched on June 5, where I have been asked to be MC by Modjaji Editor and CEO and General Good Person Colleen Higgs. This book holds a special place in my heart because it is the first one I ever officially agented to a publisher (my earlier books were brought to publishers in my former incarnation as UCT lecturer) . This is a harrowing tale. The voice of Tess, the prostitute narrator, is so real that when I first drove to Kalk Bay to meet Tracey I was convinced I was going to be meeting a streetwalker! Instead I met soft spoken, lovely Tracey Farren who just happens to be damned good at her job. I have high hopes indeed for this book not least because it delves into the world of the poor white drug/street culture like no other book I have ever read. It is a very difficult book indeed but a quick and fascinating read. Tracey did a M & G expose on prostitution and even gave shelter to one of them after discovering that one of her acquaintances occasionally turned tricks to support a drug habit. I read the book in a morning and called her immediately to present her with my first author contract.

Selling this book to Colleen was another first, not least because it included my first of many author/agent/publisher lunches, where Colleen told us about her plans for her new publishing venture and I matched her trepidation with my own regarding the fledgling Irwin Agency. Back then I was working over a box factory in Tokai and the glam of Five Flies was a welcome relief. So, Whiplash is the combined efforts of a first time agent, a first time publisher and a first time agent. Please be at the launch if you can.