 |
|
|
In Paperback
Now! Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl: A Nancy Chan Novel by Tracy Quan 0-609-81010-3 In Japanese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Hebrew and... Read an excerpt |
|
|
| Monday, April 29, 2002 Gift Box: For The Girl Who Thinks She Has Everything Retro Rebels has spiffed up its catalogue! The provocative Call Girl bowling bag is now featured in firecracker red only. Take a look at the new decor. If Nancy Chan had a vibrator... Candida Royalle would know about it. And it would have to look like a cell phone. Shopping for a JBUG birthday prez or a tasteful bachelorette party? Natural Contours might have exactly what you're looking for. "It Pays 2 B Sexy & Smart" according to this hooker-friendly coffee mug. You can find it at the Hook Online webshop. Also available as a mousepad! Or a T-shirt! Sunday, April 28, 2002 Weekend Worrier Wow, I am operational again, thanks to the intervention of my guardian angel, Alex L. To those of you who were trying to reach this weblog during the weekend, I apologize for the entire incident. It was my fault, too. But let's not go into that! Soooo... here's what is new and different: My new email address is TQ@tracyquan.net and I always enjoy your feedback! What else? Next Sunday afternoon May 5, I'll be signing books and possibly chatting on a panel. It's .... the Ultimate Sex Worker Conspiracy Soirée in Manhattan. A conference and party with presentations, panels and performances. Location: True, 28 East 23rd Street (near Madison Avenue) 212.254.6117 Time: Starts at 1 pm and goes 'til 7:00 Cash bar, donation at door (sliding scale, nobody will be turned away for lack of $) Highlights: Jo Weldon, Burlesque Artist and Mistress of Ceremonies... Scarlot Harlot, Webmistress of the Prostitutes' Education Network... David Sterry, author of Chicken:Self-Portrait of a Young Man for Rent... stay tuned for more news. This Blog is being repaired! Sorry for the inconvenience... Saturday, April 27, 2002 Today, I discovered that Diary is available in Jakarta at a very cool bookstore that also doubles as a library. Thank you, K.B., for letting me know... more later. Friday, April 26, 2002 Coming soon...Sunday afternoon May 5 in Manhattan The Ultimate Sex Worker Conspiracy Soirée. Watch this space! Thursday, April 25, 2002 New York Post If you're a Page Six reader, you may have heard the good news. "Diary" has been optioned by Revolution Studios! "Sex & The City" creator Darren Star will adapt and direct. Stay tuned!! The Dark Side of my former profession is, of course, the fall-out from anti-prostitution laws. Ralph Gardner writes about it in this week's (April 29) New York Observer: check out "Crime Blotter" on page 7. Two working girls were robbed at gunpoint by a pseudo-customer -- but now they're being treated like criminals, not crime victims. Read all about it... There are people who claim prostitution "attracts crime" to neighborhoods. Actually, that's not how it works. Prostitution LAWS encourage crime because the sociopaths think their prostitute victims will be afraid to report them. Tuesday, April 23, 2002 Nancy Chan in San Francisco Just heard that the current issue of San Francisco's adult weekly, Spectator magazine, features a very in-depth review of my book by Liz Highleyman. Ms. Highleyman writes frequently about real-life sex worker activists and knows all the inside scoop. I hope she wasn't too hard on me! The feud between East Coast and Bay Area values has been a theme in my career as an activist hooker -- so I look forward with trepidation to reading Highleyman's take on my fictional activists. Clean Take? "Diary" was also reviewed by Clean Sheets -- thanks to Conscientious Chris for the pointer. My take on their take: I wish I could tell my mom that ALL the reviews say my novel isn't dirty enough... April in Paris The May issue of French Playboy is in all the kiosks -- with a nice colorful feature about my visit to Paris and my new book... I enjoyed meeting the Playboy reporter: he was well-informed about the French hooker activists of 1975. Their militant protests and church occupations made it all happen. If it weren't for these brave women, I wouldn't be sitting here today updating this particular Blog. There would not be an international hookers movement. And I might never have been in French Playboy! Even my novel, in its way, is a child (grandchild?) of these historic events. But one journalist after another, during my visit to Paris, told me that this has been forgotten in France -- that the hookers strike of 1975 is mostly/only remembered by writers, by a few intellectuals, and maybe not even by working prostitutes! That's too bad but maybe we can change that. The May issue of Technikart should also be out and about, featuring a terrific piece by Audrey Diwan who interviewed me at the Royal Monceau. Wednesday, April 17, 2002 Anything Goes (in The Real World) Today, I stumbled across Virginia Eve Plum's persuasive rant on the new chicksite Crimson & Cherry. Her op-eddish tirade about the fate of Cara's big brother (Democratic speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum) brings to mind... Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." In Austen's P&P, little sister Lydia had a trashy streak -- and the ability to screw things up bigtime for the rest of the Bennet family. It was especially troubling to be the sister of such a gal for she might cut off your social and financial options by tainting the family name. Quoth Elizabeth Bennet: "Our importance, our respectability in the world, must be affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain of all restraint which mark Lydia's character." Lydia was "the most determined flirt that ever made herself and her family ridiculous." Is Jeff Nussbaum our Elizabeth Bennet, and if so, does that mean Tom Daschle is Nussbaum's Darcy? But Crimson and Cherry isn't just for campaign-watchers. Their Haiku music reviews are becoming a weekly favorite -- even though I don't know who they're talking about half the time. (But that's the nature of verse: you don't have to understand it to enjoy it, kind of like music.) And I'm hoping they'll publish more of those ever-so-practical Product reviews. Saturday, April 13, 2002 Denmark: ALT for damerne In this week's issue of ALT for damerne which went on sale Thursday 4/11, "Den lykkelige luder" by Lotte Malmgren, a 5-page profile with photos by Finn Fons. (Sorry but the piece isn't on their website.) Lotte interviewed me over salmon four ways at Café des Artistes (dig the swinging wood-nymphs... those are wood-nymphs, aren't they?) and Finn took photos in Central Park. Not my favorite park but it's a nice location for picture-taking. Yes, I know that Central Pk is practically a local religion but it's possible to love New York without embracing Central Park... Don't believe the hype! Friday, April 12, 2002 In AVN Online A new look at hi-tech hooking. Okay, it's the March issue, but still worth a visit. Jackie Cohen looks at online escorts and asks a lot of practical questions. Among those consulted are: two legal experts, some savvy online escorts, Marc Perkel (known for his Men's Guide to Escorts) and yours truly. According to one expert, legal issues like wire fraud arise whether you're a hi-tech genius or just an old-fashioned telephone user. And that applies to customers, too. Read Jackie Cohen's findings: http://www.avnonline.com/issues/200203/features/feat0302_03.shtml Wednesday, April 10, 2002 A new batch of autographed Diaries! At Come Again in Manhattan. You must be over 21 to enter Helen Wolff's one-stop erotic shopping emporium: 353 East 53rd Street (between FIRST AVE. and Second Ave.) Helen has been in business for almost two decades and she's a well-informed proprietor with a well-developed social conscience. It was at Come Again that this author discovered the existence of Astroglide, thanks to Helen. Come Again has also donated free condoms by the boxload to PONY (Prostitutes of New York) and to various Manhattan outreach projects that help sex workers. Mention my website and you'll receive a free gift! Sunday, April 07, 2002 Accessorize! For the girl who has (almost) everything. This lime green Call Girl Handbag (now available in red) is the sassiest thing I've seen all week. At Retro Rebels in Aberdeen, also known for its Hello Kitty collection and its way insouciant mascot. Thursday, April 04, 2002 If you're in Toronto Readers have been asking me about the current issue of DOJO, the Toronto quarterly that ran a Q&A with me in their latest issue. DOJO is free -- and fun. You can find copies at Metropolis (Queen Street & Spadina), or at Delphic (a clothing shoppe on Queen Street.) And it's also available at the Ontario College of Art & Design on McCall Street. Rumor has it that Maggie's, the Toronto Prostitutes Community Project has some copies as well. Call 416-964-0150 for details. Penthouse magazine Just received email from a Penthouse reader who saw Ralph Gardner's Unrepentant Voyeur column: "Tracy Quan's Happy Hooking" in the May issue! If you're in Buffalo, you may have heard Gardner discussing the latest issue of Penthouse on Buffalo's WEDG-103.3 FM Tuesday, April 02, 2002 I'm on French Television: Paris Premiere I will be on Thierry Ardisson's cultural news show "Rive Droite Rive Gauche" this evening -- I think it airs three times, starting at 6:50pm/18:50 in Paris. Tune into Paris Premiere if you are interested or able. I was interviewed at the Barrio Latino on Rue Faubourg... |