The Book Cover

This is my book's cover. Galley release is out in two weeks.

My Second Review

Reviewed by Dot Withington (Reviewer for Brisbane Courier)

A Synthetic Illusion

By Christian Clarke

Christian Clarke captures the essence of the Melbourne drug and sex scene in his novel A Synthetic Illusion. The grittiness of the detail suggests the author has had some first-hand experience.

Clarke’s protagonist, Mick, has spent his entire working life successfully managing restaurants in Melbourne. He runs a tight ship, so although he is often feared by his staff, he has the wide respect of his patrons.

Mick’s Greek immigrant parents cleverly navigated him into the hospitality industry at an early age, by giving him the responsibility of managing the family restaurant while they returned to Greece for an extended holiday.

So, when he is forced to take some time off work for a leg operation at the age of 40, Mick finds he enjoys the quiet life.  He hears about a job as a driver for an escort agency and jumps at the chance to earn some easy money. 

Mick soon befriends the receptionists, the working girls and even the hard-nosed owners of the agency and quickly becomes absorbed in a world of fashion, sex and drugs. The obscene language and explicit sexual details adds to the rawness of the story. 

As Mick slides ever deeper into the sordid industry, constantly making concessions to his Greek upbringing, readers are left frustrated by his bad decisions and yet intrigued by how someone can be so blind to their own demise.  

“Maybe it was his mid-life crisis. Some buy a sports car, some get a divorce or go on a trip to find themselves, but Mick became a coke-whore.”

Clarke skilfully includes the stories of the other escorts and what led them to the business, which Mick himself refers to as ‘the boulevard of broken dreams’.

A Synthetic Illusion gives a glimpse of the seedier side of Melbourne and emphasises how addiction can ruin your life.

Dot Whittington

My Weekly Preview

Sex Slave

I met over 100 girls in my time at the agency. All had a different story as to how they ended up there. The story that will always stay with me is the story of a Japanese girl named Keisha.

She was 5'8- long dark hair- tight size 8 body -22yo and had the most amazing face I had ever seen. She was always polite and well spoken with a slight accent. I drove her quite frequently and we did the polite chit chat thing, weather talk as I call it. One night she got an 8 hour booking in Geelong and I drove her, when she came out of that booking she was so off her face she spoke all the way back to Melbourne- and this was her story.

Keisha grew up in a village (country town) about 40 minutes outside Tokyo. Her family was poor. She had 4 sisters and 2 brothers, she wasn't the oldest or the youngest, she was somewhere in the middle and nothing special.

One day 2 weeks after her eighteenth birthday her family were invited to a distant relatives wedding in Tokyo. The parents could only afford to take two of their children so the kids drew straws and Keisha and her brother Jett were the lucky ones. Keisha had never been to the city before and couldn't wait. This event would change her destiny forever.

The bride had a rich uncle that lived in Australia who was flying in for the wedding with his son Tim. Tim was 26, tall, handsome and well dressed; he was everything the boys Keisha knew weren't.

He dazzled her with stories of Australia and what a wonderful life he could give her there and within 6 months they were married. He told her when they got back to Australia she would be working in his Dad’s business. What he failed to mention was that his Dad’s business was a brothel.

When they arrived in Australia her husband took her passport off her and took her straight to the brothel. She was told that if she told anyone what was going on her family would be killed. Within 6 months she was addicted to heroin and working 7 days a week 12 hr shifts. The only good thing her husband did was he got her citizenship status and then divorced her.

By now she had been in Australia for 3 years. He went back to Tokyo to marry another 18 yo to make a sex slave and Keisha left the family business without a cent to her name- but she was free. She had worked at the agency for 6 months when I met her and she'd saved 100k cash. Her plan was to work another 2 years and then go back to Japan.

I never drove her again after that night- maybe she was too embarrassed because she'd told me her deep dark secret. I hope she stuck to her plan- she was a good girl who had been dealt a really BAD hand in life!!!

Till next time, be good

Christian Clarke

Privates

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Drivers

So far I've spoken about girls, fantasies, money and generally how the agency works.

 I think it's time to talk about the drivers.  There are two groups the full timers and the casuals.

The casuals have full time jobs and drive some nights just for some extra cash.

The full timers however, are a completely different kettle of fish. They are on every night; they sit in their car waiting for a girl to get in so they can make some money.

When I first started I thought what a bunch of losers with no life, all of them fat, dressed like shit, eating and smoking in their car. Always waiting, waiting!  Waiting for what? Waiting for an absolution that would never come!!! I never thought after the life I'd lived I'd become one of them.

I'd spent my whole life in the public eye, always had to be dressed up and well groomed. Six months in I was wearing track suits and beanies. I’d put on 10kg. I was so bored I was smoking a packet of cigarettes a day and doing at least a gram of coke a night. Boredom had set in and depression was around the corner. I had become so lazy I was only shaving a couple of times a week. I stopped training at the gym and my solarium tan which was once my pride and joy had long since gone the way of the dodo. I knew I was in a bad place in my life but the truth was I was too drug fucked to care. The girls flirted with me when they were in the car so I was still getting a small ego boost, but the truth was I was in the sex Industry but not getting any sex.

That’s what the sex industry does to you. It completely destroys who you once where and turns you into a money hungry drug fucked zombie, and don't for a minute think you'll have sex with any of the girls. They might flirt and tease but they don't fuck for free.

This was just a taste of a driver’s life; the full story is in my book!!!

One thing I will say is we are all vulnerable at any age. We can turn a lifetime of successes into an apocalyptic mess you can never come back from!!!

Until next time,

Christian Clarke

Mistaken Identity

I was sitting in my car waiting for a job. The sex industry is really the waiting game; there is never any rhyme or rhythm as to when it's busy or quiet. You could do 10 bookings on a Monday night and 1 booking on a Friday.

Suddenly the most exotic looking girl I had ever seen got into my car. She had an olive complexion was a size 8 and about 5'10. She looked like Kim Kardashian but with a perfect body. She was 18 and a huge party girl, we instantly hit it off. She was Australian born to European parents; at the agency though she was sold as Brazilian Bombshell, and her working name was Leticia. She had a huge personality that could change the mood in a room immediately from Drab to Fab. This was one of her first bookings so she was quite nervous.

She handed me her piece of paper, first stop South Melbourne then Richmond and last one Armadale. She was being charged out at $750 per hour for all three jobs and was giving the “girlfriend experience” service. This entailed kissing oral, mutual oral and intercourse.

The Richmond booking, the agency was giving the client a fantasy on the house, since he was such a big regular, he was getting a Golden Shower for free- that's what Leticia was nervous about- “what if I get stage fright” she said.

After South Melbourne we began driving to Richmond we stopped and bought 2 bottles of water which she drank by the time we got there. When she got inside the house she was ready to perform her first Golden Shower. After the client had paid her and she had rang the agency to check in, she politely told the client she was ready and asked where he'd like to do it. He replied “let's start here on the couch”. They stripped off, sat on the couch and began to kiss. Leticia’s bladder felt like it was going to explode so she pushed the client down onto the couch, squatted on top of him and began urinating.

The client pushed Leticia off him jumped up and began screaming WTF!!!
Leticia was in shock. He rang the agency freaking out.

Leticia got dressed, ran to the car and we drove off.

She rang the agency and they apologized to her and told her it was the Armadale client that was to receive the Golden Shower and not Richmond.

Imagine the horror this poor man must have felt, and the worst part is Leticia left with the money still in her bag!

So he paid $750 dollars and not only did he not have sex but he probably has never let a girl get on top again. He's scarred for life!

I still laugh about that booking today.

So till next time, be good!!!

Christian Clarke

Tuppaware

It was a Friday night, end of the working week for some, start of the busy part of the week for the sex industry.

Scarlet got into my car and handed me a paper with her booking details on it. I programmed the Brighton address into my navigator and off we went. It was a 2 hour booking and the client was paying $2500 per hour. Wow he was going to pay $5000 - who spends that?

I knew immediately the client must have wanted some pretty full on fantasy.

When we arrived at his house it was amazing, on the golden mile of Brighton overlooking the beach. Scarlet got out of the car and entered the mansion. I knew I had 2 hours to waste so I took a walk admiring the picturesque tree lined avenue and wondering what this client had asked for that he was being charged so much.

Scarlet arrived back at the car 2 hours later and said that she had just had the worst experience of her life. That was a big call coming from the Fantasy Queen so I braced myself as she started to talk.

The man that lived in that amazing house was a 70ish retiree. All week he had been shitting in a tupperware container which he'd kept in his fridge. When Scarlet arrived he brought the container to the bedroom and opened it. They both stripped off and body painted each other with the contents of the tuppaware, and then proceeded to have sex. Yes people, with shit!

For the first time since entering the sex industry I actually felt sick.

Scarlet said she nearly threw up twice but then she just thought of the money and she got over it.

Eyes on the prize!!!

 
I hope you all enjoyed today's story, stay tuned till next time.

Christian Clarke

My first review

JOHN MORROW’S PICK OF THE WEEK

(John Morrow reviews for Random House)

A SYNTHETIC ILLUSION

CHRISTIAN CLARKE

Sid Harta

The author of this novel has based its storyline on a lifestyle he knows best.  It’s Melbourne, current day, and Mick, a handsome Greek guy, ex-hospitality manager, and longs for a simpler lifestyle other than running a restaurant which he has built up from scratch.

While taking some time off to have an operation, Mick meets up with an old friend who tells him all about the easy money he could make being a driver for an escort agency.  Surprising everyone, including himself, Mick throws in his stressful life and takes on this alternative lifestyle.

As Mick’s story unfolds, his life begins to fall into a heap as he steps into the so-called glamorous trap of easy money, sex and drugs.  His life begins to unravel and what was once a hit of cocaine at a party for fun and relaxation becomes an expensive habit.

This story makes for hard reading at times as you watch someone’s life, although a fictional character; take a predictable turn in the world of sex and easier drugs.

It’s not a pretty world and the author has not spared readers from the glaring and uncomfortable truth of such a lifestyle.  This novel is well written, although graphic and with no feelings spared.  I would advise anyone who has no stomach for confrontational language and descriptive sex to avoid this one. 

Having said that, however, I could picture the sleazy life that dragged Mick down and found the story to be what I would imagine is a ‘real’ portrayal of the lifestyle involved.

“Graphic and confrontational, this novel describes the downside of the escort agency lifestyle - the easy money, sex and drugs involved – a hard-hitting storyline which makes for tough reading at times.”

 “A book is a private companion”

Show me the Money

Money makes the world go round-that's certainly true in the wonderful world of prostitution.
There are three basic groups of girls: 18-25 these girls’ prices start at $500ph for the basic service which is oral and intercourse. If you want the girlfriend experience which includes kissing and mutual oral that’s extra. If you want porn star experience including toys and anal that’s extra again, and then there's fantasies like golden showers, dress ups, dominatrix etc, yes, you guessed it, extra again. So basically it could end up costing you a fortune. I've seen clients paying anywhere from $1500 to $3000 an hour just to get off.
The girls 26-40 prices for basic start at $300ph before extras and then of course the 41-55 girls start at $200ph for basic. So basically there's a price range to suit everyone.
The receptionists are the first point of call. They question what age group you're after and what type of service you're looking for. Then you are quoted a price. Once the price has been agreed upon they begin describing the girls they have available.
It's a very image obsessed world, the better you look the more you go out for. I hated driving the older girls- they were a real buzz kill, always complaining they were only going out at $200 an hour. So after they'd pay $30 to me and 50% to the agency they were clearing only $70ph. In the real world $70ph is a big deal, I mean really who clears that?
In four shifts they were still making in excess of $1400 a week clear. OK so they had to sleep with 20 men a week minimum, but no one was forcing them to be here. In the real world with no education or trade behind them at that age they'd be lucky to clear $20ph.
The young party girls on the other hand loved the industry. The ones willing to do extras would be going home with $3000 - $4000 a night!
The receptionists got paid $20ph and $2 for every job they booked.
The girls were required to work a minimum of four 8hr shifts a week.
The agency was open 24/7.
There were at least 15 girls on any 8hr shift and 3 receptionists all fighting to answer the phones. $2 adds up when there are over 100 bookings done a day.
And then there are the drivers, parked on the street waiting for a girl to get into their car, so they can make some money. $30 for jobs in the suburbs and $10 for hotel drop offs.
That's per girl, so if you had 3 girls in the car each one paid you.
So the drivers sucked up to the girls so they'd want to drive with them and the girls sucked up to the receptionists so they'd get good jobs, but everyone sucked up to the owners because they knew there was 50 others waiting to be employed there.
We were all one bitter twisted dysfunctional family that lived in a synthetic illusion we had each created for our own reasons.
Now that you all know about the money side of things we can get back to the juicy stuff next week.
Till then.
Remember to have FUN at least once a day.
Christian Clarke

Toilet Trained

It was a Monday night, the beginning of another week. Scarlett entered my car and handed me a piece of paper with a South Yarra address on it. I programmed it into my navigator and off we went.
Scarlett was a 25yo blonde English girl-size 8 about 5"7 and huge DD breast implants.

She was always so prim and proper-always very well spoken and extremely polite. However when it came to her bookings she had absolutely no limits or boundaries with what she would do. She had been brought up in a strict upper class English household. Private schools, ballet and horse riding lessons-outwardly she was everything her parents expected-inwardly she was a slut waiting to happen. She worked as an escort because she loved sex and nothing was too extreme or shocking for her. Whenever the agency got a weird or over the top fantasy request Scarlett was the one they would send.

I dropped her off at the South Yarra address and parked my car.

A driver is required to wait for the escort until booking is finished and then drive her back to the office. Scarlett handed me the paper with the clients name and address on it and the amount he was paying her by the hour.

The figure was $1500 per hour so I knew there would be some weird fantasy involved. The girl gets 50% of the booking fee and pays in the other 50% to the agency. The girl also has to pay her driver out of her share, if it's a job in the suburbs and the driver waits its $30 per hour. If the job is in a city hotel and the driver just drops her off, its $10 and another $10 dollars for the driver who picks her up to take her back to the office. I preferred the suburb jobs as I got to sit around for an hour watching DVDs or playing on my lap top, oh and of course getting totally shit faced.
When Scarlet arrived back at the car an hour later I proceeded to drive her back to the office. Most escorts discuss their bookings with their driver or co workers as it's not really suitable conversation for anyone outside the sex industry.
Scarlett told me the reason the booking was $1500 per hour. The client’s fantasy was that he wanted to be used as a human toilet. Scarlett had to sit on his face and pee on him and then proceed to shit in his mouth. She was happy because there was no sex involved and the client was happy because he got to eat shit fresh from the hole. When we arrived back at the agency she paid me my $30 and left the car happy as she had just cleared $720.


As I've said before, the sex industry can turn any fantasy into a reality for a price.


I hope you enjoyed this entry.

So until next time, be good or be good at it.


Christian Clarke

Garbage Day

Once a week all around Melbourne, wheelie bins are lined up in the streets waiting to be emptied. It’s trash day and in one of Melbourne’s inner city up market apartment blocks-garbage day takes on a whole new meaning.

 A middle aged professional couple have just enjoyed a home cooked meal together. They finish a nice bottle of wine and it comes time to clear the table. It’s a Wednesday night so the trash needs to be collected and taken out.While the wife is washing the dishes the husband takes the rubbish down to the bins. It all sounds very domestic!!

What no one knows is that every Wednesday at precisely 8:30pm an escort and I would be parked downstairs in the visitor’s car park. The husband would put the trash in the bins and walk over to the car. He would pay the escort $500 and give me $100 for the use of the car. I would take a walk around the block, have a couple of cigarettes and a few lines and walk back to the car.

The client would have sex with the escort in my car like a horny teenager. It was a ‘Blow and Go’ as we call it in the industry. The whole thing took about 15 mins Once he was done he would go back upstairs to his wife and they would continue their night.

The escort and I would drive back to the agency so she could pay in. The agency takes 50% so the escort cleared $250 for 15mins work and I made $100 for letting them use my car.

This client booked every Wednesday the whole time I was at the agency. I often wondered what was going through his head. Obviously it was his fantasy, the thrill of being caught by his neighbours or his wife- who knows?

What I do know is we all have fantasies, skeletons in our closet and for the right price the sex industry caters for all of them!!