AustLit

'"I have several young busty blondes, Derek," Pip sang like a weathergirl. "One is a very sexy Danish girl, just back from a skiing trip, five-foot-five, long wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, 25 years old. A fantastic figure: 36-25-35. Or I have a more demure, very pretty, young strawberry-blonde Australian, Derek. She's 19..." And give or take an inch or two Pip described the same girl four different ways.'

'When her acting career stalls, Merridy Eastman lands a challenging real-life role: night receptionist at a Sydney brothel. A long way from the bright lights of a TV studio, she is swept into the high drama of the sex industry.

'Nothing in Play Street or Shakespeare in the Park could prepare her for this. She learns words for items and acts she never imagined. She opens the door to first-timers, old hands, couples and the occasional celebrity. And above all she becomes friends with the women who make their living out of having sex with strangers.

'There's a Bear in There (And He Wants Swedish) is a funny and fascinating account of a forbidden world, told with a lively sense of the absurd and a rare and forgiving understanding of human frailty.' (Publication summary)