Authors: Paul Burston
Shameless (21 page)
“Hi, Martin,” a voice said. “It’s me, Ben. Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you, but I’ve been out of town for a few days and I only got back last night. If you’re still interested, I’d really like to see you again. Maybe we could go for dinner or something. I think you’ve got my number, but just in case you’ve thrown it away or something, it’s . . .”
Suddenly Martin didn’t feel quite so tired anymore. As he reached for the phone and dialed Caroline’s number, something stirred in his stomach and his face broke into the biggest smile he’d smiled in a long time.
This book could not have been written without the assistance, encouragement and shameless behavior of a number of people. Thanks to:
Marcello Almeida; Marc Almond; Elaine Burston; Georgina Capel; James Collard; Nichola Coulthard, Chris Hemblade, Judy Kerr and all at
Time Out
; The Lady Denise; Aruan Duval; Alex Erfan; Elaine Finkeltaub; Lorraine Gamman; William Gibbon; Chris Headon; Sophie Hicks; Karen Krizanovich; Clayton Littlewood; Projit Mallick and Andy Theodosiou; Alison Menzies; Carl Miller; David Parker; Wayne Shires, Kerry Chapman and all at Crash; Carl Stanley; Martin Thompson; Andrew Wille.
Special thanks to Deborah Orr for sound advice, Frances Williams and Rachael Underhill for always bringing out the party monster in me, Pedro for some great lines, and my family for taking it all in their stride.
Thanks also to Miguel Cid, whose encouragement helped enormously, and to Russell T. Davies and Will Self for their kind words.
Last but not least, a big thank-you to Antonia Hodgson, the best editor a boy could wish for.
Paul Burston
was born in Yorkshire, raised in South Wales, and now lives in London. A journalist and broadcaster, his work has appeared widely in British media, including
Time Out
, the
Sunday Times
, the
Times
, the
Guardian
, the
Independent
, the
Independent on Sunday
, and on BBC Channel Four. He is the author of several books, including
Queens’ Country: A Tour Around the Gay Ghettos, Queer Spots, and Camp Sights of Britain
. SHAMELESS is his first novel.