In the Booth with Ruth

In the Booth with Ruth – Rosie Campbell OBE, Former Coordinator of Armistead Street & Portside Sex Work Projects

May 29, 2013 // 9 Comments

In Liverpool, over the last ten years, I have worked in a climate and ethos that is progressive in relation to crimes against sex workers, where the police have been committed in increasing confidence amongst sex workers in the police and as part of that introduced the sex work and hate crime policy.

In the Booth with Ruth – Josh Evans, Author, Screenwriter, Filmmaker & Actor

May 17, 2013 // 10 Comments

I’ve written a lot of biographies for the screen: Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur and Che Guevara. The Che Guevara screenplay became a film that I directed. But as a new novelist, I’ve found that I am compelled to write fiction – it’s liberating to be able to finally write thoughts instead of having to show them as visuals.

In the Booth with Ruth – Shelly Stoops, Former Specialist ISVA for Sex Workers, Armistead Street Project, Liverpool

May 16, 2013 // 15 Comments

The women I have worked with here in Merseyside now have a great level of trust in Merseyside Police. That has been the result of massive amounts of trust building from the women themselves, the ISVA (Independent Sexual Violence Advisor) and sex work project. So in the beginning, women would do Ugly Mug reports if they were attacked and wouldn’t dream of going to the police. Now, they will ring 999 just like any other victim would which is a direct result of the partnership.

In the Booth with Ruth – Fran Clark, Author, Songwriter & Singer

May 13, 2013 // 5 Comments

Well I'm a singer-songwriter, I teach vocals and I'm a wife and mother so that leaves very little time. When I wrote my first novel I very often wrote in the early hours of the morning. I'm a bit of an insomniac so it seemed the ideal opportunity. At the moment I've set myself a challenge to write a minimum of 1000 words per day as I try to finish my second novel.

In the Booth with Ruth – Angelique LaFontaine, Author

May 12, 2013 // 1 Comment

I started writing back in my early teenage years. Mainly started with poetry, back when I thought that poetry meant that you came up with lyrics that rhymed and it wasn’t poetry unless it did rhyme. As I got older, my writing transitioned from poetry to short essay type pieces. No real plot or storyline… just quick sporadic thoughts. There was always an...

In the Booth with Ruth – Chris Chalmers, Author

May 5, 2013 // 3 Comments

I tend to be inspired by the confluence of two unrelated ideas. In the case of the novel I’m writing now, it was the recent furore over Lance Armstrong, coming clean about doping after lying for years – and cryptozoology. That said, it’s not about cycling, drugs or Bigfoot – at least, not yet.

In the Booth with Ruth – Linda Sullivan, Executive Director/President of B.E.S.T. & Master Certified Coach for Victims of Human Trafficking

May 1, 2013 // 6 Comments

I have been working in this field since I was a young volunteer myself, for over 25 years. I have been an advocate for at risk populations over my lifetime and became passionate about the subject of human trafficking when I first assisted a victim. I studied social sciences in Manhattan at the New School University and became well-versed in cross cultural human rights issues. My studies at the New School University opened the doors for studies in comparative religions and anthropology and tribal studies. My work, studies and volunteer efforts kept me drawn to human rights and human trafficking issues.

In the Booth with Ruth – Christine McDonald, Author & Prostitution Survivor

April 23, 2013 // 3 Comments

I have no writing background. I read somewhere that you should write about what you know, so I took that and ran with it. I started typing notes on my book, Cry Purple, a few years ago in college, but I recently lost my job and found myself back in the world seeking work and finding my past once again being a barrier for employment. I also had my newfound...

In the Booth with Ruth – David P Perlmutter, Author

April 22, 2013 // 0 Comments

I have no background at all. I was writing a blog some four years ago when I lived in Portugal, about events that happened to me in Spain. This is what my story is based on, and my friend and editor who read the first few chapters said, “Dave, you must continue with this story.” So I did and the book was self-published on Amazon in June 2012. The story...

In the Booth with Ruth – Helen Downing, Author

April 17, 2013 // 1 Comment

I’ve always enjoyed writing. I technically wrote my first novel in high school. I wrote it by longhand a chapter at a time and brought it to school. At first, there were only a handful of people reading it, but by the end, it felt like the whole school was waiting for me to finish. Even teachers read it. Pieces of it were lost or destroyed in the process and I never...

In the Booth with Ruth – Jacqueline S. Homan, Author

April 17, 2013 // 6 Comments

What inspired me to write in the first place is that I am a marginalized woman—from deep inter-generational poverty, and I am also an exited woman who escaped sexual exploitation as a homeless orphaned teen. Like so many other poor and marginalized exited women, my voice and real lived experiences are never heard. So I decided to do my best to change that, because words not only convey thoughts they create fact. Very few truly understand what it is to be shoved aside and erased and left for dead more than destitute exited women with nothing, no family, no avenue of legal remedy, and no support network—not even any welfare or medical care.

In the Booth with Ruth – Maria, Prostitution Survivor

April 16, 2013 // 10 Comments

When I was fifteen, I went to see my friend who’d moved in with her sister. I was thrown out of the house, and found myself in Piccadilly, Manchester where I met gypsies. The police put me in this hostel. There was about one hundred and ninety women in there. I was petrified. I didn’t know what to do. I ended up losing my virginity to a lorry driver for five...

In the Booth with Ruth – Col Bury, Author

April 14, 2013 // 12 Comments

Firstly, and this is important if you want to move forward as a writer, to increase the available time, I made sacrifices. I stopped playing pool and football, which I do miss, a lot, but it was the right decision. I also only now watch selected stuff on TV, like debates, documentaries, crime dramas and films, and, of course my beloved football.

In the Booth with Ruth – Danielle Bienvenu, Author

April 12, 2013 // 0 Comments

Oh wow. What a loaded question. Ha ha. I began writing when I was ten years old. It was mostly a series of short stories about pre-teen girls. The thing that inspired me to write the most was that I had difficulty telling people exactly how I felt, so I wrote down my feelings on paper. From there it took on a life of its own. Even my fiction novels are based on...