Acknowledgments

Many people have contributed to this book, both with information and moral support. At the risk of sounding like an Oscar winner, I really would like to thank my family (Shirley, Terry, Patrick, Maureen, Nigel, Deborah, Doug, Charles, and Madeleine) and all my friends and work colleagues who supported and encouraged me when I needed it most.

Special thanks go to: Deborah Murdoch, my clever sister, for casting an experienced medical eye over the technical chapters and so generously sharing her expertise; Nigel Cox, my brother, for bravely providing an intimate male perspective without ever telling me to mind my own business; Ute Junker, for reading every word of the manuscript, ever so tactfully pointing out my errors, and putting up with the anxiety attacks; Janet Muggivan, for her inspired publicity and marketing ideas and unwavering belief in both the project and me; Pat Ingram, the best editor in the business, who took me under her wing and taught me so much about journalism and life; Eric Fleming, Janet Hall, and Grant Brecht, three of Australia’s most respected psychologists, who’ve cheerfully given up so much of their time to teach me about sex and relationships; Shona Martyn, Jude McGee, and Jane Bowring for having faith in the idea and guiding me through my introduction to book publishing with such good humor and style; Edith Weisberg, from Family Planning, who lent her formidable expertise to Chapter 6; Di Palmer, manager of Sydney’s Club Femme, for making sense of all the weird and wonderful contraptions she sells in her erotica store; Amanda Dwyer, owner/operator of Salon Kitty’s, who shared her sex secrets; Gerard Webster, a psychologist specialising in sexual abuse, who contributed immensely to several chapters in the book; Fiona Lecren, from Australian Birth Control, and Genevieve Graham, from the Child Protection Enforcement Agency, for advising on serious sex-related issues.

A huge thank-you also to everyone who bared their souls anonymously and contributed real-life quotes and advice throughout the book; and the sex diary authors and the sex workers, Olivia and David, for their wonderfully frank guides in the foreplay chapter.

Thanks to the various magazines who allowed me to use some small sections from my previously published stories. Some of the information contained in this book originally appeared in:

Cosmopolitan: “Blow Him Away,” October 1996; “The Top 10 Lies About Sex,” February 1995; “The 50 Most Intimate Things to Do With a Man,” November 1994; “The New Sex Rules,” April 1995; Australian Women’s Forum: “Masturbation: At Your Fingertips,” May 1996; “The Sex Diaries,” March 1995; marie claire: “Complete Guide to Contraception,” February 1996.