I grew up on the south coast of England, a place you can never forget, quiet when compared to the big cities and yet sleepy hollows harbour the most intriguing of secrets. They are typically the places where those city dwellers go to escape or even hide away, only when they begin to mingle with the born and bred crowd, who knows what will happen next!
As a somewhat reclusive writer, the concept of standing on my feet all day and making small talk is close to abhorrent and still people like Norman Baker do it every day.
In a judgemental world where stereotypes abound I decided to take on the case of a humble hairdresser called Norman, he is close to my heart as he struggles to balance life and profession like a honed juggler. After writing books in the crime thriller genre and handling subjects like the military and mafia, you might say - what was he thinking - but I longed to show the life of one man as an example for others in the same boat, where we are all continually pigeonholed in some way or another. You have doubtless seen your own version of Norman at work and I decided to take the mostly unlikely character as an example. A person who cuts hair is not the obvious choice, however there is a lot to be said about a man who takes a woman’s appearance in his hands and survives to tell the tale. In fact I wonder if a medal for bravery is on the cards! Norman also gets away from the claustrophobia of his workspace and I allow him to breathe and enjoy a pleasant chunk of that green and pleasant land. After all a break is something we all need from time to time, even us basement dwelling enigmas, also loosely referred to as writers!
Nicholas A. Price, April, 2017
From the Preface in the Hardcover Special Edition Book Adventures in Trichology