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About David E. Gates

David E. Gates, who has interviewed the likes of Clive Barker, James Herbert and Terry Pratchett, has published several books and short stories and won prizes and awards for his work. His first book, Access Denied, is a true story. A deeply personal and heart-wrenching account of becoming a father and having to fight the mother and Family Courts to see his daughter and also battles against the incompetence and lies of the Child Support Agency who seem hell-bent on ruining him, emotionally and financially.. It has garnered 100% positive reviews. The Roots of Evil, his first horror novel, is a graphic, violent, intense and gore-laden horror story. It's sequel, The Deeper Roots of Evil, released on Friday the 13th of March 2020, has been getting rave reviews. His second fictional novel, The Wretched, is an original horror story set in and around Portsmouth. A short story, My Mother and the Medium, written by David, won The News (Portsmouth) Creepy Story Competition in December 2019. His memoir, Motorcycle Man, is a joyous reminiscence of his motorcycling days. He turns his attention to compiling a selection of stories, investigative reports and testimonies from witnesses and investigators from the wealth of material available, most notably that from recently retired or declassified records currently in the custody of the US National Archives and other sources, in his new book, UFO: The Edinburg Incident and Other UFO Stories. Mind Blood is a collection of macabre and spooky short stories, many of which have never been published previously. Realm of Rhyme is a collection of poems that have been inspired by historical events and includes some silly rhymes along the way and shows David's frustration and joy of the world around him. His recent memoir, BD and Thrashman: The Express FM Years, tells of his and his friend's adventures and experience hosting a rock radio show on Express FM. Following this, David released a short travelogue called The Horror of the Hebrides and a short story called 'Til Deaf Us Do Part. His latest novella is a haunted house story called Safe Place, based on real experiences. A unique selection of historical poems makes up Windows of Time. Featuring tales of fascinating and fierce women, such as Mary Ann Bevan, Susanna M. Salter, Mary Church Terrell, Harriet Tubman and The Mother of Angola. Poems telling of the cruelty of the Romans and the collaboration of two disabled men of different faiths. The survivor of a bizarre accident, Phineas Gage, is also remembered, alongside macabre events such as The Mary Celeste and poems that honour those lost in World War I and World War II. David has previously written film reviews for Starburst and Samhain magazines and interviewed the likes of Clive Barker, Terry Pratchett, James Herbert and many others and his work has been featured on Express FM radio and Solent TV. David's first book, Access Denied, was nominated for the 2017 Readers Choice Awards. His first horror novel, The Roots of Evil, was voted best to read on the Novel Festival site. His second horror novel, The Wretched, won silver in the AuthorsDB 2017 Cover Contest and Unzipped: The Mind of a Madman is currently a semi-finalist in the AuthorsDB 2019 Cover Contest. David's poem, The Magic of Mushrooms, made runner-up in the Grow Wild poetry competition. Other poems, such as Vape Away, Terminators and Outrunning The Rain, have been featured in The Poetry Festival and The Ode of Phineas Gage is one of the poems being featured on the PoetrySoup website. David also won the silver prize in the AuthorsDB 2016 Cover Contest for his short story, The Ghost of Clothes, and won best Horror Novel Logline for 2016 for The Roots of Evil. He’s previously won first prize (Gold) for The Roots of Evil and third prize (Bronze) for Access Denied in the 2015 AuthorsDB Cover Contests, and previously won a competition to write the second part of a short horror story, called Savages. The first and last parts were written by the famous horror writer Shaun Hutson and are hosted on Shaun’s website. David is currently working on a full-length novel called The Climbing Frame, producing a short film, and developing and writing the second sequel to The Roots of Evil.

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What a read! Another five-star review of Access Denied.

What a read By Amazon Customer on 28 May 2016

Format: Paperback
I read this some time ago and what a read. I knew Dave and worked with him and he was one of the nicest blokes I have ever met.
I knew he was going through things at the time and it was because of this situation but didn’t realise how bad things were at the time and cannot believe how he managed to keep going through all this.
The book really hits home how difficult it is to win your case and how much it takes out of you.
After reading this I passed it to my Wife who felt the same way.
What a read!
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Five Star Review for Audiobook of Access Denied!

Five Star Review By Simon on 21 May 2016:

Hearts of Steel

It’s very rare that a book has an effect on me as substantial as Access Denied. Earlier I sat down to listen to the opening few chapters and a little over four hours later I’ve finished it. I have to put my cards on the table and say that I knew Dave, the author, in the early years of the story and have met the main characters. Sadly I lost touch with him while the extraordinary events actually unfurled. At the time I knew him this was a mundane story of a split modern family like thousands of others. That’s the honesty part over but note that this isn’t the Amazon Vine program I bought my copy without Dave even knowing about it.

That said, as I read the reviews on Amazon.co.uk it quickly became obvious that this book is touching all manner of people in similar ways. This is a story that describes the precious relationship between a father and daughter and shines a stark light on the sheer inhumanity of the government departments set up to manage things when they go wrong. It shows how fantastic relationships between people can be and how, when things break down they can get twisted into something awful. It brings us this beautiful relationship which is as strong as any parent-child bond but fatally flawed by a terrible lie that underpinned it.

Dave chose to narrate this book himself and he does a very decent job of it. Why five stars though? Well this is a story you need to hear from him, understanding that the guy talking is the guy being talked about gives this a genuine authenticity. Dave doesn’t paint himself as a saint, he doesn’t pretend that he was perfect and in fact I wonder if the verbatim communications included reveal more than he realises. The real point is though that this is an ordinary guy being put through hell by a situation so unnecessary and seemingly so unreal.

So, my review undoubtedly has bias in it but read the Amazon reviews and you will see that this is a genuinely powerful book. It’s a book that reveals much about modern life and will have you both tearful and angry by the end. Even if you have a heart of steel, this ought to melt it or at least soften the edges a bit.

Since finishing I’ve told Dave that I haven’t reacted to a book like this since reading To Kill A Mockingbird as a kid. Frankly the thought of bracketing the gobby but likeable git from Portsmouth I used to know with Harper Lee is ludicrous, but after reading “Access Denied” I *needed* a laugh!

Don’t hesitate with this one. Just get it.

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AVAILABLE NOW: Audiobook of Access Denied

AVAILABLE NOW: The AUDIOBOOK version of Access Denied.

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Told in his own words, David E. Gates narrates the story of how he fell in love, had a daughter he adored, and battled against the unbelievable incompetence, bias and injustices of the Child Support Agency and the Family Courts which cost him almost everything.

With 100% positive reviews, David’s story is both moving and tragic. Experience it in glorious audio form with original music by James Holmes.

Buy Access Denied now

Five star review for The Roots of Evil

A tense, unexpected and chilling experience.

The Roots of Evil is shocking. This is NOT a criticism. As someone who reads a fair amount of horror I consider it glowing praise that this novel consistently went a little further than I expected and the result is a tense, unexpected and chilling experience. Moments of humour and a cast of flawed but engaging characters punctuate a bleak and eerie story of sin and malicious retribution.

Thoroughly recommended but not before bed, or dinner for that matter!

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In case you missed it… A great review of Omonolidee!

Really enjoying Omonolidee!! Have had a few giggles throughout the day with your hilarious antics, made even funnier with the pics (although I’m sure a couple should be censored, my poor eyes are still trying to recover!!). I love your honesty regarding the resorts, restaurants etc. you visited. I know which ones to avoid now LOL. A thoroughly entertaining read and yet another page turner.

Karen.

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It doesn’t fit! Apparently!

My book of travelogues, Omonolidee, apparently doesn’t fit with the Hay Festival programme section on “Travel!” I wonder which section it DOES fit then?

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Not sure whether my AWARD WINNING books are worth buying?

Not sure whether my AWARD WINNING books are worth buying, despite their low price? Then read the first few pages of ALL of them… for FREE! Use Amazon’s “Look Inside” or other site “Free Preview” features to see if they interest you enough to purchase.

Five Star Review for The Ghost Of Clothes

Review by: vivascarlett on March 17, 2016 :
A fantastic story, I loved it!

 

Get The Ghost of Clothes FREE at all leading online bookstores.

 

A Branch Off

Great to read on my coffee break.

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Roots of Evil - Great to Read