about the author

Dave Spence is a Manchester-based creative director whose advertising headlines are as short and punchy as they need to be. Ironically he discovered a passion for writing much more when his fiancée, Angie, encouraged him to enter a national writing competition for which he was awarded first prize and a dream holiday for two to the Caribbean. This amateur literary success prompted Dave to start writing his heart-warming, tear-jerking, laugh-out-loud, homage to the eighties: Gate-Crashers.

about the book

It’s Christmas 1984 in Manchester and seventeen year old Nick Hopper has devastating news on his mind.Rather than reveal his tragedy to school mates in their gloomy old pub, Nick seeks a change of heart and goes to a trendy hotspot where life gets in the way of death when a beautiful girl writes on the back of his hand urging him to seize the day and choose life!Along with his carefree best friend Heff, Nick embarks on the greatest night of his life gate-crashing a lavish house party to pursue the girl of his dreams, Jasmine.Welcomed into the in-crowd’s heady ‘sex, drugs and pop music’ party world, Nick is forced to face his demons and discover who his real friends are when to win Jasmine’s heart he unwittingly throws the wildest New Year's Eve house party ever!

Reviews

By Mick Middles

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dave Spence’s luminous word-of-mouth novel sits belligerently within a time-capsule of Christmas 1984. Indeed, the eighties had been unleashed and the story spits and pops with all the fizz and colour and sound that defines that sadly lost era. Oddly, it is set in the rather less colourful South Manchester suburb of Sale, just on the outside of edgier Stretford. To some extent, this detachment adds to the energy and pace of the tale. If it can happen here, where elegant houses with pristine lawns extend to touch crackly drug-fuelled estates, it can happen anywhere. The hero, Nick is not-so-loosely based on the ghost of the author’s young days. Subsequently, it’s difficult not to imagine him adorning leg-warmers and wrap-around scarves, such were the gentle affectations of the day. In the background, naturally, one hears the glorious pop of ABC, The Human League, Tears for Fears, Madonna…endlessly extending in to 12 inch jam outs. People of a certain age can simply slot in their own evocative soundtrack. Rather than venturing into the Manchester of legend - The Hacienda - the author chooses to stay local, injecting this warming though Godless tale into large pubs and dingy ‘take-aways’ that remain in place to this day. The book soon gathers pace when Nick’s mother unwisely hands him the Christmas keys to her beloved Porsche. Of course, one sense absolute disaster…and it is absolute disaster that duly arrives at the book speeds to a incident packed finale. Does Nick finally get the girl of his dreams? I cannot say, but the tumble of lust, romance, violence and ghostly sounds of a lost and beloved era, will remain with me…at least until the second instalment arrives in my eager hands.

news

YOU CAN JUDGE A BOOK BY IT’S COVER!

You CAN Judge A Book By It’s Cover! Very proud to say ‘Gate-Crashers’ is a winner, voted 5th out of 100 entrants in ‘July’s All Author’s Book Cover of the Month competition’.

MICK MIDDLES

Mick Middles, author of 24 highly successful books concentrating on Manchester music artists from punk to present, reviews Dave Spence’s Gate-Crashers: Dave Spence’s luminous word-of-mouth novel si ........

PLEASE VOTE!

They say not to judge a book by its cover but I need you to do just that. If you liked the cover of my book, Gate-Crashers, please vote for it for the Cover of the Month contest on AllAuthor.com!I’m ........

blogs

NICK LOOKS INTO JASMINE’S EYES FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Nick looks into Jasmine’s eyes for the first time.

DEVILLES NIGHTCLUB

Anyone remember Deville’s nightclub featured in Gate-Ceashers? The bucking bronco next door at Lazy Lil’s really did exist![exist]

THE HORSES OF NEPTUNE’ WALTER CRANE

This fascinating Pre-Raphaelite painting was a late addition to Nick’s bedroom posters

contact

Austin Macauley are one of the fastest-growing publishers, striving hard to give authors the best chance of succeeding in an increasingly crowded market. With headquarters in London, New York and Sharjah, Austin Macauley Publishers™ have established themselves as an energetic and innovative independent trade publishers.

Publisher Details

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mail@austinmacauley.com

Austin Macauley Publishers™ Ltd.

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London, E14 5AA

United Kingdom