The Author – and the Critics
The Author
Originally earmarked for the Methodist Mission Field, I soon discovered that ‘the missionary position’ didn’t suit me. A post-university career in telecommunications took me to the Middle East where I moonlighted as a journalist and socialized heavily with the ‘natives’ and with stewardesses from one of the local airlines, which came in handy when I started writing Florence of Arabia, which was published in 1998, authored by David Godolphin, my Persian Gulf pen-name. In 2009 Florence was relaunched as Shaikh-Down by David Gee, with some revisions and a more apocalyptic ending.
The Dropout came out in 2012. I’ve always wished I’d kept the more confrontational title The Date-Rapist’s Tale, which one editor talked me out of. The Bexhill Missile Crisis followed in 2013 with Paradise Press, the publishing arm of my London writing group Gay Authors Workshop.
The Conrad Press in Canterbury published Lillian and the Italians in 2021 and Soap-Stud & Blue-Movie Girl in 2022. For Soap-Stud & Blue-Movie Girl I’ve re-adopted my David Godolphin pen-name. Howl and the Pussy-Kat will complete my Hollywood trilogy in the near future, and a sequel to Lillian is in the first-draft stage. Watch this space!
I now live a few miles outside Brighton in southeast England.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Critics
What the critics said about SOAP-STUD & BLUE-MOVIE GIRL
“This is much more fun than even Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon books and those La-la land documentaries about Tinseltown that aired in the 1990s rolled up together. This doesn’t mean that it’s old-fashioned in style – I’d call it vintage, in that it is stylish, beautifully written and full of marvellous comedic moments, whilst harking back to the heyday of Jackie Collins and Harold Robbins – days when sex seemed more fun and less angst-ridden. Godolphin is an English writer, but with such an utterly convincing voice that one would think he was a longstanding Hollywood pro (forgive the innuendoes, not intended) preparing to spill the beans of what he has observed on set and in the trailers… He also gets what happens when stop at nothing ambition flowers in small-town America; there is also a wistfulness here that recalls Hopper’s bar scenes.” Historical novelist Katie Hutton, reviewing on Amazon
* *
These are brilliantly funny novellas about 2 kids and their rise to fame in Hollywood. Jason Howl has a talent for sex and looking good. He lands a few bit parts and a decent role in the soap Eldorado, but dreams of a movie role. Katherine Kane, turns her dreams of being an actress into a knack for successful pornos. She is pretty, smart and principled, and the daughter of a TV evangelist.
The writing is witty and easy to read. You feel as though you know the stories and the characters, but the prose keeps you turning the pages. A more amusing Jackie Collins or Rebecca Chance. I can’t wait to read the third novella in the series when Jason and Katherine film a movie together.
Nicola Kingswell, A LoveReading Ambassador
* *
“While there are sexual scenes, they did not dominate either story. I will admit that I laughed at the end of Katherine’s story. Goldophin left both stories with an open ending that would allow for a sequel. I recommend Soap-Stud and Blue-Movie Girl to mature readers who are open-minded and want to read how some actors and actresses make it to Hollywood.” Stephanie Chapman on the Readers Favorite book-blog
CLICK HERE TO BUY:
Paperback: Soap-Stud & Blue-Movie Girl
E-book: Soap-Stud & Blue-Movie Girl
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What the critics said about LILLIAN AND THE ITALIANS
“Gee captures the style and elegance of 1960s Venice and Amalfi in this beautifully written tale of a mother in search of her enigmatic son. He eludes her but instead she unexpectedly finds love herself, after she had resigned herself to having no more emotional life. Lillian and the Italians captures the 60s Zeitgeist in the way that recalls Jess Walter’s 2012 Beautiful Ruins and the memoirs of Dirk Bogarde. Gee has a real sense of location, capturing the colour and warmth of Italy, the flowers and the scent of the sea breeze and contrasting it with the amiable stuffiness of English provincial life of the time; reading his prose is like looking at the saturated tones of postcards and magazines of the period.” Katie Hutton, author of The Gypsy Bride and The Gypsy’s Daughter
*
“My favorite character – by far – was Italy. This book was the PERFECT read for me. The descriptiveness that Gee bestows on his readers is remarkable. I could taste the wine, I could hear the water and see the beautiful sights of Venice.” Allison D. on The Book Review Crew blog
*
“This book really tugs at your heart strings and yet shows you how the world and society can be still clinging on to the old ways, even though the younger generation are straining at their leashes to be free and wild. We see Lilian learn a lot about herself and how strong and determined she can be, even when there are shocks and grief to overcome. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Italy, romance, danger and yes, young careless and rascally men, and yet one woman will outshine them both.” Zoe’s Book Nook
*
“There’s a long and honourable tradition in literature of chilly Englishwomen finding themselves abroad and this is in many ways a fine addition to that canon. It’s very well-written, perfectly paced and finely plotted.” Elaine Graham-Leigh, author of The Caduca
*
“A trip to rekindle her relationship with her errant son becomes a voyage of rebirth and discovery for the widowed Lillian. Beautifully descriptive. The sights, culture and smells of the Mediterranean are richly bought to life as Lillian blossoms in the company of Massimo.” Amazon Review
*
“There’s something about this book that just feels beautifully crafted: the world building is careful, deliberate, and thorough: it brings to life a glittering picture of Italy in the 1960s and the complicated codes of conduct that regulate it. The characters too are finely drawn: they’re each so much more complicated than they might seem at first glance, and their stories unfold through a series of revelations and insights that makes them, and their experiences, feel nuanced and real. Lillian gets more and more compelling, the more time she spends on the page, and her search for her son is an exercise in love and growth that it’s impossible not to get caught up in. The Andrew we see through her eyes at first both is and is not the one she finds herself looking for as the story goes on, and that just adds to the overall sense that this is a journey worth going on.” US Amazon reviewer
CLICK HERE TO BUY:
Paperback: Lillian and the Italians
E-book: Lillian and the Italians
* * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What the critics said about THE BEXHILL MISSILE CRISIS
“David Gee’s latest novel The Bexhill Missile Crisis takes the ingenious idea of following the week-long development of the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and using it as a lynch-pin to examine the sexual interplay within a group of disparate individuals gathered at a country house in Bexhill. There is much period detail to remind us, with a degree of humour, of the tastes and behaviour of the early 1960s and of the very real threat that was averted at the time.” Chris Sussex on Amazon
*
“Part thrilling, part amusing, part fiction, part reality. One of these books that you can’t just put down – interesting characters and plot twists to get you going. It kept me guessing the entire time, never being entirely sure what will happen next. The Bexhill Missile Crisis characters live in turbulent times, and the author does a great job building on the social norms and expectations of that period.” Symeon Ververidis on Amazon
Click Here to Buy:
E-book: THE BEXHILL MISSILE CRISIS
(only available as an e-book)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What the critics said about THE DROPOUT
“David Gee’s tongue-in-cheek, if dark, social and sexual satire (a sort of cross between David Lodge and Tom Sharpe) leads us through a topsy-turvy world of sexual shenanigans and unconventional relationships conducted behind the outwardly respectable façade of small town life, a façade which the return of the prodigal son, Paul, cracks wide open, to reveal the unsavoury secrets lurking behind it.
This is a highly-absorbing, entertaining and ultimately satisfying read, and one which I would unhesitatingly recommend.” Tim Bennett-Gordon in Polari Magazine
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
What the critics said about SHAIKH-DOWN
“Witty, entertaining, raunchy and very well written.”