Inside The Author’s Head: Edward Drake

August 2, 2013

Q1. What is your favorite word?

Hope. In my personal life, real-life work and writing, there is one word that always crops up. My former work with the NHS typified this. I would see people going in for procedures and operations, knowing the odds were stacked against them, but there was always that look in their eyes that said ‘I’m going to beat this.’ It was the same with their families and friends waiting outside. They knew the reality, but there was always a chance.

I see it in my own family too. They have faced adversity, ‘nothing ever straightforward’ as the motto now seems to be, but still they struggle on, always with the hope that tomorrow will be better.

Q2. What is your least favorite word?

Maybe. Life has taught me that ‘maybe’ almost always means no or probably not, resulting in being let down eventually, hopes and dreams destroyed. If ‘hope’ is a chance, ‘maybe’ is an ending, despite its meaning.

Q3. How has social media helped your career?

Social media has helped me discover and reach contacts and help that I would never have known about if not. Every publisher I have worked with was found by my stumbling about online, so really I owe a lot to social media.

Q4. What would you say are the downsides to social media in your career? 

The amount of hoax requests and contacts is definitely a downer and some of the replies you get from randoms you have never heard of. You just have to ignore all that (as with all life there are some jerks about) and focus on exactly what you are trying to get out if using social media.

Q5. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Fireman or policeman, and yes it has been ever since I was a boy. It was always my intention to help people and even in my real-life jobs I do just that in my own way, but I have always been intrigued by those two public services. I even seriously flirted with the idea a few times but as fate would have it there were never recruitment opportunities. Maybe one day I can put this right.

Q6. What profession would you not like to do?

Sales – tried it once and hated it. In that employment I was made to prey upon the gullible and confused to achieve results and buyers. I hated every minute of it, the career in that field short-lived (three days if I remember right).

Q7. What is your favorite curse word? 

Bastard. As a boy I was brought up on the ITV series Sharpe, starring Sean Bean in the main role (based on the fantastic series of books by Bernard Cornwall). Every Wednesday night, my Dad, older brother and I would gather to watch the British Rifle Officer do battle with the French, seeming like every other word shouted being ‘Bastard!’ it was a good education.

Q8. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

 ‘It was worth it.’ All the decisions, all the sacrifices, all the suffering through personal problems and conflicts. I want to know that they were worth it, that my life mattered and that I made a difference.

Thanks Edward! Tell learn more of this author’s work check out his website here.

Next time: Charlotte Strong

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