He joined the Navy at age 17 he has worked on F18 fighter jets and has been on the flight deck of several
aircraft carriers In his other life, he's also a song writer, a father, a
husband, a Rock fan and now a writer...let me not say more, read for yourself...

Please tell us your name?

Drew Avera.

Pseudonyms?

None. I use my real name
because it isn't that common especially Avera.

You're right, which makes us curious about your childhood. 





Tell us about
your formative years Drew... 

Well, I was born and raised in Mississippi. I moved around a little, in
the process attending several schools. Then I went to high school at West
Lauderdale High so that’s the one I claim, considering they gave me a diploma
when I was done.

Funny! And so where do you live now?

I am in the Navy and live in Virginia.

Now this is getting exciting! Tell us
about the Navy, when did you enlist, where have you served...you know the juicy
stuff...

Okay, I joined the Navy when I was 17 years old. My rating (job) is Aviation
Electrician Mate. I’ve spent my entire career stationed at NAS Oceana since
2001. I have worked on F18’s and now I teach other sailors how to maintain
aircrafts as a Navy Instructor for the Super Hornet. I’ve been on three combat 
deployments in the past 12 years and I've seen the flight deck of
several aircraft carriers.

Man! That's an impressive resume you've got. And is there something phenomenal you've experienced as a
Navy?

I’ve seen and heard a lot of things, I don’t know about phenomenal, I will
say that seeing other countries will open your eyes to the world. In America
there is a stigma regarding Middle Eastern countries, but my time spent in the
Middle East has been very pleasant. Also, if you look up at the night sky when
you’re in the middle of the ocean you see stars that you never knew existed,
it’s very beautiful. I once stood around and watched some balls of light flying
around in the sky with a group of friends, none of us knew what they were so we
called them UFO’s (I don’t have an opinion about the existence of aliens
though).

Ha ha ha you were very quick to clarify that Drew...but I bet it could be
a good story line for a novel right? How about family?
I'm married, actually I've been married for ten years. And my wife and I have two daughters. 
Lovely. Okay back to book
stuff, did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you wanna be?

A rock star!

No kidding!

True, I wanted to be a rock star, then I wanted to be a comic book artist,
then I just wanted to be rich. I’ve considered writing since I was a teenager,
but I was 30 before I legitimately took a step in that direction. Now it’s a
part of me that I want to pursue.

And when did you first consider yourself as a "writer"?

When I finished the first draft of Dead Planet: Exodus.

Your novel Dead Planet: Exodus tell us what is it about and what
inspired you to write it? I hope its not the UFO's you mentioned earlier!!!!

It’s about a future where the elite have populated Mars. There is no god,
government, religion or anything that ties humanity to anything. The Syndicate
controls  every facet of life, they control the population, education, and
the economy. If god existed then it would be in the form of the Syndicate
according to their rule. They control the Agency which is a police force, they
are essentially political assassins who kill on demand. The story follows a man
named Serus who is a policeman who discovers that his sister is on the hit
list. The book follows his attempt to keep her alive as the world is crashing
down around him. And NO - It's not because of the UFO's. I wrote the story
because I needed to come up with a plot for NaNoWriMo 2012. I wrote the first
draft in twenty days on my I-Phone.

Everyone did you hear that. He wrote his first draft on his I-Phone...and
hey I'm not telling you which phone to buy but its something to think about
right? Anyways I'm just messing with you people. Back to you Drew,did it take a long time to get it published?

 From starting the plot to hitting the “publish” button was around
five months.




And who is your publisher? or do you self publish? 

I am self published using the Kindle Direct Publishing.

 Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?

Yes, I am working on book two in the Dead Planet series. There will be a
main trilogy and a few novellas in the series.

 Which means you believe in your first book, right? So what genre would you
place your books into? 


Primarily it is science fiction, but there are so many themes that finding
a specific genre is difficult to nail down.

In your own personal experience how is it for a new writer?

It is confusing. I didn't know anything about formatting or promotion or
networking at all. I’m learning along the way though.

When writing Dead Planet: Exodus, did you ever suffered from a "writer's block"? What did you do to get
past the "block"?

To be honest I don’t suffer from writer’s block, but I have written myself
into a corner and had trouble getting out of it. I have an overly active
imagination so that helps a lot.

What do you do to unwind and relax?

I play guitar and write music. I also like to read and watch science
fiction stuff.

Have you ever based characters on people you know or based events on
things that have happened to you?

Yes and no. I take traits from people but I don’t base a character on
anyone. I will say that there is a part of me in each character that I write
though.

Is there a certain Author that influenced you in writing?

I have been on a huge indie author kick lately. I feel like I’ve walked
into the front door of one of the coolest club houses I’ve ever seen. I would
say that the advice I receive from these other authors has done more to inspire
me as a person than it has my writing. Authors like Hugh Howey, Richard
Stephenson, and Tony Ruggiero have helped me a lot with advice.

What is your favorite book and Why?  

I really don’t. I tend to have a hard time finding a favorite, but
Batman is my favorite super hero if that helps…

Sure, you said you love comics so it makes sense. Are there
any New Authors you are interested in for us to watch out for? and Why should
we watch out for them?

Absolutely, you should check out Richard Stephenson and Tony
Ruggiero. I've read some of their stuff and it’s good stories
supported by a great plot.

 What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?

If you want to write then you will make the time to write,
the excuses are not acceptable if you expect to achieve anything. That goes for
life too.

If your book would be made into a movie what type of movie...it would be
like which movie?

A friend of mine said my book reminded him of Total Recall, I don’t get
where he drew that conclusion from. I would think my story more closely
resembles the Hunger Games meets the Matrix. I honestly can’t say that I have a
clue about classifying it though.

Personally I loved Total recall and the first two Matrix movies...I found
the third a bit flat...So as we wind up where can readers find you and your
book?

 My Facebook
page: www.facebook.com/authordrewavera

My Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7021546.Drew_Avera

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DrewAveraGet my book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C1KP6SS

Drew, it has been a pleasure talking to you. We wish you all the best with your new book and hopefully you'll come back again to talk to us about your success!