My name is Drew Avera. Welcome to my site!
I grew up in Mississippi; a place where the foothills of the Appalachians slowly fade into swamps and marshes. We’re the birthplace of Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Brett Favre, and the voice of Darth Vader himself, James Earl Jones… oh yeah, and me, though slightly less notable lol.
I wasn’t an avid reader as a kid. In fact, I kinda hated it. But something changed when I discovered comic books. I was so wrapped up in those worlds that when I found a novel titled “What Savage Beast” by Peter David, and it was about The Incredible Hulk, I took my saved lunch money and threw it down, purchasing the first full-length novel I ever bought for myself. I read it cover to cover three times and decided that one day I would write a book.
Fast forward through some awkward teen years and I enlisted in the US Navy. I worked as an Aviation Electrician’s Mate primarily on the F/A-18 platform. I deployed four times; USS George Washington 2002, USS Enterprise 2007 and 2011, and the USS Harry S Truman 2015-16.
I finally started my writing journey in 2012. I participated in National Novel Writing Month and wrote my first book, Exodus. Since then I have written more than twenty books with plenty more on the way.
I retired from the US Navy after twenty years and started a new career, but writing is still my passion and a large part of my life. Thankfully, everyone I work with understands that I tend to space out and think about story ideas during lulls in the conversation lol.
I take those years of military service and all the people I met along the way and put it into my worlds. It helps me process some of what I experienced; both the good and the bad. Hopefully, those experiences will entertain and help others on their journey through this thing we call life.
I live in Virginia, about an hour from the first settlement, with my awesome wife and kids. We have two cats who practice martial arts when the rest of us are sleeping.
Thank you for visiting my page, and please check out my books.
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Drew Avera 