Wednesday 26 February 2020

A Slice of Cake With... E.L. Drayton

This week I am delighted to be having a slice of cake with E.L. Drayton.

E.L. Drayton was born and raised in Bronx, NY. As the daughter of a former high school English teacher, she was taught how to read and write before she even started formal schooling. She picked up reading quickly and could understand books well beyond her age. Later, her passion for writing came as no surprise.

Ever since she has spent countless years building a library of books from all sorts of authors. Each book improving her writing along the way. Her decision to become an independent author was her destiny.

Currently, she’s working on building her community of readers through her Patreon. Offering exclusive content, Facebook Live sessions and much more!

She resides in West Hollywood with her wife and their two puppies.

What kind of stories do you write?

I write sad stories with not-so-happy-endings. I love taking a character and messing with them. Taking them out of their comfort zone. I don’t deal in happy. To me, happy is not real life and it’s not why I read a story. I read stories for the struggle and adventure. I caution readers to not read my work if they are looking for or hoping for a happy ending.

Can you describe your writing why?

I write because I love the artistry of storytelling. The ability to weave a place and a character and bend them to my own will and fancy! For me, writing is my outlet to share my frustrations and my innermost demons. 

Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

“Well, if it isn’t my old friend Krieger. Ham, have I ever told you about my old friend Krieger?” A man made of all muscles who stood several feet taller than the rest shook his head rigorously and cracked his knuckles as he grinned at the three of them who were frozen in fear. “No? that is a shame. See, my friend Krieger here thought he could visit my quaint little village here, steal my loot right out from under my nose and disappear.” Walking towards them the man lifted a large branch that had fallen from a nearby tree and brandished it as a weapon. He slapped it against his other hand like a bat as his friends formed a circle around them, closing them in with no sign of escape. 

Suddenly, the two men behind them whistled simultaneously. Daxton, Barton and Nelle all turned around to see the young woman from earlier walking towards them. This time she wore a white silk veil over her hair and held part of it up in front of her face, shielding everything but her eyes. The men continued to whistle like a pack of dogs as she ignored them and walked past. Daxton wanted to be chivalrous and go to her aid, but she held her hand up, signaling him that it was no need. The two men drew closer to her as a howl sounded somewhere in the trees nearby. The man who earlier thought he was rather tough because he had his men with him tried to get them to be quiet, but they would not listen. They saw fresh meat and wanted a taste. 

She lowered the veil from her face and pulled it from covering her hair, letting it fall to the floor. The second it touched the dirt Daxton flinched as an arrow went sailing past his face, striking one of the two men closest to the young woman right in the shoulder. He cried out in pain as more arrows came sailing towards all the men around them.  

The young woman walked without fear up to the three of them. “Do not be afraid. They will not hurt you.” 

After a few minutes the gang of men all limped away nursing wounds of arrows protruding from different parts of their bodies. 



Tell us about your latest project

I am working on Friday Fiction. The premise is that I will write 52 short stories (500 – 5K words each) in 52 weeks. 12 of the 52 stories will be dedicated to a web serial I’m starting this year called Shenandoah. Another 22 stories will involve the 22 Major Arcana tarot cards. I’m really excited about giving myself the freedom to tell a brand-new story every week and still allow myself to tell a continuous story. Readers can learn more about my Friday Fiction by following me on Twitter or Instagram (username: ericadrayton) or on my Patreon directly: https://patreon.com/pdbooks/

What is your favourite cake?

My favorite cake would have to be pound cake. Might seem simple, but pound cake takes me back to my childhood when my grandmother would make at least 2 round pound cakes. We’d eat them fresh out the oven with a large scoop of Eddy’s vanilla bean ice cream on top that would melt the perfect amount into the nooks and crannies of the moist pound cake. YUM!


That's a great cake memory! You can keep up to date with Erica on social media at the following places:


Join me next week when I'm joined by Eric Klein.

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!


Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. 

No comments:

Post a Comment