MOUNT UNION – Fueled by his wife’s passion for sandy beaches and a country music artist’s video filmed on the famous North Carolina shores, Gary Drake found all of the inspiration he needed to write his first novel.
“Enduring Love: An Outer Banks Love Story,” a romantic, mystery thriller, written by Drake, a Mount Union native, was published in March and is currently for sale on Amazon and locally at several area businesses.
“It’s funny because my worst subject in school was English,” the 54-year-old Drake joked. “I couldn’t tell you what an adverb was.”
His teacher used to make him carry around a grammar book.
A first-time novelist, Drake was drawn to writing while attending a Christmas drama presented by the youth group at his church . “They were going to do a teen Christmas drama,” Drake recalled. “My daughter went to bed and my wife was on the computer, thinking about that play.”
“I told her, ‘I’m going to write a play,'” he added. “So, that’s where it all started.”
Drake ended up writing the Christmas play and a couple more over the years, many of which have been performed. “I’ve done a few of them,” he said. Authoring a book has been a much bigger project.
He relied on the support of his loving wife, Beth, who has endured 30-plus years of love with him and stood by him in his “not-so-brilliant moments,” and daughter, Tiffani.
Having the book set in the Outer Banks came to him while watching Scotty McCreery’s “Feelin’ It” video, which focuses on a group of friends spending the day at the beaches along the Outer Banks.
“(The idea came) out of the blue,” Drake said. “My wife said, ‘You need to write a book, so we can buy a beach house.’ I started studying up on it, and it slowly came about.”
The shores of the Outer Banks not only offer sandy beaches but proved to be the perfect backdrop for an “Enduring Love” romance to blossom. In love from the moment they met, Chloe and Jonathan’s feelings for one another were stretched to the limit.
When Jonathan was arrested one summer morning and charged with murder, it seemed their whirlwind summer romance had come to a heartbreaking end.
Doomed to spend the rest of his life in prison, Jonathan relied on the adage, “If you love someone, set them free.” Never one to give up, Chloe persisted. Several years later, her prayers were answered as Jonathan came out of his shell of pity and wrote her a letter.
Reconnecting, their love for one another grew even stronger. Launching a new investigation into Jonathan’s case, they found the elusive answers for which they were hoping. However, unveiling the truth came at a cost.
Drake said his first book turned out so well that he has already started working on a second one.
The initial project “just sort of came to me,” Drake said. He started writing in November 2021, finishing three or four chapters before putting it on the backburner during the holidays. After Christmas, Drake completed it. The entire process took about 18 months to write.
Overall, the book project spanned over two years.
The reaction from family and friends has been incredibly positive.
“With my mother and a couple ladies she knows, they just finished it,”
Drake explained. “They really enjoyed it. So far, everyone seems to have liked it.”
Drake included a Mount Union reference in his first book as Captain Jack, the former name of Mount Union Area High School, is one of the characters.
His second novel is based in the Virginia Beach area and is also a romantic mystery. “There’s a little bit of romance in the second one,” he added.
Drake admits going through the process once has made writing the second book easier. Although he’s worked with a publishing company, Drake has published the book himself and handled its marketing.
Paperback copies of “Enduring Love: An Outer Banks Love Story” can be purchased on Rosedogbooks.com, which also sells an electronic book format, and Amazon.com.
There are also copies for sale at several Mount Union businesses: Appleby’s Drug Store, 133 E. Shirley St.; Designs by Danielle hair salon, 22 W. Shirley St.; and Checker’s Grill, 323 N. Jefferson St.
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