CLARION CO., Pa. (EYT) — After years of travel and city life in many different parts of the country, local author David Drayer found himself drawn back to the small towns of rural western Pennsylvania that were familiar from his youth.

Drayer was born and raised in Rimersburg, Pa., though he didn’t stick around long.

“I was a terrible high school student, and so my grades were terrible. I just wanted to get out, see the world, have adventures, and write stories about them. I didn’t know how essential college was, how much I would love it, and the doors it would open,” Drayer told exploreClarion.com.

After finishing high school and deciding to leave his hometown, Drayer moved to Pittsburgh, where he got a job unloading and reloading trucks for UPS. He also started taking classes at the Community College of Allegheny County.

“I was like a starving man at a banquet. I had no idea how incredible learning could be. I had a 4.0 and went on to get my Bachelors’ at Pitt, still paying my way by working at UPS. I won a partial scholarship to the University of Iowa, where I earned a Master of Fine Arts.”

His first novel, “Strip Cuts,” was published by Rowdy House Publishing in March of 2000.

Set in Cherry Run, Pa., the novel offers a slice-of-life perspective on characters struggling with heartache and seeking out reasons for hope in a struggling, blue-collar town. Shortly after publication of his first novel, Drayer returned to his old stomping ground as a guest speaker at Clarion University.

“It was fantastic. I was living in LA at the time, and it was nice to see that the folks back home were interested in what I was doing…Fifteen years earlier, Clarion University didn’t accept my application, so being invited back as a guest speaker was particularly sweet.”

In the following years, Drayer moved around and lived in many places throughout the country, from New York to California, and worked a truely impressive range of jobs, including landscaper, Christmas tree pruner, cashier, radio actor, construction worker, camp counselor, pool cleaner, factory laborer, envelope stuffer, data entry clerk, model, corn harvester, caterer, stage actor, bartender, movie extra, personal assistant, dishwasher, busboy, receptionist, office coordinator, ghostwriter, editor, adjunct English professor, traveling instructor, corporate trainer, instructional designer, and, most recently, news writer and editorial staff member.

His second book, “Something Fierce,” was published by Route 33 Press in June of 2013.

Drayer stepped away from his former small-town setting for his second novel and moved this story to another type of setting he had come to appreciate: a college campus. “Something Fierce” is a story of love — bordering on obsession — that questions the nature of perception and reality.

His third novel, “A Noble Story,” was published in 2014.

“A Noble Story” examines what happens when a man lost in an unhappy existence, shuffling through life on a meaningless job, breaks away, leaving everything he knows for open country roads and adventure.

Drayer even managed to find himself inspired by his own ideas after his third novel.

“I worked corporate jobs for five years in DC and often heard co-workers dream about different scenarios like this, and I dreamed about it, too. So, I decided to do it in a book.”

“It worked out so well for my character, that I went on to do it in real life. I literally moved out of my apartment, put my stuff in storage, and spent nearly two weeks just going wherever the road took me. I rode all through Virginia and picked up the Blue Ridge Highway through North Carolina, then back up through West Virginia, Maryland, and all over Pennsylvania. I wound up back in Clarion County to where I planned to write the sequel to ‘Strip Cuts.'”

Once he was back, the sequel to “Strip Cuts” got put on the back burner in favor of a book of a different type.

His fourth book, “Wayward Son: Travels and Reflections,” is currently scheduled for release sometime in late May.

Drayer decided to step away from fiction for this book and compiled stories from his travels, his travel blogs, and articles from his stint as a small-town newspaper columnist into an anthology offering a glimpse into his life as a traveling writer and a reminder of what good can come from daring to step off the beaten path. And, though the “Strip Cuts” sequel got pushed aside for a while, Drayer says it is still in the works, as well. He hopes to have it finished and published in the next year.

Drayer says he still prefers a slice-of-life style of writing and finds himself fascinated by the ways a person’s life can unfold, which influences his character-driven stories.

“I want my characters to be so real that my readers feel like they know them in real-life as well or better than they know their friends and family.”

He says he finds inspiration in everything from classics to contemporary novels, from horror stories to comedy.

“If it’s well-written, I will enjoy it and learn from it. Other writers are always your best teachers…even if they are long dead. Raymond Carver was and still is my favorite. He was a working-class writer like I was with no connections, no money.”

For aspiring writers starting out, Drayer suggests continuing to challenge yourself — in both writing and in life.

“The deeper your experience, the more you have to write about it. Don’t let anyone tell you your dream is too big. Go after it with no expectations other than being the best you can be.”

“Earning a living as a writer is extremely difficult, but it is not impossible. Do it for the love of it and for the passion of a wild ride!”