Erica Drayton Writes Gets a Rebrand

Welcome to The Happy Place

It’s strange seeing the headline “Erica Drayton Writes Gets a Rebrand” as it makes me think of some obscure Amelia Badelia book title…

Not sure why my brain went to an Amelia Bedelia reference since this rebrand couldn’t be more far removed from some children’s books! Though, I will say, I loved old school Amelia Bedelia that I read where she was older and usually a maid and always getting things mixed up. Like that time she used white-out to erase a mistake on a computer screen! HAHAHA! But I digress…

In all seriousness, I never really took to the name, Erica Drayton Writes. It seemed rather silly. Of course I write. Of course my name is Erica Drayton.

Then I’d see other publications out there with far cooler names than mine. The kind that make you wonder, “hmm, what are they writing over there?” And then you go over there to check it out and you’re anything but disappointed.

Perhaps I didn’t change my name because I was afraid of the inevitable disappointment. No one is more critical of my writing than me and so I’m always living in self-doubt.

But lately, I’ve been inhabiting a different space in my mind. One that thinks less of self-doubt and more about the kinds of stories I want to continue to write and the mood I want visitors to be in when they arrive here.

I want to give my readers (old and new) a sense of unease and uncertainty. Especially, as I live in a constant state of unease and uncertainty. Why not bring all of you along for that ride?!

But there is always a method to my madness. I’m not just picking a name out of the air and running with it. No. I definitely sat with this one for a really long time. I would say the better part of last year and all of this year. It stayed with me mostly because I’ve been on this personal (and public) mission to write a collection of short stories that pay homage to The Twilight Zone. You may have heard me talk about this from time to time. And in doing all of my research into The Twilight Zone and all the OG episodes, I’m also reading about the fascinating life of Rod Serling.

If you are a fan, as I am, then I don’t need to tell you the origins of The Happy Place. But if you don’t know what that is, sit back and lend me your ear (or eyes since you’re reading this…):

Serling's original pilot for The Twilight Zone was "The Happy Place", which revolved around a society in which people were executed upon reaching the age of 60, being considered no longer useful. CBS executive William Self rejected the story, feeling it was too dark; Serling eventually relented and wrote "Where is Everybody?" as a more acceptable substitute. - Wikipedia Page

As you can see, The Happy Place was anything but. And a play on words such as The Happy Place was something Rod Serling was good at (see To Serve Man or The Eye of the Beholder as classic examples). He loved to lean in to these sorts of stories and see what society makes of them. In this instance, his work never got filmed, though that doesn’t stop little groups here and there from performing The Happy Place even to this day! Kinda cool.

In my case, The Happy Place reminds me a lot of a story I wrote about 15 years ago, long before I’d even heard about Serling’s story, called The Eternal View.

Now, in my story, a man wakes up after a car accident to find himself in an elevator with three other people and no recollection of what’s about to happen to him. In this world that he lives in, everyone willingly agrees to throw themselves from a really tall building either when they reach a certain age or they are so badly injured that they are no good to society if they were to stay alive. His companions on the elevator are an elderly woman who has lived a good life and is looking forward to when the elevator reaches the top and two “guides” who are there to help those on their way. The guides are most interesting because there is essentially nothing wrong with them. They are young and healthy. But they are willing to jump off the building anyway. They are moral support. Instead of talking you off the ledge, they help you make that first step!

I’ve never shared The Eternal View before and in my story there are actually multiple endings because I couldn’t decide which was the best route to take.

Just like Rod Serling, my story will likely never see the light of day. I only hope it becomes like The Happy Place. A story that decades from now some young whipper snapper is online (will Google still be around in a hundred years?) searching the “The Eternal View” so they can study it and maybe do a Live reading of it. If that’s that sort of thing they’re still doing a hundred years from now…

Anyhow, The Happy Place resonated with me in many ways. While I do want my publication to be a happy place, I also realize the juxtaposition of happiness and horror. There is a sense of unease and ease associated with those terms and it’s right about where I seem to be living these days.

I am standing on the corner of Happiness Lane and Horror Street.

Won’t you join me…