Raina, congratulations on the publication of your latest novel, The Vampire – A Covenant for Peace. We’ll dig into it momentarily, but let’s start with your background. Where did you grow up and what schools did you attend?
Raina C. Smith: I grew up in North Scituate, not far from the Scituate Reservoir (the largest freshwater body in the state of RI), in a peaceful country setting. As a kid, I explored the vast forest behind my home with neighborhood friends and classmates, climbed trees, rode bikes like wild maniacs, and slept with my window open during summer nights because the thought of crime touching us never crossed our minds. I’m glad I had that because life is so different today.
In summers, I spent most days with my beloved grandmother (she was my “daycare” while my parents worked), working on her family’s farm off Taylor Road in Johnston. She was one of twenty children (yes, 20) in a large Italian family. The farm had been in her family for generations, and I had the pleasure of picking vegetables, frolicking around the fields, exploring wooded areas and nearby ponds with cousins, riding horses, and connecting with nature. I used the inspiration of that time on the farm with my grandmother and her sisters and brothers in my novel Divine Providence, which is why readers tell me it’s so authentic to read (because it’s taken from my actual lived experience).
I attended Scituate High School, where my graduating class consisted of about ninety-three students. In my senior year, I was honored to be voted “Best Dressed.” I was so proud of it.
I later attended Rhode Island College, majored in Communications, and graduated Cum Laude. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Rhode Island College where the professors convinced me I could make my dreams come true with much hard work. I wanted to be a news reporter and was told by many that I would never achieve that goal unless I attended a school well known for churning out successful broadcasters. Thankfully, my professors assured me I could achieve anything at Rhode Island College with a clear goal, diligence, and never giving up. So that’s exactly what I did. I graduated, worked hard, and made it happen. I thank Rhode Island College for the guidance that led me in the right direction so I could accomplish what was in my heart.
GWM: When did you start writing fiction and what inspired you?
RCS: While working as a news reporter for WPRI-TV and ABC6 News before that, I covered stories that I found rather bothersome and made me think. Stories about crime, corruption, war, and child and animal abuse, made me wonder who human beings were deep down — at the soul level. It was a question that popped up in my mind over and over. I saw so much negativity I began to wonder what God, Source, the Creator, if there was one, thought about what human beings were doing to themselves, each other, animals, different nations, races, the planet, etc. and I imagined He wouldn’t be too happy about the direction we’d been heading in for a very long time.
My imagination took over as I considered how to portray this extensive idea in a book. I envisioned God, Source, the Creator, observing everything and questioning whether human beings are worthy of remaining the most dominant species on Earth, or if our inherently warlike nature makes it justifiable for Him to eliminate us and start anew. I pondered how He would ultimately decide the answer and what action to take. From there, the beginnings of The 13th Apostle emerged. Once I began, inspiration flooded in as if I had assistance from somewhere else, guiding me to the scenes, words, and chapters necessary to tell this epic saga.
Read the rest of the interview here.
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