Author Raina C. Smith, a former television news reporter and director of communications for several political offices, is a native Rhode Islander and writer of The Vampire, as well as The 13th Apostle trilogy series. Smith draws creative inspiration from personal experiences, an innate curiosity of the universal energy force that connects all life, a love for her home state’s storied history, and from a source which she considers of another realm, but cannot explain or identify, to create dramatic and intense storylines for her books. Smith feels that she, herself, must be spiritually moved and riveted by every scene and chapter she writes, before ever considering it worthy of sharing with her readers. Writing novels highlighting mankind’s struggle between good and evil, touching on the supernatural, is Smith’s life’s passion. Readers will always find deep human emotion, brutal conflict, unbridled love and sex, interesting world history, and unique characters wildly driven by their own sense of purpose, within the pages of her books. A lover of nature and all animals, Smith’s writing illustrates her inborn quest to understand why human beings, born to a breathtaking earth, blessed to share it with the most fascinating creatures, meant to inspire and teach, take it for granted, depleting themselves, and each other along their life’s journey. While Smith knows she will never fully uncover the secrets of the universe, she feels with certainty that to begin to understand who we are and why we’re truly here, as well as start to heal the planet, we must all embrace the conscious intelligence of the natural environment surrounding us, and look into the eyes and feel the hearts of sentient beings, who already have the answer. Smith intends to spend the rest of her life observing and writing about the evolution of the human soul.