Drinian Press interviews Rob Smith:
DP: Night Voices is your first published book. How did you come to write it and what is it about?
Rob: I have always been a writer who is fascinated by other cultures. So much of what we call our
"lifestyle" is based on technologies that make us feel free and independent while they really make us
helpless and dependent. I see people who seem to have their cell phones surgically implanted in their
heads and people walking side by side, each talking to someone else. My students think I'm
anti-technology, but that's not the issue. More and more, I get the sense that people no longer know or
want to be alone with their own thoughts. That's scary. In Night Voices, I create a disaster that strips
away the technology and makes the people confront basic realities, things that are often hidden behind
product labels and the latest trends. In a sense, my characters have to move backward in time.
DP: So, do you consider Night Voices to be a disaster action/adventure genre?
Rob: No, I don't. I have to confess that this has been a difficult book to classify. While it begins with a
planetary disaster, it really doesn't focus on the impact of the destruction. The focus is on the characters
who are aware that they have choices to make about how they are going to restructure the world. I
consider it mainstream fiction.
DP: Most of the action takes place on sailboats. Is there a reason for that?
Rob: Only that sailing is the true religion! (Maybe you shouldn't report that.) I have been a sailor for
more than 25 years. Some of the popular fiction that places characters on boats is written by authors who
clearly have never been out in a storm. I'm the author of this one, so I take the privilege of using boats as
the backdrop. C.S. Lewis used to note that bad authors write the kind of stuff that they think people will
want to read. Good authors, however, write the sort of books they'd want to read.
DP: That could be taken several ways. As the publisher, I'd rather hear that you'd write the books people
will want to read (and buy). Should I be nervous?
Rob: I hope not. Of course I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want my books to sell. What Lewis meant
(and I agree) is that books that come from the inner-life of an author are truer and richer than those which
follow a formula for commercial success. His take on it was that good books could be read over and over
because they changed the reader. I suppose it's the difference between a book that engages the ideas
of the author with the mind of the reader rather than one which is an entertaining diversion.
DP: Do you read a lot of fiction?
Rob: No, I read mostly non-fiction. In fact, I have double-vision and sometimes have a tough time
reading for a long period. My wife is an avid reader, and I always tell her that I write books instead of
reading them.
DP: How many books have you actually written?
Rob: If you don't count poetry, short stories, and chancel dramas, my count is three. My first published
book, Night Voices is actually my third attempt at book-length. Children of Light is a pure science fiction
genre book; it was my second. And my first book was appropriately dumpsterized.
[Editor's note: Children of Light is also now available in print from Drinian Press.]
DP: You mentioned having students. What is your "real life" job?
Rob: I like to think that (finally) my real life job is writing novels. At this point in my life I can finish the
things that I have been working on for years. The reason that I can do it now is that I am semi-retired and
get a pension for not working too much. I had the opportunity and privilege, in the last few years, of
teaching at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Since my retirement, I continue to teach as an
Adjunct Instructor, but am using the flexibility of my time to work on my novels.
DP: What do you teach?
Rob: My educational background is religion and philosophy, and I teach in those departments at WSU. I
teach mostly intro type courses in Bible and philosophy. I have taught some upper level courses including
one on the fiction of C.S. Lewis.
DP: You mentioned him earlier. I would guess that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is his most
famous book. That's a children's book. Is it your favorite?
Rob: Actually, no. Lewis wrote so much. He was an amazing survivor (but that's a long story). He wrote
many academic studies, non-fiction, and fiction. My personal favorite is a retelling of the myth of Psyche
and Cupid that's entitled, Till We Have Faces. Don't get me wrong, I love The Chronicles of Narnia, and
have written children's stories myself, but Night Voices and Children of Light are meant for adult readers.
DP: What's next?
Rob: Well, Night Voices only gets Cathy, Shrader, and the crews to Labrador. I'm now working on the
next step in the adventure.
DP: Any hints?
Rob: My working title is Keelhouse, but other than that, we'll all have to wait to see what the characters
are going to do!
Rob has received a number of awards for both his fiction and poetry in literary contests across the
country. Most recently, he won the Robert Frost Poetry Award in 2006.
He currently writes fulltime, but continues to teach as an Adjunct Instructor in Religion and Philosophy at
Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. There he has taught a popular course entitled The Life, Religion,
and Fiction of C.S. Lewis. Following the example of Lewis and Tolkien, his own fictional works are
attempts to retell traditional myths in the form of popular fiction. Rob and his wife, Nancy, sail the waters
of Lake Erie in an old sloop that they are restoring. He holds degrees in religion and philosophy from
Westminster College and Princeton Theological Seminary.
country. Most recently, he won the Robert Frost Poetry Award in 2006.
He currently writes fulltime, but continues to teach as an Adjunct Instructor in Religion and Philosophy at
Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. There he has taught a popular course entitled The Life, Religion,
and Fiction of C.S. Lewis. Following the example of Lewis and Tolkien, his own fictional works are
attempts to retell traditional myths in the form of popular fiction. Rob and his wife, Nancy, sail the waters
of Lake Erie in an old sloop that they are restoring. He holds degrees in religion and philosophy from
Westminster College and Princeton Theological Seminary.
Rob Smith has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels for over forty
years. To date, his major literary works are two novels, Night Voices and
Children of Light. Additionally, he has a novella/short story collection and a
volume of poetry under consideration by publishers. As an author, he sees a
direct link between poetry and the art of writing fiction. As a novelist, Rob tries
to bring his sensitivity as a poet to bear on his characters and storyline.
years. To date, his major literary works are two novels, Night Voices and
Children of Light. Additionally, he has a novella/short story collection and a
volume of poetry under consideration by publishers. As an author, he sees a
direct link between poetry and the art of writing fiction. As a novelist, Rob tries
to bring his sensitivity as a poet to bear on his characters and storyline.
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