Interview with Rachel G. Carrington, author of The Early Years

Inside the Book:

Title: The Early Years
Author: Rachel G. Carrington
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Biography
Format: Ebook/Paperback

Author Rachel G. Carrington lays no claim to lofty jobs, higher education, nor grand accomplishments except for a love-filled, multifaceted, family-oriented, poverty-to-plenty life. In The Early Years, the first in a series, she shares her story.

As a young teenager, just entering high school in the small town of Denton, Kentucky, Carrington planned to attend college and become a teacher. With coursework geared toward college attendance, she was offered a lucrative scholarship that would help her to attain her goal. However, it took only a single event to send her down a different path. She met a returned World War II veteran who was attempting to pick up the pieces after finding his marriage in irreparable shambles and his children gone. As he struggled, Carrington was there, and they pulled together to clear the many hurdles before them.

In this memoir, she tells the story of their journey and how their love and dedication for each other kept moving them forward. Filled with the joys, disappointments, and struggles of a couple, The Early Years narrates how the love of the heavenly Father was the continuous thread that bound Carrington’s life together.

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

My book is about the life of a sensitive, very shy girl, starting with her teen years in the 1940's. She was firstborn to loving,

albeit, strict, religious parents, who put providing a good education for their children at the top of their priorities. A college

education was out of the question due to lack of funds but, high school attendance was realistic and encouraged. Rachel applied

and was to be awarded a scholarship which could make her dreams of becoming a teacher a reality. Then, an unexpected

incident changed everything.

A few weeks after learning of the promised scholarship, Rachel and several girlfriends were attending mid-week prayer service at

her church. A common practice then in a hot southern Kentucky summer, was to have open windows for any semblance of comfort.

Open windows invited all night insects attracted to light, to come inside, especially large brown beetles. On this night, something

struck and clung in Rachel's hair. Thinking it was one of the dreaded beetles flying overhead, Rachel swatted at her

hair just as another one hit. She asked her girlfriend to help her get it out. Rachel’s girlfriend immediately told Rachel that it

was no beetle...  "This single, seemingly insignificant, minor incident was to have major impact on the rest of Rachel's life.

Rachel's story starts just as our nation is pulling out of the Great Depression and into WWII. It touches briefly on the war,

(mostly, its impact on the people), and, tells about the returning war veterans and the aftermath of WWII in small-town

Denton, KY. The geographical settings of Rachel's story include southern to northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati area.

The Carrington's early life is one of hardships, disappointments and uncertainties, yet, is a joyful, hopeful, faith-filled time.

A desire to, one day, "have something" (Brad's expression), the willingness to work as hard as need be toward his goal, and

an unshakeable faith that he has God's blessings in what he is trying to accomplish, makes it all worth it! From experience,

Rachel did not doubt that, one day things would be better, as her faith in her husband was second, only, to her faith in God.

My book/s/ are about family, a family accustomed to hard work, yet to a life of fun and joy. An inventive father and mother always

found ways to make time for fun and games, homemade board games, wheeled toys, puzzles, etc., Work became games.

Child's playtime games grew as the children did. Simple boxes with wheels became cars with motors; a board, pencil and sail

became a real boat and motor; a farm pond later evolved into a swimming pool, and, on and on. Family togetherness: "a family who

[plays] together, stays together"! (This later became our motto for a family waterski show—including four families--all part of my

story in the trilogy, Matters of the Heart, of which The Early Years: A Memoir is Book 1.)

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

The chief inspiration for writing this book is the happy, eventful life I have lived, one so fulfilled that, on

looking back, I can see very little that I would ever want to change. Each hardship I experienced, each hurdle I

encountered, each heartache that befell me, and each doubt I had along the way, I now see as building blocks

that shaped my existence into the life I have had and the memories I have attempted to portray in my book.

What cause are you the most passionate about and why?

Research and treatment of cancer in children

Do you have any rituals you follow when you finish a piece of work?

I perform no rituals other than to shut down my computer and for, at least a short length of time, try to get back into a

normal daily routine. I have not yet figured out how to do both.

Who has influenced you through your writing career?

Other authors whose work I admire, along with family, friends, and my readers continue to be my main influences.

What are your long-term goals?

My long-term goals are to finish the last two books of my ongoing series, Matters of the Heart.

Meet the Author:

Rachel G. Carrington, a transplanted Kentuckian, is a widow, mother of seven and grandmother to three generations. Included with her many other interests, she spends much of her time writing and lives in Hamilton, Ohio and in Honolulu, Hawaii.