Authors Answer: Steven M. Rubin
Authors Answer Q&A #608
Author interviews almost always focus on questions regarding an author’s latest publication (and that’s great because it’s how readers discover new books!) but sometimes it’s fun to ask authors to talk about their lives beyond the book they’ve just written. Authors Answer (started as a blog in 2020, moved onto Substack in 2025), is an attempt to give authors space to wax eloquent about the other influences on their writing. The questions posed here move beyond the formulaic classics like, “What books are on your nightstand?” or “What book inspired you to be a writer?” and even “You’re having a dinner party….which three authors (dead or alive) do you invite?” There are 20 standing questions. Authors pick FIVE that they want to answer.
Are you an author? Visit the Questions page to learn more about participating.
Today’s post features Steven Rubin.
Steven M. Rubin was raised in a suburb of Boston, MA, played football at the University of Pennsylvania, and spent his career developing, negotiating, and implementing employee benefit strategies for large employers. He has completed the New York Marathon, the 100th running of the famed Boston Marathon, and the Marine Corps Marathon. Although a heart attack ended his third marathon at the halfway mark, he returned five years later to successfully finish what he started. After raising three children with his wife, Kerrie, he now lives in Weston, Connecticut.
Are there particular films that have influenced your writing?
I would not say that films influence my writing, as I would want writing to influence my writing; although I acknowledge that a film is based on a written screenplay. But there are some films that are exemplary of what I hope to achieve with my writing. Any film that has the courage to demonstrate patience in its story-telling without rushing the viewer to an overwrought climax is one that will retain my attention. To me, a slow burn is much more compelling than a conflagration. Films that come to mind are The Shawshank Redemption and the early films of M. Night Shyamalan. I’ll also add that I love a scene that simmers with tension, subtly illuminating the sense that something could go wrong at any moment, regardless of whether it does or not. Exhibit A would be the scene in Good Will Hunting when Matt Damon’s character meets Robin William’s character for the first time. The conversation goes from a casual introduction to Robin Williams’ hand on Matt Damon’s throat in only four minutes, and then is instantly diffused with a mere two words. That scene was brilliantly written and acted and, to me, is one of the most compelling four minutes in film history. I would strive to have the ability to write a scene as gripping and believable as that, and with that level of economy of words.
What’s the oddest thing a reader has ever asked you?
After reading my book, The Unraveling of Michael Galler, a reader had questioned what my intentions were of writing it, but unfortunately did not provide me with an appropriate forum to answer. But it is quite a thought-provoking question that deserves a response, so I will provide it here.
I believe the human mind has the amazing ability to conjure an atypical notion, nurture it slowly over time and allow it to grow into something powerful and controlling, if not even alive, in that mind. One could argue that the writing of this book itself was the execution of this assertion. But that is an idea without a story. I wanted to take it a step further and pose the scenario of what if that fabricated idea could be possibly true, and to test the limits of how far the creator of that idea would go to protect all that was important to him. This premise required me to build characters that were both complex and emotionally deep and to place them in challenging situations that I hope a reader will enjoy being immersed in. There are numerous other embedded themes, but that was the foundation of my intent.
Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?
At the age of 59, I had visited the childhood friend of my older brother. He had been drumming since the age of four and still plays professionally today. He gave me a thirty minute drum lesson to kill some time. Two weeks later, he drove ninety minutes to my house and dropped off a complete drum kit that he bought for me. He said, “You should be playing the drums.” And then he drove home.
That was five years ago and I’m now playing all the great classic rock music from the 70s and 80s that I grew up with, but I hear these songs completely differently now. I better understand song structure and can now appreciate the underlying drum tracks that I used to only tap my foot to. I’m amazed at how many variations there can be in a simple four-beat measure. And when you bring in tempo, dynamics, and creativity of fills, it’s like speaking a whole new language. And I love to play live, because everything you’ve practiced related to a specific song becomes irrelevant and your hands just take over and sometimes you play things you never practiced before because that is what you felt in the moment.
What is your favorite comic strip or graphic novel?
Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson is probably the best drawn and most creative character building of any comic strip that I’ve ever read. A key reason for its success, I believe, is that Watterson leaves it up to the reader’s own childish imagination to wonder whether Hobbes is truly anthropomorphic or not. I have great respect for Watterson for having never licensed his work for movies or even toys, keeping Hobbes’ true nature preserved for the reader’s own interpretation.
We have several of his books on our bookshelves at home that are horribly tattered from overuse by our family, as they should be.
Is there a work of art that you love. Why? Have you ever visited it in person?
I love architecture, and in particular, stadiums. We live in an era where modern stadium designs are becoming much more unique and interesting and Beijing Olympic Park (“The Bird’s Nest”) stands out as just one of many daring and beautiful concepts. But I was fortunate enough to play Ivy League football and to actually perform on the fields of some of the most beautiful and traditionally designed stadiums that are some of the oldest in the country (e.g., Harvard Stadium, The Yale Bowl). Having attended the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin Field will undoubtedly stand out as my favorite. Have I ever visited it in person? I scored touchdowns there!
Endnotes!
This newsletter is a passion project started by me, Elizabeth Rynecki, to try to help shine a light on new-to-me authors. I am also an author (and a documentary filmmaker and podcaster) and if you want to learn more about me, you can visit my website or read my personal newsletter, Ink Trails: A Chronicle in Creativity.
I’ve never made Authors Answer specific social media accounts, but you can find me on Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky.