When Writing Dreams Come True

Steven M. Rubin was raised by a father who read countless commercial novels. As a result of Steven’s exposure to these stories, and his own innate motivation to rise to a challenge, he came to believe, “I can do this, too.”

In 1996, primed with an idea and a broad plotline, he started to write. After introducing a new character in the fourth chapter, he supposed the chapter could stand alone as a short story—and so he entered an abridged version into the 1997 Marblehead Festival of Arts’ writing contest – and won Best of Show in the Short Fiction category.

Fast forward, and that long-ago short story is now the basis of his debut novel, The Unraveling of Michael Galler, which will see publication on May 12. It is currently available for pre-order through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Simon & Shuster, and local independent bookstores. A psychological family drama set between the contrasts of Boston’s unflinching city streets and the safety of its North Shore suburbs, locals will identify with many of the locales. The Boston Marathon, in fact, serves as the crucible in which the hero’s fate is forged.

For all writers who share the dream to publish, Steven M. Rubin’s personal account of one story and its road to publication is certain to inspire and elicit questions. Through his own anecdotal reflections, he will walk us through what so many of us view as a daunting process – from writing that opening sentence to holding the published book in one’s hand.

Steven M. Rubin was raised in Winthrop, Massachusetts, played football at the University of Pennsylvania, and spent his career developing, negotiating, implementing, and managing employee benefit strategies for large employers. He has completed the New York Marathon, the coveted 100^th running of the 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 finish what he had started. A Swampscott resident for several years, Steven moved to Fairfield County, Connecticut, where he now lives, and where he raised three children with his wife, Kerrie.