Mark Rubinstein Blog

Just another WordPress site

  • Home
  • Books
    • Mad Dog House
    • Love Gone Mad
    • The Foot Soldier
    • Mad Dog Justice
    • Return to Sandara
    • The Lovers’ Tango
  • Meet Mark
  • FAQS
  • News & Reviews
  • Media Room
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
    • Mad Dog House Reading Group Guide
    • Love Gone Mad Reading Group Guide
    • The Foot Soldier Reading Group Guide
    • Mad Dog Justice Reading Group Guide
    • The Lovers’ Tango Reading Group Guide
  • Contact

Acclaimed Authors Tell It Like It Is

September 1, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune to interview many acclaimed authors. They aOnce Upon A Timenswer questions with refreshing candor. Here are some of the most successful writers telling it like it is.

You left your day job to write full-time. What’s surprised you about the writing life?

It’s much easier to lie on the couch and eat potato chips or watch Better Call Saul than sit down and write another paragraph. I’ve had to relearn self-discipline in writing these books. Alex Grecian, talking about The Harvest Man

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

 

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein, On Writing Tagged With: column, Huffington Post, HuffPo, Mark Rubinstein, writing

“X,” A Conversation with Sue Grafton

August 27, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Sue Grafton (c) Laurie Roberts PorterSue Grafton is best known for her alphabet mystery series (A is for Alibi, etc.), with her feisty protagonist Kinsey Millhone. NPR’s Maureen Corrigan said the forthcoming conclusion of the alphabet series “makes me wish there were more than twenty-six letters at her disposal.”

Sue has won nearly every award in the crime-mystery lexicon, and her bestselling novels are published in 28 countries and in 26 languages.

Breaking with the tradition of summing up each novel’s storyline by use of a letter and accompanying word, in Sue’s latest release, X represents the “unknown.” Within its pages are three separate mysteries: an art theft; an elderly couple involved in graft; and a sociopathic serial killer on the loose who is zeroing in on Kinsey as she struggles to unravel and resolve these cases without becoming the next victim of this ruthless killer.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein, On Writing Tagged With: advice to beginners, closed mystery, column, Hollywood, Huffington Post, HuffPo, Mark Rubinstein, open mystery, Writer's Block, writing, writing from the soul

‘Protocol Zero,’ A Conversation With James Abel

August 12, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

2015-08-12-1439374068-5514893-JamesAbelPhotoBillSchmoker-thumb

James Abel is a pseudonym for Bob Reiss, the bestselling author of more than 20 books. He is a former Chicago Tribune reporter and previously was a correspondent for Outside Magazine. His works have been published in many national publications and have been included in the collections of “the best of the Washington Post.” Bob’s new series of science-based thriller novels launched with the publication of White Plague, a novel about a US submarine trapped in the Arctic.

Protocol Zero, the second in this series, concerns U.S. Marine bioterror expert Col. Joe Rush. In the remote town of Barrow, Alaska, Rush is investigating the death of a researcher and his family. Rush suspects foul play, and stumbles upon a deadly virus slated for use in biological warfare. It’s a race against the clock to find out who’s behind this potential plague, as Rush tries to untangle the mystery behind the mounting deaths, while the army quarantines the town. Why are his superiors in Washington threatening to end the investigation; and who is behind the clandestine plans connected to the deadly virus? With his life in danger, and so much at stake, Rush presses to find answers and to stay alive.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, creativity, Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein Tagged With: authors, books, Huffington Post, novels, writing

Tom Clancy “Under Fire” A Conversation with Grant Blackwood

June 15, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Grant Blackwood co-authored Dead or Alive with Tom Clancy, The Kill Switch with JGrant Blackwood-jpegames Rollins, and The Fargo Adventure Series with Clive Cussler. He’s also the author of the Briggs Tanner series, among other novels. A U. S. Navy veteran, Grant spent three years aboard a guided missile frigate as an Operations Specialist and a Pilot Rescue Swimmer.

Under Fire is Grant’s first solo Tom Clancy book in the Jack Ryan, Jr. series. Working alone for the first time on assignment for The Campus in Tehran, Jack shares lunch with an old friend, Seth Gregory, during which he’s given the key to Seth’s apartment, along with a cryptic message. Soon thereafter, Seth goes missing and Jack, doing his best to locate his friend, finds himself entangled in a web of espionage; global politics involving the CIA, Great Britain’s MI 6, Russian and Iranian intelligence; and a popular uprising in neighboring Dagestan.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein, On Writing Tagged With: column, Huffington Post, HuffPo, Mark Rubinstein, writing

“World Gone By” A Conversation with Dennis Lehane

May 18, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Dennis Lehane c Gaby Gerstner Diogenes, ZurichDennis Lehane is known to millions of readers. His novels Mystic River, Gone, Baby, Gone, and Shutter Island became blockbuster movies, with the most recent film being The Drop, which is based on his short story, Animal Rescue.

A Drink Before the War won the Shamus Award. Mystic River won both the Anthony and the Barry Awards for Best Novel, and the Massachusetts Award in Fiction. Live by Night won the Edgar Award for Best Novel, and the Florida Book Award Gold Medal for Fiction.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein, On Writing Tagged With: column, Huffington Post, HuffPo, Mark Rubinstein, writing

‘The Lady From Zagreb” A Conversation with Philip Kerr

April 14, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Philip Kerr Photo - Credit © 2011 Phi l_Wilkinson_-_The_ScotsmanPhilip Kerr obtained a master’s degree in law and philosophy from the University of Birmingham in the UK. He worked as an advertising copywriter for Saatchi and Saatchi before becoming a full-time writer in 1989. He is best known for the Bernie Gunther series of historical thrillers set in Germany during the 1930s, World War II, and the Cold War. He was a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and winner of the British Crime Writers Association Ellis Peters Award for Best Historical Crime Fiction. He has also written a Young Adult series, Children of the Lamp, under the name P.B. Kerr.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein, On Writing Tagged With: column, Huffington Post, HuffPo, Mark Rubinstein, writing

About Reading

April 9, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

There are many quotes, often by famous people, about reading. But here’s one that succinctly articulates the benefits of reading.Meotti-Reading3

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein Tagged With: column, Huffington Post, HuffPo, interview, writer

“Killer, Come Hither’ A Conversation with Louis Begley

April 7, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Louis Begley c the authorLouis Begley was born in Poland in 1933. He and his parents survived the Holocaust, and he came to the U.S. at 13 years of age. He attended Harvard College, graduating summa cum laude. He then entered the U.S. Army. In 1959, after graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, he became an attorney in a prestigious law firm, where for many years, he headed its international practice.

When he was 58 years old and still practicing law, Wartime Lies, his first novel, was published. Based on his childhood as a Polish Jew who escaped the Nazi death camps, it won the Hemingway/PEN Award in 1991, and the Irish Times Aer Lingus International Fiction Prize. His 1996 novel, About Schmidt was made into a film starring Jack Nicholson.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein Tagged With: column, Huffington Post, HuffPo, interview, writer

‘The Stranger’: A Conversation with Harlan Coben

March 25, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Adobe Photoshop PDFHarlan Coben is known to readers everywhere. His first novel was published when he was twenty-six, and after two stand-alone thrillers, Play Dead in 1990 and Miracle Cure in 1991, he began writing the popular Myron Bolitar series. His 2001 standalone novel, Tell No One, was hugely popular. In 2006, Film director Guillaume Canet made the book into the French thriller, Ne le dis a personne. The movie was the top box office foreign-language film of the year in the U.S.; won the Lumiere (French Golden Globe) for best picture; and was nominated for nine Cesars (French Oscar), winning four awards.

Harlan Coben has gone on to write eleven more standalone novels. His books regularly appear on the New York Times bestseller list, and more than 60 million have been sold internationally. He was the first writer to receive the Edgar, Shamus and Anthony Awards.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

 

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein Tagged With: column, Huffington Post, HuffPo, interview, writer

‘The Stolen Ones’ A Conversation with Owen Laukkanen

March 18, 2015 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

Owen Laukkanen © Berni HuberOwen Laukkanen’s debut novel, The Professionals, received high praise and was nominated for many honors, including the International Thriller Writers’ Award, the Anthony, the Barry, and the New Voices Awards. He graduated from the University of British Columbia’s creative writing program, and before turning to fiction, spent three years reporting on the world of professional poker.

The Stolen Ones is the fourth novel in the series featuring Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere, partners in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension-FBI Joint Task Force. The novel begins with Irina and Catalina, two Romanian sisters, who are kidnapped and brought to the U.S. in shipping containers, along with other young women, to be sold as sex slaves. Soon, Stevens and Windermere are on the trail of a massive international kidnapping and prostitution ring. The story takes them over much of the country as they struggle to track down the most ruthless criminals they’ve ever encountered.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: Huffington Post Column, Interviews, Mark Rubinstein Tagged With: column, Huffington Post, HuffPo, interview, writer

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »

Connect:

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on GoodreadsFollow Us on Scribd

Recent Posts

  • Adrian McKinty Had Given Up On Writing: A Late Night Phone Call Changed Everything
  • David Morrell: Finding Inspiration, Transcending Genres, and Going the Distance
  • Don Winslow and the Making of a Drug War Epic
  • My talk with Lee Child about his “contract” with readers
  • C.J. Box on the Modern Western & Crime Thrillers

Archives

  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • February 2019
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012

Categories

  • About Books
  • Aging
  • Awards
  • book launch
  • bookstores
  • courtroom drama
  • creativity
  • crime
  • doctor
  • Dog Tales
  • health
  • Huffington Post Column
  • Interviews
  • library
  • Love Gone Mad
  • Mark Rubinstein
  • medial thriller
  • novel
  • On Writing
  • Podcast
  • psychological thriller
  • Psychology Today Columns
  • Reviews
  • The Foot Soldier
  • thriller
  • Uncategorized
  • war

Copyright © 2015 Mark Rubinstein