Michael Rubens's Blog, page 9

Yrnameer in paperback!

Just got the first paperback copies of Yrnameer from the publisher. New color, similar design. For some reason they put my terrible author picture on the back cover, apparently to frighten off any prospective buyers.

My editor is a stuntman.

No, seriously. Had lunch today with Daniel Nayeri of Clarion Books, who just acquired my novel Six One Three. In addition to being an author, an experienced editor and an all-around nice guy, Daniel was also a stuntman for a while (apparently lots of dude-riding-bike-who-gets-nailed-by-car type appearances).

Broken Bells, since I'm posting performances….

"The High Road" by Broken Bells, from the great pop-up show we produced in an Austin parking garage at South by Southwest. And by "we," I mean the fantastic producer / director Michelle Stahl:

Second book

Clarion books has acquired my second novel, "Six One Three." Although it's a humorous novel, it's a bit of a departure from The Sheriff — it's the story of a 13-year-old kid left in the care of his much older and very volatile brother in the weeks leading up to his bar mitzvah. The older brother is a sort of impulsive, brawling force-of-nature type who looks at his wimpy younger sibling and decides that it's time to make him into a man. Various and sundry misadventures follow. As for the...

Ghostgirl book trailer

Great book trailer created by a co-worker, the incredibly talented Michael Slavens. Check it out:

Band of Horses

So I have this other life: I'm the executive producer of AOL Studios, NY, where I work with a fantastic team of professionals to do all sorts of production (yes: when I'm not writing novels that mock branding and advertising, I'm creating content rife with branding and advertising. Um…I contain multitudes?)

I am, however, very proud of certain content we produce, like the free concert with Band of Horses that we did, smack dab in the midst of NYC's Grand Central terminal ("If you pull this...

Derrick Brown

Last October I was lucky enough to be invited to appear on the Livewire radio show in Portland, Oregon as part of the Wordstock book festival. I was especially lucky because paratrooper-turned-poet Derrick Brown read some of his work that night (or unlucky, perhaps, seeing as how Gred Robillard and I were the next folks on stage, and Derrick is a hard act to follow). He somehow manages that funny/moving thing all in the same poem, and he's a great performer.

The next day I cornered him at his ...

It starts with towels. Then it's your skull.

What are you working on right now, Michael Rubens?

Another fascinating question that I'm glad I've pretended you've asked me. My services have been engaged to develop and write* a YA fantasy series aimed at boys. They** approached me because of Yrnameer, but what I've been writing has turned out to be rather lacking in the ha ha and much more on the grim side. That said, everyone seems quite pleased right now, and I hope to have good news on that front soon.

Right. Having now successfully jinxed that project, on to the next: I have another...

…and another really nice review.

…courtesy of someone who is clearly more literate and intelligent than I am (comments about how the bar could hardly be lower go here). Note: comparisons are made to a certain D. Adams and a certain K. Vonnegut. Partisans of either might be dismayed. I plead neutrality, or perhaps just stupiditynessism.