Interview with Michael H. Rubin
How would you describe your style of writing to someone that has never read your work?
The novels that are published under the name “Michael H. Rubin” are actually jointly written by my wife, Ayan, and me. We write thrillers.
Our first novel THE COTTONCREST CURSE, is a historical thriller that follows the lives of several families in and around the Cottoncrest Plantation in a tale that runs from the Civil War era to the Civil Rights era and on into the present. Our just-released legal thriller, CASHED OUT, is told in the first person in a voice that will remind readers of film-noir characters.
Although each novel is different, and each can be read independently of the other, they are linked in that key characters in CASHED OUT are descendants of characters in THE COTTONCREST CURSE.
As we write our novels, we have one ultimate goal, whether we’re writing in the third person, as in THE COTTONCREST CURSE, or in a contemporary first-person voice, as in CASHED OUT. When they get to the end of a chapter, we want our readers to say to themselves, “OK, I’ll read just a few more pages to see what happens next.” Many of our fans tells us that they get so involved in our novels they stay up all night reading until they finish them.
How do you create the characters in your novels?
My wife and I work out the key plot points and characters on our daily early power morning walks at 4:30 a.m. We’re full of ideas and we constantly talk about not only the characters and plot points of both the manuscript we’re currently working on but also ideas for future novels. As we talk about each character, we create a background story for them - - who their parents were, how they were brought up, what their goals and desires are. Although we don’t necessarily put all the information into the novel, it is our knowledge of their entire background that enables us to draw fully developed characters.
We also try to find a “voice” for each character. Dialogue, for us, is never a mere transcription of speech. Rather, we view dialogue as compelling discussion that reveals character.
What are some of your writing/publishing goals for this year?
We have completed the manuscripts for our third and fourth thrillers. Our next novel, ENFLAMED, revolves around a small-town deputy sheriff deep in South Louisiana who must race against the clock in an attempt piece together clues arising from seemingly disparate events in time to thwart a major terrorist attack. After ENFLAMED, we have SANCTION, a cat-and-mouse thriller between a female detective and a disbarred lawyer played out in the seedy side of New Orleans.
Our goal, and that our of New York agent, is to wrap up negotiations with publishers about these two books.
Do you feel that writing is an ingrained process or just something that flows naturally for you?
My wife and I are fortunate. We’ve both had varied professional careers in addition to writing. I’m currently a full-time trial and appellate attorney and help manage a law firm with offices from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast to the East Coast. I’ve been a professional jazz pianist and have played in the New Orleans French Quarter. I’ve also been a radio and television announcer and a law professor. My wife was in television production for many years, including writing grants and then scripts for children’s programs as well as documentaries. Between the two of us, we’ve had ample experiences that provide a solid foundation for our novels, although the characters and situations in each are entirely fictional. We find the process of writing novels to be both fun and invigorating.
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Cashed Out
by Michael H. Rubin
Thriller
August 15, 2017
One failed marriage. Two jobs lost. Three maxed out credit cards. “Schex” Schexnaydre was a failure as a lawyer. Until three weeks ago, he had no clients and no cash — no clients except for infamous toxic waste entrepreneur G.G. Guidry, who’s just been murdered, and no cash, except for the $4,452,737 Guidry had stashed with him for safekeeping.
When Schex’s estranged ex-wife, Taylor, is accused of Guidry’s murder, she pleads with Schex to defend her. He refuses, but the more he says no to Taylor, the deeper Schex gets dragged into the fall-out from Guidry’s nefarious schemes, ending up as the target of all those vying to claim Guidry’s millions for themselves.
About the Author:
A nationally-known speaker and humorist as well as a full-time attorney, Michael H. Rubin has had a varied career. He has also been a professional jazz pianist in the New Orleans French Quarter, a radio and television announcer, and an adjunct law professor. His debut novel, “The Cottoncrest Curse,” received the Book-of-the-Year Gold Award at the annual meeting of the American Library Association in 2015 and was named the top thriller/suspense novel published by a university or independent press. Rubin is the winner of the Burton Award, given at the Library of Congress, for outstanding writing, and is a member of the Author’s Guild, the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and the International Association of Crime Writers.
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