An Interview with Don Lubov, author of The Plague
Don has been happily married since 1976. He was an artist for 34 years and exhibited his artwork at 3 New York City Art Galleries and the Heckscher Art Museum. He also spent 8 years teaching Art & Design and in 1985 he received a grant from The Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation for his work combining art & mathematics, with his “Quantum Pictures”. As an accomplished writer, he is the author of 9 books spanning the scope of spirituality and stress relief to science fiction!
You’ve written such a lovely range of books on a variety of topics. Do you have a favourite? Can you tell me a bit about the process of writing it?
I have 6 books currently in print and Kindle…5 of them published in June of 2018, so I suppose I can pick any for this interview. I believe you have an interest in science fiction, so let’s go with my sci-fi story: “The Plague”.
So far, I am writing about a book a year. I can write, with a pencil, almost anywhere quiet. My favorite place is in my den, late at night, with no distractions.
Years ago I wrote a 2-page, 500-word, flash fiction, sci-fi story. It sat in my drawer a long time. I decided to make it into a book. It became my first novel. Until this, I had only written non-fiction. I soon realized I was in over my head.
I bought 9 books on novel writing and 2 workbooks and spent 18 months studying these. I belong to a writing group, and they helped by making suggestions to my sfds (shitty first drafts). Between my writing group, the writers Bloc Club, and my wife and friends, I have some very helpful beta readers.
I didn’t want to write the somewhat standard cowboys and Indians in the far-flung future shooting ray guns at each other. I wanted something more cerebral, like “Fahrenheit 451” or “1984”. I wrote about a plague of anger that swept our entire planet.
I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? What are you always on the lookout to read?
As to the smell of books, you’ve got that one absolutely right. I like all bookstores, but my preferred one is our local Barnes & Noble.
My tastes have definitely changed over time. Although I read hundreds of sci-fi books (Bradbury, Heinlein, Assimov, etc.) and books on architecture as a teenager, since 1971 I have read over 100 books on spirituality.
Social media is a big thing, much to my disgust! I never have enough time myself to do what I feel is a good job. What do you do?
Other than emails, the only social media I do is Quora. I do have a website: http://donlubov.com, and I have been teaching classes in spirituality for the past 11 years. My current book on spirituality (and creativity) is: “An End to Stress” – A Guru’s Guide to Inner Peace.
If you are interested in reading more about Don’s work, either visit his website, or download this Brochure about his current books.
