Steven M. Rubin joins the Spotlight to discuss his debut novel, The Unraveling of Michael Galler

Author Name: Steven M. Rubin

Book Title: The Unraveling of Michael Galler

Book Genre: Psychological suspense

Release Date: 5/12/2026

Welcome, Steven! Please tell us about The Unraveling of Michael Galler.

While growing up with his loving, widowed father and a younger brother he feels compelled to protect, Michael balances the pressures of his young life – academic achievement, high school athletic competition, and even training for the Boston Marathon. But as he moves toward college life, he develops a promising, emotionally complex relationship with a girl who too easily fills the gaps of his motherless upbringing – and his long-held fear of trying to outrun a disease he thinks is pursuing him begins to take over.

What sparked the idea for this book?

I was dealing with a challenging situation that would not resolve itself, and I was starting to equate it as something that was “cancerous”. The question then occurred to me, “what if it really was cancer?” This evolved into the idea that Cancer could be some type of insidious force or entity that had the ability to materialize in forms other than malignant cellular growth, but also any disease or illness that slowly deteriorated its victim. The idea that something could be growing and spreading within us without us knowing, and with malevolent purposes, was frightening to me.

How long did it take for you to write the book? Did you do any research?

It may have taken about twenty years from start to finish, but that delay was mostly driven by finding the time and focus to write while life was occurring all around me. But that was not necessarily a bad thing because it allowed me to take my own stories and experiences that I was living and reimagine into Michael Galler’s life.

What drew you to writing a psychological thriller?

The idea of Cancer as an antagonist came to me first, and the only way to make the story work as I had imagined it was to approach it from a psychological angle. I might classify it more as “drama” than “thriller”, as it develops more as a slow build to a cathartic conclusion. But I would also add that the way my mind works likely predestined me to write about complex ideas, problem solving, and emotional intensity…and this is all rooted in the psyche.

What’s your favorite part about writing/being an author? What do you find challenging?

I’m fascinated by the idea that I can take the reader anywhere I want in the next scene. Or I can put objects or ideas in front of the reader and if successfully done, they just accept that they are inserted into this world that I created. But it has to flow seamlessly or the reader will feel disjointed and I will lose the thread of the emotions I am developing. 

What I find challenging is to craft a complete scene. I always try to have at least two things going on in the same scene, which allows me to play ideas off of each other and sometimes it allows me to unknowingly plant an idea that could be used in a later chapter. In this novel, the antagonist was particularly challenging to write and it continuously evolved throughout the novel. I wouldn’t say it kept changing, but I did have to continually shape it until I fully understood it. I was constantly cleaning up ideas that weren’t working, but I was very pleased with the end result.

If you were speaking to someone who hasn’t read your writing before, why should they want to read The Unraveling of Michael Galler?

I would hope that they would find a comfort in my voice, that the characters I’ve created have deep-seated emotions that propel them forward, and that they would become invested in these characters and want to know where their story arcs will take them. I also hope they find a uniqueness in the developed scenes, and that the complex emotional relationship between Michael and Julie is not one they have seen before.

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

I think USA Today best-selling author Jacqueline Friedland said it best: that it is “a haunting reminder that the world we fight to protect exists not only around us, but within us.”

What about the writing/editing/publishing process has been the most surprising to you so far?

I feel like I can control the writing and the editing. But the publishing process has been surprisingly difficult, likely due to the fractured nature of readers’ interest and publishers’ pursuits. Each writer has an audience, but the challenge is finding the path to that audience.

Any words of wisdom you give your pre-published writer self (or to a new writer)?

Stop taking months off. Better yet, stop taking days off.

What are your interests outside of writing and reading?

I started learning to play the drums about five years ago and I really enjoy dissecting a song and learning how to play it. I can now much more appreciate the classic rock bands of the 60s, 70s, and 80s that I grew up with.

Are you working on a new project? Please tell us about it.

I used to make up silly five-minute bedtime stories when I put my young daughter to bed (e.g., “There once was a turtle who didn’t have a shell…”). One day, I decided to make up a story that would be continued each night, and that went on for well over a month. When I was done, I thought the ideas I created would be worth fleshing out into a true novel. I took a lot of notes and put them away. I’m now working on bringing that story to life. No surprise, it is about a father and daughter relationship, and the challenges of letting go.

What was the last book that stuck with you? Why did it make such a lasting impression?

As Game of Thrones was in their final television season, I had never seen the show and did not even know what it was about. I found myself in a bookstore looking for something to read. GOT was everything I didn’t want: it was about knights and dragons, it was a thick book, there were five of them, and there were supposedly two that still had yet to be written. Yet I somehow took the first book home and could not put it down. I felt like I was living in a real historical period. The writing, the dialogue, the characters, and the scene set-ups simply captivated me. I think it had such a lasting impression because my expectations were so drastically low and were so dramatically exceeded.

Where can readers find you? 

You can find me at stevenmrubin.com where all my events are posted. You can learn about an interesting experience I had at the Marblehead Festival of Arts 30 years ago in Massachusetts and why they have invited me back as a guest speaker this July 3rd. I am also on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Thank you, Steven! The Unraveling of Michael Galler is out NOW.

The Unraveling of Michael Galler

Michael Galler can juggle a multitude of things. He’s able to withstand the pressures of achieving academic excellence, competing in a high school athletic competition and training for the Boston Marathon—all while being there for his widowed father and younger brother, whom he feels the need to protect. After witnessing those close to him develop terminal illnesses, Michael will stop at nothing to ensure he does not. He becomes acutely aware of the ways in which the human body can harbor deadly threats from within. 

Then his obsession with his health begins to take over as his fear of physical ailment turns into a mental horror. Between his slow unraveling and a romantic relationship that mimics the maternal relationship he never had, will Michael be able to hold onto reality? 

Author Bio:

Steven M. Rubin was raised in a suburb of Boston, MA, played football at the University of Pennsylvania, and spent his career developing, negotiating, and implementing employee benefit strategies for large employers. He has completed the New York Marathon, the 100th running  of the famed 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 successfully finish what he started. After raising three children with his wife, Kerrie, he now lives in Weston, Connecticut.