The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

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Bucks Professor Rubin Publishes First Book

Bucks+Professor+Rubin+Publishes+First+Book

“Writing gives me a reason to
get out of bed in the morning.
Ironically, I don’t like getting out of bed.”
That’s what Bucks Assistant Professor of Language and Literature Alan Rubin says when talking of his first book published last December, entitled “Mr. Stomach Gets Upset. ” He discussed the creation of the story and his own personal writing process.“Mr. Stomach Gets Upset,” the first book in the “Corpus Hollow” series, is a fictional tale centered around personified human organs and their lives in Corpus Hollow. Impressively, the story is almost entirely written in verse and was written, illustrated, and published by Rubin. Rubin, born in Flemington, New Jersey, talked about his childhood experiences and what led him to pursue literature.
“I’ve always dreamed of not needing to have a job. That was always my dream job. But working at Bucks is a close second,” he said.
Writing was not his first plan for a career, as Rubin explains: “I didn’t always want to be a writer. In fact, for a long time I wanted to be a professional basketball player, but I suffered a serious knee injury in high school. That, and the fact that I’m five-foot-six, prevented me from trying out for the Knicks. So I decided to pursue writing.
Reading, while a hobby, was merely “incidental” to keep from being bored, as Rubin puts it. “I had no particular hobbies, other than staving off boredom. That was my primary concern.”
Jokingly, he says, “I’m afraid of what would have become of me if Angry Birds had been around back then. Maybe I’d be an ornithologist now.”
The story was started on a whim. “At some point, many years ago, it occurred to me that “Mr. Stomach Gets Upset” would be a funny title for something. So I dared myself to write something called “Mr. Stomach Gets Upset.” Of course I couldn’t back down,” Rubin says.
Many students and writers struggle when it comes to actually getting their thoughts on paper, and Rubin is no exception. When asked about his writing process, and the difficulty of writing in verse, he stated “It’s different for everyone. My process includes walking around in a circle and wondering how many words could credibly rhyme with “stomach.” Another part of my process is trying to avoid snacking. For me, writing is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percemt perspiration, and two family-sized bags of pretzel sticks.”
Rubin already has future installments in the works. “I do plan to make Corpus Hollow into a series. In fact, I’ve already written the second book, called “Hardy Heart Gets Burned.” I’m planning on publishing it this spring.”
When asked his final thoughts, and if he had any advice for novelists-to-be, he said, “I’m more comfortable asking for advice than giving it. Do you have any advice for me?”
“Mr. Stomach Gets Upset” is available to purchase online either through Amazon or through the “Corpus Hollow” website: https://www.createspace.com/4417634