This season I will be checking in with some very busy authors with recent book releases to see how they are doing during this Covid-19 health crisis. Today the spotlight is on Max Rudin.
Max Rudin
Max Riley Rudin is a 16-year-old, soon-to-be junior in high school who started writing his first novel “A Truly Dead Rock” when he was a 14-year-old freshman in high school. He completed the first book of his trilogy between the Christmas break of 2018 and Labor Day weekend of 2019. He edited the book many times and self-published it on Thanksgiving 2019.
Max started a YouTube channel called “Gravity Max” that teaches astronomy, astrophysics, math, and science to teenagers and adults. He started it when he was only ten years old, and he has consistently written, researched, produced, edited, created graphics for, and composed the music for his videos on the “Gravity Max” channel that is in its sixth year of operation.
He has received numerous awards on the state and national level for his original science and educational videos, and he was the first student from his middle school to win a state level Science Olympiad award. The state recognition he received was in the category of “the Solar System.”
When he’s not writing books or producing content for his “Gravity Max” You Tube channel, Max plays the violin in his school orchestra, has appeared in 15 musical theater productions, has started an astronomy club at his high school, loves playing with his dog, and spends time with his family and friends.
“A Truly Dead Rock” is the first book in his “Solar System Century” trilogy, and he is currently on the third draft of the second book in this trilogy.
Max looks forward to teaching and spreading more of his knowledge and love of astronomy and astrophysics to the world. He also plans on studying astrophysics and quantum physics in college.
Q & A with Max Rudin
Q: Who are you quarantined with and how is it going?
A: I am quarantined with my parents and my brother in Sarasota, Florida. It is going well. The weather is nice out, and we like to take walks through our neighborhood. I am also getting a lot of work done on writing and on my YouTube videos.
Q: Have you learned a new skill or accomplished something unexpected while sheltering at home?
A: I have finished the second draft of my second book during quarantine and am about a third of the way through a third draft. I am very happy with this progress. It is going a lot faster than I thought it would.
Q: How has this social distancing impacted your world when it comes to school, social life, anything book marketing or writing related?
A: My school did not return to a physical session after March break because of the coronavirus. As a result, I have had to do my schoolwork at home and study for my AP tests at home. School is over now, though. My social life hasn’t changed much because I would regularly call my friends in Connecticut before the coronavirus, and now that that is the norm for everyone, I’ve continued to do the same. When it comes to writing, I have gotten a lot of work done—much more than if I was still attending school. Not only have I made significant progress on my second book (the sequel to A Truly Dead Rock), but I have done some work on other book concepts that I may publish later.
Q: Do you think this odd time will show up in book settings moving forward?
A: Yes, I believe that the coronavirus pandemic will end up inspiring many authors to write pandemic-themed novels. Stories of people being stuck inside may find their way into science fiction and dystopian novels. Also, the pandemic will likely make its way into many memoirs. Personally, I have not thought about the coronavirus much for a book I may write.
Q: What is the silver lining for all of us and specifically for authors when it comes to the covid-19 shut down?
A: The silver lining for authors when it comes to the coronavirus shut down is that there might be much more time to write. This applies more to part-time authors like myself who have school or a job to balance with their writing. For those authors who already spend all of their time writing, it may mean less time to work as they need to help their family members. In general, though, I think that we should all try to find more time in our days to work on personal projects, whatever they may be. Whether it be organizing one’s house, composing music, making visual art, or writing books, we should all find something we want to get done in our lives and do it.
Q: What do you have going on right now?
A: Currently, I am working on writing my second book, A Bottled Up Flame, a sequel to A Truly Dead Rock. This second book will follow Erie, the niece of Hudson Possaic from the first book. I will be publishing this book on November 1st, 2020, a little earlier than when I self-published A Truly Dead Rock last year. While I currently plan on self-publishing A Bottled Up Flame, I would be happy to work with a publisher on this second book and more books I write going forward.
