'The Lehigh Valley’s Stealth Author' Found in Nazareth

Not many authors can lay claim to nearly 20 published books. Even fewer can say they have more than 3 million copies in print -- that’s a three with six zeroes, if it doesn’t already sound impressive enough.

Now, if there were an author who could claim such things, and he lived in your town, you’d know him, right?

There’s a reason David Lubar calls himself "The Lehigh Valley’s Stealth Author.” He’s the brains behind the popular short-story collections, the Accidental Zombie series, and a bunch of other books for young readers.

Oh, and he lives right in , and has for about 25 years.

Lubar, who grew up in Morristown, N,J., and graduated from Rutgers University, currently has 17 books in print. When we discovered the elusive Lubar, he gladly took some time between writing his scary/funny stories to chat with us fine folks at Patch.

First question: When people ask you what you do, what do you tell them?

“When people ask ‘What do you do?’ I generally answer, I’m a writer. Then I wait for the change in topic, or the typical follow-up questions… When I was a game programmer, I would just tell them ‘programmer.’”

Because they would assume it was a boring job?

“If I told them I designed games, I’d usually have to pull up a comfortable chair.”

What is normally the first question people ask you about being a writer?

“Are you published? Have I read anything you’ve written? I say, probably not, but your children might have.” 

How does it feel to walk into a store and see your name on the cover of a book?

“When I see my books in an airport bookstore, I do a little happy dance… it’s such a small space, they’re very selective.”

When was your first book published?

“My first short story was published in 1978, but I didn’t get a book published until 1996… When I got out of college in 1976, I wrote five novels, none of which sold, and for good reason. Mostly because I was learning to write novels.”

Were your first attempts written for young readers?

“The first two novels I wrote were for young people… another one was adult horror, and one was adult science fiction… I gathered probably 100 rejections before I even sold a story. But I really can’t complain. Almost nobody makes a living writing short stories, and somehow I’m doing just that.”

Some of your books feature zombies, horror elements, and other taboo subjects. Have you ever faced any resistance for your choices?

“Every writer gets his books challenged to some degree or another. I’ve been fortunate. I haven’t become a target compared to some of my friends who write realistic books.

“It’s funny, when they were burning copies of Harry Potter here in Pennsylvania, I wrote a letter to The Morning Call, telling them that there are a lot of local authors here, and could they please burn my books next time? I could use the publicity. I was thrilled and amused when [the letter] was published.”

Did you major in creative writing?

“I actually majored in philosophy, which came in handy later when I went into programming… if you waste four years learning logic, you’re actually learning how to program.” 

So if Socrates were alive today, he’d be working at Microsoft?

“Definitely. But we’d still make him drink hemlock.”

Tell us about your days of programming video games.

“I worked for various companies, the most well-known of which was Activision… I got to do my best work on the Gameboy, just through good luck. I was handed Home Alone, and that was a fun title to work with. I got to put Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern and Macaulay Culkin onto the small screen… Later, I programmed Frogger for the Gameboy Color, and through that got to design Frogger 2.”

On your website, you mention that you like to jump around a lot in your hobbies. What are your current ones?

“My current passion is not at all surprising; I spend my free time playing video games… When I play the current generation of games, and I move a joystick and see a whole city pan before my eyes in detail, I can’t help but compare it to the 8-bit graphics we had in the old days… it’s just stunning what they can do today.”

What is your favorite book that you’ve written?

“Probably In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, because it was my first short story collection. And Dunk because it’s about the Jersey Shore. I grew up in Morristown and invaded Pennsylvania about 25 years ago.”

What is your favorite book of all time?

“Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.”

What is your next forthcoming book?

“I just finished the sixth story collection, which will be Beware the Ninja Weenies… it [will be released] in May or June of 2012.”

What’s great about living in Nazareth?

“I’m just really happy living here. I have a mechanic I can trust… I’ve had the same dentist and doctor for years… I’m really impressed by the . I’m amazed that they can keep up with as many new releases as they do.”

David Lubar is the author of 17 books for tweens and teens. His newest short-story collection, Attack of the Vampire Weenies, and the fifth and final book of the Accidental Zombie series, Enter The Zombie, are out now.