Author Robert Steiner Featured in Online Interview at TheBookInsider.com

Robert Steiner received an AB from Princeton in 1947, after two years army service, and a PhD from Harvard in 1950. He spent most of his life as a scientist doing research at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, MD, and teaching and conducting research at the University of Maryland. He published seven scientific books during this time, as well as over two hundred papers, and served on the editorial boards of three periodicals. He also served on numerous government panels. He was also a private pilot for twenty-five years. Since retiring in 1995, Steiner has spent his time writing, painting, and working for Amnesty International, as well as playing with his nine grandchildren. During both work and retirement, he has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

(PRWEB) April 10, 2005 -- TheBookInsider: What types of books did you like to read when you were growing up? Were you always interested in reading and writing?

Robert Steiner: I was especially fond of adventure and travel books. My interest in reading and writing is lifelong.

TheBookInsider: Who and/or what have been your biggest influences in regards to your writing and why?

Robert Steiner: My 5th grade teacher in Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC was the first to take an interest in my writing and encourage it. Also, my high school principle was very helpful both in encouraging my writing and in helping me get a scholarship to Princeton.

TheBookInsider: You have published numerous scientific books over the years. What led you to write the book of short stories, "Dreamtime?"

Robert Steiner: It was a form of compulsion. In 78 years I had accumulated many thoughts and insights which might not have occurred to anyone else and which it seemed very urgent to preserve in a permanent record before they were lost. I thought it best to do this while I was still in possession of my faculties, rather than wait until it was too late.

TheBookInsider: What is it about the "short story" format that makes you enjoy writing them?

Robert Steiner: It is much easier to deal with, and to sustain interest in, a limited time frame than a major fraction of a lifetime, as in a novel. Also, it is possible to conceive, complete and revise, if necessary, a short story in a relatively short time. This is important for me, as I will be 80 next year and dont know how much time I have left.

Read the full interview with Robert Steiner at http://thebookinsider.com/Interviews/RSteiner.htm

http://thebookinsider.com/

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