WATCH: How Being a Corporate Spy Led Robert Kerbeck to Become a Writer

Authors in the Tent is a professionally filmed series of interviews with established and emerging authors conducted in a tent Ona Russell purchased during the pandemic. Inspired by Boccaccio’s Decameron and the 1001 Arabian Nights, the tent—elemental, ancient, and ubiquitous—serves as a magical backdrop for literary conversation.

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On the fourth episode, Ona Russell talks with Robert Kerbeck, author of Ruse: Lying the American Dream from Hollywood to Wall Street. In the conversation, they discuss his evolution as a writer, how you can publish art at any age, his career as an actor, and how language needs to fit the story you’re telling.

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This series is in support of the charities Tents-4-Homeless, PATH, Alpha Project, and VVSD.

Ona Russell holds a PhD in literature from UC San Diego where she also taught for many years. She is author of three award-winning historical mysteries and the recently released Son of Nothingness: A Novel of Appearances.

Robert Kerbeck is the founder of the Malibu Writers Circle and his essays and short stories have been featured in numerous magazines and literary journals, including Narratively, Cimarron Review, and Los Angeles Magazine. His short story, “Reconnected,” was adapted into an award-winning film and has appeared at film festivals worldwide. He is a lifetime member of The Actors Studio and an award-winning actor. He is also the author of Malibu Burning: The Real Story Behind LA’s Most Devastating Wildfire.