Voorhees resident Jill Rubin really didn’t know anything about sports. Deb Durst, a resident of Maple Shade, grew up with sports all of her life. Who knew that the combination of these two women and football would create a great friendship as well as a great book?
Together, Rubin and Durst, co-authored the book, “There’s Lipstick on my Pigskin.” “There’s Lipstick on my Pigskin” is a satirical book on football. It takes football terms and puts a feminine twist on the definitions. They range from shopping to sex.
“It’s a women’s guide to sports, through a woman’s eyes,” Rubin said. “Looking at a word, seeing if there is a sexual or snarky, or just a female interpretation.”
Rubin and Durst became friends after losing their jobs when the company they worked for got in financial trouble. They hadn’t interacted much before when they worked for the same company. However, they ended up exchanging numbers and talking on the phone. Their friendship then evolved from there.
Rubin said it was devastating losing her job, and Durst wasn’t going to go back into the marketing and sales industry. But fortunately, their working life wasn’t over for either of them. It was just a new beginning.
“There is life after firing. I think in my age group it is very, very difficult to reinvent yourself,” said Rubin.
“I knew I wasn’t going back to the industry I left. I just looked at my future and I asked myself, what do I want to do? And I said, ‘I want to have fun, I want to enjoy my life,’” said Durst.
The idea for writing the book came from Durst, who was watching a football game when the announcer said a football term that had her busting out laughing. She realized that the term had another meaning, especially for females. Then, Durst got the idea for “There’s Lipstick on my Pigskin!”
Durst talked to Rubin about the idea and, having both a fondness for writing and a “twisted sense on life and people,” the duo started the book. Durst provided the terms and asked Rubin her thoughts on the meaning, going back and forth on possible definitions.
“It’s the only perspective I could give, since I didn’t know
anything about football,” said Rubin.
According to Rubin, the book is meant to be fun and funny, a light book that will bring joy and laughter to men and women.
“It just is for a sense of fun and laughter, which we all could use some,” Rubin said.
Rubin and Durst know a lot about laughter. Rubin and Durst were all about laughing and having fun as they set up their table and display sign for their event at the Recovery Grill in Burlington. However, Rubin’s day didn’t start out all that great.
She woke up with a cold and just did not want to get out of bed. Unfortunately, she did not have the luxury to stay in bed since she had an event and an interview for her co-authored book.
But things didn’t get better from there, her dog got sick all over the carpet and while cleaning it up, she too got sick from the sight and smell. Then on her way out ants were on her kitchen counter. Leaving the ants, she went to her car where the seatbelt broke and the car kept making rattling noises.
“It’s a typical day,” she said with a laugh. “If you don’t take it with humor, what else can you do?”
Rubin credited her “twisted sense about life” to these “typical” days.
“That is kind of where it stems from, the sarcasm or the outlook, the way you view life. If I didn’t view it that way I would cry every single day,” said Rubin. “I think that all humor comes from pain. Life is painful and joyful. It’s just deciding where you want that scale to tip. The people in my life helped me to decide.“
Rubin said Durst was one of the greatest influences on that decision.
“She truly is my best and kindest friend, one of my best friends. She is very near and dear to me and she’ll be in my life forever,” Rubin said.
Rubin also credits Durst with most of the work for their book. She said that Durst came up with the idea, did most of the publishing, and did their own marketing and all of the social media. The only things they didn’t do were editing their book and creating the cover. An editor of Oregon State University helped with those elements of the book, whom Durst connected to through social media.
“There’s Lipstick on my Pigskin” is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and their website. Rubin and Durst also sell their books at their events, which a list can be found on their website www.thereslipstickonmypigskin.com. The book ranges in price from $10 to $15. Now, their book is also published in 15 different languages around the world
“It’s exciting. When you type in my name into the Barnes & Noble website it’s like, ‘Holy crap I’m listed as an author!’” Rubin said.
Rubin and Durst aren’t done with sports books yet. The duo is working on their next books about hockey and baseball, using the same dictionary-like style for those books.
“There’s more to come. Continue to support us please. It is very meaningful and encouraging.” Rubin said.
