Steven Moscovitz becomes an author, artist at 64-years-old

Steven Moscovitz has proved that it is never too late to do what you love.

Just one day after retiring from his 40-year-long career in the securities industry, Moscovitz began writing his first novel, which he would finish in six months.

Moscovitz grew up interested in writing and painting, but found that he could not make a career out of it. When it came time to get a degree, the now-author went for securities, based on his childhood interest in stocks and bonds.

“When I was about 14, I read an article about a company called Acton, in Massachusetts,” Moscovitz said. “It had two businesses, one was the snack business and the other part of the business was somehow cable TV. Being a hockey fan and watching cable TV when I was little, that peaked my interest in the securities field, so I watched the stock, and I bought some and it doubled and it tripled because the cable business started to take over.”

The former New Jersey native who now resides in Merrick attended Fairleigh Dickinson University, and went on to work for Merrill Lynch as a stockbroker. Moscovitz later started his own firm called Albarella, Moscovitz and Associates, for which he wrote articles as publicity for his business.

The majority of Moscovitz’s writing and creative work was done separate from his career in finance, also including some time at Columbia University and Bank of America.

“I painted right after college and just before I started my first job and then I stopped cold turkey, stopped painting, didn’t write except for non-fiction related to my business and literally just picked it up again after I retired,” Moscovitz said. “I desperately wanted to do it.”

His retirement came at the age of 63, and ever since, he’s been fully enthralled by the arts. Moscovitz wrote his first novel, published in June 2023, titled “Kill Brothers.”

The thriller’s plot combines Moscovitz’s interests in the Holocaust, World War II and the modern-day analysis of DNA in cold cases.

Much of his interest came from the investigation following the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, an American labor union leader. There had been speculation that his body was buried in the Meadowlands in Bergen County, New Jersey, close to Moscovitz’s childhood home. Later, he followed the investigations of the Gilgo Beach murders, while living on Long Island.

“That really sparked my interest in crime,” he said. “Subsequently the DNA stuff really came later when I read more about it and of course the Gilgo Beach stuff, really peaked my interest in cold cases.”

The author’s process for writing the novel included walking in the morning to generate ideas, after which, he’d spend the rest of his day writing. His morning walks were a pastime developed before retiring, as he had recovered from a four-disc fusion spinal surgery in the past.

Moscovitz also has tapped into his oil painting skills in retirement, practicing primarily portraits. “I do exclusively portraits because I find people fascinating, you know the snowflake affect, every single person is different and looks different,” Moscovitz said.

While his career as a creative has only just begun, Moscovitz plans to continue on this path, just as he had always hoped to. “I’m just going to keep doing it, I love it,” Moscovitz said. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had.”