[3][4] He was an avid reader of science fiction, and it was his early childhood exposure to the juvenile novels of Robert A. Heinlein that later influenced him to become a writer.

[3] While at Stony Brook, Spider entertained at campus coffeehouses and gatherings, strumming his guitar and singing in harmony with his female partner.

[9][failed verification][10] Robinson adopted the name partially out of admiration for blues musician "Spider" John Koerner.

[11] In 1971, just out of college, Robinson took a night job guarding sewers in New York City, and wanting a career change, began writing science fiction.

[4] He made several short-story sales to Analog, Galaxy Science Fiction magazine, and others, earning the John Campbell Award for best new writer in 1974.

[4] In 1975, he married Jeanne Robinson, a choreographer, dancer, and Sōtō Zen monk, with whom he later co-wrote the Stardance Trilogy.

In Callahan's Key the patrons make a visit to the marina near Fort Lauderdale where the Busted Flush was usually moored in the McGee series.

In 1992, Robinson was master-of-ceremonies for the Hugo Awards at MagiCon, the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Orlando, Florida.

He and his wife Jeanne had a daughter, Terri Luanna da Silva, who once worked for Martha Stewart,[9] and one granddaughter.