1--What is the title of your latest release?
ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
Imagine John Wick got into a 12-step recovery program for killers.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
I set a lot of the book in New York City, which is where I was born and raised, and it helps to set stuff there, because then it’s easy and I don’t have to do any research. But parts of it are also set in London and Prague and Singapore, all of which I’ve visited, and loved, and thought would be fun to write about.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Aside from the whole expert-assassin thing, he’s a pretty chill dude with a good sense of humor, and he has great taste in movies (probably because I’m the one who made him up so, we have the same taste).
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Scary. Thoughtful. Sad.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That I can, in fact, write a book. I have to learn that lesson every time. Despite completing seven novels, whenever I’m in the middle of a book, I think what I’m doing is an impossible and hopeless task. One day I hope to internalize this lesson!
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
My process is a little staggered. I’ll write a chapter, then do a quick clean-up before I launch into the next one. I try not to linger though. Forward momentum is important.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Ice cream. Specifically birthday cake flavored ice cream. I have the palate of a toddler.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
A little corner of my apartment is set up with my desk and a whole mess of books and a lot of paperwork that ought to be filed. And a giant whiteboard because I’m a visual thinker. I also work out of the Writer’s Room, which is a co-working space for writers in Manhattan. It’s open 24/7/365 and always has Kirkland brand peanut butter pretzels in the kitchen.
10--Who is an author you admire?
S.A. Cosby. Shawn has achieved such an incredible level of success, and he deserves every ounce of it. Even with his meteoric rise, he’s still the kind, funny, humble dude he always was. Always willing to lend a hand or an ear. I feel lucky to call him a friend, and I look up to him for the way he navigates the world.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
In the City of Shy Hunters by Tom Spanbauer. The best book I ever read and a book that probably made me a better and more empathetic person.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
The first time was in 2013 or 2014, when New Yorked got picked up by Polis Books. It was an incredible feeling. But when The Warehouse was pre-empted by Crown in 2018—that changed my life, allowing me to become a full-time writer. I was walking through a park in Manhattan when my agent called me to tell me the news and I made him repeat it because my entire brain went blank.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
Probably crime/mystery, but truly, my favorite thing to read is the book that’s closest to me. I’m currently reading Dune for the first time. I just finished It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. I liked it!
14--What’s your favorite movie?
Leon: The Professional. Best movie and best hitman movie. The international cut though, not the American one. The American cut lost something like 24 minutes.
15--What is your favorite season?
Spring and fall. I’m a fan of a light jacket.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I spent my last birthday playing Dungeons & Dragons for the very first time. It was an epic five-hour game and I hope to spend every birthday moving forward playing D&D.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The Bear. It’s so good it makes me mad. It forces me to step up my game.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I like to eat and it feels impossible to pick a favorite in a world where so many amazing cuisines exist so I reject the very premise of this question. Nobody puts baby in a corner.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
What is ‘free time’? In those rare instances when I’m not writing something or hanging out with my daughter I like to lift weights and train in Muay Thai, because I am getting old and my body requires a lot of upkeep. Naps are fun, too.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’m currently working on Assassins Anonymous 2. I’m also doing a cool co-writing gig that, as I’m answering these questions (in March) hasn’t been officially announced yet, and while I suspect when this runs (in June) word will have gotten out, I can’t know that for sure, so I’m going to play it safe and just say I’m working on a cool co-writing gig.
In this clever, surprising, page-turner, the world’s most lethal assassin gives up the violent life only to find himself under siege by mysterious assailants. It’s a kill-or-be-killed situation, but the first option is off the table. What’s a reformed hit man to do?
Mark was the most dangerous killer-for-hire in the world. But after learning the hard way that his life’s work made him more monster than man, he left all of that behind, and joined a twelve-step group for reformed killers.
When Mark is viciously attacked by an unknown assailant, he is forced on the run. From New York to Singapore to London, he chases after clues while dodging attacks and trying to solve the puzzle of who’s after him. All without killing anyone. Or getting killed himself. For an assassin, Mark learns, nonviolence is a real hassle.
Thriller [G.P. Putnam's Sons, On Sale: June 11, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593717394 / ]
ROB HART is the publisher at MysteriousPress.com and the class director at LitReactor. Previously, he has been a political reporter, the communications director for a politician, and a commissioner for the city of New York. He is the author of the Ash McKenna series at Polis Books and the coauthor of Scott Free with James Patterson. He lives in Staten Island with his wife and daughter.
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