5 Questions with Rob Hart!
Rob Hart is the author of the Ash McKenna series, two fantastic standalones and now the Assassins Anonymous series. The first Assassins Anonymous novel introduced us to Mark, an assassin trying to go clean—from killing. As it’s a thriller, things go bonkers and pandemonium ensues. It’s a great, fun, and fast read that I highly recommend.
But Rob is back this week with a brand new entry to the series called The Medusa Protocol. It’s out today!
Rob and I exchanged emails and he told me about the new one. Here it is:
Dave White: Talk about the genesis of this novel. What about your idea for this book made it hard to not write?
Rob Hart: So this is a sequel to Assassins Anonymous, which is probably the best elevator pitch I've ever come up with: John Wick goes to 12-step recovery for killers. That was a fun book to write, and the concept really lends itself to a series. It's a room full of killers, all trying to be better people, all with their own histories and traumas to unpack. The first book followed Mark, formerly the Pale Horse. The Medusa Protocol shifts the lens to another member of the group: Astrid, formerly Azrael.
DW: You wrote a series, then a few standalones. What brought you back to writing a series?
RH: The Ash McKenna series was five books and I really needed a break after that. I wanted to write some stuff I could walk away from. And series stuff is hard, because your character has to grow and remain static at the same time; they need arcs but have to remain recognizable. But the possibilities offered by the Assassins Anonymous program were too good to pass up. I feel like I could write a dozen of these.
DW: A process question: What is your favorite part of writing? What do you find to be the most difficult?
RH: That first draft is a beast: the act of creating something out of nothing, and getting it all down on the page, and convincing yourself it's going to come together. I've written eight books and still feel like it may not. I really do enjoy the editing process. Once I've got it on the page it feels like something it can work with, and the tighter it gets, the more fun I have really trying to make it shine.
DW: I was once told they call it a "novel" for a reason. What is different about this book from your others or even all the other books out there? What stands out?
RH: I think this is my leanest, tightest thriller writing. And I think these books are the most fun out of all the books I've written. I like to think I'm finding the right balance between humor and heart, and writing in my most authentic voice. But that's for readers to decide, if any of that is working.
DW: Not to jump too far ahead, but what's next? What are you working on now?
RH: The Medusa Protocol hits June 24. Then in January I have a book coming out called Detour, which I co-wrote with Jeff Rake, the creator and showrunner of TV's Manifest. Right now I'm writing the third Assassins book—Three Hitmen and a Baby—and a sequel to Detour, which is either going to be a two-parter or a trilogy. I've got a few other projects I'm pecking away at, but those are the only ones with actual contracts. I've got one more book in my Putnam contract, too, and that's either going to be a fourth Assassins book, or something else. We shall see!