Author Archives: robwhart

It’s official: I’ve got a series.

When I first conceived of New Yorked, it was meant to be a standalone novel. One and done. But I really enjoyed writing Ash McKenna, even though he’s a bit of a dumbass.

Plus, his voice sounds a bit like my voice, so I figured that for subsequent stories in the crime genre, the protagonist would sound too much like him, or like me.

So I started kicking around ideas for a series. Taking some of the books I wanted to write and twisting them around Ash. Let them serve as vehicles for this kid who’s seeking his moral compass. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got.

Exhibit A is excited about it, too. So much that they’ve agreed to buy the second book in the series, tentatively titled City of Rose.

This is hugely exciting. The folks at Exhibit A have been a pleasure to work with. They’ve got the guts and the vision to make this thing work. And the idea of me making a living writing books is becoming slightly less insane.

At the same time, it’s terrifying. Because now I’m committed. I have to write the damn thing. And Exhibit A is putting a lot of faith in me—they trust that I can do this. I don’t want to let them down.

I don’t think I will. Because the exciting part is way overshadowing the terrifying part.

So, New Yorked will hit in January 2015. We’re toying with Autumn 2015 for City of Rose, which will mean a lot less Titanfall and a lot more hours locked in my office. We’ll see how that goes.

Speaking of, want to learn more about the next installment? Check out the Exhibit A website, where the official announcement just hit.

Want to learn even more about the series? Tonight I’ll be interviewed by the brilliant ladies at the Books & Booze podcast, and I’ll spill some more details about it—including the mechanics of how the series will work, because that part, I’ve got mapped out. And it’s going to be a lot of fun. So you have to listen to the show.

I’ll blast out the link as soon as it’s live.

And mad props to my agent, Bree Ogden. This lady is unstoppable.

Path to Publication 2.2: On Being A Writer And Having Poor Impulse Control

My first novel is the start of a series. In my last column, I talked a bit about the process of researching the sequel, City of Rose. You’d think, in the month since that column ran, I would have gotten a lot of work done. And you would be wrong!

If I were a smart person, I would have used my impending purchase of an XBox One as an incentive to work harder. I should have said: “Self, you can buy the XBox One only when you finish the first draft of your next book. Then you can play a straight week of Titanfall as a palate cleanser, before you have to get into the editing process.”

But I have poor impulse control. So I bought it. And really, it’s the definition of a catch-22: I wanted to use my advance to treat myself to something, and in the process turfed my chances of having the free time to write another book. And you know what? I’m fine with that. Titanfall, man. There is something so viscerally satisfying about being pinned down by enemy fire and then summoning a giant robot from the sky and then climbing inside it to fire rockets at people. Especially after a long day…

Read the rest here!

Noir at the Bar!

10250185_561791343935031_1708656971761208744_n-1Are you ready for another installment of Noir at the Bar NYC?

I hope so. Because I’m not. I’m still not sure what I’m going to read. But I will be there, with a story of some kind, and if you’re around, you should swing by.

Sunday, April 27
6-9 p.m.
Shade in the West Village
 

There will be noir. And booze. And crepes. There are some great readers on the slate: Tim Hall, Jack Getze, Jordan Harper, Scott Adlerberg, Gary Cahill, Jason Pinter, and Anthony Rainone.

It’ll be fun!

Tom Spanbauer: A Primer, and A Review Of His Latest Novel, ‘I Loved You More’

Over at LitReactor, I reviewed Tom Spanbauer’s latest novel, I Loved You More, and looked back at his first four novels, and talk about how much his writing has meant to me. You should check it out. It’s the only earnest thing I’ve ever written.

News roundup!

The second round of Path to Publication ran at LitReactor yesterday. I wrote about AWP and readings and book trailers and a bunch of other stuff. You can read that here.

The LitReactor podcast is back! That’s exciting, considering how long it’s been since we recorded an episode. I spend a little bit of it talking about my book deal with Exhibit A. We also talk to Anne Jamison about fan fiction. It’s a good time. Give it a listen.

Finally, newsletter! I figure, for the two or three times a year I have something worth announcing, it might not be a bad idea to start one up. So you can click here… or click on that super-fancy envelope icon in the right-hand column, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Achievement unlocked: Book deal!

It’s official: Exhibit A Books is going to publish my first novel, New Yorked.

I’ve been sitting on this news for a few weeks, so it feels pretty damn good to get it off my chest. And it’s still a little surreal. There’s a part of me that’s waiting to wake up.

There’s a lot to be happy about right now. The folks at Exhibit A are very enthusiastic. They put out awesome books. They’re affiliated with Angry Robot, which also puts out awesome books. They’re open to the idea of turning New Yorked into a series. They’re forward-thinking on issues like DRM-free eBooks and print/digital bundling. They’re distributed by Random House, so they’ve got the guts of an indie and the reach of a monolith. This thing will be in bookstores.

Take all that together, it’s a slam-dunk-home-run-touchdown type situation.

There are a lot of people to thank. Friends and family members and fellow writers who inspired me, or gave me comfort, or offered me counsel. A lot of people. I could spend the next week doing just that. Their time will come. There are a few people I need to thank right now:

My agent, Bree Ogden, who worked extremely hard on this, and is a rockstar superhero, and just that she spent the last 10 months putting up with me probably qualifies her for sainthood.

The acquiring editor at Exhibit A, Bryon Quertermous. We met up before they made the offer, and I left our breakfast meeting convinced this was the kind of person I wanted to work with. I got my wish.

Cheers to the folks at The Cult and LitReactor. Everyone. That’s where I cut my teeth on this writing thing. Without those communities, I wouldn’t be here.

Most importantly, thanks to my wife, Amanda, who is a constant source of love and support, and is also really good at smacking sense into me when I’m glum, which is something I sometimes need.

That’s it for now. More soon. And, save your pennies, because about a year from now, this book that I’ve been hammering away at for a big chunk of my life is finally going to be a thing that you can buy. And I expect you to buy it, so I can keep myself in Whistle Pig rye.

Sláinte.

Noir at the Bar, Baltimore edition

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There’s going to be a Noir at the Bar reading in Baltimore next month—and somehow I made it onto this killer lineup!

It’s a bit of a drive, sure, but I’ve driven way more for way less. I once drove three hours for a sandwich. So for something like this, with a bunch of cool people and booze and noir, yeah, I can justify that. Easy.

If you live in or around Baltimore, come to this thing. We’ll read awesome stuff at your face.