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In this episode Rob Hart and I discuss:

• Why naming characters is important and where he found the names for these characters. 
• How to write an unlikeable character that your readers will actually like.
• Using storytelling to shine a light on bad things that are happening in the real world.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Rob Hart

Rob Hart is the author of The Paradox Hotel. He also wrote The Warehouse—which sold in more than 20 countries and was optioned for film by Ron Howard—as well as the Ash McKenna series, the short story collection Take-Out, and Scott Free with James Patterson.

You can find him on his website or follow him on Twitter or Instagram.

The Paradox Hotel

An impossible crime. A detective on the edge of madness. The future of time travel at stake. From the author of The Warehouse. January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders. There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

At once a dazzlingly time-twisting murder mystery and a story about grief, memory, and what it means to—literally—come face-to-face with our ghosts, The Paradox Hotel is another unforgettable speculative thrill ride from acclaimed author Rob Hart.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 403

(Right-click to download.)

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The post Episode 403: Setting as Character in Speculative Fiction – Interview with Rob Hart appeared first on DIY MFA.