Thanks to Penguin Randomhouse, we got the opportunity to ask Gregg Hurwitz, author of the Orphan x series some questions! Read on to see what he had to say :D

Where did you get the inspiration for Evan Smoak?

It took me a lot of books to find my way to Evan Smoak. In the course of my career, I’ve done a lot of research with Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Army Rangers, and also folks on the intel side. And a lot of them would tell me about black programs and high-end spec-ops groups. When I was preparing to embark on this series, I started to think: What would be the coolest version of a deep, deep black program? And I thought about taking these kids out of foster homes where no one cares about them, and raising them up totally off the books to be assassins, but they’re completely isolated. So I thought about what that would do to a child and what kind of child would be suited to that. And what cost he would pay for it. Evan’s pulled out of a foster home at age twelve and trained up, and by the time we meet him, he’s already left the Orphan Program and is operating as a pro bono assassin for people who are in desperate need of help. Evan is a disposable asset, a kid no one wanted. Until he meets his handler and father figure, Jack Johns, who tells him, “The hard part isn’t turning you into a killer. The hard part is keeping you human.” And that’s the tension I see inside this character. His life would be easier if he was a true believer, if he saw the world in black and white. But instead he has to live his life navigating the murky gray. In Orphan X, I was hoping to create a character that would have a chance one day to be in the pantheon of great fictional characters that inspired and nourished me when I was growing up. You’ll see that Bruce Wayne is in there even if Batman is left out. That’s because Evan lives in the real world with you and me. As much as he’s still an archetypal protagonist in some ways, we see him come home and interact with the real world – and all its annoyances – in a way we never do with, say, Bond or Bourne.

Have you been to New Zealand? If so, what was your favourite spot you travelled too?

Twice! Can't tell you how much I love New Zealand (and the All Blacks). I've been to Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Palmerston, Coastlands, Paraparaumu, and more. Hard to pick a favorite. I think Californians get along well with Kiwis since there's so much alike in our cultures.

What are the key points to note about The Last Orphan?

In The Last Orphan, Evan Smoak's past doesn’t merely catch up to him. It overtakes him. An unprecedented manhunt operation finds him ensnared by the very government that created him, that honed him into an expendable weapon and sent him to execute or to die. When he fled the Orphan Program in order to align his deadly skills with his own moral compass, he swore he would never again kill in the name of corrupted authority. Now once again he’s ordered to do the unimaginable. An exceedingly dangerous power player, Luke Devine is an expert in twisting minds and applying shocking leverage. And he’s managed to build a silent empire of power that threatens the highest institutions in the nation. No less than the President of the United States demands that Orphan X undertake a final mission that only he can complete—to circumvent Devine’s security, penetrate his brilliantly constructed empire, and to take him off the books silently while leaving no prints. The President needs Evan’s help. And she’s not asking. Will he sacrifice his code to complete the mission? Or sacrifice his life to uphold his code Or can he find a third way? An impossible way? The way of the Orphan?

Will we be seeing more Orphan X books in future?

Depends on how The Last Orphan ends… ;)

What does a typical day of writing look like to you?

It is exceedingly boring. I get up, get coffee, sit down, and write all day. Often there are Rhodesian ridgebacks underfoot.

Favourite book you read last year?

I want two! I loved Damascus Station by David McCloskey and My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.