This week on Here’s What We Know, we sit down with the brilliant Gregg Hurwitz—#1 New York Times internationally bestselling author of 26 thrillers, including the Orphan X series. Gregg takes us behind the scenes of his writing journey, the evolution of Orphan X, and what it takes to craft unforgettable characters. From his early inspirations to the emotional depths of Evan Smoak, he shares the intricacies of his creative process, character development, and even a few surprises about what’s next for Orphan X. Don’t miss this fascinating conversation!
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In this Episode:
- Gregg’s Writing Journey: How a love for literature (and a deep dive into psychology) shaped his storytelling.
- The Birth of Orphan X: What makes Evan Smoak so addictive to readers—and how he’s grown over ten books.
- The Secret Sauce to Character Development: How psychology, mythology, and a bit of magic help create unforgettable characters.
- Why Nemesis Hits Different: The emotional punch of Book 10 and why it might be the most personal yet.
- Audiobook Alchemy with Scott Brick: How the right narrator can breathe life into a story.
- Orphan X on the Big Screen?: Gregg’s take on Hollywood adaptations, dream casting, and the challenges of bringing Evan Smoak to life on screen.
Quotations:
“The only thing I ever wanted to do was to write.” ~ Gregg Hurwitz
“I knew that college was gonna be the one time in my life that I could just study anything I wanted.” ~ Gregg Hurwitz
“I followed the things that were of the utmost interest to me only no matter how stupid or risky they seemed.” ~ Gregg Hurwitz
“You follow where the light is beckoning, no matter how inane it might seem. And it doesn’t really make sense, but you walk this really weird path. And all of sudden, if you look back, there’s a pattern to it all. And that’s a lot of what happened with me.” ~ Gregg Hurwitz
“I like crime stuff. I like thrillers. I like things that are a little bit dangerous and a little bit dark. And being a novelist is the best excuse in the world to be a dilettante. I mean, I get to go up to whatever little dark corner of the culture that fascinates me and click on a flashlight and go poke around and build a story out of it.” ~ Gregg Hurwitz
“If you follow the thing that you love more than anything, or that interests you more than anything, you don’t work a minute in your life.” ~ Gregg Hurwitz
“So every reader is a collaborator. And it’s part of why with writing, we always want to intimate emotion. You don’t want to over-explain.” ~ Gregg Hurwitz
Bio:
Gregg Hurwitz is the New York Times, #1 internationally bestselling author of 26 thrillers, including the Orphan X series, and two award-winning thriller novels for teens. His novels have won numerous literary awards, graced top ten lists, and have been published in 33 languages. Gregg currently serves as the Co-President of International Thriller Writers (ITW).
Gregg has written screenplays for or sold spec scripts to many of the major studios (including SWEET GIRL and THE BOOK OF HENRY), and written, developed, and produced television for various networks. He is also a New York Times bestselling comic book writer, having penned stories for AWA (Knighted and the critically acclaimed anthology NewThink), Marvel (Wolverine, Punisher) and DC (Batman, Penguin). He has published poetry, numerous academic articles on Shakespeare, taught fiction writing in the USC English Department, and guest lectured for UCLA, and for Harvard in the United States and internationally. In 2022, he helped write the opening ceremony of the World Cup. In the course of researching his thrillers, he has sneaked onto demolition ranges with Navy SEALs, swum with sharks in the Galápagos, and gone undercover into mind-control cults.
Currently, Gregg is actively working against polarization in politics and culture. To that end, he’s produced hundreds of commercials and creative content which have gotten several hundred million views on digital TV platforms. His editorial pieces have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, The Bulwark, The Telegraph, Salon, and others.
Guest Contact Info:
Website: https://gregghurwitz.net/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregghurwitzbooks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gregghurwitzreaders
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gregghurwitz