Robbie McNeil’s Hit List by Brianna Heath

I first met Brianna Heath at an event she did at Lavender Library (LLACE) in Midtown Sacramento. I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this adult mystery thriller, and I’m delighted to feature it.

Contract killer Robbie McNeil never asks questions. Her mission is simple. Do the job. Get paid. Get back to running the karaoke bar she co-owns with her queerplatonic partner and fellow contract killer, Dee. And it works… Until their ambitious new theatrical venture breaks the bank.

When a mysterious new client hires Robbie for a hit, she takes the job, even though it’s sketchy as hell he won’t tell her anything but the target’s name. But hey, she didn’t build her reputation by being curious, and she desperately needs the cash.

Except something about this new target doesn’t add up. When he disappears with no record he ever existed, she chucks her no-questions-asked policy out the window, determined to figure out who this target really is. But the price for asking questions is high and might just cost Robbie everything she holds dear.

I love talking to fellow neurodivergent authors (I am diagnosed inattentive ADHD). In what ways, if any, do you think your neurodiversity affects your writing process? 

Writing is hyperfocus for me. I draft very quickly, and a large part of that is because I know if I let my brain wander off, it will never return. I’ve had plenty of manuscripts that I started and at some point thought “I can take a break for a bit…” None of those manuscripts were ever finished. Now I know that, given how my brain works, I have to keep up momentum when I’m drafting, which means writing every single day from the time I start a new story to when I finish that first draft.

So, I guess my more direct answer is being neurodivergent absolutely affects my writing process, but over time, I’ve learned how to lean into that rather than try to fight it. My writing process may not look like everyone else’s (but really, what two authors have the same process anyway?), but through trial and error, I’ve figured out how to structure it so I can take advantage of my strengths and (as best as possible) steer away from known obstacles and challenges.

I’m also a fast drafter and maybe I’ll try leaning into my neurodiversity strengths too. And I love the voice in Robbie McNeil’s Hit List. How did Robbie come to you and how was this book different from others you’ve worked on? 

Robbie started as a name. I wrote out a whole list of names—first and last—and when I read back through that list, “Robbie McNeil” was a name that immediately sparked in my brain and began coalescing into a personality and backstory. I couldn’t say why that name and not the others, but for whatever reason, it’s the one that worked.

This was also the first mystery I wrote. Previous to this, I’d written some sci-fi, space adventure type stories—and originally, this book was going to be set in space! But I have always loved mystery as a reader, so it was really fun to dive into from the writing side of things. My favorite mysteries tend to be the reluctant amateur sleuth who’s not actively looking to solve anything but finds themself dragged into the mystery by circumstance. As Robbie began to form in my mind, I knew that would be the kind person she was. I pushed that to the extreme and gave her a core trait/belief that she is not a naturally curious person and then set about writing a whole story where that core belief about herself is shaken up.

I love that! What is something that happened during your debut year that you didn’t expect? 

As a strong introvert, I think it’s fair to say I did not expect how much I would enjoy talking to people. On this publishing journey though, I have met so many fellow authors who are absolutely wonderful. I love how supporting authors are of each other, and I am so grateful for the connections I’ve made and the spaces I’ve been welcomed into.

And just as much if not more so, I love talking to readers. This book belonged more or less just to me for 4 years before it became something that belongs to all my readers as well. Hearing the ways that they’ve connected with the story and have felt seen or represented by these characters is incredible and honestly very surreal. And a totally unexpected delight has been hearing from people who haven’t finished reading but tell me their theories about the mystery. Some people do guess some of the twists, but some people also come up with amazing theories that never would’ve occurred to me, but would make for great plot twists! I just could not have predicted the joy of seeing readers truly engage with this story and immerse themselves in the world and characters like that.

Wonderful. What are some of your current projects? 

I have another book coming out next year (April 2027). We haven’t officially announced the title yet, so I have to keep that under wraps still, but it follows a family of professional criminals who gather for their grandfather’s birthday and have the party crashed by a dead body in the garden that everyone claims has nothing to do with them. In many ways, it’s very different from Robbie McNeil’s Hit List, but if you liked the dry humor and incredibly loveable, morally gray characters in that book, you’ll find those elements in my next one too.

And beyond that, I’m currently in the process of trying to hash out what I want my NEXT next project to be. Right now, I have a series of chaotic voice notes and a document of disconnected stray thoughts, so only time will tell what story will emerge from all that.

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