Imperfect Lives starts with a shocking premise as contract killer Cooper Franklin confesses to all his crimes in the last moments of his life. His deathbed confession upends the lives of two women, Tamara and Cindy, who seemingly have nothing in common.

I couldn’t imagine sympathizing with a contract killer, but author C.J. Washington, a data scientist and expert in neuroscience and artificial intelligence, crafts a compelling deep dive into Cooper’s perspective and mindset—and his surprising reasons for committing these horrific acts. Here he tells us how he did it.

Margaret Hargrove: Imperfect Lives is an intriguing novel about a killer-for-hire’s deathbed confession and the ramifications it has for two very different women. What inspired you to write this story?

C.J. Washington: I was inspired by a random thought I had: What if a contract killer learned he had a terminal illness? It would be impossible to make amends for his crimes (assuming he was so inclined), but what if he tried to make things right by confessing his misdeeds to authorities? I began to think about the people who would be impacted, and Tamara and Cindy were born. The rest of the novel grew around that.

Which character did you enjoy writing the most? And/or, is there a character that you personally identified with more than the others?

First, I want to categorically deny that I identified with Cooper in any way. That said, he was definitely my favorite character to write. When I first envisioned the novel, he was little more than a catalyst, just there to set the story into motion. As I began to flesh him out, his sections quickly took on a different tone than the rest of the story. Even though he deals with dark and weighty issues, his personality adds an unexpected element of fun. Writing him felt refreshing.

Cindy was another character who surprised me. What she became on the page was very different than what I initially envisioned. It was a lot of fun to see her morph and grow.

How were you able to get into the mind of a contract killer? Did your academic background in neuroscience and artificial intelligence help shape this story in any way?

What I like most about Cooper is that he doesn’t fit the stereotype of a contract killer. The challenge was: How do I take this law-abiding citizen who has no interest in being a criminal and credibly set him on the road to becoming a paid killer? Once that was worked out, it was just a matter of understanding his justifications and coping mechanisms.

I spend a lot of time thinking about neuroscience and artificial intelligence, and I think it just organically colors the way I view human behavior—our desires and reactions. I’m always interested in the way our subconscious processing drives our behaviors, and there’s a lot of that in Imperfect Lives. The characters take paths they wouldn’t necessarily choose (in the way I wouldn’t choose to eat an entire sweet potato pie, and yet, I just did), but still, those actions are a fundamental part of who they are. How do we reconcile what we want vs. what we do?

Your novel has a lot to say about grief, family secrets, second chances, and redemption. Did you learn anything about yourself while being immersed in this world?

Writing for me is always an effort to better understand the world and myself and other people. I explore weighty issues because I don’t fully grasp them, and I get a lot out of the process even if I’m left with more questions, which is usually the case. For me, there’s self-discovery in examining why I write about the topics I do.

Imperfect Lives is performed by an all-star cast of narrators: Cary Hite, Adenrele Ojo, and Megan Tusing. Did you envision having three narrators for this audiobook when you were writing it?

I love multicast audiobooks, so I was hoping for three narrators. It helps, I think, to really bring each character to life. I’m thrilled to have that, but even more exciting is the phenomenal cast! Cary Hite was amazing in The Future is Yours, and it’s an awesome thing to have him narrate Cooper. I’ve been a fan of Adenrele Ojo since I heard her first-rate narration of The Mothers. Megan Tusing did a fantastic job of narrating Marissa, my favorite character from my debut novel The Intangible, and I’m ecstatic to have her back for Imperfect Lives. Can you tell I’m a fan of audiobooks?

Do you have a favorite listen of 2023 to recommend, and why?

Can I have two, please? There are more great listens on Audible than I can keep up with. The only reason I have a prayer of narrowing my answer is because I’m restricted to titles published this year and not titles I’ve listened to this year.

I loved The Color of Family by Jerry McGill. In very little space, he builds a cast of rich and complex characters, and just when you think you know where he’s taking the story, he throws in a twist. Definitely one of the great listens of 2023.

Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin blew me away. It’s intelligent and fast-paced with a fascinating cast of characters. It’s one of those books where I rushed to get to the end and then felt sad when it was over. Absorbing and compelling. I can’t recommend it enough.