Simon Hayes
Author of the Hal Junior Series
We had the opportunity to sit down with Simon Hayes and really get into some important stuff. Hopefully you enjoy this as much as we did.
We’ll start with a softball. What made you decide to become an author?
Back in 1994 I was working on a tricky piece of software code, and I decided to take a break. I ended up writing the first sentence of a novel which consumed years of my life.
What made you want to write middle grade?
After my fourth (adult/teen) novel was published I started getting requests for author visits to schools and libraries. I’d go along, mostly speaking to middle-grade kids, and I’d tell them all about my books … which they weren’t old enough to read yet.
If Hagrid and Mrs. O’Leary (the Hell hound from Percy Jackson and the Olympians) were in a hot dog eating contest, who would win?
Hagrid. Have you seen the size of him?
Are you working on any new books right now? If so, what is it called, and what’s it about?
Yes, but it’s an adult title. Last year I wrote the first book in a ghost/mystery/humorous/gaslamp
Each of these novels weighs in at over 100,000 words, and with all the research for historical accuracy they’re a ton of work. Good fun though!
What other books have you written?
How much room do we have?
10 x Hal Spacejock scifi comedy novels (useless freighter pilot who loathes robots is forced to team up with an old robot. Chaos ensues.)
3 x Harriet Walsh novels (light scifi, young lady becomes a cop on a retirement planet with no crime)
2 x Secret War scifi novels (female fighter pilot in a galactic war.)
4 x Hal Junior scifi novels (middle grade, boy who lives on a space station gets into trouble but still ends up saving the day)
3 x comedy fantasy, sort of Game of Thrones meets discworld. A battered old robot materialises in a bloodthirsty land of warring kingdoms.
The aforementioned historical paranormal novels
Plus four novels under a pen name, and the ten other novels I’m working on right now.
If you could be any kind of donut, what would you be?
Iced chocolate
What book are you reading right now?
James Holland WWII series. I’ve been binging on World War II books for a couple of years now.
Where can we find out more about you and your books?
spacejock.com.au
twitter.com/spacejock
My newsletter at spacejock.com.au/ML.html
