We got a chance to sit down with Rob J Hayes—a man who refuses to be chained by any single sub-genre—and talk about his books, Baldur’s Gate, fantasy as a whole, and play the game “Wavelength”. 

[GDM] Hey Rob, thanks for doing this interview! To get things started, do you wanna pitch your books in the most off-kilter way possible?

[AP] Hi! Thanks for doing the interviewing.

Have you ever looked at fantasy and thought “I wish there were more magic systems revolving around eating weird shit!”? Then you should definitely check out my books and not Michael R. Fletcher’s.

How was that?

P.S. You should check out Fletcher’s books as well. They’re great!

[GDM] So the God Eater Saga is three trilogies where all the book 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s are all being written together? Do you hate yourself or are you just wildly ambitious? 

[AP] They are indeed. A trilogy of trilogies being written and published concurrently where the 3 timelines can be read separately, but only by reading them all will you get the full scale of the picture I’m painting.

Yes, I hate myself a little for starting it. I still love the idea, but I may have underestimated the amount of work involved. But I’m committed, or will soon be committed (hah, wordplay), and the book 2s are on their way. Just don’t talk to me about the book 3s!

Honestly, I like to push the boundaries and always test myself to do something new and different with each project. The God Eater Saga is my first foray into true EPIC fantasy, and I really wanted to make it as epic as possible.

[GDM] Across all your protagonists, do you have a favorite?

[AP] It has to be Eska (The War Eternal). I poured a lot of myself into that little rage demon, and in many ways writing her was quite cathartic. Her voice was always so easy to slip into, and there is no story easier to write than the one where the main character is driving it forward from start to finish.

[GDM] What are you reading right now?

[AP] I usually have 2 books on the go at any time. 1 audiobook for when I’m exercising or doing the housework or walking the dog, and 1 paper/ebook for sitting in my comfy chair. 

Currently I’m listening to Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio because folk keep recommending it to me. Pretty good so far, though a bit slow.

And I’m reading Blood of the Chosen by Django Wexler because I really need to finish some series instead of picking up new ones.

[GDM] Rob and I played a game of Wavelength. The way it works is that Rob has a number 1-10, and I give him categories where he has to answer with something that corresponds with his number. For example, if I ask Rob to give me a television show based on how good the ending is, he might say Breaking Bad if his number is 10. If his number is 1, he’d say something like Dexter, and if his number was 3 he’d say something like Seinfeld. Play along and see if you can guess his number!

[GDM] Give me a character of yours based on how much you’d like to get drunk with them. 

[AP] Henry the Red. 

[GDM] A book based on how influential is is on fantasy as a whole. 

[AP] The Lies of Locke Lamora. 

[GDM] A fantasy book based on how long it is.

[AP] Assassin’s Apprentice. 

[GDM] Finally, an anime based on how much you like it. 

[AP] Ergo Proxy. 

[GDM] Alright reader, get your guess ready. The answer was a…

[AP] Six! 

[GDM] We interviewed you about five years back and asked who we should keep an eye out for on some up and coming writers. You said M.L. Wang, Evan Winter, and Garteh Hanrahan—all three of which have been rather successful—so I’d like to ask the question again! Who are three up and comers we should be watching?

[AP] Yes, I am the oracle. I predict all. Though saying ML Wang was gonna go far feels like a bit of a cheat. Obvious in hindsight, I guess.

The industry has changed a lot in the past 5 years and I will admit I do not have my finger on the pulse of the current genre trends. Romantasy is not my bag. So instead of naming authors who are going to blow up, I’m going to flex my powers of sight and predict the next BIG genre emergence…

I predict in five years time the biggest books in the fantasy genre will be… Fantasy Murder Mysteries.

[GDM] You have 25 books out now, if I counted right! Is there one that you’re the most proud of?

[AP] All of them? I guess I’m really proud of Herald. It took about 5 years to bring that beast into publication, so I really glad I did, and it seems to have done pretty well. I’m also always really proud of Never Die. For a bizarre idea I had about writing a martial arts flick as a book, it really worked. It even has 2 separate special editions these days.

[GDM] In a twitter post, you said that Baldur’s Gate 2 is better than Baldur’s Gate 3. Number 1, how dare you? Number 2, who’s the best BG3 companion?

[AP] RIGHT! So here we go. Baldur’s Gate 3 is an amazing game and straight up has some of the best companions in any video game RPG ever created, certainly better than the companions in BG2. HOWEVER!!! Where BG3 falls down is with the villains who are 1 dimensional and background players at best. BG2, on the other hand, has Jon Irenicus, one of the best video game villains of all time.

As for my favourite BG3 companion. Well, I’m a little bit in love with Karlach. She’s pretty much Gideon from Gideon the Ninth, which is one of my favourite books in the past decade, so she’s always in my party.

Now, if you would like some other controversial video game opinions…

Fallout 2 is the best Fallout game and New Vegas is a pale imitation.

Dawn of War 2 is the most innovative RTS game ever made and is infinitely more repayable than Starcraft.

That should rile some feathers.

[GDM] What music have you been writing to lately?

[AP] I don’t actually write to music. I use music for the plotting/dreaming section of the process, but I prefer to write in complete silence.

But lately I’ve been listening to the instrumental versions of Borealis’ Phantom Silence album and Ancient Bards’ Artifex album. I like my orchestral metal.

[GDM] That about does it! Anything you wanna say to the readers of the interview? Grovel and beg them to read your books, tell them you hope they have a horrible day, etc?

[AP] Check out my monthly blog where I list a bunch of upcoming Self Published Fantasy Releases (www.robjhayes.co.uk). Keep reading, keep writing, keep the art form alive. Oh, and buy the God Eater Saga.

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