Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Ryan Hyatt

Book Title:  The Initiates

Released:  02/11/25

Genre:  NA Sci-Fi/Horror

Interview by Heather L. Barksdale

What inspired you to write “The Initiates”?

Hyatt: First, thank you for your interest in my book. Indie writers are always grateful when new readers give us a chance. The opportunity to share more about my work is much appreciated. Since you write, too, I’d like to kick off this post by acknowledging your own creative endeavors. Arriving Trough Time and Colliding Through Time sound like they have a cool speculative twist. I’m already a fan!

The Initiates is my first novel written for a younger audience. I often write adult science fiction, horror, and humor. For the past few years, my wife has been urging me to pivot. In her deadpan wisdom, she thinks adults are often stuck in their ways of thinking and that a younger generation of readers may be more interested in the ideas explored in my books.

Hopefully, that’s not just her nice way of saying my writing is difficult to take seriously. As a boy, my imagination was captured by the fiction of Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series, the works of Stephen King, Anne Rice, Kurt Vonnegut, Philip Dick, and more. So many great books! Out of a sense of nostalgia, I decided to take my wife’s advice. I also wanted to write something specifically for young men, a population I feel overlooked in today’s writing market (women read more). If a male high school student ever picks up my novel over a video game, I would consider that success.

Also, young men are a population I feel in need of more guidance than young women these days. We spend a lot of time telling young men how they should not be without giving them much reason, or support, showing them how they should be.

The Initiates is not intended to be some macho survival guide, but it does provide a variety of perspectives on what it means to be masculine. I suspect there are younger male readers out there who would appreciate that.

My wife’s advice, it turns out, was solid. Although The Initiates has yet to make me rich and famous, writing it was fun. The story features several characters younger than the age of twenty, and I enjoyed tapping into the freshness of their perspectives. The novel is my own sci-fi nod to The Goonies, a film I loved as an ‘80s youth.

How did you come up with the names of your main characters?

Hyatt: ‘Myles’ sounds cool and reminds me of the jazz musician, Miles Davis. So, that was an easy name for the protagonist. The bobblehead, ‘Mr. Pootin,’ is a knock- off of a famous Russian tyrant, so that was also easy. ‘Tiffany,’ ‘José’ … many of my characters have one to three personalities, based on people I know in real life, so I try to keep names short and sweet.

Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?

Hyatt: I have a fulfilling but demanding career outside of writing. That was never the plan. I was supposed to have a fulfilling but demanding career with my writing. I’m a fire dragon, so I feel like anything is still possible. I just need to keep knocking down the doors or reality, and I’ll be set.

Writing started as an escape from my problems in my youth and continues to this day as my primary source of therapy. I also like to hike, exercise, and listen to music. When I’m driving my wife and daughter, I often make up bad jokes about the bad drivers I encounter on the road. They like to tell me crazy stories about their crazy days at work and school. Hanging out, making each other laugh, is my favorite pastime.

I write on the train to and from work. All I have time for. And all I need to keep me sane, I guess. If I have an hour or two to write every day, I may be disgruntled about the state of the world, but I would never give up on it. Take away my writing time, however, and watch out! You’ll see my fangs.

If "The Initiates" were adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?

Hyatt: I would find an updated version of the ‘80s Rat Pack – a new generation of actors for a new kind of science fiction – one infused with the politics of our time. They

would have wild, compelling facial expressions and rule the screen.

When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?

Hyatt: The current novel I am working on, “Worlds War One,” is a follow-up to The Initiates and will be the last novel written in my Terrafide series. It’s taken me 14 months to complete the first draft, mostly because I have been too tired from work and life to focus on it. Some days I knock out several pages in one sitting; many days I just stare at the screen, write a sentence or two, and close my laptop. But the draft is done. For me, what breaks writer’s block is unexpected inspiration – a dream, a song, a conversation. Real-life inspiration can’t be forced. Thus, writing can’t be forced, at least writing that is fun.

Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?

Hyatt: If you’re writing for riches and fame, you will likely be very disappointed. Besides, there are much easier ways to make money and get attention. Write because you love it. If you do that, you will pause when you don’t love it, and you will resume when you love it again. This is the Way.

What is your favorite book, genre, and/or author?

Hyatt: I read a lot of nonfiction. Currently exploring Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. It’s a fascinating, down-to-Earth analysis of the old and new communication systems that are used to influence us. Highly recommend for our volatile age.

What are you working on next?

Hyatt: Besides a slooooow re-write of “Worlds War One,” this year I am editing my upcoming collection, “Terrafide: Tales from the Edge of Sci-Fi, Horror, and Humor.” I look forward to the release.

Interested in checking out the book for yourself?

Find it for purchase here

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