The Journey of M. Kevin Hayden: A Debut Novelist's Tale
M. Kevin Hayden is a novelist from the South Side of Chicago, where he grew up surrounded by storefront churches, corner stores, and the quiet echo of stories waiting to be told. His work blends emotional realism with speculative mystery, always rooted in place, memory, and the magic tucked inside ordinary lives. Hayden’s fiction explores what it means to belong—to a person, a time, or a world that might be slipping away. Inspired by the works of Emily St. John Mandel, Stephen King, and Audrey Niffenegger, his debut novel An Old Soul is a slow-burn mystery of love, memory, and unraveling reality, set against the backdrop of 1996 Chicago. He writes for anyone who has ever felt out of place in their own life and hopes to remind them they’re not alone. He now lives somewhere quiet, surrounded by trees, words, and the occasional flash of something just beyond the veil.
An Old Soul
by M Kevin Hayden
“It's YOUR world.”
A brilliant and compulsively readable mystery that tugs on the fabric of reality, and explores what it might mean for humanity if we didn't have to lose our loved ones...at least not in the way we think.
In 1996 Chicago, twenty-five-year-old Isaac André feels like a stranger in his own life-until the world starts whispering back. The coincidences are too uncanny to ignore, but for now, they're all happening in his favor.
When Isaac buys his first computer and enters an internet chatroom, The Grassy Knoll, dedicated to conspiracy theorists, he wants to know if anyone else is experiencing a constant feeling of being watched, a nagging feeling of displacement and unease.
That's when Isaac (ElectricSheep7) meets the magnetic Noa Gayle (BirdGurl9), a mysterious stranger that shares his love for Terminator movies, Philip K. Dick, and all things sci-fi.
Isaac and Noa's soul connection feels fated, but as it deepens, so do the secrets between them.
A spell-binding literary novel, An Old Soul deftly traverses the porous membranes between coincidence and destiny, and dreams and reality, as Isaac and Noa defy the forces of the universe to be together.
Interview with M. Kevin Hayden
Q: What got you started in writing, and what inspired you to publish your first book this year?
A: Life took a turn. Depression and burnout settled in. I felt like I had wandered to the middle of a long, cold tunnel, unable to see light at either end. In July of 2024, I took a solo retreat to a remote area, where I sat in silence and listened. I heard the distant wind rush through the trees moments before reaching my face, squirrels scraping up the bark, and a chorus of birdsong that no longer blended into one blur of sound but unfolded like a symphony. Each bird having its own part to play in forming the whole. Most importantly, I listened to myself. I opened my laptop, thankfully without internet access there, and began to write what became the beginning of An Old Soul. The story unfolded in strange and beautiful ways, revealing itself piece-by-piece in synchronous ways. It almost felt that it was being handed to me by something conscious, yet unseen. The words gave me new people to meet and new places to escape to. I wrote for several hours a day, with stiff knees as my witness. Before long, I had a story.
Q: An Old Soul is a genre-bending novel that blends elements of science fiction, romantic fantasy, and speculative mystery. How did the unique idea for this story come to you, and do you always tend “break the rules” of genre in your work?
A: I feel that stories arrive from somewhere, and my job is simply to transcribe them. That’s it. Cut and dry. What matters to me is telling the story as it comes, regardless of genre expectations. Following a formula or fitting a mold runs counter to why I sit at the keyboard in the first place. The freedom to express what’s inside me can’t coexist with forcing a story into something it’s not. These tales choose their own shape. I am grateful for the privilege of seeing them and telling them. The partnership with my muse is delicate. I never want to break that bond.
An Old Soul came to me as an idea I thought was cool and timely, something that spoke to this moment in human history. I actually intended to write a completely different story, one that fit neatly into genre expectations. But the story began to breathe and took on a life of its own. At times, I found myself handing over the keys to the characters. Stories, like angsty teenagers, often want to live a life of their own. The reward for letting go was the obliteration of writer’s block for me. Of course, not all surprises were romantic. The revision and editing process turned out to be more tedious and consuming than I expected. But in the end, that’s where the story actually becomes the story.
Q: What is the most unique part of your creative process?
A: Certainly not unique, but I can’t write without music. Lyrics, melodies, even the tempo of a song help unlock the words. As I write this, trying to stay awake after a night shift, I’m listening to “Soul Makossa” by Manu Dibango. One other thing I do that might be a little more unique is shine a ceiling planetarium projector above me. Stars on the ceiling, words on the page.
Q: As a debut author, what attracted you to the independent publishing process?
A: Self-publishing gave me something I couldn’t walk away from: total creative control. If we can produce books that rival traditional quality, and now we can, why not go indie? The tools and talent exist to create something truly beautiful and professional. That said, it’s not for everyone. You’re a small fish in a vast ocean, and the process can be overwhelming. It demands time, energy, and a willingness to step away from writing to don other hats to get the book out there. There can be letdowns on the indie path, and chasing the unreachable perfection your story deserves can be exhausting. But nearly every author is deeply invested in their work, and willing to push through with the hopes of the reward of new readers. Of course, the traditional publishing route may take a huge load off, and the learning curve eliminated. A team of people can whip your pages into a stunning package but those same resources are now accessible to most of us now. There are talented professionals and freelancers everywhere. You can present a shining gem to the world on your time, and with your own vision.
Q: You like to explore the idea of technology as a foil to connection in your work—what do you find interesting about that idea, and why do you think it resonates with readers?
A: I truly believe that despite being of human creation, technology often runs counter to the essence of what makes us human. It can make life more convenient and pacify the ache of loneliness, but it rarely fills it. At best, it simulates connection. At worst, it blinds and deafens us to it, even when it’s just a few feet away staring into a glowing screen. Technology has been used to scream in our faces and tell us how to feel, all while quietly leaving us empty. We can have millions of followers, craft curated digital selves, and still feel hollow because deep down, we sense the chasm it can create. We sense it in every moment it leaves us feeling that we’re not good enough, and every dopamine drip masked as intimacy. I do believe tech should be used to ease burdens and solve real-world challenges, which may free us to pursue deeper connections to each other. But I don’t think it can ever replicate the universal bond we truly long for. We can code addiction, provoking chatbots, and uncannily beautiful landscapes. But we can’t code the divine slow dance of true connection: to each other, to our planet, and to everything that swims, flies, or creeps across it.
Q: What can you tell us about your upcoming release, Willow Rose?
A: Willow Rose is a story that came knocking. First gently, then insistently. A forceful pounding that I couldn’t ignore. It’s a supernatural, literary horror novel set in the snowy woods of northern Minnesota, where a burned-out and broken doctor finds himself at the center of something stranger than most “normal” people could ever imagine. The story explores grief and recovery, deep wounds and healing. There’s a Windigo, yes, but heart is at the center. It’s deeply human, and maybe a little cosmic too. Like An Old Soul, it also doesn’t fit neatly into genre. I didn’t write it to follow trend. I wrote it because it wouldn’t let me go until I did.
Check it out!
Willow Rose
by M Kevin Hayden
For lovers of Stephen Graham Jones, Jeff VanderMeer, and Nick Cutter, Willow Rose is a compulsively readable, literary ode to the terror of the unknown that comes for all of us in the depths of night.
A knock on the cabin door on indigenous land in the wintry woods of Minnesota.
Tap tap tap.
Driving down the boreal roads of rural Minnesota to his one-room cabin after a long ER shift, Dr. Alder's eyes snap open, his old Civic screaming to a stop in front of a massive bull elk, its head tilting back unnaturally, its maw open. Comet Goodwin, the closest comet to Earth in history, lights up the sky in an otherworldly greenish tint with its long, jagged tail of fire.
Tap tap tap.
Alder's world ignites in a blinding white flash. The car windows shatter inward. The elk is gone.
If he can get the car started again and get back to his cabin, maybe he can make sense of all this...but first he must survive the frozen silence of the night and the evil that stalks within it.
We must stay together always.
Follow the author
Take a nostalgic journey through 1990s Chicago in this imaginative blend of sci-fi and romance. Visit M. Kevin Hayden’s website for more!
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