Simon Hayes is the author of Zero Ri$k. A thriller set during the Holiday season, it centres around a clandestine hacking attack that sees every bank account in the UK receive an extra ‘0’ every day. The resulting financial catastrophes are covered in short and snappy chapters, making for a read that both entertains and meditates on our morality, responsibilities and dependence on technology. What We Reading sat down with Simon to talk about everything from his work in the finance sector, journeying into the writing world, to his love for Amor Towles!
Thanks for speaking with us, Simon! First off, tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to the world of writing.
I grew up in West London. I was very fortunate to have wonderful parents who made sure I had a fantastic education, even though neither of them had benefited from one. So, I was the first person from my family to go to university. I’ve spent my life in and around finance: I was an investment banker in London, the US, Japan and Hong Kong (which gave me lots of hours on planes to read). As a head-hunter, for the last fifteen years or so, I’ve mixed with “the great and the good”: Chairmen and CEOs of major companies and their ilk, Governors of the Bank of England, and senior regulators and politicians.
I had the idea for Zero Ri$k about ten years ago. I read a lot of thrillers and yet hadn’t seen anything similar, so thought “If it’s original, why not try to write it?”. I’ve always had jobs that involve a lot of writing and creativity, but I certainly don’t come from a literary family and I don’t know any novelists. So, being an analyst at heart, I read various “How to be an author” books in the hope of inspiration. The best of them all said the same thing: treat it as a full-time job, not a hobby, and just write.
Perhaps more importantly, getting older, I realised I didn’t want to get to the end of my life and regret something I hadn’t done. We all do things in life we later regret, but to not try to do something important would have been soul-destroying. So, the summer before Covid, I took the plunge and started writing. Then, when Covid struck and we were all housebound, it was the perfect time to really focus on the book.
As a novice, naïve, writer, you think that conceiving and writing the book is the journey; the be all and end all. In fact, the writing is the easy part and finishing the first draft really is just the beginning. Finding – and finding a way to work with – the editors and other professionals who combine to get that first manuscript into a publishable final edition is the real journey.
Talk to us about Zero Ri$k. What is it about, and where did the inspiration for it come from?
Zero Ri$k is a financial and political thriller revolving around a cataclysmic ‘Black Swan’ cyber-attack that you should pray never happens.
The premise is simple: on Christmas Day a hacker adds a zero to all the nation’s bank accounts and then, on Boxing Day, another… now what’s not to like about that? Well, other than financial Armageddon by New Year, obviously. The only clue to the hacker’s intentions are cryptic daily emails, centred on Hieronymus Bosch’s medieval representation of the seven deadly sins and packed with colourful artistic and cultural references. Are they important clues to a puzzle or just plain nonsense: psychedelic ramblings or psychotic threats?
Zero Ri$k is unashamedly a modern morality tale, set in London at Christmas (now whoever had that idea before?) via detours to the US, Europe and Africa. It has short, snappy chapters and crisp dialogue, in a condensed ten day timeframe. There are dastardly bankers and dodgy politicians; an ensemble cast I hope you’ll love, and love to hate. And, at heart, it’s an everyday tale of love, loss and redemption.
I think there were three major inspirations for Zero Ri$k. I was worried a decade ago that the pace of technological change was outstripping all consideration of the attendant dangers – cyber-crime and terrorism, data misuse, AI, social control by the Big Tech companies, you name it. The first iPhone was only launched in 2007 but, in the years since, the relentless march of technology has only quickened, and our – and particularly our children’s -dependence on tech has become more deep-rooted. Whilst there is much that’s good, there’s an awful lot that’s not, or worse, that just gets taken for granted.
Secondly, as someone who has been deeply involved in the financial services industry for many years, I was disgusted that our politicians let bankers and their enablers escape punishment for the financial crisis, and by the catalogue of scandals since: Bernie Madoff, Jeffrey Epstein, Lex Greensill, David Cameron et al. Just recently, we’ve had the sacking of the RBS CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto scam, Michelle Mone, the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. It never stops. As a head-hunter, my job was to work out what made senior executives tick. Are they really any good? Do you trust them? A lot failed that basic test.
Which leads onto the third piece – a feeling that we’ve been really let down by our politicians for a long time now. That they’re not focusing on the key issues and, worse, that many of them aren’t willing to speak up for what’s right rather than what’s self-serving.
Then I read a quote which I have at the start of the book: “Rather than love, than money, than fame… give me truth” (Walden, Henry David Thoreau) and it all came together in my mind! A multi-layered, race-against-time, cyber-crime thriller that hopefully will keep you awake at night turning the pages… and maybe questioning your dependence on modern technology and a lot more besides. It’s a take on the locked room mystery – a whydunnit as well as a whodunnit – centred on the modern seven deadly sins. And a thriller where the criminal may be the only one telling the truth!
The novel draws on themes of responsibility, loss and loneliness (and particularly their enormous effect on love), of morality, but, above all, of truth. Choices and consequences. The protagonist – the only person who can prevent societal collapse – is someone who’s flawed because of a single life-changing mistake they made as a child. The antagonist- ultimately, the hero of the piece – is a woman so focused on changing the world for the better that she’ll risk taking society back to the days of Hieronymus Bosch. It’s a novel about the courage of the ordinary woman and ordinary man: the courage to stand up for what you think is right; the courage to face your demons; and the courage to admit when you’re wrong.
Whilst Zero Ri$k’s title refers literally to the financial risk of incremental zeroes, the novel is all about taking risks: few things in life are risk-free… falling in love, standing up for principles, speaking truth to power, and much more besides. There’s no more chance of a free zero than a free lunch.
What is the number one goal you want your work to have with readers?
I wrote Zero Ri$k with one overriding purpose – to entertain – and I really hope I have managed to do that. It’s a thriller, but there are references to art and music and all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff: Old Masters to OMD, Willy Wonka to Wall Street. If readers enjoy the challenge of decoding clues whilst reflecting on song lyrics that’s fantastic! But I also wrote Zero Ri$k because I’m concerned we don’t consider some of the risks accompanying the technological advancements we take for granted, and because I think we don’t consider some of the ills facing society in 2024. So, if Zero Ri$k provokes a few thoughts and raises a few questions along the way that would be a great bonus.
Absolute number one goal, though: I’d love it if it gets to that moment where you’re reading Zero Ri$k late at night and you think “Oh, go on, just one more chapter.” (Which is why they are short chapters!). It’s just the best feeling for a reader.
What do you think makes you stand out as an author?
I hope the fact that I’ve spent a career in finance, that I’ve “walked the walk” in City boardrooms – and lived and worked abroad five times – gives Zero Ri$k authenticity. It’s often said that first novels are autobiographical, and there’s certainly a lot of me – and mine – in Zero Ri$k.
The terms that have come up most frequently in initial reviews of Zero Ri$k are: thrilling/gripping, interesting/intriguing, believable/realistic and, most of all, a genuine liking of the characters. The fact that there’s romance in a thriller seems to be a plus too.
Lastly, I do think the premise and plot are genuinely original and different. Readers will judge whether that’s good!
What would you say has been your biggest success so far?
In writing terms, two things stand out: firstly, actually getting the novel finished. Having now written and published my first book, I have such unbounded respect for authors. I have always worked in ‘people’ businesses, whereas writing is you – the writer – and a keyboard. It’s a tough, lonely gig.
Secondly, having Helen Lewis and her wonderful team at LiterallyPR take me on has been the greatest stroke of good fortune. Independent publishing is a tough business, and it would be far, far harder and much less fun without the LitPR team.
In a broader sense, I’ve been lucky to win various awards in my career, but the biggest accolade was being chosen for a GQ feature to mark the start of the Nineties which got me a full-page photo in the magazine. Great for the ego; shame about the aging process.
If you could go back in time to one book you read for the first time, what would it be and why?
There are two and they are completely different: A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles and the first book of Bernard Cornwell’s retelling of the Arthurian legend – The Winter King.
I first read the latter when it came out nearly thirty years ago and I must have gone back to it on paper, and in audiobook form, half a dozen times over the years. It has everything: a mythical story we all want to believe, based on history (which I’ve always loved). Fantastic characters, non-stop action, and that wonderful gift that only a few masterful authors truly give the reader – the feeling that you really are there, in amongst it all.
A Gentleman In Moscow provides exactly that feeling. I’m lucky enough to have stayed in the hotel in which the novel is set – the Metropol Hotel – and I can assure you, the book gives you shivers down the spine for the sense of immediacy and presence. The writing is sublime and the plot and character development within such a simple, and seemingly unexciting, premise is fabulous.
Towles’s book has strong personal resonance for me, so if it’s one book then that’s it. Luckily, I know The Warlord Chronicles so well I have only to close my eyes and I can “be there.” In amidst the blood and thunder!
What’s one tip you would give your younger self if you had the opportunity?
This is just the best question.
I’d probably say, “Go and find a mentor from the generation above you.” Hopefully, over the course of a lifetime, we all build up wisdom from experience – good and bad. We probably don’t share it enough with younger people.
I wish I’d found someone older and wiser years ago with whom I could have discussed life’s ups and downs. In business, I’ve always tried to help younger team members to develop. It’s so important.
And finally, what do you hope the future holds for you and your writing?
Obviously, it would be fantastic if readers enjoy Zero Ri$k! As it’s a first novel, I have no idea what to expect from them! There’s certainly a sequel in my mind. There’s also a children’s book down the line I’d love to write.
I’m very much a “live in the moment” person. Probably far too much. So, this question rather has me on the back foot. Hopefully, I might come back with Novel #2 with a better answer?
Thank you so much for inviting me.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
