Guest Blog: Merlek Hazzard
This month’s guest creative is Ryan, also known as Merlek Hazzard. By day, he’s an engineer; by night, a storyteller with a lifelong love of imagination, world-building, and compelling characters. His upcoming trilogy, Plan 27, blends psychological thriller, action, and mystery into a story that explores identity, purpose, and what remains when everything you’ve built begins to unravel.
Inspired by the people around him, the stories he’s consumed, and a healthy dose of daydreaming, Ryan’s creative process is driven by curiosity and a desire to create characters that feel authentic and deeply human. Join us as we discuss his creative journey, the inspiration behind Plan 27, and the advice he’d give to anyone pursuing their own creative dreams.
Could you introduce yourself and share what you create?
Hey I’m Ryan. Also known as Merlek Hazzard. I’m a 25 year old, who works as an engineer. Also a certified nerd with a love for a captivating story. Hence why I’m the author of Plan 27, the trilogy soon to be released.
How did your creative journey begin?
Honestly my creative journey started as young as I can physically remember. From playing with Lego as a child, to designing things on CAD at university, I always loved the idea of making something new, or disappearing into a world where anything is possible. I was the king of day dreaming.
What’s inspiring you the most right now?
Right now my biggest inspiration is the people and relationships around me, such as Miss Ivy Dene. I take from my life experiences, the people around me, and all the books and movies I’ve consumed and I harness that to create realistic characters that feel unique and have depth without over dramatising.
Can you walk us through your creative process or any little rituals you love?
This question is a tricky one because any little thing could be enough to trigger the spiral of editing or adding more to the story. Though what I will say, whatever mood I’m feeling in the moment of inspiration I find a piece of music that relates to it, and it’s on loop in my head until I’ve expressed the words that best fit what I was trying to deliver.
What’s a project or piece that you’re especially proud of?
It’s not completed yet but the project of Plan 27. No one knows what the first twenty-six plans were — only that they failed.
By the time you reach the end of the alphabet, you’ve already tried everything with a name.
Twenty-seven is what you call when the options run out and something that shouldn’t exist has to walk through the doo
Three books. One question underneath all of them: what does it cost to become the thing the world needed you to be — and what’s left of you when the need is gone. Plan 27 is a cinematic, psychological action thriller that moves like a blade and hits like a confession. It begins with a ghost who was never supposed to come back, a team of operators who exist in the space between myth and machinery, and a conspiracy so precisely constructed that the people inside it never saw the walls. It deepens into the wreckage of what survives when purpose is taken away, when the weapon outlives the war, when silence stops being a shield and starts being a wound. And it ends where all of it was always heading — with the truth about what was built, what was broken, and the one man standing in the ruins who was never part of the machine. Across all three books the action is relentless, the characters are impossible to forget, and the quiet moments hit harder than the violence. This is not a story about saving the world. It’s a story about the people who were unmade in the process of protecting it — and whether anything human survives the unmaking.
How would you describe your artistic style?
I didn’t know how to answer that. So I asked an ai based on what it know about me and the books and it’s response was “Restrained devastation”
Do you have favourite colours, patterns, or themes you always return to?
Favourite colour of all time is burgundy, but closely followed by violet
What does a typical creative day look like for you?
Randomly sitting down day dreaming and a thought hits me or I see something that makes me think, wait a minute I could add this.
What’s one thing about your creative process that people might not expect?
I watch the ideas or words in writing like a movie playing in my head and I get excited over a plot I haven’t finished yet.
What helps you stay inspired through slow or challenging seasons?
Sharing parts of my work with people who enjoy it, like adding small bits of easter eggs on my Substack.
What’s the best creative advice you’ve learned along the way?
Just write it down. What ever idea you have, what ever random thought that comes up write it down. It won’t always be important, but some of your best gems will be lost if you forget it. Only you think like you.
What exciting projects, collections, or dreams are you currently working on?
Little exclusive peek into my world. There will be special editions of the trilogy at some point, that will be told in the POV of different characters you meet throughout the series.
A huge thank you to Ryan for taking the time to share his creative journey with us. I loved hearing how imagination, storytelling, and a willingness to follow ideas have shaped both his writing and the world of Plan 27.
His reminder to simply “write it down” is something I think all creatives can learn from. You never know which small idea might become the foundation for something extraordinary.
You can follow Ryan’s journey and keep up to date with Plan 27 through his Substack and Instagram. I’m excited to see where his creativity takes him next.
Until next time, happy creating. 🌿