It was just before ten o’clock. I’d left the radio on, hissing static quietly in the lounge. The last of the warm light was almost gone from the still evening. Suddenly the white noise stopped and the radio started talking.
Inspiration
When I first heard a numbers station late at night on an internet relay site, I was both captivated and terrified by the sounds I heard. I looked to see if there was a novel that featured a fictional numbers station, and I couldn’t find one. They are quite prevalent in computer games, and one made an appearance in the TV series LOST. But where were the novels? I decided to write one. I had a couple of specific images in my mind around what the scenery and feeling would be like if someone actually went to seek out the location from where such broadcasts would be transmitted from, and the rest of the story built from there.
Praise
“It really captures that contrast of the mysterious/ethereal with suburban British ordinariness that somehow just really pops in sci-fi.” – Talking Till Dawn Podcast
“Intriguing British mystery with tension, atmosphere and code-breaking vibes…” – Lee Hall, author of DARKE BLOOD (read review)
“Excellent. A very British combo of supermarkets, minor royalty, radio signals and creeping dread. Felt like a brilliant 1970s BBC horror/ghost story.” – David Arrowsmith, author of NEVADA NOIR
Other Media
Here’s a video of me talking about the book.