What was the inspiration behind What Falls to Us?

Unlike some of my other books, I can’t actually remember what inspired What Falls to Us.

I wrote the very first draft back in 2012. I was watching The Walking Dead around that time, so there’s a good chance that had something to do with it, but honestly, I don’t remember. The book then sat untouched for years.

When I decided to take my writing more seriously, I dug out some of my old drafts, and this was one of the stories I came back to. A lot has changed since that original version.

One of those changes was Hale. In the new version, I made him a firefighter. I liked the idea of writing someone who was used to running towards danger rather than away from it, but who suddenly found himself in a world where there was no one else coming to help. Plus, I really enjoy watching 9-1-1. (The big thing standing in the way of a prequel is that I have no idea how firefighting works in the UK. All the shows I watch are American!)

Another inspiration was the setting. The original draft had no specific setting. I grew up in Lancaster and during the rewrite it seemed obvious to me that Haven should be in Lancaster Castle.

That, inevitably, led me down a research rabbit hole.

How defensible is Lancaster Castle really? What are the names of the different buildings? Did anyone escape the prison? How might they get water? I read a lot, visited the castle a few times and looked at historical accounts of castle attacks.

Is everything that happens entirely realistic? Not really. But I did try.

So What Falls to Us doesn’t really have one moment of inspiration I can point to, but a lot of things that contributed to make it the story it is today.