Blog Tour: Article by Black Night Falling author Rod Reynolds

 

 

Background to Black Night Falling

My new novel, Black Night Falling, is the sequel to my 2015 debut The Dark Inside. It sees Charlie Yates compelled to return to Arkansas - to a town called Hot Springs, just a stone's throw from Texarkana, the place of his nightmares. Three young women are dead, and with echoes of what went on in Texarkana, it's not just his conscience telling him he has a duty  to put a stop to this...

                The idea for this story came from two places. The main thrust of the plot arose from the first book - from a small thread that I intentionally left dangling, without knowing if I would ever have the chance to return to it. Writing this sequel afforded me the opportunity to revisit the events of The Dark Inside - or more accurately, show how the fallout from those events didn't end when the book did. I always felt that what my characters went through was too big and too damaging to simply draw a line under, and it was gratifying, as a writer, to be given the chance to show what happened next.

                However, as with The Dark Inside, I was also influenced by true events. I first learned of the

town of Hot Springs, and its incredible history, while on a research trip to the US for the first book. I was amazed to discover that in the first half of the twentieth century, this pretty little town in the Ouachita Mountains was the Mob's chosen vacation spot - a safe town that regularly played host to Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and many more. Gambling and prostitution, though nominally illegal, carried on openly with the backing of local politicians.

                And then came a gift from the writing gods.

                As I researched further, I discovered that opposition to this state of affairs came to a head in 1946 - right when I wanted to set my story. A group of decorated WWII veterans, sick and tired of the corrupt status quo, formed their own opposition group in order to take on the town's establishment. At first it seemed like a fantastically turbulent atmosphere to form the backdrop to my novel - but I quickly realised that the power plays at the heart of this showdown would be much more closely woven into the plot.

                As with The Dark Inside, the first stages of my research were largely historical - non-fiction books, newspaper archives, biographies of the main players - as well as a serious amount of time on Google Maps, acquainting myself with Hot Springs. But once again, I was determined to visit my setting as I finished the first draft, and so in April 2015, I duly carted my family across the Atlantic a second time.

                Any similarities with Charlie's predicament ended there, however. As with Texarkana, what I found was a fascinating and welcoming town, and one that still carried a glint in its eye because of its colourful past. I couldn't have asked for more.

Black Night Falling by Rod Reynolds, is published on 4 August by Faber & Faber (£12.99) , Kindle £4.73

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