J.J. Noad on Original Echoes: An Author Interview

Before the strange events of Fractured Echoes, there was Freddy Langley. In Original Echoes, J.J. Noad takes the Echoes Mysteries back to 1962, sending his former wartime intelligence officer to Blackpool to investigate a Victorian machine built to shape what people think and believe.

In this interview with Book Nerdection, Noad talks about tracing the first novel’s mystery back to its cause, the layers of history behind Blackpool’s flashing lights, and the character who wasn’t even in his first drafts. We also discuss good intentions, echo chambers, where new readers should start, and what comes next for the series.

You can also read our review of Original Echoes, our review of Fractured Echoes, and our earlier interview with J.J. Noad.

But First, who is J.J. Noad

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Book Nerdection Interviews J.J. Noad:

1. What sparked the idea for Original Echoes?

By the time I reached the editing stage of Fractured Echoes, I could see there was more to explore. Langley had played a relatively small part in the first novel. He was a guide at the start, although quite a frightening one, offering hints without giving too much away.

I also felt strongly that the strange events in Fractured Echoes needed to have a cause. Rather than leave the mystery unexplained, I wanted to trace those experiences back to something specific.

The first novel had taken us to a particular point, but how had we got there? What had happened before, and why?

Those questions became the starting point for Original Echoes.

2. You’ve lived in Lancashire and drawn on it throughout your fiction. What did you most enjoy rediscovering about Blackpool while writing this story?

Blackpool is a town that constantly reinvents itself. New bars, new attractions, new entertainment. But behind the flashing lights, there are places with histories stretching back generations.

Take Roberts’ Oyster Rooms, which opened in 1876. I discovered that Victorian diners could have a drink fetched from a nearby pub to enjoy with their oysters. It’s a small detail, but it tells you something about everyday life then.

Then there’s the Metropole Hotel, which has survived countless changes. I found myself wondering what it would have been like to stay there in 1962, compared with today. Some places have disappeared entirely, such as Blackpool Central railway station.

What I most enjoyed was uncovering those layers of history. The Blackpool we see today is only the latest version of a town that has been changing for more than 150 years.

3. Why did you choose 1962 as the starting point for Langley’s investigation?

I wanted to find a period when the ideas behind the story would have made sense to the people involved. The early 1960s seemed to offer just the right mix of fear, uncertainty and change.

Britain was still emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, but its place in the world was changing. The Cold War brought paranoia. I’ve spoken to people who remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, and some genuinely believed the world was about to end.

At the same time, the cultural changes we associate with the sixties were only beginning. The Beatles had yet to become a phenomenon. Britain was between two eras.

Against that background, the idea that someone might seek to control human behaviour, perhaps even believing they were protecting society, becomes rather more plausible.

For Langley, with his wartime intelligence background and distrust of authority, it seemed the right moment to begin his investigation.

4. How did you approach researching the different historical periods, and was there a discovery that changed the direction of the story?

The research took me much further back than I expected. I ended up exploring medieval history to understand why certain things might have happened and how they could have worked. There’s a little imagination involved, of course, but a machine is just a machine. I needed to understand why someone would build it in the first place.

Researching 1895 also challenged some of my assumptions. We tend to picture Victorian streets as we see them in Sherlock Holmes adaptations, with elegant carriages and remarkably clean roads. The reality was probably rather different. Horse dung, coal smoke and poor sanitation would have made the sights and smells quite an experience.

What particularly interested me was how many societies formed to promote social change. Some were motivated by a desire to do good. But I became fascinated by what can happen when people become convinced that they know what’s best for everyone else.

That became an important part of the story.

5. The book explores how uncertain memory and reality can become. What new questions did you want to explore through those themes this time?

In Fractured Echoes, I explored what happens when people can no longer trust their memories or the world around them. In Original Echoes, I wanted to go a step further. What if someone was deliberately influencing what people think and believe?

It’s a complicated subject, and I certainly don’t pretend to have all the answers. Today, social media algorithms can influence which information and opinions we encounter. We can find ourselves in echo chambers that reinforce what we already believe, sometimes without realising it.

People have very different ideas about how society should develop, and many sincerely believe their approach is right. But even with the best intentions, who has the right to decide what other people should think or believe?

That tension between good intentions and personal choice lies at the heart of Original Echoes.

6. Without giving away any spoilers, which character surprised you most during the writing process?

Probably Lavinia Warrington. I don’t think she was even in the first couple of drafts. She began as a minor character who, seemingly out of kindness, helps Langley find his feet when he first arrives in 1895.

But then I started asking questions. Why would she help him? What was her relationship with the other characters? And how did she fit into the society of the time?

I began exploring women’s position in Victorian society. What gave Lavinia her influence, and how did she exercise it within the expectations and restrictions of the time? From there came questions about her wealth, where it came from, and what she really wanted.

Each answer raised another question, and she became far more complex than I had originally intended. I think that’s one of the pleasures of writing fiction. Sometimes the characters take you somewhere you hadn’t planned to go.

7. You also write business and nonfiction books. Does that work influence how you approach human behaviour and decision-making in your fiction?

Not consciously, although I’m sure there’s a connection. I’ve always found what motivates people, how they behave and why they make particular decisions fascinating.

Much of my professional work has involved understanding those questions. People don’t always act rationally. They make assumptions, respond to emotions, and sometimes convince themselves that what they’re doing is right, even when the evidence suggests otherwise.

I suppose that naturally finds its way into my fiction. I want characters to have believable reasons for what they do, even when they make terrible mistakes.

The difference is that in my business books, I generally try to help people make better decisions. In my fiction, I tend to make those decisions considerably harder.

8. What did writing Fractured Echoes teach you that helped you most when working on Original Echoes?

I think the biggest lesson was to have a plan, but not be constrained by it. Fractured Echoes began as a sheet of A4 with some random words on it. Gradually, those became an outline, then a story. But you have to allow the story to develop.

Initially, I thought Original Echoes might retell the first novel from Langley’s point of view. Then I realised that wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. What interested me was how we’d arrived at the events of Fractured Echoes, not simply seeing them again through different eyes.

I also learnt the importance of knowing when to stop. I’ve been fortunate to work with editors who challenge the details, from continuity to how a character got from one place to another. But eventually, you have to decide you’ve told the story you wanted to tell.

Interestingly, the themes developed differently. Memory, forgetfulness and déjà vu were there from the beginning of Fractured Echoes. The questions about influencing and controlling people emerged as Original Echoes developed.

Ultimately, I want to write stories that are interesting, entertaining and perhaps thought-provoking. If I manage two out of three, I’ll be quite happy.

9. Would you recommend that new readers begin with Fractured Echoes, or can Original Echoes serve as their introduction to the series?

I’ve had some interesting conversations with readers at events, and opinion seems fairly evenly divided. I think it comes down to personal preference, since both books work as standalones, though they complement each other.

Fractured Echoes is the shorter book. It introduces the mystery through a gradual sense that something isn’t quite right. The atmosphere builds, the paranoia grows, and by the end readers may well be asking, “What on earth just happened?”

Original Echoes takes a different approach. It’s a more historical mystery, following Langley’s investigation and exploring how we arrived at the events of the first novel. The story progresses towards a point that effectively brings us to the beginning of Fractured Echoes.

Both have that sense of discovery and growing unease, but they approach the mystery from different directions.

I think you can start with either. Reading Fractured Echoes first gives you the mystery before exploring its origins. Starting with Original Echoes gives you the history before experiencing the consequences. Either way, I hope readers will want to discover the other half of the story.

10. What can you share about what comes next for the Echoes Mysteries?

I’m particularly excited about two books, both of which are well advanced.

The first is Langley — Before the Echoes. I’m working on a collection of three or four investigations, or adventures, if that’s quite the right word for Langley. I want to explore the experiences that shaped him and help readers understand the man they meet in Original Echoes. Why does he behave as he does? What has made him so suspicious of authority? There’s a lot to explore in his past, and hopefully readers will enjoy discovering some history along the way.

The second is Echoes of Murder, which returns to Alice Whittaker and present-day Blackpool. I always felt there was more to Alice’s story after Fractured Echoes, particularly how those experiences might affect her.

As the title suggests, there’s a murder. However, the story also explores how events from forty, fifty or even seventy years ago can still affect people’s lives today. It’s less about speculative time travel and more about the consequences of the past. Just because something happened decades ago doesn’t mean it’s finished.

I see both books as part of the Echoes Mysteries. They explore different characters and periods, but share that underlying idea that the past has a habit of catching up with us.

I’m hoping to publish at least one in 2027, possibly both. There’s certainly plenty more to come.