About the Book:
When Bloodwatch, the shadowy organisation behind the ever-watchful cameras, descends upon the island to shoot a new high-stakes reality show, Astrid finds herself thrust into the spotlight. The prize at stake? A coveted ticket off the island. Paired with Luke, a risk-taking outsider harbouring secrets of his own, Astrid discovers the perilous costs of winning the adoration of a legion of fans.
Caught in a deadly game where the undead and other contestants close in, Astrid must navigate her developing feelings for Luke and the treacherous terrain of reality TV, where there can be only one winner.
Escaping the past is impossible when the present threatens to devour you.
Find this book on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link).
About the Author:
Melissa Welliver writes Young Adult Speculative novels. She works at Writementor and runs the Community Writing Hub for Children’s writers.
Melissa has completed the acclaimed Curtis Brown Creative Novel Writing Course for children under the tutelage of Catherine Johnson. She has been longlisted for the Bath Novel Award, the #BNAKids award, and Mslexia’s Children’s Novel Prize, and she was shortlisted for both the inaugural Hachette Children’s Novel Award in association with New Writing North, and the Wells Book for Children competition. She lives in the Northwest of England with her Bassetoodle, Zelda
Interview:
Pitch your book in 10 words!
A brutal, televised fight TO THE DEATH… but with zombies!
What were your biggest inspirations for TO THE DEATH? Why did you want to write about a reality TV survival show – with zombies?
I have always loved zombies, to the point that when I pitched this book to my agent she said ‘well, you’ve always wanted to write about zombies!’. I’ve always been fascinated with books about external monsters, and how often they are no where near as scary as the monstrous humans that they cohabitate with. I’m also a HUGE reality TV fan, and always have been – probably every challenge in TO THE DEATH is partially based on a favourite from a show I’ve seen over the years. And I wanted to explore the dangers of ‘insta-celebrity’ culture that these shows bring with them – that’s when Astrid and her zombie-infested home of Modi-Mordi was born.
Dystopia is seeing a resurgence of late. Why do you think we’re turning to these books again?
I’ve always been a big dystopian fan, which is obvious from my back catalogue of work, but it never surprises me when it’s back in vogue. The first ever dystopian book I read was This Perfect Day by Ira Levin, which was published in 1970. At university I studied Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, the man who coined the word and arguably birthed the genre, and that was written in 1516. So I think humanity in general is always interested in stories about brutal dictatorships and how we as a species rise up against regimes, and unfortunately these books are usually more popular when we are living in a world we are finding difficult, and trying to make sense of. Humans always prove to be the monsters eventually – but they’re also the saviour, and we want to read about how to get there.
How many rounds of Escape From Blood Island do you think you’d survive and what would your chosen weapon be?
Honestly if I didn’t die immediately due to being horribly unfit, and the Pyres being exceptionally fast, I’d probably survive by latching onto one of the other contestants I could hide behind, like Maeva or Noon! But if things were different I’d probably want either Astrid’s hydraulic bolt gun, or a screwdriver – perfect for scrambling those zombie brains!
Aid only comes to islanders in the form of influencer packages including largely useless-for-survival items like skincare products. Why did you choose to include this form of sponsorship alongside other more useful items?
I was really interested in the idea that reality TV shows, as they become more popular, stop being about the show and become a platform for contestants to gain sponsorship deals after the show. For example, Love Island did at one point operate as a dating show – but the more seasons that go by that shoot their winners to superstardom, the more obvious it is that some contestants enter the villa purely for the career opportunities they hope to access once they leave. Going into a tv show for one thing, and leaving as the spokesperson of a makeup brand? Honestly fascinating! And still incredible how beauty prevails as a popularity factor even in cases of life and death.
Who was the most surprising or most enjoyable character to write?
I have had enough DMs about this character to know people won’t like this answer, but Cinta came to me so easily. She’s an absolute thorn in Astrid’s side and completely selfish to the core, and her lines were mostly based on the worst things I’ve heard human beings say to one another. I could really hear her talking in my head! And she’s so different to me in every way that it was fun to step into her shoes… for a while!
What was the most unnerving or horrifying thing you researched?
I knew I wanted my monsters – pyres – to be a cross between zombies and vampires. So they can be killed with an arrow to the heart or head, and they burn in the sun. But apart from that, they are ravenous monsters that will hunt you until their dying breath. Because of this, I did research a lot of body horror – this is my first horror book, and I was interested in how much our main characters could hack away at these guys before they would finally drop dead. I think there’s a metaphor in that about how we punish ourselves and others around us, but it was all quite gruesome to write!
What tips do you have for writers trying to balance relationship dynamics with an action packed plot?
This is a tip I often give to my mentee writers – create blank space on the page, literally. If you’re looking at your document and there’s a wall of text, its probably because you have an uneven balance between slower moments, like description and internal thought, and tenser moments, such as dialogue and action. Dialogue and action naturally space themselves out with shorter sentences to speed the reader through the scene and make them feel breathless, and then they have chance to catch their breath during moments of self reflection and world-building. No walls of text and you should be golden!
Please recommend a UKYA book you think readers will love.
I love anything by Josh Silver, especially HAPPYHEAD*, as it’s my favourite genre, dystopia! He has his adult debut Fruit Fly coming out this year that I cannot wait for. He always manages to balance humour and heart with dystopic, darker moments so well.
Thank you, Melissa!
*Affiliate link
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