In this interview on the PaperBound blog, YA author Melissa Welliver chats to our regular contributor Steve Blackman about her brand new release Soulmates and Other Ways to Die.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and this story?
Of course! My name is Melissa Welliver and I write speculative novels, most recently dystopian YA with a dash of romance and comedy. I live in the North of England with my dogs and I run a community online for kidlit writers called the WriteMentor hub. I am also a co-host of The Chosen Ones and Other Tropes, a podcast based around trending tropes in commercial fiction.
This story was actually born from playing online games in a team arena. One game I played had a rule where if one member of the team took damage, the whole team lost health points. And I thought, what a fun idea to bring into the real world! I love a dash of romance in everything I write, and I thought this specific idea would work really well in the exploration of the Soulmate trope. In Soulmates, if you feel pain, so does your significant other. And if they die… you die too.
In writing Soulmates, to what extent were you inspired by real world apps? And is there an app you couldn’t live without?
For anyone who hasn’t read the book, there is an app mentioned that can match you to your soulmate. This is partly practical as it’s good to know who the other person is that could possibly, accidentally, kill you, but also it’s essentially a dating app – but with all the choices removed. Imagine that there is no swiping right or left – there’s one answer, and that’s who you are tied to forever. Nightmare! To be honest, many elements of the app were inspired by the NHS covid app that would register whether you were vaccinated and whether you had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive. I wanted to ask the question: is it a good thing to track ourselves so closely? Can there be good and bad elements to these sorts of closely tracked government apps?
As for my own apps, I’ve turned off all my notifications on my phone, so for my social media, I have to open the app to see if I’ve had any messages. I find this stops me checking my phone so much when I’m out and about in real life with friends! But my favourite app, as a bit of a prepper myself, is what.three.words. It’s an app that can pinpoint your location to a 3m by 3m area, no address needed, with three simple words. Very helpful in an emergency to let people know where you are – just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean I’m wrong!
So are soulmates real? Maybe. Read the book to find out.
There’s a diverse cast of interesting characters in Soulmates. Were any of them based on anyone we’d have heard of?
So obviously, the correct answer is, of course not! But if Argo Duff, the eccentric billionaire app owner who bought a social media franchise and has some interesting dating habits, and is a little more than a bit controlling, reminds you of anyone… then that’s on you.
Do you think we have just one soulmate? (Dogs don’t count, sorry.)
Ah, I love dogs too, they absolutely count! But aside from doggo pals – I’m very much someone who believes we make our own luck and destiny in life. A soulmate is whatever we make of it – in the book, I was keen to explore the concept of choice versus control, and whether having a soulmate thrust upon you – until death do you very literally part – are they truly your soulmate anyway? I also wanted to explore different types of love – platonic love, familial love, asexual love, romantic love – who says a soulmate has to be what dating apps tell us they are? There are many different kinds of love, and soulmate means something different to everyone. So are soulmates real? Maybe. Read the book to find out.
Your books tend towards the apocalyptic and dystopian. How do you think you’d survive at the end of the world?
Honestly, I’m not as fit and prepared as Zoe in the novel, who is a world class doomsdayer, but I’d like to think I’d have a chance of not going out in the first wave of whatever it is taking us out! I carry around a rechargeable battery pack, plus some gadgets like trackers that I allow my family to follow so we would always know our last movements in an emergency. My Dad is from LA, so he also gave me an emergency earthquake kit when I went to uni (in deepest darkest Leeds. Earthquake central, of course) that consisted of a torch, matches, spare batteries, all sorts of stuff. So even though I might not be the classic bad-ass female cutting my way through the hordes of zombies, I think I could find a pretty good place to hide until it all blows over.
You’re a notorious planner, and that allowed you to write this story in a month. Could you tell us a little about your process?
Sure! So it’s become a bit of a tradition now for me to write a novel in the month of January. I plot incessantly, so I use the more conventional NaNoWriMo (when a lot of writers write a novel in a month!) to plot each chapter of the book, and then have a break in December before coming back in January to write it. I write for 2 hours a day, between 10am-12pm, in concentrated writing sprints, and that usually nets me a chapter, or 3000 words. I’m not allowed to read back what I’ve written, or pause writing during the sprints, even if I’m getting stuck! It’s all about powering through to get that first draft down. And I usually write 25-30 chapters depending on the age range, so that gives me my month of writing quite neatly.
What else are you working on, which we can look forward to?
I have two books coming out this year, which is really exciting! Soulmates and Other Ways to Die is in March, and the re-release of my self-published book, The Undying Tower, is coming out with UCLan Publishing in August. While my Chicken House books all lean towards a slightly wacky take on the apocalypse, The Undying Tower is very much a dark dystopian in the same vein as The Hunger Games or Divergent, and is the first in a planned trilogy. I can’t wait to see what everyone thinks of the redesigned cover, and to reach new readers through re-printing this book baby of mine!
What advice can you share with aspiring young writers?
Don’t listen to advice! Just kidding – well, sort of. Follow your writing heart and don’t let trends get in your way. The books you see on shelves right now were written and negotiated years ago, so there’s no point jumping on a bandwagon if your heart isn’t in it, just because you think it will sell. Write what you love and it will come across in the writing, so readers will love it too. Also, don’t give up! It’s a long old road, publishing – you’ll get there. The only difference between a published author and an unpublished author is perseverance.
Melissa Welliver
Melissa Welliver writes Young Adult Speculative novels. She works at WriteMentor and runs the Community Writing Hub for Children’s writers. She has two dystopian rom-coms, My Love Life and the Apocalypse and Soulmates and Other Ways to Die, published with Chicken House Books. The first in her dark dystopian trilogy, The Undying Tower, will be published by UCLan in August 2024.
She can be found across social media under @melliver, and on tiktok under @melissawelliver.
Soulmates and Other Ways to Die is published by Chicken House Books and released 14 March 2024.
Steve Blackman
Like his career, Steve’s writing is filled with tech and engineering, although his speculative thrillers tend to have higher stakes and fewer meetings. Before working as a copywriter and editor, he was a consultant, a magazine editor, a communications director, a product designer and a webcaster, though not at the same time. Home is South London, where he lives with his wife and teenage daughters. They wish he’d stop saying, ‘What if…’
PaperBound Magazine is an online magazine for the young, and the young at heart. We are dedicated to showcasing authors and illustrators for children’s and young adult fiction and we strive to deliver inspiring content, uplifting stories, and top tips for young and aspiring writers yet to burst on to the literary scene.
All our issues are completely free and run by volunteers, however if you would like to support PaperBound and the work we do, you can help us out by buying us a virtual book. We appreciate any support you can give us!
Don’t forget you can read with the latest issues of PaperBound Magazine – completely free – here.
We are absolutely thrilled to bring you an interview with the New York Times best-selling author, Shelby Mahurin. Read on to find out about her brand-new dark vampire romance The Scarlet Veil, a spin off from best-selling series Serpent and Dove.
Could you tell us a little about your new book, The Scarlet Veil?
Of course! TheScarlet Veil is the first in a new duology set in the same universe as Serpent & Dove. It follows Célie Tremblay, the first woman initiated into the brotherhood of Chasseurs, as she investigates a string of murders in Cesarine—all the victims of magical origin, all their bodies drained of blood. Her investigation leads her straight to the heart of a vampire lair, where she captures the attention of its cruel yet beautiful king. He has plans of his own for Célie, who refuses to acknowledge the whispers from her past that still haunt her.
Where did the inspiration for this book come from? Was Célie’s story one you always planned to tell?
Interestingly enough, no—I didn’t plan to tell Célie’s story at all. In the thick of deadline with Gods & Monsters, I even swore I’d never return to the world of Serpent & Dove again. I wanted to tell new stories with new characters; I’d even sold another duology about Greek sirens! With a little time and distance, however, I realized I wasn’t quite ready to let the world go. When I called my critique partner on the way home from my local indie the day before Gods & Monsters published, crying, she told me it didn’t necessarily need to be over—and then she asked about Célie. We both agreed her story hadn’t reached its conclusion, and I’d always wanted to write a vampire book. Their inclusion felt like a natural extension to this world. Within ten minutes, we’d plotted out a rough outline of The Scarlet Veil, and the rest is history.
This is part one of a duology, and (without spoilers) leaves us on quite a cliffhanger. Did you always plan on this being two books?
Yes! I always knew The Scarlet Veil would end the way it did, and I knew I didn’t want to write another trilogy so soon after Serpent & Dove. Thus, a duology was the perfect fit!
This story has it all: vivid world-building, murder, vampires, ghosts, romance, bravery, and plenty of action (to name just a few). Is there anything you find tricky to write, and do you have any tips to overcome this? Equally, what do you find the easiest to write?
It seems like the trickiest part for me to write is always the part I’m currently writing. Ha! In all seriousness, though, Célie is an extremely emotional and vulnerable character—a complete foil to Lou and Reid, who both avoid their emotions at all costs. I personally err more on their side of emotional avoidance, so it took a lot for me to sit with Célie and her feelings. Other scenes that are always difficult to write are action sequences; I know literally nothing about self-defence, so whenever Célie or Michal needed to physically fight someone, it meant a lot of time on the internet looking up choreography and trying to describe such technical movements in a natural way.
The easiest scenes for me to write involve romance—banter, sexual tension, a lingering look. Those are always my favorite.
It’s the ultimate fantasy, isn’t it? For such an all-powerful creature to fall in love with a human?
We love vampires over at PaperBound (who doesn’t?!). What do you think it is about vampires that gives them such enduring appeal?
I’ve always loved vampires—Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Underworld, and True Blood were pillars of my adolescence. There’s something inherently seductive about a vampire, especially after Bram Stoker brought a refined façade to their savagery with Dracula. Maybe it’s because vampires are so powerful with their predatory speed and strength, or maybe it’s because they’re immortal. They never grow old. They live forever young, forever attractive, yet they’ve seen things we haven’t. They know things we don’t. It’s the ultimate fantasy, isn’t it? For such an all-powerful creature to fall in love with a human? And then there’s the whole business of their drinking our blood—it makes everything all the more dangerous, and don’t we all crave a little danger? I know Célie does.
The Scarlet Veil is so vivid and vast, yet so easy to read (we couldn’t put it down!). Do you have any tips for aspiring writers on successful plotting and world building, especially in the dark romantasy genre?
It’s so interesting that you mention worldbuilding specifically because—to be completely transparent—I’ve never loved worldbuilding. Or at least, I’ve always loved it less than character work and romance. In fact, I would argue that most of the worldbuilding in The Scarlet Veil came along as a means to cram every single trope I love into this story. The vampires’ casket company, for example, was an answer to the question, “How can I realistically get Michal and Célie into one casket together?” It needed to make sense. It needed to feel like a natural progression of both the plot and world. And so, I started brainstorming, and one thing led to another, and of course vampires have always needed a way to sneak into Cesarine, right? Lou and Reid would’ve known about them in the original trilogy otherwise. And Célie needed to face her fear of caskets after what happened with Filippa in Blood & Honey. And thus, Requiem, Ltd. was born. I could think of a dozen more examples of this sort of jigsaw puzzle worldbuilding, but you get the idea.
My advice to aspiring authors would be to lean into what you love—find a way to use it, to leverage it throughout your story, and the pieces will fall into place.
… lean into what you love—find a way to use it, to leverage it throughout your story, and the pieces will fall into place.
The romance elements of this fantasy are spellbinding. Romance is not the easiest thing to write for a lot of people; what ingredients do you think makes a good romance/ romantasy?
Good romance requires tension. Lots of tension. For me, that means I need both an internal and external reason to keep the lovers apart. Otherwise, why wouldn’t they get together as soon as they feel that first spark of attraction? Again, those reasons also need to make logical sense; nothing infuriates me more as a reader than a flimsy excuse for two people who want to be together not being together. The reasons also need to involve personal stakes—what will happen if they do get together? It needs to have a real consequence.
We don’t know how we’re going to wait for book 2! Can you tell us about anything else you’re writing?
I’m still drafting The Scarlet Veil’s sequel now, but afterward, I’ll be returning my attention to the Greek siren duology I mentioned earlier. I actually sold those books back in 2020 and 2021, so I’m extremely eager to get back to them!
Shelby Mahurin
Shelby Mahurin is theNew York Times bestselling author of the Serpent & Dove trilogy. She grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana, where sticks became wants and cows became dragons. Her rampant imagination didn’t fade with age, so she continues to play make-believe every day—with words now instead of cows. When not writing, Shelby watches The Office and reads voraciously. She still lives near that childhood farm with her very tall husband and semi feral children.
The Scarlet Veil hits shelves on September 26th in the US (HarperTeen) and September 28th in the UK (Farshore and Electric Monkey) with many other countries to follow.
You can read PaperBound’s review of The Scarlet Veil in the autumn/winter 2023 issue out in October
PaperBound Magazine is an online magazine for the young, and the young at heart. We are dedicated to showcasing authors and illustrators for children’s and young adult fiction and we strive to deliver inspiring content, uplifting stories, and top tips for young and aspiring writers yet to burst on to the literary scene.
All our issues are completely free and run by volunteers, however if you would like to support PaperBound and the work we do, you can help us out by buying us a virtual book. We appreciate any support you can give us!
Don’t forget you can read with the latest issues of PaperBound Magazine – completely free – here.