Kill All Enemies Blog Tour

Hey everyone, and today is my stop on the Kill All Enemies by Melvin Burgess blog tour! Yay! I have my first author Q&A session to share with you, which I'm super excited about, and his answers are awesome, in my opinion :) So here they are!

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Bella: Hi Melvin, welcome to Cheezyfeet Books! Tell us about Kill All Enemies in less than 20 words.
Melvin: It follows three teenagers in deep trouble, who turn out to be heroes in other areas of their lives.

B: What inspired you to write Kill All Enemies?
M: We’re always hearing abut bad kids – the kind who get excluded from school, get into fights – maybe the kind of kids who were out in the recent riots. I wanted to try and find out what was going inside their heads, so I went out to interview them. I was as amazed as any9one when I found out that so many of them were real heroes.

B: Could you tell us a little about what it was like to go to the PRUs to research for Kill All Enemies?
M: Really interesting. PRU’s vary so much – some of them are as rough as an old man’s beard, and some are just beautiful. I found one where they have fresh flowers and fruit in every classroom every day of the week – it was lovely. They were full of characters, that was for sure – everyone in there had a story to tell.
The main difference between a school and a PRU was the staff. It was usually more informal, and the teachers were not so proud, as one head of a Pry called it. He meant, if I kid was rude to them, they didn’t stand on their pride, but did their best to handle it another way. They used discipline, but in a situation where people often have some very difficult and often upsetting situations to deal with at home, it’s not good simply trying to come down on someone when they blow up. It may not be rudeness – it may just be someone reaching the end of their tether.

B: In the PRUs you visited, you must have spoken to lots of kids and teens. What was it about Chris, Rob and Billie’s stories that made them stand out?
M: Different reasons. Billie was such a charismatic figure, who’d tried so hard in her life and had some great disappointments. But she was basically a very responsible person, and a very charismatic one. Everyone who came into contact with her loved her – she was really quite remarkable.

Rob is really made up from two separate lads I met – not in a PRU, but at the Corn Exchange in Leeds. They’d both had some very difficult experiences, but they had really risen above it all – partly, I think, by using their music to deal with it all. I have the greatest respect for them.

Chris was different – his mother told me about him. He was unusual because he just put his foot and refused to work – and yet, when he left school, he turned pout to be relay responsible – got a job in a bar and was the manager with a year or two. I thought that was great! I admired him very much for sticking to his principles.

B: If Kill All Enemies was to be made into a movie or TV series, who would you cast to play Billie, Rob and Chris?
M: I have no idea! I love films and TV but I can never remember anyone's name. Sorry.


B: What made you become an author and what made you choose to write about ‘difficult’ subjects such as addiction and underage sex?
M: I took up writing because I was no good at anything else. Really – I was rubbish at school, but I always loved reading and writing. So I just went where the sun shone, so to speak.
As for my subject matter, I do write about other stuff – but the more difficult side of life is always interesting. There are so many areas adults find it difficult to talk to young people about – lots of subjects for novels that no one has written yet!


B: What are your writing plans for the future?
M: I’m just finishing my next book – a horror. See – I told you I write other stuff rather than “difficult” subjects. After that, I have a thriller to write. I’m looking forward to that. And after that – I’m going to write a book about University life.

B: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions, is there anything else you would like to share?
M: Yes! I’ve spent all day at my desk, so now I’m going to go inside and have a glass of wine and cook dinner for me and my son, who’s staying here at the moment. Pork chops with sticky pear sauce – yum!
Good luck, and thanks for having me guest at Cheezyfeet Books.
Melvinx

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Wasn't that great? You can read my review of Kill All Enemies here, and there are some useful links below that you might want :) Also at the bottom of this post is the blog tour schedule, so you check out all the other interviews and guest posts and giveaway going on or Kill All Enemies!

Useful links:
Buy the book: amazon.co.uk | thebookdepository.co.uk | thebookdepository.com
Melvin Burgess' Goodreads: Melvin Burgess
Melvin Burgess' Website: melvinburgess.net

Tour schedule:

Introduction: Melvin Burgess

1st September: Book Trust

5th September: The Book Memoirs

6th September: Wondrous Reads

7 September: BookZone4Boys

8th September: Hayfever Blog

9th September: The Book Smugglers

10th September: Book Angel Booktopia

12th September: My Favourite Books

13th September: Fluttering Butterflies

14th September: Cheezyfeet Books

15th September: Chicklish