Blitz+Dream Movie Cast+Guest Post: The Legacy

Title: The Legacy (Legacy Series #1)
Author: Melissa Delport
Genre: Speculative Fiction, Dystopian

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

One man obsessed with power.
One woman prepared to sacrifice everything to stop him.
One war that changed the world.

"Eric Dane has segregated the wealth and resources that remain, giving a select few the highest chance of survival and leaving the rest to starve!”

World War 3 lasted twelve days and almost eradicated the human species. Growing up in post nuclear America, Rebecca Davis remained blissfully ignorant of the despotic leadership that had seized what was previously the most powerful nation in the world. When the truth is revealed and Rebecca discovers that everything she has been taught is a lie, she is determined to fight for the life that she has not been allowed to live.

In order to do this, Rebecca has to cross the boundary fences and venture out of the safety of the New United States, into the barren wastelands. It is there that she finds allies she never dreamed existed.

In Rebecca, the Resistance has finally found the ultimate weapon.

“You were given this life Rebecca, because you alone are strong enough to live it."

An action-packed, adrenalin inducing thrill ride that will have you riveted until long after you have turned the last page.

Delport's Dream Movie Cast

Sadly, authors have very little say in the casting of movie adaptations of their books. In fact, they have very little say over anything to do with the movie version. I think this is a tragedy of epic proportion, given that we created the characters being brought to life on the big screen.

I am struggling to come to terms with this fact, because there are a few cast members in my Dream Movie cast that I really wouldn’t mind meeting. (Are you paying attention, Mr Spielberg?)

When I started writing The Legacy, I had images in my mind that I used to describe my characters. I actually find this the easiest way to remember all the details about them (hair colour, eye colour, etc) because otherwise halfway though I have forgotten.

So, without any further ado, here is my DREAM MOVIE CAST (drum roll, please!)

Rebecca Davis – played by Ashley Greene

Rebecca is the feisty heroine of The Legacy Trilogy. I love writing this character - I love that she's strong yet vulnerable... and she collects soldiers like other women collect shoes! She is the ultimate weapon, and prepared to sacrifice everything for the cause she believes in.

Aidan Moore – played by Justin Hartley

This fine specimen has long been a firm favourite of mine - ever since he first wore those "toit" green tights as the Green Arrow on the CW series, Smallville. I even sat through the entire first (and thankfully last) season of Emily Owens MD, just to witness this eye candy every Wednesday night. The CW axed the show and my withdrawals began...so imagine my delight when he showed up in the third season of Revenge!!! And he is just SO Aidan.... handsome, clean-cut, wholesome. Yum!

Reed McCoy – played by Chris Hemsworth

Aidan's nemesis comes in the form of our Sexy Southern Bad Boy, Reed, and who better than Chris Hemsworth to play the role of Rebecca’s equal? He is rugged, handsome, tough, and can pull off Reed’s longer hair. Purists would argue that there are a few tiny points of contention in this casting, but I have addressed each and come up with a solution:

Reed has green eyes: Nothing some contacts couldn’t fix (and besides, LOOK at that face!)
Reed has a southern accent, whereas Chris is an Aussie native: Who cares... LOOK at that face!

Eric Dane – played by Ian Somerhalder

In my opinion, every single movie ever made should feature Ian “Smoulder”-halder, or, as I like to call him: “sex on legs”. Eric Dane is a narcissistic, cruel megalomaniac. Ian Somerhalder is a compassionate philanthropist...but I hardly see the problem. Ian is an actor – ie: he can play any role. And I would so love for him to play the part of Eric.

Kwan Lee – played by an attractive 40-year-old Korean actor

Try as I might, I could not think of a single Korean actor off the top of my head. Coming up short, I took to Google with the single-minded determination of a Hollywood casting agent. Sadly, I couldn’t pronounce any of the Korean names, and I still didn’t find my “Kwan”. So I will let you use your imaginations, and picture him as you will.

Morgan Kelly - played by Teresa Palmer

Morgan is the girl we love to hate. She is reckless, stubborn and sassy, and the mother in all of us would like nothing better than to throw her over our lap and give her the hiding of her life for behaving like a petulant child. In casting Teresa Palmer, I’m certain male viewers will want to spank her for a whole other reason!

Michael Kelly – played by Alex Pettyfer

Michael Kelly is Morgan’s cute younger brother. With his boy-next-door looks and mischievous smile, Alex Pettyfer’s got my vote to play the quirky lovable character of Michael.

Now that our cast is all taken care of, there really are only three words left to say:

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!

Guest Post

How I Came Up With The Legacy Trilogy

Two years ago I was reading a lot of YA books, particularly in the dystopian and SFF genres. I devoured them all, every story intriguing and inspiring me, but I felt slightly disappointed that in the direst of circumstances, it was always the most unexceptional, ordinary people who survived. In my head, I imagined an extraordinary character equipped with the necessary skills and training to not only survive, but excel in these speculative situations. And so, Rebecca Davis was born.

The creation of Rebecca’s character then inspired me to write The Legacy. Her story simply needed to be told and, as I breathed life into her character, so she became an entity all of her own. Her story unfolded as if she were telling it to me, and often during the writing process I felt that I was simply the instrument – a ghost writer for this exceptional character that had become so real to me.

Rebecca is so incredibly determined, strong and feisty, and prepared to sacrifice everything for the cause that she believes in. She would die to protect the people that she loves, and her character’s depth is something I am very proud of. She is also not unwillingly foisted into the war against oppression and tyranny – she makes a conscious choice, and that choice makes all the difference – setting her apart from other dystopian heroines. Rebecca takes the road less travelled, armed with knowledge of the risks involved, but she believes that the risk is worth it. When faced with danger, most people would take flight, but Rebecca never falters – she fights for what she believes in.

Another aspect of The Legacy that inspired me was the world building. I love that while the Rebeldom represents all the traditional destruction that characterizes dystopian fiction, there is the contrast of the opulence of the New United States. Getting the balance right, between the hardship of the Rebeldom and the luxury of NUSA, was no easy feat, but I think that the two worlds create a vivid picture in the readers mind.

This story completely overwhelmed me, and I spent eighteen months writing the trilogy, although the basic plot took me only a day or two to come up with. I am thrilled with the response to the books and how far Rebecca has come, and I can only hope that readers continue to identify with Rebecca as they have, and enjoy reading her incredible journey as much as I enjoyed writing it!

About the Author

$C:\Users\User\Pictures\Melissa Delport\Photo - Melissa Delport LR.jpg$ Wife and mother of 3, Melissa Delport is the author of The Legacy Trilogy and the stand-alone self-published ebooks Rainfall and The Traveler.

She graduated from the University of South Africa with a Bachelor’s Degree in English in 2000

At the age of twenty-four Melissa started a logistics company (Transmax) from the spare room of her flat and built it up to two fully operational depots in Durban and Johannesburg. Now, 10 years later, she has sold her business in order to write full time.

Melissa lives with her husband and three children in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The Legacy (book 1 of The Legacy Trilogy) and The Legion (book 2) are available now and the final book, The Legend, will be released early 2015.

An avid reader herself, Melissa finally decided to stop ‘watching from the sidelines’ and to do what is her passion.

“I was driving home from work when inspiration struck, and a storyline started unravelling in my head. For a few days it was all I could think about and eventually I realised that the only way to get it out of my head, was to put it all down on paper. I started writing, and that was that.”