I find that when I write books they are either a labour of love, sometimes taking years to reach completion, or they come out so fast I almost can’t type fast enough. The Ultimate Choice was one of those where the first draft was completed in just over two months.
The idea came about not as a eureka moment but over time. The news seems filled with stories about the ever increasing population of not just our country, but countries around the world. It seems there are few where population numbers are actually decreasing. This got me thinking. What if one of the worst case scenarios played out and the sheer numbers of people meant we could no longer feed everyone? How would the government cope? What extraordinary measures would they have to resort to? Would the situation eventually necessitate a human cull?
With all this in mind, I sketched out a frame for my novel and put pencil to paper. The original notes came out furiously fast, the theme was what I feared for the future.
The Ultimate Choice is set eighty years in a future where euthanasia, starvation and over-population have become a reality. Reproduction is by permission and strictly, often brutally, enforced. This book is a warning about the direction our species is taking. Eat less, have fewer children, this is the message of The Ultimate Choice. And remember, a desperate government will go to any lengths…
From the back of the book:
In this nail-biting thriller for fans of The Hunger Games and V for Vendetta, a spirited young mother must bring down a tyrannical government to save herself—and her illegally born son.
Worldwide overpopulation. Legalized suicide. A government dedicated to reducing citizen numbers. And a woman who is sentenced to death, but refuses to be culled.
Cassie O’Neil broke the law: she had sex before marriage. After learning she was pregnant, she hid from everyone and gave birth alone. Now she must give her life in exchange for the baby she illegally produced. But before she commits suicide on a game show watched by millions, she finds a will to live she didn’t realize she had, and goes on the run.
Cassie is forced to steal to survive, and she finds herself among a dissident group that is plotting to sabotage a laboratory containing a secret virus that is far more important than any of them realize. Captured by the police, they are taken to a secret government installation. Now the group’s only chance at survival is to accept the Prime Minister’s mission—a mission that forces Cassie to make the decision she’s been running from for so long.
Fast-paced and utterly enthralling, this follow-up to Lisa Hinsley’s dystopian debut The Plague will keep you turning the pages through the exploits of an unforgettably tenacious heroine.
You can buy The Ultimate Choice here.