Author Interview: Allie Burke (Nowhere Train)

Malibu is pretty much the last place you’d expect a zombie 

apocalypse to happen, but that’s ground zero in Nowhere Train by Allie Burke.  

Here’s the description: 

Two-years post end-of-the-world, all Jetilyn Fournier wants to do is learn to navigate a world that is no longer her own. Surviving zombies feels easy, though, compared to dealing with her rocky relationship with her best friend, the death of her mother, her sister’s faux happiness, and her father’s sudden desire to speak, after decades of silence. Saving herself is not even something she can fit in at the moment. Enter Devlin Shea: for all intents and purposes, a mortal enemy. Though she should hate him instantly upon contact, she doesn’t, and before she knows it, Jett has another life to save. Told in the surreal prose that Allie Burke has come to be known for, Nowhere Train is the first zombie novel of its kind. At two parts hippie and one part magic, it is as deadly as it is beautiful; as dark as it is hopeful, baring the question in mind: who–and what–are Jett and her family really fighting for?

Allie is hanging out today to tell us all about this kick-ass book.

Tell me about Nowhere Train.

Nowhere Train is the first in a dystopian trilogy about the zombie apocalypse in Malibu Beach, California.

What inspired you to tell Jetilyn’s story?

Jetilyn’s story is very unique because I felt she was caught in between two (or three) worlds. She is the way she is because her family brought her up that way, but she has been exposed to so much through her friendship with Chris that I thought she could tell the story of zombies like no one else could. 

What drew you to writing in the zombie genre?  

I didn’t used to be into zombie fiction, but I’ve had a bit more exposure to it due to my brother being absolutely obsessed with it. My brother is very supportive of my work, so I wanted to write something he would truly enjoy. I really wrote it for him. Beyond that, it’s always my goal to write something that stands out from the genre, and so far, readers have confirmed that is the case with Nowhere Train.

The world you’ve created is divided into factions, The Holies, The Gunners, and The Enders. Can you explain those a bit? What inspired you to create these factions? 

It is really about The Holies versus The Gunners, and both of them versus The Enders. The Holies have adapted a holistic lifestyle wherein they don’t speak (most of the time) and The Gunners believe in living by force, which often involves weapons. The Enders are the zombies. My inspiration to write this series this way derived from my fascination with physical energy and auras.  

Now that Nowhere Train is released, what is next for you?

I’m working on Prius, the sequel (or prequel) to Nowhere Train.

Do you have any writing rituals?

No, I don’t. I’m always writing, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.

Where is your favorite place to write?

In independent coffee shops.

What inspires you to write? 

Everything.

What 5 books are on your bookshelf right now?

Five books? Haha. I have an entire to-be-read-bookshelf. I’ll tell you what’s on my immediate list, ie what’s in my car and my purse: The Red Queen, First Frost, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, The Untouchables, and Unblocked.

What do you recommend people see/read/hear?

I recommend anything by John Green: books, videos, anything. He is my hero. 

You can connect with Allie online at her website.