This Australian author and environmental scientist discusses her real-life travel adventures and how they have influenced her writing.

If you could choose any book character to go on a journey with, who would you choose and where would you go?

Oh, such a hard question! I think this is the sign of a really great book—where you love to imagine yourself as a part of that world—and there are so many wonderful books that I adore. If I really really had to choose just one, I think I’d hang out with Jupiter North from Nevermoor. Then I’d get to stay in the Hotel Deucalion, and it would be so cool to see what my room became. Also, I’d get to explore Nevermoor and all the realms, and maybe even ride a dragon.

In Evacuation Road, Eva is stranded in South America when the world economy begins to collapse. What’s the strangest thing that’s happened to you while travelling?

A I’ve had a few strange happenings in my travels! I’ve been fishing for piranhas, wading out into a swamp the size of France with raw meat in my bikini top, wondering whether I held the bait or was the bait. That was an experience. Also, flying in to Lukla Airport in Nepal—apparently the world’s most dangerous airport and I can see how they came up with that title—after days of white- out, in a very old plane. I’d had to tie myself to the seat because the seatbelt was broken. And then the plane in front of us crashed into the end of the runway. I was super glad when that flight was over!

...when things go wrong, it doesn’t have to be the end of your story...

Have you ever been conned?

Certainly have! I’ve been abducted and robbed by fake policemen in Bolivia; driven away from where I wanted to go by a fake taxi driver in Peru; several times sold on “eco” hiking packages that didn’t do what they’d promised; charged the wrong amount because of currency conversion confusions. It’s made me more cynical about advertising and spin, and also more cautious about taking risks. But you can’t not take risks, so sometimes I assess the situation (though not quite as analytically as Eva does!) and decide to ignore my inner voice and just do the thing anyway.

Was everything in Evacuation Road inspired by your travel in South America?

The world of Evacuation Road and some of the events were definitely inspired by my time travelling independently through South America (thanks, Past Me, for writing a pretty awesome diary!). I’d had the most amazing adventures there, but also encountered some pretty dangerous situations too. After I got back into writing I’d been thinking South America would be a great place to base a novel, but a full story idea hadn’t come to me.

Then the premise—that of a world financial meltdown where all the money we’ve safely tucked away in banks vanishes—came to me, inspired by world events at the time. That real meltdown only hit one country, but the images of people lining up to withdraw their money from ATMs—where how much they could take out was plummeting every day—got me thinking: What if this happened on a huge scale? How would people react?

I feel YA is all about throwing your characters into situations where they have to face their fears and have the opportunity to grow stronger, so then I thought about making this meltdown situation even harder for a character. As in, placing them far from home.

Then Eva popped into my head. Stuck in South America. Wanting to get home. And I knew it was something I had to write.

You’ve mentioned that your background in environmental science has impacted your writing, but do you think your work as a writer has changed how you interact with nature?

What an interesting question! I think the answer is yes, and it’s both good and bad. Firstly, sometimes I’ll be hiking and all I can think about is a story idea. So that’s definitely a negative impact! But more often I can find myself focusing on where I am, with all my senses, trying to remember the sounds and the smells and thinking how I would describe it on a page. In those times I’m deeply aware of where I am, really grounded in that moment and place, and that’s a wonderful thing.

Do you prefer to write what you know?

If I don’t know it by the start of the book, I will by the end!

For example, if I’m writing a character who’s great at hand- to-hand combat (which I remain pretty terrible at!) I sign up for a self-defence course and then I can better describe how it feels to hit something, or the sting of warding a blow with your arm. If my characters are eating crickets and I don’t know how they taste or if they leave bits of leg sticking out between your teeth, I order
a packet and eat them until I can describe the sound and the taste and the feel.

And for those things I just can’t experience or I’m making up, I go online or head to my library and research research research. A lot of science and history is far stranger than anything I could think up, so this helps a lot with ideas!

... YA is all about throwing your characters into situations where they have to face their fears and have the opportunity to grow stronger ...

There’s a strong vein of self-reliance and resilience through your work. What draws you to those themes?

Resilience is key to kids thriving. The idea that when things go wrong, it doesn’t have to be the end of your story. It doesn’t need to define you. Not if you choose to keep on trying.

When I was studying for my teaching qualifications I found so much research on how important resilience was, for children especially. And luckily it’s something you can learn, something that can be modelled to you by people in your life, or even people in a book! I’d love to think that, apart from being a heap of fun, my books also help some readers to develop that sense of self-worth and the courage to keep trying. After all, if the characters gave up, the book would be over before it began. Instead, with resilience, you find adventure.

Who’s your greatest influence as a writer?

Definitely my sister, children’s author Cristy Burne. We used to write so much as kids, and she’d been encouraging me to get back to writing for years. Finally she handed me the right book at the right moment, and it just sparked me. I was writing a story that night, had joined her writing group (SCBWI – the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) within a few weeks, and there I found my people and a world of inspiration and fun. I haven’t looked back.

Your debut novel, The Lost Stone of SkyCity, was fantasy while Evacuation Road is action/ adventure—what genre is next for you?

I love writing all things speculative, especially when they include epic quests and races against time, with healthy side-serves of humour and quirk. Next on the horizon is an awesome adventure set in a soft scifi world, and I’m so in love with it.

Are there any projects on the horizon?

Several! My next NaNoWriMo project is bubbling about in my head, collecting ideas and possibilities. This one is inspired by old roads and vanishing histories, lost artefacts and discovered magic. I’m looking forward to writing it!