The following is an interview with award-winning writer Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (Jill and the Killers) regarding the upcoming release of the new dystopian horror series, Kill Train, through Mad Cave Studios. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Cuartero-Briggs about her creative process in bringing the world and characters to life on the page, how she feels that the story may most connect with readers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of Kill Train! For those who may be unfamiliar, how would you describe the series’ premise?
Olivia Cuartero-Briggs: In the not-so-distant future, there’s a population explosion that nearly cripples the city of New York. To bring things under control, the city institutes Kill Train, a “humane” extermination program where subway trains are chosen at random, and everyone on them slaughtered by the end of the line. BUT, what the residents of New York City don’t know is that all the assassins hired to carry out the Kill Train initiative quit. It was just too brutal. Since then, the job has been handed over to the city’s most impoverished, desperate, and criminally insane. Giving them weapons of their choice and unleashing them on unsuspecting commuters. Within this world, we follow Vanessa, a struggling single mom at the end of her rope who has a full-blown mental breakdown just as she realizes she has stepped aboard a Kill Train, and decides she’s not going down without a fight.
BD: You have deftly weaved the adrenaline of an action-packed thriller with the increasingly prescient dystopian themes facing many in our country. How would you describe your shared creative process in bringing these narratives together alongside artist Martina Niosi?
OCB: Crafting the narrative was very much a solo endeavor with this book. The premise had been with me for some time, and when I pitched the basic idea to Mad Cave, they were eager to read an outline. By the time I had space in my work life to craft that outline, I found myself in a pretty dark place. Long story short, a lot of things had happened over the years that I just hadn’t processed. I had been so focused on building a life for myself that I ignored a lot a little traumas that had built up, and I found myself trapped in this sleepless pit of sadness, anger, and frustration. I’ve always built my stories around issues I was dealing with personally, but this time I went further. I poured all of what I was feeling into this story in very literal and cathartic ways because A) I had to, and B) I think, as storytellers, that’s what we owe our readers. The most unvarnished portraits of ourselves. Thankfully, Mad Cave loved the outline, and I pretty much went straight to draft.
What Martina then brought to those drafts blew me out of the water. This is an intensely character-driven narrative with loads of emotion, as well as guts, gore, and action. I honestly don’t know of any other artist on the planet who can capture all of these elements as well as Martina Niosi. From the first batch of sketches I received, I knew we were creating something really, really special. For all of the cry writing I did on these books, tearing myself open, and bleeding on the page, she countered that and upped the ante with the art. Every single line, character, and facial expression is as specific and personal as the story itself, and I am so grateful to her for everything she’s put into these panels.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that Vanessa’s story may connect with and impact readers?
OCB: Vanessa’s story is that of a struggling, ambitious artist who desperately wants to be the mom she never had. Because of that, I think this story will connect with any ambitious woman trying to make her way in the world. There are inherent challenges that we still don’t want to look at, but they affect us on a daily basis, and that deserves pointing to. We might not be able to fix them all – at least not in our lifetimes – but we can recognize them and know we aren’t alone. That’s important. But what’s most important about this book goes beyond gender. We all want to be great. To make something of ourselves and be the people we know we are capable of. But things happen along the way. People say things, we encounter hurdles, and all of those things – hit by hit – can chip away at our self-esteem. Kill Train isn’t a book about how people should watch what they say. There’s too much of that these days; this idea that it’s everyone else’s job to protect us. It’s not. It’s our job to protect ourselves. If I had taken care of myself in those moments when people said things that hurt me; if I had allowed myself to feel my feels and tell myself I was safe and okay, I might not have crashed as hard as I did. But I – like most of us – was never taught to do that. So, instead, I powered through and pretended I was invincible. But the body keeps the score. That, at its heart, is what Kill Train is about, and that is universal.
BD: What makes Mad Cave Studios the perfect home for Kill Train?
A: Mad Cave is just chock full of editors, marketers, publishers, and comic book lovers that live and breathe story. Support for the creator comes first, and ensuring that we, as writers and artists, are telling our story the best way we can. A book like Kill Train just does not exist without that kind of team behind it. I am eternally grateful for all the folks at Mad Cave who graciously invited me to join them, and they should know that I’m not letting them go anytime soon.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
OCB: Sure thing! Fate: The Winx Saga Volume 2 will also be released this year, along with another unannounced project with Maverick that I am super excited about, because it’s my first rom-com!
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Kill Train and your other work?
OCB: Instagram – @oliviacbriggs – is the best place to follow me and find updates on my work. I also always check my messages, so please, let me know what you think of the book! I’d love to know! I also have resources for folks who want to become comic book writers, so hit me up!
