After taking a short hiatus, I’m excited to get back to it with this interview with Finley Turner. Thanks Finley!

1. Please tell us about your debut novel.

The Engagement Party is about recently engaged Kass, who is invited to a surprise engagement party hosted by her fiance's estranged family. When the lavish engagement party turns deadly and Kass begins to receive anonymous threats on social media, the bride-to-be fights to prove her innocence while reckoning with dark secrets from her past.

2. I’ve read that only 4% of the people who start a novel, finish writing it. Why do you think you beat the odds?

I'm incredibly stubborn when I set my mind to something. Once I pitched the idea to my agent and she gave me the thumbs up, I gave myself a due date of about six months to send her a somewhat-polished first draft, and at that point the only thing that would make me miss the deadline is if you set me on fire! I'm also a bit competitive against myself, so if I set a goal of 500 words every weekday, I get a huge dopamine hit to mark it off my to-do list, and even more if I go above my goal.

3. Was your debut novel the first book you wrote? (Any prior efforts hiding on your hard drive?)

The Engagement Party is actually the second book I wrote. My first got pretty far in the submission process, but ultimately just wasn't good enough to get published. Putting time and space between myself and the manuscript allowed me to see its faults and my weaknesses as a writer and use that to make The Engagement Party better.

4. What helped you become a better writer? Any books or resources you found helpful?

I've read a few craft-related books, which I found helpful, but the thing I'll tell every writer is that you need to read heavily in your genre but also outside it. I'll usually read for fun, but sometimes I break out my highlighters and sticky tabs and "study" a book in my genre that's done really well. I'll pretend like I'm in school and dissect things like the pacing and structure to try to learn from their success. The past year I've really opened my mind to other genres that I've never read before, such as romance, in the hopes that it will help me write more compelling characters.

5. What was your process like getting an agent?

Getting an agent is a painful process that most people outside the industry will never truly understand. I started querying in December 2019 with my first unpublished novel, but took a break to revise a few months later. In March 2020 I participated in Pitmad on Twitter and signed with my first agent, but I parted ways with them only a month later, which was incredibly painful after months of rejections and finally feeling a sense of security. And not to mention, we'd all just received news that there was a pandemic! I was a mess. I reached back out to my current agent and asked her to reread the manuscript. Luckily she gave me an opportunity to revise and resubmit, which I believe I took about three months to do. She loved the edits, we had The Call, and I've been with her ever since!

6. How did you celebrate when you learned your book would be published?

I had just had my first child, so my husband and I went into the garage to avoid waking her so we could jump around and pop open a bottle of champagne. There's nothing more glamorous than drinking champagne right next to a full recycling bin! I Facetimed my parents and in-laws with a belly full of bubbles and then went right back to the newborn cycle of diapers and nursing.

7. What was the most exciting moment involving the publication of your debut novel?  (The moment you first saw the cover? The call when you learned when it was being published? When you cashed your advance check?)

My most exciting moment was also the moment it really sunk in that I'd published a book. It was my first launch event at my local indie bookstore (shout out to Bookmarks in Winston-Salem), where I'd been shopping dozens of times walking through the aisles and feeling both a sense of awe for the authors but that deep yearning and jealousy that every author feels at some point. It made me feel so special that people took time out of their day to come to my launch event and listen to me talk about my book, which up until that point I'd been too shy or nervous to be so openly proud of. It was a great night.

8.What’s your best advice for someone who wants to be published?

When you think your book is ready for querying, take a month or longer to completely ignore it while betas or critique partners give their feedback, then come back and edit it again. The most common regret I've heard among my fellow debuts, including myself, is that they queried too soon. It can be hard to be honest with yourself when you're emotionally attached to a manuscript, so that bit of space can give you the courage to make necessary improvements.

9. What are you currently reading? Or, what's one of the best novels you've read lately?

I've been on an audiobook binge for the past month and just finished None of This is True by Lisa Jewell which was absolutely amazing and have just started The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. I think if I had to pick a favorite for the entire year, it would be Yellowface by R. F. Kuang. It's so rare for books to talk about the publishing industry and Kuang's writing is so smooth, yet biting and sharp. I would love to wipe my memory and read it again for the first time.

10. What are you working on now?  Any projects coming out soon?

I don't have a contract for any projects at the moment, but I'm working on another thriller right now and have about seventy pages so far! I can't say much about the plot because I'm superstitious, but I've had so much fun researching a very niche profession, and I can't wait to dive back in after the new year.

To learn more about Finley Turner and her work, check out her website and follow her on Instagram, Facebook and X (aka Twitter).