One of the best things about having this blog is getting to interview authors I truly admire. Lexie Elliott is no longer a debut novelist (her 4th novel, the brilliant Bright and Deadly Things came out earlier this year) but her debut novel, The French Girls was fantastic and I’ve been dying to interview her. Thanks Lexie!

 1. Please tell us about your debut novel.

My debut novel was The French Girl (Berkley, 2018), which explores the shifting relationships, and memories, of London-based recruiter Kate as she becomes entangled in a murder investigation following the discovery of a body at the French farmhouse in which she and her university friends holidayed ten years previously.

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 would say that’s down to a combination of opportunity and stubbornness! I lost my investment banking job in the Global Financial Crisis, which was somewhat fortunate timing: I had recently achieved some success in short story competitions, which gave me the confidence to use my unexpected free time to have a stab at writing a novel. (Though in truth, I believe I would have started a novel sooner or later even if I hadn’t lost my job—it just would have taken me a lot longer to write it—and the time wasn’t exactly ‘free’ as I had two young children at home!) But having started, I was stubborn enough to keep ploughing on with it, even when I got another job. The stubbornness is invaluable: you have to possess a kind of stubborn self-belief to both finish a novel and keep on pursuing a writing career in the face of rejection.

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

Like many authors, I do have a completed “pre-debut” novel (also a thriller) in a file on my laptop. I’m not sure it will ever be published; it’s not terrible, but it is flawed—I like to think that I’ve learnt a lot since then! —and I’m not sure I feel strongly enough about the concept to try reworking it. I also have roughly a quarter of several different novels in different genres on my hard drive; there’s one in particular that I might choose to revisit at some point.   

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

I think you would get the same answer from every author: reading helped me become a better writer. That’s the first step: read anything and everything, read whatever appeals to you without making judgement on genre, author, style etc until you begin to have an idea of what sort of writing excites you most. And the second step is to write: everyone improves with practice. In terms of resources, I found it really helpful to attend seminars at writers’ festivals. I also used a literary consultancy in order to polish my manuscript before submitting it to agents—it was an expensive process, but it was hugely helpful to receive specific, tailored advice and notes.

5. What was your process like getting an agent? 

I met my agent—the wonderful Marcy Posner at FolioLit—as we were preparing to disembark a train on our way to a writers’ festival. I didn’t know she was an agent when I first spoke to her; I simply struck up a conversation with her because I noticed she had papers with the festival name on it and realised we were heading to the same place. Marcy was struggling with her bags, so I helped her to get them off the train and then we shared a taxi to the venue; that was when I found out she was an agent and mustered the courage to ask her to read my work. The moral of the story is: be nice to absolutely everyone!

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

I was on holiday at the time with my family. I can’t quite remember what we did but I expect my husband and I had a few glasses of something bubbly that evening!

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 debut novel was published in the States before it came out in the UK (I live in the UK), so I took a trip with my family to New York City to see it in bookshops. I remember my first sighting of it in Barnes & Noble —that was hugely exciting. And also kind of terrifying: my novel was on a table right at the front, along with other new titles, and I was struck by how many books are being published every month. It felt like a miracle that anyone picked up my novel out of all of those on offer.

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

Be professional. If you truly want to make a career out of writing, you have to approach your writing in a professional manner: that means prioritising it and ring-fencing your writing time. You wouldn’t leave your desk at work to have coffee with a friend during the working day; you have to afford your writing time the same kind of respect.

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

I just finished Maggie O’Farrell’s The Marriage Portrait, which, like all of her books, is beautifully written, exquisitely observed and absolutely immersive.  It’s on the shortlist for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, so you don’t have to take just my word for it, but I cannot recommend it highly enough.

10. Please tell us about the latest novel you published or any other project you have coming out soon.

My latest novel, Bright and Deadly Things, came out on February 14 of this year. It’s a psychological thriller set in a rustic chalet in the French Alps, where recently-widowed Oxford don Emily is spending a week with a collection of friends from the university as well as well as other fellows, graduates, and undergraduates. With no electricity, running water, or access by car, this seems like the perfect place for her to begin cutting through the fog of her grief. But before even making it to the airport, she's unnerved by a break-in at her home. Once at the chalet, tension amongst the guests is palpable. Her friends and colleagues are behaving oddly, and competition for a newly opened position has introduced a streak of meanness into the otherwise relaxing getaway. As hostilities grow and the discordant bell of the curious grandfather clock in the salon begins to invade everyone's dreams, Emily starts to wonder if the chalet's dark history has cast a shadow over the retreat. When a student disappears, Emily realizes that she'd better separate friend from foe, and real from imagined—or the next disappearance may be her own.

To learn more about Lexie Elliott and her work, check out her website and follow her on Instagram and Twitter.