Foluso Agbaje, author of 'The Talk of the Party' - Thriller writer discusses writing in Dubai, worldwide influences, and her pursuit of perfection
Writer's RoutineShow Notes
This week, we chat to Foluso Agbaje. Her debut, 'The Parlour Wife', was published to widespread acclaim in 2024.
She's following it up with 'The Talk of the Party'. It tells the story of a 60th Birthday Party, the envy of Lagos. However, the dream of Bukola Obanile's perfection comes at a price, and this one glorious night could shatter and detroy a family buily on deception.
We talk about why she gets fussier in her pursuit of perfection in each book, also why she uses Canva to write her novel, and why she went back to school to learn to write. You can hear about the energy of Dubai influencing her storytelling, how she's trying to unpick Nigerian culture, and why she's always across how everything looks.
Get a copy at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine
This week's episode is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' Podcast.
Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutine ko-fi.com/writersroutine
@writerspod writersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Writer's Routine
Daisy Stephens is a journalist who has written stories forever. When she was young she filled notebooks with them, now living in a house-share with 3 friends and a grumpy cat, she fills notebooks with ideas and plots. During lockdown, she tried to turn one into a novell. It didn't go well. After 100,000 words she fell out of love and put it away. Then, for her job, she interviewed an author who did what she hadn't. An author who carried on. That writer turned her lockdown project into a published novel... why couldn't Daisy?
Laurell K. Hamilton is a pioneer of romantasy and urban fantasy. One of the biggest names in the genre, Sarah J. Mass has cited Laurell as an enormous inspiration. She's published more than 40 novels and has sold over 20 million of them. She's a Number 1 New York Times bestseller known for her 'Anita Blake' series and the 'Merry Gentry' books - the first of which was published in 2000.
Elif Shafak is an incredibly successful and influential author. Born in France to Turkish parents, Elif was raised by her single mother and traditional grandmother. She spent her childhood moving across the world, living in Madrid, Cologne, Amman and Istanbul.
Jenna Helwig is a food editor, a cookbook evangelist, and now novel writer. She's a culinary school graduate, and in 2025 launched, the Cookbookery Collective, a very successful Substack for cookbook lovers. Jenna has published 5 cookbooks herself focusing on everything from feeding a baby, to cooking on a budget.
Benjamin Abravenel practiced medicine for 35 years, whilst in snatches of spare time, started work on a novel with a message he was passionate to get heard in the world. When he retired with something like a first draft, he hired a Professor to help him edit into something publishable - she said there was very little chance it would ever be traditionally published. Benjamin went the hybrid-route, and has spent the last few years putting the finishing touches on 'The Past, Again'.