Get ready to learn more about the book Turbulence in this discussion with sapphic author E. J. Noyes.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz E. J. Noyes about Turbulence, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Minnesota category in the 2026 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write Turbulence?
I wanted to write a story that had an awkward beginning, and a story featuring a pilot, and the more the idea percolated, the more it seemed natural to combine those two things.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Isabelle, but probably only because she’s the PoV character so I never dove deeply into the other main character, Audrey.
Isabelle and I both have hot, firecracker tempers, but I like to thinks I’m as giving and empathetic as she is. She’s a lot more driven and focused than I am, and definitely better at maths…
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Isabelle’s love interest, Audrey, is a pilot, so Turbulence seemed a logical choice – not only for flying, but for how a relationship has its ups and downs.
What is your favorite line from your book?
The opening line…
For the first time in months, the hand fondling my breast was not mine.
What is your writing process like?
Hectic!
I’m a pantser through and through, and I write all over the place, whatever scene or lines take my fancy regardless of where they are in the novel. Then I begin to fill in the gaps.
It suits my brain to write like this, but it does come with a lot of “wastage” – scenes or segments that just don’t end up fitting in the final novel.
Where do you usually write, and what do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
In my office, and it’s always dark. No lights on, curtains down. Like a little writing dungeon.
What has helped or hindered you most when writing a book?
I’m definitely hindered by trying to please everyone, more so when I was earlier in my career than now. Thankfully I realised you just can’t please every reader, but every now and then my brain intrudes and thinks we can and it never ends well.
If you could be mentored by a famous author (living or not), who would it be?
Lionel Shriver. Oof, her writing is insanely good. Every time I read one of her novels I have both awe and a little petulant huff that I can’t write that well.
Have you ever cried when writing an emotional scene?
All the time! I cried through most of writing my next release, Crash Into You. I’m an empathetic writer, writing in first person PoV, so I’m right there in their heads while they’re experiencing everything. And when what they’re experiencing is sad, I’m sad. And I’m a crier.
What books did you grow up reading?
I read everything! From Enid Blyton to historical fiction, to nonfiction. I think the broad range of genres has shaped the difference in my novels – I feel even those that fall under the same genre are different in some way, and I like to think I shun formulas (mostly because I don’t know what they should be or are!).
What books have you read more than once in your life?
Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series. I can’t count how many times I’ve read the series from start to finish, or just picked up a random book in the series and opened to a random spot to read because I know what’s happened already.
I think the reason I keep going back to them is partly the writing style, partly my love of the era, and partly that I started these books in my early teens and by now they feel like old friends.
