Author Ali Lowe on how a personal tragedy altered the course of her life

If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be doing what you really love – that thing you felt called to do, even as a young child – for a living, you won’t want to miss this episode.  I first crossed paths with my guest, Ali Lowe, when she wrote an amazing cover story on one of The PR Hub clients, James Spenceley, for the Mosman Daily/North Shore Times a few years back (listen to my interview with James this season in episode 6, the link is below). Like most good stories, Ali’s is one of risk, instinct, and perseverance. Despite a successful 20-year career as a journalist and editor in the UK and Australia, following the death of her brother, she left full-time work to be closer to and more present for her young family. While freelancing, she realised a passion for writing fiction and was accepted into a novel-writing course in 2019, and the rest is history.  Described by The Weekend Australian as both “moving swiftly into the footsteps of Liane Moriarty '' and “one to watch”, it may make it sound at times like it all just fell into place one day, however her success has been anything but accidental. She’s already two books in (her second novel, The Running Club, is out this month) and excited by and grateful for her new, very public image as an author. “Am I a brand now?!” she jokes.  Importantly, for Ali, personal branding was never an ego trip or a commercial pursuit. Instead it meant tapping into the energy and wisdom of successful people she admired, building authentic connections with other writers, and of course, the discipline required to get the job done…and there are lessons in there for us all. The Running Club is available from 14 March ‘23 at all your usual bookshops, Big W, Target, Kmart, Dymocks, Booktopia, Amazon, and Audible. Listen to the James Spenceley interview at https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/entrepreneur-and-vc-james-spenceley-on-how-to-stay/id1490324814?i=1000590065861 Connect with Ali on Instagram @ali_lowe_author Find our more at https://www.aliloweauthor.com/ Email Sam at samantha@theprhhub.com.au Follow the Influence Unlocked podcast on Instagram: @influenceunlockedpodcast Follow Samatha Dybac on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/samanthadybac/ Check out the Influence Unlocked podcast videos on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/3fq8dJ5 Podcast Producer: https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.