We were lucky to catch up with Laura Rowley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I just completed my first novel, The Glassmaker’s Secret, which will be published in October 2026. It’s a dual-timeline novel about a New Yorker who travels to Estonia to pursue a family secret from World War II. Her holiday journey is intertwined with her late grandfather’s tragic letters about his childhood during Soviet and Nazi occupations. As she struggles to solve the mystery, save the failing store she inherited, and navigate love and betrayal, she makes a shocking discovery that lays bare the past—and rewrites her future. I have wanted to write fiction ever since I crafted Nancy Drew knockoffs at my mother’s Selectric typewriter as a child, but my career took me into journalism, non-fiction books, and content strategy, while raising three kids. I started the novel when my youngest left for college. It’s so delicious to return to your first love. Life comes in seasons, and this one is fabulous.
Laura, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a storyteller. I grew up with ten siblings in an Irish-American family in Chicago, where the best way to win the room was to tell a good tale. At age 11 I won a prize in a poetry contest, and it was off to the races: newspaper reporter, magazine editor, TV producer, and digital leader for media companies such as CNN, The Huffington Post, Yahoo!Finance and Meredith Corporation (now People, Inc.) My essays have been featured in The New York Times, Gannett, Money, Parents, Self, and other publications.
Along the way, I started writing business books, including histories of four Fortune 500 companies, and a personal finance book, Money and Happiness. That was my platform for a long time, and I made regular rounds of The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS, and other media. Then I started a content strategy firm, Rough Meadow Digital Media, advising media companies such as MGM and Ziff Davis, and firms in finance, tech and commercial real estate.
I’m now Director of Content for SitusAMC, a tech and services firm with 4,000 professionals in 28 global offices, serving the largest institutions in real estate finance. Along with writing fiction on the side, I also ghostwrite memoirs for business leaders.
I’m a voracious reader, a multidisciplinary, cross-domain thinker, and a total data geek. I’m deeply interested in value systems and decision-making, which inspired me to get a master’s degree in divinity. I love connecting dots — whether it’s in a novel or a strategic content project. In my novel, history, mystery, love and self-discovery intersect, and I’m diving deep into algorithms and platforms to ensure it finds the right audience. In client projects it might be the cross section of real estate development, neuroscience, and art. Or finance, technology, and mortality. This is one reason I’m involved in the startup space. I love speaking with and serving as a resource for founders building cool things at unique intersections. I’m a Techstars mentor and investor in early- and growth-stage companies in the U.S. led by people of color and/or LGBTQ+ founders, or firms that serve markets.
In terms of what I’m most proud of, it’s my three daughters, and my ability to continuing to pivot and evolve as the world changes.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When my kids were 15, 13, and 9, my spouse had a stroke. I was commuting about three hours roundtrip to my job in Manhattan, and overseeing teams in New York, Des Moines and Seattle. I knew the situation wasn’t sustainable. The company was headquartered in Des Moines and the C-suite was there, so I asked to be transferred. They agreed (and told me I was the only person in the history of the company who’d asked to be moved from New York City to the Midwest.) We relocated six weeks later. It enabled me to have my office, the kids’ schools and the airport 15 minutes from my house. My spouse recovered, our stress was greatly reduced, the kids thrived and we had way more family time. I’m a fan of imploding your life when the status quo is no longer serving you.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Community, connection and service. Earlier in my career, my creative journey was driven by ambition and recognition. Now I’m focused on communicating with readers about the ideas in the novel, and supporting other creatives. I’m a serial people connector. It’s so rewarding when you make an introduction or provide a resource that helps someone grow her business and advance toward her goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://laurarowley.com
- Instagram: @laurarowleyny
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laura.rowley.908/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-rowley-84086a5/
- Twitter: @laurarowleyny
- Other:
Newsletter subscription: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/1975811/177771256999839127/share
Facebook author group: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583872748511
Image Credits
Anne Hilker, Melisine Alegre, Alyssa Bain