Hi everyone, I'm Hillary Kerr, the co-founder and chief content officer of Who Up Where, and

this is Second Life, a podcast spotlighting women who have truly inspiring careers.

We're talking about their work journeys, what they've learned from the process of setting

aside their doubts or fears, and what happens when they embark on their second life.

Today, I'm speaking with New York Times best-selling author, Iona Gray.

Iona's debut fantasy novel, Beasts of Prey, captured the attention of young adult readers

and people like me around the world when it was published last year.

Since then, it's been translated into over 10 languages and is even being adapted for

a feature film with Netflix.

The story follows two black teenagers as they venture into a magical jungle to hunt down

a vicious monster.

It's the first in her trilogy, and her second book, Beasts of Ruin, is out this week.

But before becoming a professional author, Iona worked in higher education, specifically

in fundraising for the University of Florida and the University of Arkansas.

What does that mean exactly?

Well, part of her job was researching donors who could help fund scholarships and endowments

in all of the amazing things that you get to participate in on campus.

And she did all of this while piecing together ideas for her novel on the side.

In this episode, Iona shares how her first life as a researcher helped her build the

magical world of her series and how she learned to let go, trust her collaborators, and make

the leap into her second life.

Plus, Iona tells us the incredible story of how she was approached by 43 agents for her

...