What is the title of your latest release?
THE LOWE JOB
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
THE LOWE JOB follows a family of four sisters and their matriarchal mother, Lydia. When the eldest sister, Lili, gets caught in a sex scandal with a married politician, Lydia, a former talent manager, decides that the only way to protect Lili’s reputation, is to step into the spotlight and take control of the narrative. With brand deals and a reality TV show coming off the back of the scandal, quickly, the whole family is propelled into fame. The four sisters have varying reactions to their new-found celebrity, and things take a turn when someone from Lili’s past decides that they would rather she stay quiet.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
London felt like the natural location for the story. It is home to a multitude of burgeoning (and fully-fledged) celebrities, with enough nooks and crannies to hide an illicit affair.
Plus, London loves a scandal!
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely! She would get me into lots of trouble, but would also get me out of it – a recipe for an adventurous friendship!
What are three words that describe your hero?
Driven, confident, complicated
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
I learnt that I love to write an ensemble cast. I enjoy the variety of multiple POVs and being able to switch between storylines. The sisters all have quite different voices, and being able to dip in and out of those tones meant that I could write what felt most natural to me on any given day.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I’m not a planner and I like to see where the characters are going to take me, which means that I end up writing myself into lots of holes. I tend to write 95% of a very messy draft, before going back to the beginning to tear it apart and rework the plot, so the editing mainly comes then. I save the ending for when I’ve tied up more of the story; I love writing endings and so it’s a treat reserved for when I’ve put in the hard graft!
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
Chocolate, chocolate, more chocolate. I have SUCH a sweet tooth. If it’s near me, I will eat it. I’m 100% addicted and I have come to accept that.
Describe your writing space/office!
I live in a terraced house in London. We’re lucky enough to have a spare room that I have appropriated as my office. I have a window that looks out onto the garden, but my desk does not sit in front of it, as I would get far too distracted watching the cats and foxes battling it out for space on people’s shed roofs. Instead, my desk faces a wall with some wood paneling. I have a few pictures in the space, a poem written by my Nana, and some art prints behind me – one of which is by a pig named Pigcasso (RIP) who I used to follow quite obsessively. I was so devastated when she died that my husband bought me the print, and it brings me a lot of joy.
Who is an author you admire?
I admire all authors and artists. It takes so much to mine yourself in the way that any creative endeavor demands.
In terms of an author whose work I will always read, Donna Tartt forever.
Is there a book that changed your life?
PREP by Curtis Sittenfeld. It was the first coming of age book I read as an early teenager, having spent most of my time reading fantasy. It was so different to what I was used to and summoned all these new feelings about literature and what it could be.
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published).
I was lucky enough to get publishing deals in the UK (where I’m based) and the US, which meant that there were a few very exciting calls at that time. On the UK side, I was sat in a painfully boring compliance meeting at work when I had an email from my agent saying, can you talk? We had only sent the book out on submission the day before, so I wasn’t expecting any news so soon. The last twenty minutes of that work meeting were excruciatingggggg as I waited for the chance to dive out and call my agent. When I did manage to call her, she told me that we had received a pre-empt offer, that we only had an hour to respond, and it was all a bit of a whirlwind from there.
On the US side, it was a similar situation, but with time difference, I was at least finished with meetings for the day. I remember very vividly a hushed call with my US agent (hushed because my husband was trying to get our toddler to bed). That whole period was immensely exciting and ultimately life changing, because I quit my job a few months later, meaning no more of those painful compliance meetings.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I wouldn’t say I have a favorite genre. I’m agnostic, though I don’t read much historical fiction or thrillers, and I’m not a fan of “sad girl literature”. I used to read a lot more literary fiction and non-fiction, but with a three-year-old daughter, I have so little time to read now that I prioritize novels with a lot of heart.
What’s your favorite movie?
The Departed
What is your favorite season?
I’m a summer girly. Give me a pale rose in the sun and a cap saying “BASIC”, and I’m set.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
A margarita and all my favorite people.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Rivals is a recent TV show that I absolutely devoured.
I loved Eternity, and Project Hail Mary on the film side.
A podcast I have loved for many years is Scriptnotes. It was actually the first podcast I ever listened to consistently and I’ve been a regular ever since.
And in terms of books, I’m late to the table but I read PLAY IT AS IT LAYS by Joan Didion recently and haven’t stopped thinking about it.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
I live in a part of London that has the best Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan food going, so I would have to pick one of those cuisines (can I have all three, please?). We are totally spoilt for amazing food where we are, and we regularly take advantage of that.
What do you do when you have free time?
Writing used to be the thing that I did whenever I had spare time, but now that it’s my job, I need to find some new hobbies! What are people doing these days? Padel, I guess.
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m working on a second novel and also a fun TV project. I want to continue writing big stories about messy people, until padel takes over my life of course.
Narrator: Heather Long, George Greenland, Beth Eyre, Rose Akroyd, Mitra Djalili, Julie Teal, Antonio Aakeel
A Sharp Satirical Novel of a Family Who Turns One Woman's Scandal Into a Media Empire
A fresh and stylish debut following a family of women who are thrust into the spotlight in the wake of a scandal and expertly exploit their newfound fame, perfect for readers of Good Material and Margo's Got Money Troubles.
When Lili Lowe gets caught having an affair with her married boss, an admired local politician, she finds herself at the epicenter of a scandal that could dismantle her life as she knows it. She turns, as many women would, to her mother. But Lydia Lowe is not the kind of mother to offer gentle words of consolation. Instead she devises a strategy that doesn’t just manage the fallout, it actively exploits it, and Lili goes from making coffee and booking meetings to making headlines and booking talk shows. Soon, thanks to the commodification of Lili’s scandal, the whole world knows the Lowe family.
Lili’s three sisters—Stevie, Iris, and Katie—have differing reactions to being in the spotlight, but once the wheels are turning, it seems impossible to stop what’s in motion…and it doesn’t take long for the craziness surrounding the Lowes to spiral out of control. Money and celebrity, the Lowes discover, come at a price—sometimes, the louder one’s voice (especially a woman’s), the more others will seek to silence it.
With a potent blend of spectacular style, compulsive voice, sharp social commentary, and ferocious heart, The Lowe Job is escapism with teeth: a contemporary book club novel for the modern reader looking for fresh fiction that is at once funny, sexy, incisive, and heartfelt.
Women's Fiction Family Life [ William Morrow, On Sale: June 16, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780063453906 / eISBN: 9780063453890 ]
Grace Alexander is a writer based in London. She lives with her husband, daughter, and overweight pug. After receiving an English Literature degree from the University of Sheffield, Grace spent a decade working in finance, before pursuing her childhood dream of writing. The Lowe Job is her first novel.
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