Ana Huang spent years living a double life: international relations scholar, Georgetown grad, geopolitical consultant by day, and secret romance novelist by night. She quietly uploaded chapters to Wattpad under a pen name no one in her life knew, and kept writing even as she built a conventional career that would make her immigrant parents proud. On this episode of She Pivots, Ana shares how COVID cracked her life open, how she taught herself TikTok before BookTok was even a thing, and how she built a community of millions one chapter at a time, all while still clocking in at her day job. She talks about the moment she finally told her family the truth, why she said no to major publishers when Twisted Love blew up, and what it means to bet on yourself. Her Twisted series has now sold over 25 million copies, been translated into 34 languages, and is headed to Netflix—and her new book, King of Gluttony, is out now.

You can keep up with Ana Huang on her website anahuang.com, as well as on Instagram and TikTok @authoranahuang.

Episode Chapters:

00:00.200 - Welcome to She Pivots

00:28.879 - Double Life to Literary Sensation

01:58.640 - Ana's Childhood and Cultural Identity

05:55.360 - Early Career and Secret Writing

12:14.520 - Rediscovering Writing During the Pandemic

13:38.026 - The Romance Genre and TikTok Success

24:24.009 - Self-Publishing and Traditional Offers

27:22.480 - Navigating Fame and Fan Expectations

31:16.600 - King of Gluttony and Future Plans

33:03.160 - From Low Point to Launch

34:51.199 - What Does Success Look Like Now?

36:32.692 - Do You Think You'll Pivot Again?

37:24.449 - Reflections on Ana's Writing Evolution

38:11.520 - Podcast Credits

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates.

She Pivots is proud to be an iHeart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From child actor to Disney star to pop icon dubbed "Lesbian Jesus," Hayley Kiyoko built a career creating the representation she never had as a half-Japanese, queer artist. In this episode of She Pivots, Hayley opens up about becoming a community's symbol practically overnight while still figuring herself out, and how she moved from leading with fear to leading with confidence and self-love. She also shares how she found her fiancée, Becca Tilley, and reflects on the decade-long journey that culminated in her Girls Like Girls film and album—a project that started with high school heartbreak twenty years ago.

Happy Pride Month, Pivoters!

Girls like girls is out NOW. See it in theatres and check out the companion Girls Like Girls album.

Chapters:

00:00.240 Welcome to She Pivots

00:39.839 Guest Intro: Hayley Kiyoko

01:55.920 Hayley's Childhood

08:12.105 Early Music Career: Joining Stunners

13:26.210 The Birth of "Girls Like Girls"

18:27.920 20GayTeen: Music and Queer Identity

20:27.837 Music Industry Challenges

28:16.883 Hayley's Personal Identity Journey

34:33.599 The Journey to Film Direction

37:16.857 The Power of Representation on Screen

40:00.669 From Low Point to Launch

41:43.024 Do You Think You'll Pivot Again?

43:25.760 Reflections on Hayley's Journey

44:17.600 Podcast Credits

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates.

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Sian Proctor grew up the daughter of a NASA hidden figure, with the stars in her sights until a pair of glasses at age fourteen seemed to close the door on her dream of becoming a military aviator. She kept reaching anyway, pursuing a career in geoscience and science communication, coming agonizingly close to NASA selection before receiving a rejection that sent her life in a different direction. In this episode, Dr. Sian Proctor talks about the long, winding road from that childhood dream to becoming the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft; hitting a low point after a painful divorce; and the unexpected creative awakening that ultimately launched her to space. And once she got there, she did what she's always done: made art.

Chapters:

00:00.360 Welcome to She Pivots

02:10.280 A NASA Legacy and Childhood Dreams

06:30.800 From Science to Education: Finding a New Path

08:09.440 The PhD Journey: Overcoming Obstacles

18:56.148 NASA's Rejection: A Turning Point

25:14.800 An Astronaut on Earth

31:13.840 COVID, Creativity, and Space Postcards

34:54.760 The Winning Ticket: A Fateful Announcement

40:28.440 Training and Launch: A Dream Realized

42:29.800 Creating Art in Zero Gravity

44:59.560 The Transformative Power of Earthlight

46:52.719 Pivoting Again: Professor, Astronaut, Artist

47:57.320 Low Point to Launch

49:51.719 Closing Thoughts

50:57.559 Podcast Credits

Keep up with Space Poet on Instagram @drsianproctor and her website ​​https://space2inspire.art/

Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a pivot story, leave us a rating (it really helps!), and share this episode with a woman in your life who you think needs a little inspiration.

She Pivots is a podcast created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight influential women voices, share stories of bold career moves, and inspire women with interviews about career reinvention and how personal pivots can redefine professional success.

Join our Substack community! Subscribe here for exclusive content and to connect with other pivoters: shepivots.substack.com

Learn more about the inspiring women in our pivoter community by following us on instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast, and check out our website shepivotspod.com for resources and updates.

She Pivots is proud to be an iheart podcast.

Support the show: https://www.shepivotsthepodcast.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.