Following her studies, Newman moved to
New York City to pursue an acting career, but was unsuccessful. After two years, Newman returned to her parents' home in
Phoenix and worked at Changing Hands, an independent bookshop, until 2011. In July 2021, Newman published her debut novel
Falling. It debuted at #2 on
The New York Times bestseller list. The film rights for the novel were sold to
Universal and
Working Title for $1.5 million, with Newman set to write the script. In June 2023, Newman released her second book, titled
Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421. A bidding war for the movie rights to the novel took place in March, with figures such as
Nicole Kidman,
Alfonso Cuarón and
Steven Spielberg expressing interest. That November, it was announced that a film adaptation of the book would be directed, adapted and produced by
Paul Greengrass for
Warner Bros. In April 2024, Newman signed a multimillion dollar deal with
Little Brown after previously publishing through
Simon & Schuster. Her first novel with Little Brown,
Worst Case Scenario, was released on August 13, 2024. == Influences ==