Jennifer Hamm
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jennifer Hamm graduated with a BA in English at UCLA and began her writing career developing screenplays for movies and television. As a travel writer, she has covered the globe on assignment for various magazines and brands. She also writes It’s Only for A Year, a long-running blog chronicling her adventures raising her four boys in two countries. Hamm currently splits her time between London and Los Angeles. One Friday in Napa is her first novel.
Facebook: @jennifer.hamm04
Instagram: @jenniferhamm04
Favorite non-reading activity?
Hiking. I can hike for hours, with my dog or friends, or alone. Before I write, I like to hike and work through my ideas, usually out loud (even to the dog) and it helps me flesh through characters and dialogue. The mountains in LA come with views of the ocean, wildflowers and even waterfalls of late. I am transported every time to my happy place.
Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?
My favorite food has always been pizza. And how fitting that I am currently living in Rome where every local shop, regardless of what they sell, seem to sell pizza! Food plays a huge part in my novel, from passed down recipes to the escapism that happens when cooking. One of my characters discovers her mother’s worn cookbook with notes written all over it that read more like a diary. She sets out on a journey to understand her mother and making her recipes helps guide her there. Cooking can be intimate like that, and profound. It’s a way to express love and affection, care and also a chance to risk failure and enjoy huge success. I tried making nearly all of the recipes in my novel and I must say I have learned the art of a great pomodoro sauce!
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?
I recently heard a great speech given by Reshma Saujani where she explained imposter syndrome as being rooted in misogyny, not a syndrome at all but a phenomenon based on women going to college, gaining control over their bodies and entering the work force. It’s hard to escape that imposter syndrome is often talked about by women who feel deficient in some way, that they aren’t qualified enough to be where they are, in a particular moment. But feeling uncomfortable because you’re in a new space or have a new title doesn’t mean you don’t belong there, it just means you’re reaching, growing, trying something new, and it’s usually accompanied by a lot of work behind it. Don’t get me wrong, I feel anxious at times, especially as a debut novelist, but I’m not an imposter.
Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?
I’m a very slow reader. Ironic, for sure, being a novelist. Audio books has helped me enjoy long novels I’d normally shy away from purely because of their length. But unless I literally feel nothing at all by page 100, I will read til the end.
What brings you great joy?
That’s easy. My four sons. And my husband, so that’s five (and a half!) boys.
