Taylor Hahn
Taylor Hahn is a writer and lawyer based in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University and Fordham University School of Law. The Lifestyle is her first novel.
Twitter: @TaylorSheaHahn
Instagram: @TaylorSheaHahn
Are there particular films that have influenced your writing?
The Lifestyle is in part an homage to Jane Austen’s Emma, so throughout my editing process I watched both versions of Emma (the one starring Gwyneth Paltrow and the new one starring Anya Taylor-Joy) as well as Clueless (which is itself an Emma retelling) over and over again. It was a great excuse to watch movies I love on repeat and call it research!
Bridgerton was also an influence for me. The plot of The Lifestyle and Bridgerton have absolutely nothing in common, but after I watched the first season, I thought about how much readers and TV watchers just want to be tantalized and have fun. I tried to give that to readers in writing sex scenes that are really surprising and wild and fun, and at times will even make you laugh.
What’s the oddest thing a reader has ever asked you?
A lot of readers ask me how my husband feels about the fact that I wrote a novel about swingers, like he would be insulted by that or interpret it as a secret message that I really want to sleep with other men! The truth is I never asked him how he felt about it, ha! Because I was having so much fun writing this book, it didn’t matter what he thought. But for the record, he is very proud of me, and not at all suspicious I’m trying to send him a secret message. (Writing a whole novel would be a lot of work just to send someone a message.)
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?
I’m still experiencing it! I do feel now that I have a lot to offer new writers on the process because I’ve been through it. I wrote this novel while working full-time, with no MFA, so I can help new writers figure out how to carve out time for writing, how to improve your craft by taking classes and reading published novels with a critical eye, and how to get an agent. But when it comes to speaking as an “author” and doing events in front of crowds of people, I still feel totally like I don’t belong and none of it is real. I have to consistently pep-talk myself. But I think the best approach to life is to be grateful and humble, so I hope I never take for granted any of the exciting things that are happening with The Lifestyle right now.
Is there another profession you would like to try?
There’s another profession I did try and am still trying! I’m also a lawyer and work full-time for a law firm. That said, I don’t practice litigation anymore. Now I am one of the firm’s pro bono counsels, which means I help run the pro bono program and help connect lawyers to clients who need pro bono representation. It’s super rewarding and fun and I love it, so I’m going to keep doing it for as long as I can. I think being a lawyer made me a much better writer, too. Law school was my version of an MFA. I learned how to think critically and write with clarity and purpose.
Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?
Yes! I love to sing. My family is very musical. My cousin is a beautiful singer, my uncle is a classical pianist, my grandmother has a beautiful voice, and two of my other cousins are excellent guitarists. We have even formed a family band and performed shows in Minneapolis, where they all live. We had a blast. You can find us on YouTube!
