1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and good morning. How are you doing today, Jazz? I'm fantastic. 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,280 How are you absolutely blessed because I'm getting the opportunity to talk to somebody 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:12,000 who changes people's lives. Oh, thank you, Thank you so much. 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:16,839 Likewise embracing what you have done, I mean, we deserve monuments. I 5 00:00:16,879 --> 00:00:20,480 mean, wow, wow, I mean this is more than just words on 6 00:00:20,519 --> 00:00:24,399 a page. This is a piece of art as well as a piece of 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:30,000 history. Oh, thank you so much to get in that moment though, 8 00:00:30,239 --> 00:00:33,520 and then to relinquish it to the readers. How did you take steps like 9 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:39,439 that? I mean, it's really hard for me to let a story go 10 00:00:39,679 --> 00:00:43,880 AND's like it's just mine and I've been working on it for so long and 11 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:48,840 it's just me. And I think that it comes down to trusting that your 12 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:54,119 words will find the people who need them the most. And I just whenever 13 00:00:54,159 --> 00:00:59,240 i'm writing something like of course, like I'm writing it for me first and 14 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:03,880 then second thinking about like, okay, well who else needs this? And 15 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,400 so like when it came to Thirsty, my next novel, I was in 16 00:01:07,439 --> 00:01:11,079 a place where I was like, you know, I was struggling with my 17 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,959 own addictions, and so I hope that whoever picks up the book, you 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,400 know they need it. Well see that. That's what I like about your 19 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,040 writing. It's almost like you're saying that, hey, look, I'm going 20 00:01:22,079 --> 00:01:26,519 through this and I am human enough to say I'm not the only one. 21 00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:32,280 And so as you write, you're reaching out to those people. M Yeah, 22 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:38,439 there's like this vulnerability that it's really really scary being an author. But 23 00:01:38,519 --> 00:01:42,879 also I find that those are some of my favorite stories, whether it's books 24 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:46,359 or movies, where you can tell just somebody is putting their entire heart on 25 00:01:46,439 --> 00:01:52,400 the line, And to me as a reader, that's what I typically respond 26 00:01:52,439 --> 00:01:55,799 the most to. And so I think, especially writing for teenagers and young 27 00:01:55,799 --> 00:01:59,439 adults, like we owe them that honesty and that vulnerability. Don't you think 28 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:01,319 that thirsty? It seems like it's a page from today, and I hope 29 00:02:01,319 --> 00:02:05,040 that when somebody reads it in twenty five years are going to think the same 30 00:02:05,079 --> 00:02:07,599 exact things, like, oh my god, I've seen this in my world. 31 00:02:09,159 --> 00:02:15,719 Yeh. I mean, I think it's unfortunately, something that's super normalized 32 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,680 and very common in our society is just drinking, and it just has become 33 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,319 like, you know, like I had my first alcoholic drink when I was 34 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,240 fifteen, and so I know that I know that I wasn't the only one. 35 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,199 Like when you know, I was a teenager, it was like this 36 00:02:29,719 --> 00:02:36,280 forbidden and fun thing, and so I think the teenagers today like are facing 37 00:02:36,319 --> 00:02:38,159 some of those same issues. And so I wanted to write about it, 38 00:02:38,159 --> 00:02:43,599 but without being like super heavy handed or just like you know, wagging a 39 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:46,280 finger saying you shouldn't do this, you shouldn't do that, like that never 40 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:50,439 works out. Well, you know, well, I'd like to be a 41 00:02:50,439 --> 00:02:52,560 part of that writing process, because, like you said, you write for 42 00:02:52,599 --> 00:02:53,960 yourself first and then you have to go back and edit it. So do 43 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,639 you go through a fermenting stage or anything like that where you kind of set 44 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,919 the book aside and then come back as the reader. Yes? Always, 45 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:06,840 always, I always need like a minimum month away from whenever I write something, 46 00:03:06,879 --> 00:03:08,719 I set it to the side, and I come back and I'm able 47 00:03:08,759 --> 00:03:14,039 to really like look at it with a fresh point of view. I think 48 00:03:14,039 --> 00:03:16,960 that's really necessary because when you're writing and then the thick of it, you're 49 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:23,039 so close, and you know, it's hard to determine what's working what's not. 50 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:28,000 So I think that distance is always should always be in the writer's toolbox. 51 00:03:28,199 --> 00:03:30,960 Thirsty is one of those books that I think that every generation can read. 52 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,879 And the reason why is because you deal with learning how to fit in 53 00:03:34,199 --> 00:03:37,479 and you're making making those decisions like in the book, you know, the 54 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,280 decisions that your parents may not like. Well in in the real world. 55 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,360 I mean, it's also it may be a decision that my spouse may not 56 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,400 like. I mean, there's so many different things that connect all the stories 57 00:03:46,439 --> 00:03:51,560 together. Yes, absolutely, I think when I you know, when I 58 00:03:51,599 --> 00:03:53,680 was in my mid twenties and I was no longer even living with my parents, 59 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:58,240 but I was facing some of these same issues where I, you know, 60 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,479 I met somebody and I really wanted to be their friend, and I 61 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,000 really wanted them to like me. And you know, you think that that's 62 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:08,439 just an issue that teenagers face. I'm like, Nope, I think it's 63 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:13,680 across generations, Like whether it's a boss you're trying to impress or you know, 64 00:04:14,319 --> 00:04:16,800 I'm a romantic interest. I think everybody can relate to that feeling of 65 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:23,040 not being good enough and just trying to prove yourself no matter the cost. 66 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,560 One of the things that you put focus on is teenage drinking, and I 67 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,160 grew up in the state of Montana, where it was like we could have 68 00:04:29,199 --> 00:04:32,120 anything. And the thing is is that in my fifties, I went back 69 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,000 home to Montana to those places where I think I should have died, and 70 00:04:35,079 --> 00:04:39,439 I mean in the river Yellowstone River, up on the rims above buildings, 71 00:04:39,639 --> 00:04:43,120 and to sit there in that moment and try to figure out why it didn't 72 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,480 happen. And I mean, did you have you done things like that as 73 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:51,439 well? Oh my goodness, the stories I could tell. Yes, me 74 00:04:51,519 --> 00:04:56,040 and my one of my closest friends that I've that I've been friends with since 75 00:04:56,399 --> 00:05:01,199 I was in third grade, Like we like used to always take a friendship 76 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,480 trip every year, and there were some trips where you know, we were 77 00:05:04,519 --> 00:05:10,040 both like super drunk and making a lot of bad decisions. And you wake 78 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,800 up the next morning like, I'm really glad, like we're still alive to 79 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,519 talk about this. But yeah, it's very You are not the only one 80 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:24,480 I can assure you. Do you think that Blake and Ella are true friends? 81 00:05:24,639 --> 00:05:27,120 Or is it that that Blake is just a tough person to kind of 82 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:33,000 like understand what love is? Oh? I think that I don't like writing 83 00:05:33,079 --> 00:05:39,800 one dimensional characters and So with Ella, Ella is Blake's long term girlfriend, 84 00:05:40,319 --> 00:05:44,439 I think that there was there is love there. Of course, there's love 85 00:05:44,519 --> 00:05:48,120 that's tethering them. I think that what happens I'm interested in exploring, like 86 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:53,439 what happens when other things kind of overshadow that love. So whether that's like 87 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:59,879 Ella's desire to join this sorority like kind of overshadowing her love and care for 88 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,240 Blake and vice versa. You know, like instead of having honest conversations with 89 00:06:04,319 --> 00:06:09,720 Ella about how Blake is feeling, you know, Blake will often you know, 90 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:15,160 resort to self sabotage or something like that. And so that I definitely 91 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:18,079 think there is love there. But this book is a kind of like a 92 00:06:18,199 --> 00:06:23,480 reckoning of like we're at a crossroads. What do we do now? See 93 00:06:23,759 --> 00:06:27,040 once again, there's that connection with the older adults when you talk about self 94 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,160 sabotage and friends and the connections that people have because even with the sorority, 95 00:06:30,319 --> 00:06:33,639 we may not be in college, but businesses really do want that camaraderie and 96 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:39,319 they will do these these inspiration seminars and things like that to get that sorority 97 00:06:39,399 --> 00:06:42,759 or that business together. I mean, everything you've got here for a ya 98 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,399 reader. It's going to prepare them for a future where they're gonna go, 99 00:06:45,439 --> 00:06:48,360 oh my god. I was reading Jazz's book and this is oh my god. 100 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:55,759 Yes, I think even if you were never in, you know, 101 00:06:55,800 --> 00:07:00,800 a sorority of fraternity, I think that whole the method of like like kind 102 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:04,000 of breaking you down to build you up as present in a lot of pype 103 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:10,160 of dynamics, and so people who haven't even been like involved in Greek life 104 00:07:10,199 --> 00:07:15,079 in the traditional college setting will probably understand that concept. Could you go back 105 00:07:15,079 --> 00:07:20,079 to being a teenager again? Could I? YEA will do what I want 106 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:27,680 to Exacinitely absolutely not. I mean maybe if I if I knew what I 107 00:07:27,759 --> 00:07:32,680 knew now, I would definitely be like a lot less afraid and like you 108 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,079 know. But then again, it's like, you know, I wouldn't do 109 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:39,800 it over if I had to do it all over again, I'm I wouldn't 110 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,439 be me. So at the end of the day, now, I'm good 111 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,639 with being thirty one. Thirty one, man, that's where it all changed 112 00:07:46,639 --> 00:07:48,480 for me. All of a sudden, I realized, wait a second, 113 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,680 my twenties were spent doing everything I wanted to do as a teenager. And 114 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,279 then my thirties were mopping up that mess that I had as a twenty year 115 00:07:55,319 --> 00:07:59,839 old. Yes, absolutely, It's like the minute I turned thirty, I'm 116 00:07:59,879 --> 00:08:03,199 like, WHOA, Like, this is this is the this is what I 117 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:07,600 thought of when I'm like, oh, adult problems, not when I was 118 00:08:07,639 --> 00:08:11,000 you know, twenty one. Are you hoping that readers will will kind of 119 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:15,360 stop and reflect in their own personal lives, even if it's a YA reader 120 00:08:15,639 --> 00:08:18,480 or or an older woman or male, that they'll sit there and they'll go, 121 00:08:18,519 --> 00:08:20,639 Okay, this is what I did. There's something I can learn from 122 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:26,240 this because somebody needs to read it. Absolutely, And I think that that's 123 00:08:26,279 --> 00:08:31,799 what makes young adult novels so beautiful and so impactful. Like I think that 124 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:39,080 you know something about like half of hya readerships are adults. Actually, are 125 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,600 you know finding comfort in these stories of like what I wish I could have 126 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:48,080 done or how things could have turned out differently, or kind of like seeking 127 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,639 the love or acceptance that you didn't get at that age? And so I 128 00:08:52,639 --> 00:08:56,120 think I will always be drawn to this age category. And you know, 129 00:08:56,159 --> 00:09:01,960 there's just something so compelling about it as a and a reader. So as 130 00:09:01,039 --> 00:09:03,960 that author, I realized that you know, this is, this is the 131 00:09:05,159 --> 00:09:07,799 pivoting moment of Thirsty is. We need to sell it, we need to 132 00:09:07,799 --> 00:09:11,799 move the book. But but you're always working on something and that's the invisible 133 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:16,480 part of your story that we don't know. Mm hmmm. Yes, I'm 134 00:09:16,519 --> 00:09:20,200 always like trying to work on something. And I think that everything that I 135 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:28,720 write, though will have similar kind of similar themes about like complicated family or 136 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:33,519 friendship dynamics and exploring queerness and race and class. So no matter what I 137 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:37,200 write, if anybody has picked up a Jazz Hammond's book, I want them 138 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:41,639 to know kind of like what they're getting into good. I would love to 139 00:09:41,639 --> 00:09:43,879 read a book from you about how everything you know when when when it comes 140 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:48,360 to like you were talking about queerness and LGBQ t Q, is the fact 141 00:09:48,399 --> 00:09:50,120 that how it seems like that over the past six months to a year, 142 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,240 it's all shifted and gone backwards, and it's like I would love to have 143 00:09:54,279 --> 00:09:56,919 a story about how all of a sudden it's like, oh, you mean 144 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:00,120 we won't be able to legally get married or they're challenging it. Oh my 145 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,639 god, because I mean you talk about an emotional change there. Yeah, 146 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,200 yeah, I mean to me that feels like a horror novel like again, 147 00:10:11,639 --> 00:10:13,519 and I'm like, I try to write just contemporary, but no, that 148 00:10:13,639 --> 00:10:16,360 is like that is our contemporary life. And like when you look at the 149 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:20,879 news, it's like, oh my goodness, what now? But yeah, 150 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:24,919 I I am a light attendant in my day job. And so like some 151 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,720 of the newer stuff that I'm working on is like exploring that industry, but 152 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:35,200 still with like the same undercurrent of exploring like mental health and similarly like addictions 153 00:10:35,279 --> 00:10:39,840 and like how you can't outrun your problems. So that's kind of like the 154 00:10:39,919 --> 00:10:46,159 direction that I'm hoping to pivot to in addition to keep writing about teenagers and 155 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:48,480 young adults. Oh my god, you got to come back to this show 156 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:52,080 anytime in the future, Jazz what I was always going to be open for 157 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,799 you. Yay, thank you so much. I would love that. Will 158 00:10:54,840 --> 00:11:00,039 you'd be brilliant today? Okay, you too, you as well. It 159 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:01,279 was such a pleasure chatting with you.