Alison Hammer, VP/CD at FCB releases second novel

Alison Hammer, Novelist and VP creative director at FCB

After the success of her critically acclaimed debut book, You and Me and Us: A Novel, Chicagoan Alison Hammer, VP creative director at FCB Chicago, is releasing her second book, Little Pieces of Me: A Novel on April 13, 2021 complete with an exclusive virtual launch party for all pre-orders!

After featuring Alison as a Reel Woman of Chicago during Women’s History Month, we decided to sit down with her via zoom to discuss her books, the launch party, her writing group, and more!

Alison was thrilled to share the details of this virtual book launch event scheduled for April 13, 2021 at 7pm central. Her website says, “Join Alison in conversation with New York Times Bestselling author Kristin Harmel to celebrate the launch of her second novel, LITTLE PIECES OF ME. The evening will also feature music by author and singer-songwriter Stephen Kellogg and a few other fun surprises!”

Interview with Alison Hammer

Here are the key highlights of the interview:

You and Me and Us: A Novel

Alison told Reel Chicago that her first novel was released during the beginning of the pandemic which means she will now have the honor of releasing TWO novels virtually during a global pandemic. Alison briefly explained the plot of the book which is a heartbreaking, yet hopeful story of a mother and daughter struggling to be a family after suffering a loss. 

Every Damn Day Writers

Alison Hammer is the founder of a Facebook group called “Every Damn Day Writers”, exclusively for women writers who wish to focus their talents and hone their craft. The description of the group reads: “A support group for women writers of any genre who could use a little encouragement and accountability along their writing journey. This group started as a bunch of friends and writers who were on a high from writing every day during the month of November for NaNoWriMo and wanted to keep it going. After a year of writing “every damn day” together, we feel like we’ve stumbled on something great that we’d like to open up and share with the writing community.” 


ALSO READ: REEL WOMEN: Alison Hammer, FCB VP Creative Director


Life During the Pandemic

In her Reel Women of Chicago article, Alison mentioned briefly that she lost over 100lbs, which is a HUGE accomplishment for anyone, especially a single person living alone in confinement, during a global pandemic. We were eager to hear about her tips as well as how she managed to stay focused on all of her goals, both personally as well as professionally. 

 Little Pieces of Me: A Novel

Is about a woman who works in advertising and discovers that her father was not biologically her father through a DNA test. The story takes place over dual timelines through both current time as well as the 70’s. We talked briefly about surprises that can arise from taking at home DNA tests and admitted that she has taken both 23&me, as well as the Ancestry tests with several members of her family. She also explained how she was inspired to write the book after bumping into a friend who was shocked to discover she had some previously unknown family secrets. Alison clarified that while this person inspired her novel, the book was not sharing her story and Little Pieces of Me: A Novel is its own unique story. 

Chicago

After moving around 9 cities, Alison decided to make Chicago her permanent home. She describes all of the things that she loves about Chicago and mentioned how much she has missed live music during the pandemic. 

April 13 Virtual Book Launch

This is a ticketed event—you’ll get a free ticket to the party when you pre-order a copy of Little Pieces of Me from one of the three partner bookstores: Volumes Bookcafe in Chicago, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, and Warwick’s in La Jolla. (All three bookstores have their own Eventbrite pages to buy a ticket, but they will all send you to the same virtual event on 4/13 at 7pm central!)

Full details of the event as well as links to purchase can be found on Alison’s website here


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