Jacklyn Mcqueen shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Jacklyn, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
Reflecting over the past year, I am proud of myself for building a life of consistent time management, that helps others along with myself. Every workday starts at 6AM, where I work my typical 8-hour shift at Florida’s largest defense law firm. After work I head home, spend as much time as I can with my cat, Leo. He is my pride and joy. On Saturdays I volunteer at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, and on Sundays I write.
Most people my age barely work, they don’t volunteer, they party and drink and don’t contribute a lot. That honestly irks me. I want to be one of the members of society to contribute to the positivity in this world.
I enjoy the hours I spend helping attorneys prepare for cases. I enjoy writing my emotions in ink for others to relate to. Mostly, I am proud of the time I give to the innocent animals of the world who need love. Last month I organized a pet supply drive to raise money and pet supplies in preparation for hurricane season. I can’t believe how many people wanted to donate and help support these sweet animals as they wait in the shelter for their forever homes. I’m proud that I can use my time to share with others how to positively impact the world, not just exist in it.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi Voyage! I’m Jacklyn Mcqueen, a self-published author from Tampa, Florida, and this is my 3rd article with you guys. I’m so excited!
My brand is very English major-teenage girl who learns to modernize the classics after going through her own trauma. I like to say that ‘it’s Wilde here in the 21st century’, and that’s who I am.
My poetry book Angel In Red, is an analogy for Hester Prynne, the main character of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It’s one of my favorite novels. Hester Prynne trusts a man that she ends up marrying, and the town despises her for making a mistake that not only has plagued women, but is still continuing to plague women. I have been played and cheated on by men since I was seventeen years old. I’ve had men do horrendous, illegal things to me, and my brand is sharing that through dark academia. When I was alone and suicidal with no one to speak to, I had deceased authors as my friends. My writing is me telling them what happened, in their style I’m familiar with. What I didn’t expect to happen, is that I got to discover by publishing Angel In Red, that so many other lonely young girls felt the same way.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Spending my free time doing good things really means a lot to me. A moment that shaped how I now view the world, was when I went into my local animal shelter to get information on volunteering there. Because there weren’t many people, but those people there, were doing incredible things. I saw that it’s not the amount of people, it’s how much those people do. There are amazing people out there of all ages who want to help organizations, and they might not be getting airtime or be in the spotlight, but they’re out there. Seeing those dedicated volunteers who wake up on their days off to take care of injured pets, clean abandoned cats, play with neglected dogs, those wonderful people shape how I see the world. They remind me that caring, kindhearted individuals exist. Every time I get to learn from them, I hope I’m giving someone the positive image that I was given, when I saw kindness in action. It reshaped me seeing all the different ways I could help animals.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
I used to feel like I “failed at college” because I went to three different colleges all for the same degree. I have an Arts degree that took me 2 years to earn, going back and forth between three colleges to earn it because each place I went to, I was miserable at. College was the most painful time of my life mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. I was an addict, depressed, suicidal, abused, etc. and no one cared. I had to pay a therapist and a psychiatrist to care. I reached out to student help resources at the colleges I went to, and they were worse than useless. They actually paid me thousands of dollars to go away. It was basically hush money.
When I received my flimsy piece of paper saying I completed the program, I put it in a frame, and I don’t even know where that frame is.
What I learned, was that sitting in a class doesn’t make you smart. Obeying orders doesn’t make you intelligent. Standing in front of a class and preaching your political views doesn’t make you a good teacher. I really could write a whole book about all the illegal, nasty things I’ve experienced from teachers, peers and the parents of peers throughout my academic life. But to answer the question, my brain finally realized that: paying $20,000 for a piece of paper does not make you a good person. Who you are and what you do with it makes you a good person.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Something I learned through publishing is that being an author makes you part of the entertainment industry. And all the time, I hear that everything in the entertainment industry has already been done. I really don’t believe that. I hear songs and see movies that make me realize, it’s actually crazy how we can keep inventing and creating new things. I see new patterns and cuts in the fashion world that amaze me because I haven’t seen it before. Saying that everything has already been done is such a lazy excuse to not create.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If immortality were real, what would you build?
The same thing I hope to build if I ever become rich enough–a public library. Ever since my mom took me to our public library when I was in third grade, I’ve wanted to build my own public library. So if I was immortal, it would give me the chance to secure enough money in order to make it happen,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Red-Jacklyn-Mcqueen/dp/1098323262/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2CSR8ODILMFR3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5BEZtfCbSyaYQuhrmG-I3Jq1CVPfqKW743AqkduOVxeaD1AzSWvJsJZMkZbWxdLwDmgiQXK-hqkCnJJm-RcXS4FI5r6gR_i9UpFLZ0Le_e_UyAzxpsV743AF7xKNb-GIlQvie8u0jebVTtpcirZs60qGNj6I3IIrvrO5EFom9gj0pkrY8zw_aHl4wF4K8twFkg3RF2p6JcZ86kVxYODx1pRP3cfLHEOeTFKjhrUG5Gk.ymobIhh1L9uLdM35iQWvpRI2ufqbAtxz17S65mU9-V0&dib_tag=se&keywords=angel+in+red+book&qid=1757892359&sprefix=angel+in+red+book%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-2
- Instagram: @jjacklynmcqueen and @jacklynsbooks
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacklyn-mcqueen-301759273/
- Other: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/angel-in-red
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/angel-in-red-jacklyn-mcqueen/1140172535?ean=9781098323271
Image Credits
Cover photos taken by Haley Schmerge; full body shots taken by Parker Hess
