Favourite Pizza Topping – Pepperoni
Love or Lust – “Both, but love is very important”
Bracelets or Necklaces – Bracelets
Jacqueline Milom: Amazing author, friend, Journalist. You read one of her poems and your jaw drops to the floor; you`re in awe by the way that she expresses herself. Well, at least I was when she sent me one of her poems. I had the honour of interviewing Jacqueline, and below are the amazing stories she told me about family, her Heart to Heart bear, dying, growing up, and well, life.
Was there any influence or special meaning in the title of your book?
There was. When I was in high school my sister Melissa gave me Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison volume 1. That book took up most of my time. I would read it under the desks at school, and I wouldn't pass any classes I'd be so distracted. I mean I was having trouble in them anyways, and it was more than just the book, but it didn't help. I would've slept with that book if I could. His words were odd, and amazing, and I loved how none of his poems had titles. They were organized by first line in the index and none of the poems in my journals had titles. I wrote a lot more that year. Jim's works inspired me to no end. It just went on and on the inspiration. Since most of the poems I wrote back then were inspired by Jim, I just thought it'd make sense. It sort of upset me that I couldn't meet my poetic idol. I thought constantly about what I would say to him if he were still living. What I would tell him inspired me the most. Each poem is like a "letter" to Jim. Not specifically written about what I'd say to him, but what poems would I share with him if I could meet him, and he is thanked in the acknowledgements. So now, the title is Writing letters to Morrison.
When you were preparing for this book, was there a specific theme you were going for...or were you open to mostly any topic?
I had no specific theme because most of the poems were old ones. I been wanting to do something with all the poetry I've saved over the years, and yes I put a few new ones in there too, but they had no specific theme. I don't ever have any specific topic in mind. I don't over think it when I write. I just start to write. I can write a poem or song in less than 3 minutes, and sometimes it'll take me longer than 5 minutes. It just depends on what is going on in my head. If I have a writer's block and it needs to come to me, or if I just have a great flow. Usually it just comes to me immediately. I just write and write words about what I am feeling at the time and don't look at it as a whole until I am finished. Any changes I make after. Though I laughed when I realized a lot of poems were about people going in and out of my life. People who upset me, or hurt me, or made me happy or laughed. But mostly the first. I don't punch walls when I feel angry or betrayed. I write. That doesn't mean all the writings are about people who let me down though, but it would appear a lot of them came from that. I also am inspired by things and situations I see every day. My youngest sister Mandy inspired the very first poem in the book, and the book is dedicated to her.
Did there ever come a point in your life where you knew you wanted to grow up and become an author?
Oh yes. I've been writing since the age of six. Of course they weren't anything special at that age. I mean they were silly. When I was four I thought that'd be amazing to be published. I was in awe over the writers of the childrens books my mom read to me. I liked everything about it. The words. The pictures. I just thought they had the coolest job. I have this teddy bear called Heart to Heart Bear that I won in pre-school. I don't remember the contest, but according to my mother it was a writing contest. So I went with that. I still sleep with it sometimes at night.
Throughout all your years of writing, do you have a specific time in your life where you would say you wrote your best work?
I don't know what someone categorizes as someone's "best work". Ones that are inspired by happy situations, ones that are inspired by the worst ones, but I always thought it was a balance of both. The time in my life where I had that balance was when my parents split up. My parents were married for twenty years. When I was little I used to pray they'd get a divorce they fought so much. I just wanted them to be happier people. They never did. I was amazed at how they lasted and for once I was happy. When I was about eighteen they seem to be getting along great, and then bam the news was sprung on us children and I took it really hard. The ironic thing is I took it really hard. And I had so many thoughts on that. Was I happy about it? Was I angry about it? Was I indifferent about it? I wrote so many things from all three angles at that time. I wrote and wrote, and wrote. The writings never stopped and it produced some of my favourite poems.
So, I know that you've been doing more than just publishing your book. Why don’t you tell me about auditory assault, the most amazing website on the planet!
I was fascinated with journalism, and especially real journalism. I wanted to take over the world. I had this idea that I could change the world with real media. That people could listen to my voice. I was going to go off to college, study journalism and work for some of the top newspapers or magazines. I then just got sick of where journalism and the media, and the whole industry of news was going. Everything was dominated by the Middle school gossip fest columns type magazines. I didn't want to ever contribute to making someone else's life a living hell. I never was one to see the famous as more than well, just people like you or I. So it just bothered me what people fed. What society read into, and how we accepted this humiliation of others on a constant basis, but if that were us we'd tell people mind their own business, and they have no right. No one learns to walk in others shoes anymore. I thought it was disgusting, and that by reading this we were degrading ourselves and insulting our intelligence. So I dropped out of college with no real goals in mind but to find something I knew I wanted to do and could do. In March 2004 I was talking to this girl Krista. I said I am so fed up with society and what we call News. I want to start a magazine, but I have no clue how to do that. She told me start a webzine. An online magazine. So Krista and I set out to publish our magazine. She came up with the name Surrender Love. At the time we covered everything from world news, to music. I did the music section. It was hard to keep up because Krista got too busy. So she left Surrender love, and I as the Editor changed it to a music magazine. Music is my passion, and it was what I was good at. I finally found what I wanted and could do. Write about music. We had two other names. So Lovely, and Food Fight before Auditory Assault. So Lovely came from a typo on an advertisement. I was listening to the song So Lovely by Lisa Marie Presley and accidentally told the guy doing the promo to put So Lovely. Not surrender love. We just kept it, and then this girl who started to work for us came along and said let's change the name. It's not good. So she wanted Food Fight. I went with it, but after she left the magazine I hated the name. I just couldn't stand it and our co-editor Leah came up with Auditory Assault. I loved it and we've been that ever since. We're currently trying to get it trademarked, and registered as a legit business to print and sale it, but until then you can check us out every month on the internet.
When you`re older, what do you want to look back on and remember doing?
Someone once asked me if I was afraid to die. I said death is kind of scary yes, but it happens to us all. He said yes what do you mean that only makes it kind of scary. I said it's hard to fear what you know is coming. If you know you can't do anything about it. That it'll come against your will, and then you have to face that fear. You have to accept it, and hope that when it happens you aren't scared. I said what you should fear is not living while you can. Not doing all the things you want to before that dreaded day comes. I want to look back on my life and say I have no regrets even when I made mistakes. I want to look back on my life and say even if I was a failure to others, I was never a failure to myself. The thing I want most is to say I did what I wanted, and all I needed to do to make me happy, and if others followed and supported even if it was a small group then that is all that mattered. That I am good to leave now, and that to me is the true measure of success. Not how many love you, how much money you can make, but how you do things, how you affect people. Not quantity but quality.
Are you working on anything new now, or are you going to keep focusing on the promotional part of your book and the webzine?
I am constantly working. I am writing all the time. I am currently working on a novel called Mending Hearts, and my second poetry book. My second Poetry book will be called Sunsets and Sunrises. Mending Hearts is a love, and hate story. It's a very cliché topic, and that was done on purpose. I feel life is the biggest cliché and to write about what others have written before but in your own way is a very good challenge to give yourself.
For all of your writing, do you think it’s more important to make it mean more to you, or the public reading it?
