Maggie Young has a new book coming out March 1st on Amazon, titled Just Another Number,
and it speaks of real life situations dealing with the Military, drugs,
and being a southern feminist in a world of men. The book is
fascinating and unlike other tell-all books, as Young has her own
special way of writing and drawing one in with horror, wit and
compassion. She tells it like it is.
Maggie,
Who are your influences?
I’m influenced by several people in various ways. My all
time favorite novel is Gone with the
Wind. I’ve read it countless times.
Margaret Mitchell definitely inspired my writing style in the way she
describes people, her southern dialogue, and the way she pairs character’s
personalities with the personalities of cities and cultures. My comedic
influence comes from Tucker Max and Cheslea Hander. They- in a nutshell, taught
me how to write about gross things. Although the misogynistic “fratire” is in
may ways a direct contradiction of everything I stand for, Max’s work ethic,
persistence, belief in his material, and marketing tactics are what keeps me
determined to follow my path. Max was the very first of his kind in literature.
Agents, publishers, “professionals” in the industry didn’t give him the time of
day. He just didn’t care about rules. He
wrote what he thought was good, valued his own instincts, and relentlessly kept
putting himself out there. Jane Fonda is also one of my heroes because I relate
to her on such a deep level. I know so many veterans who blindly loathe her for
lies told about her from her trip to Hanoi in Vietnam and her peace activism.
There’s something about a woman who is intelligent, articulate, bold, and
sexually appealing that ignites fear and wrath from the opposite sex-
especially in a culture like the military where men are under so much pressure
to clutch onto their masculinity. She’s dealt with four decades of picketing,
threats, and insults with such grace. In a way, she’s helped me prepare for the
backlash that I see coming from Just
Another Number. Mae West was also an icon. She was truly the original gay
rights, human rights, sex-positive feminist. That woman was far ahead of her
time.
When did you begin writing?
When I got out of the Navy, I took an Introduction to Journalism
class at Mesa Community College in San Diego. I had this amazing professor,
Kevin Cox, who my book is dedicated to. My final paper was a magazine article
about how, at 19 years old, I entered a financially driven, platonic Navy
marriage. He loved its controversial
nature and encouraged me to submit it to the San Diego Weekly Reader. They made it their cover story, Confessions of a
Phony Navy Wife. He encouraged me to write a second article, which was
published. Then, he suggested I write a book.
How do you come up with your stories, characters,
character names, POV, etc?
So far, I have been strictly a memoir writer. I consider my
writing, “investigative reporting with emotional authenticity.” Everything I
write is as accurate as my memory can translate. My life happens to have a lot
of crazy stories. I live in this constant “what came first, the chicken or the
egg?” dilemma. I don’t know if I happen to make great stories from my
outlandish situations or if I get myself into outlandish situations to make
great stories.
In Just Another
Number, the men are numbered in the order I was with them. The man who took
my virginity is “Number 1.” Rather than his name, he is referred to as his
Number. Each chapter is a “Number” and the entire chapter revolves around that
number. This is because the entire point of the book is how after thousands of
years of patriarchy, women are curbed to revolve their lives around male
approval. I have a personal rule to cover all identities besides my own. I choose
each name by how I feel it suits my character’s personality. It’s just like
naming a baby or a pet.
Do you work from an outline?
No. Sometimes I will make a list of points I want to make or
topics I want to cover in certain areas, but I don’t believe in mapping out my
work. I want it to develop and manifest as I write it. I had no idea what Just Another Number was about when I
first started writing it. I feel like the best art happens when you let
yourself bleed from the gut, belt out your emotions, and figure out what it’s
all about later.
Tell me about your favorite scene in your novel (s).
Number 11 covers a lot of heavy stuff, including my military
deployment. I met Number 11 himself after deployment. But before him, I found
myself fooling around with a married man from my ship. There’s a scene when the
two of us ended up intoxicated together in Thailand and he ends up leaving me
for a Thai prostitute. I love that era in my book because it really highlights
the tragedy in the sex trade and the way sailors dehumanize them. A
controversial topic I cover is the way the military trains young Americans to
be killers and immerses them in a high school bully culture. In learning to
dehumanize their enemy, they collaterally do the same to loved ones and others
the encounter. Becoming numb to their emotions is their defense mechanism. That
combined with months of being sexually suppressed on a ship for months and then
pulling into a port with abundant, cheap purchasable sex is a dangerous formula
that the military turns a blind eye to.
I have a few basic rules for writing.
1. Write what you
want to write.
2. Write how you
want to write it.
3. Write something you want to read.
4. Don’t follow rules.
5. Every reader’s feedback matters.
6. But don’t ever take advice from another writer unless you
love their work.
I’ve had critics, specifically academics, criticize me for
making certain statements about society, politics, generations, or cultures.
They claim that I haven’t earned the right to make those statements. But it’s
my book. I can write what I want to write. Nobody is obligated to like it.
Have you ever tried writing in other genres?
No. But I do have an interest in screenwriting. Orange is the New Black turned me onto
it. That show is brilliantly written. I’ve considered experimenting with
standup comedy, which is a literary art all on it’s own. George Carlin mirrors
my views on almost everything. Robin Williams was a genius. Aziz Ansari reads
my mind. I get compared to Amy Schumer a lot.
Do you have any interesting writing-related anecdotes?
I’ve been marketing my book on free dating sites like Tinder
and OkCupid. It’s actually been working out quite well. But now my most common
pickup line is, “Can I be in your next book? I want to be a Number.”
Do you listen to music as you write?
No. I’ll get too distracted. But I write in coffee shops. I
feel too isolated writing at home. I love a little bit of background noise,
caffeine, and the way I have the option to socially interact or be left alone.
Thank
you Maggie for taking the time with Buttonholed Book Reviews
 |
| Maggie Young ~ Goodreads author |
Visit Maggie Young
Maggie Young can be found on:
Maggie Young’s website: www.themaggieyoung.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/themaggieyoung
Twitter: themaggieyoung
Instagram: themaggieyoung
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