Jaimie Engle is a multiple award-winning writer. She has taught at national conferences, state libraries, and local schools on the art of storytelling, publishing, and marketing books. Her awards include the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future (2015), Kirkus Editor’s Choice (2020), and the Publisher’s Weekly Book life Prize in both Fiction and Non-fiction (2020). Jaimie has experienced every facet of life as an author including book signing at national bookstore chains, sharing the stage with industry superstars, signing with two literary agents, taking two traditional publishing deals, and indie publishing a dozen titles.
In 2021, Jaimie Engle began writing for film & television in the supernatural action/adventure and comedy/family genres about duality and shifting perspectives with legal representation by Daren Chavez of Tricarico Chavez, LLP. Her script MARSHAL LAW is based off her short story an Amazon #1 New Release book (2017). Marshal Law was signed to a limited-edition book deal with Blood Moon Comics for a July 2022 release and the screenplay was an official selection for several international film festivals. It was honored on The Red List (top 20) hitting #15 for Westerns and #6 for Western Television 1-Hour Pilots. She completed 6 features and 2 pilots her first year in the industry.
FWM: What does it take to become an award-winning writer?
For me, it’s about continuing education. The moment I believe my writing is “good enough” is the moment it’s not. I constantly stretch my abilities by writing in new genres, new formats, and about new topics coupled with mentorship, online and in-person classes, and associations with organizations such as Women in Film & Television and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. Plus, I ALWAYS share my work with new readers to get honest feedback of what isn’t working so that when a consumer indulges in my work, their feedback is “Five Stars.”
FWM: Tell us about your background.
I have been writing stories since I was seven. In the third grade, my poem won in a school contest and then earned first place in the state of Florida. In fifth grade, my teacher wrote on a writing assignment that I should save the story for publication. It was the first time I realized I could publish my work! In high school, my English professor said I should be a writer. And in college, my film professor said I was a screenwriter. On a personal note, my Pop-Pop would tell me Hulk stories while I sat on his lap about the Blue Hulk and the Red Hulk and the Green Hulk. I ate those stories up and learned the gift of pacing. In third grade, I was sick for several months and ended up recording and writing all the words to Grease, Alice in Wonderland, and half of the Wizard of Oz. I was teaching myself dialogue through screenwriting. And I watched Amazing Stories, Back to the Future, and Star Wars so many times I could recite them, teaching myself the art of storytelling.
FWM: You won the Kirkus Editor’s Choice (2020), and the Publisher’s Weekly Book life Prize in both Fiction and Non-fiction (2020). What does this mean to you? How have you evolved as a writer?
Those are some of the highest honors in the “book” world and I was absolutely floored to receive them. Kirkus only awards a small percentage of its reviewed books this incredible status. Winning the Book Life Prize in two categories for two separate works also blew my mind. Both awards allowed me to get my books in front of national librarians and schools, which has afforded me to speak to tens of thousands of students about social issues and get my books into their hands. I was nominated for the Sunshine State (Florida) and Land of Enchantment (New Mexico) State Book Lists (2021) for Metal Mouth and Write a Book that Doesn’t Suck my award-winning books.
FWM: Any advice for aspiring writers?
Write, write, and write. Don’t worry about editing until you’re done. Find people who are doing what you want to be doing and ask them to share their secrets for success. Get better at what you do and don’t jump the gun too soon… a lot of writers tend to expect to sell their work just because they completed it without proper editing or review. You have to ask yourself if your work is as good as your competition and honestly answer the question. Then, get better. Write more and do it because you have to, not to be rich and famous.
FWM: “To me, life is story. Everything is.” Share your philosophy.
When I see a film, I want to connect with the character’s journey and leave the theater feeling like a piece of me has changed for the better. We are all on this journey of life, all looking for meaning in our existence, and story is the one thing that connects us all. We cry the same, laugh the same, experience loss and joy the same. Story is everything because it’s everywhere. It’s life and death and all the chapters in between.
FWM: In 2021, you began writing for film & television in the supernatural action/adventure and comedy/family genres. Tell us more.
I have always wanted to write movies. In middle school, I landed a talent agent and began my “career” as an actress (as a hooker on Law & Order and an alien on Seaquest). I caught the bug. There was no place on earth I wanted to be more than on set. I continued to work on indie projects through high school. In college, while at UCF for screenwriting, I got pregnant and spent the next 18 years raising a family with my husband. In between, I wrote books because I lived in Florida in the 2000s, so I couldn’t do film. But then in mid-2020, I met a guy through real estate who connected me with his best bud, Darin Chavez, an entertainment attorney in LA. I started studying screenwriting with Jacob Krueger Studios and joined their mentor program. In December, I was asked if I had any romcoms with female leads like “Hallmark” and I answered, “Yes!” (even though I write speculative fiction for teens). I got to work, wrote my first script, and the attorney/producer’s he repped loved it. I wrote another. And another. And those producers work with GAC Family Network, which is where my films are in development.
FWM: How do you switch gears between writing supernatural action/adventure to comedy/family genres?
To me, story is story, whether it’s on an alien spacecraft or in the middle of Montana. My stories all share a commonality of exploring redemption through duality and shifting perspective. I love the intricacies of humanity, our need for acceptance and love, and how we work to find redemption within our relationships and past. That makes it very easy to tell a story in a supernatural action/adventure or a romantic comedy.
FWM: Tell us about your script MARSHAL LAW.
Marshal Law is adapted from a short story in my Amazon #1 New Release collection The Toilet Papers, places to go while you go. I love this flawed character, a demon who was once Vengeance, on his journey to earn God’s redemption after hearing God say, “Vengeance is mine.” His soul is torn between the life he chose as a demon and the one he left behind as an angel, while he lives as a cowboy in the in-between realm. I think his story captures many of our own in the sense that we tend to feel like we don’t belong as we search for ways to find acceptance through redemption. I absolutely love Simeon! You can read about him in The Toilet Papers or in the comic from Blood Moon Comics coming July 2022. I can’t wait (fingers crossed) for this pilot to get picked up!
FWM: Who has influenced you the most during your career?
God is my rudder and I get a lot of my story ideas from the Old Testament. As far as creatives go, C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carrol, J.K. Rowling, and Suzanne Collins are my biggest novelist influencers. In film, Spielberg, Zemeckis, and Lucas shaped my childhood in my most impressionable years, thus shaping my style of storytelling. In life, my husband has been the greatest support, along with my besties, Christine and Jason, and my kids. That group of people has given me strength, encouragement, faith, honesty, and hope to keep going and to never give up, no matter what disappointments I face, and I am eternally grateful for their influence. Without them, I wouldn’t be here today talking to you!
FWM: What is next for you?
More writing. More networking. More education. Those are the only things I can control. I can’t control what happens to my scripts in the hands of a producer, so I focus on what I can control. In a perfect world, I’d love to see my features/pilots onscreen. I’d love to join a writing room for a Marvel, DC, or Disney show. I’d love to land an agent and manager. In the meantime, I’ll continue to share my story via The Write Engle podcast to inspire others to stay strong on their creative journeys. And I’ll do the Friday #winsfortheweek dance for as long as it makes people smile!
FWM: Please share your social media links.
I’m on social @thewriteengle everywhere except Instagram @jaimieenglewriter I’m most active on LinkedIn and TikTok. My website is www.theWRITEengle.com. Thank you for this incredible opportunity! I appreciate you and your time so much.
