AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jaimie Engle
For the month of September, I wanted to feature Author Jaimie Engle who has written such book titles as "Write a Book that Doesn't Suck" and “Metal Mouth.” Jaimie gives advice to authors, shares her books and talks about her love of reading and writing.
Me: Thank you for being here today, Jaimie. Tell me and the readers a little bit about yourself.
Jaimie: I am a mother of two boys, a real estate agent with my husband, and the owner of a hound dog named Ahsoka. I am a total goofball who could live on coffee and macaroni ‘n’ cheese, if need be. One of my favorite things to do is geek out with readers on Goodreads and inspire kids on TikTok. It is so awesome that authors can just “talk” to people they don’t know who have read their books. It makes me feel like I’m truly making a difference in a kid’s life when I can offer them hope in 15 seconds or less.
Me: You have written quite a few books. What advice would you give to those who are aspiring authors?
Jaimie: If you want to be an author, you must READ and you must WRITE. In reading, you will begin to develop muscle memory to cadence of story and language, truth in dialogue, pacing, and character/story arcs. You also need to write a lot of stories and poems that will never see the light of day. If you think about an athlete, the majority of their time is spent training, not performing. Most aspiring authors have great stories to tell, but they don’t spend enough time training before they think they are ready to perform, and that brings about bad reviews, rejections, and discouragement for a gift that simply wasn’t ready to be shared with the world…yet. I have a great book called “Write a Book that Doesn’t Suck” that goes into details about ways to improve craft. There is also a great Facebook group of the same name that any author is welcome to join.
Me: Great advice! And you mentioned your book title "Write a Book that Doesn't Suck." Tell me about some of your other books.
Jaimie: My most recent fiction novel “Metal Mouth” was an Editor’s Choice by Kirkus and a recipient of the Publisher’s Weekly Book Life Prize in Fiction (2020). It’s about a girl who gets struck by lightning, and then her braces start transmitting a boy’s voice in her head. She has to figure out if he’s real and if so, why has the universe brought them together? It’s a magical YA romance that touches on deep issues such as drinking, self-image, and boundaries with boys. It received such rave reviews by fans and teachers, that I have outlined a dual book from the boy’s POV that I will work on next year. And my next book launches on 11/24/2020… the second book in the Clifton Chase Adventure series: “Clifton Chase on Castle Rock.” In book 2, Clifton is back in the past to help Robin Hood on an adventure, only he might be able to change the future for his friend in the past….
Me: And what do you hope your readers will gain from reading your books?
Jaimie: I write realistic fiction that questions reality, where every day kids become heroes. When I read a book, I want to leave my life…my problems, my fears, my past…and find myself lost in another world and in another’s shoes. I close a book and want to feel like I can become a better person, that I’ve learned something about life or relationships between the pages that I can apply to my own situations. I hope when people read my books they are transported to a world they never knew existed to discover truths about themselves and the world around them. I hope I leave behind a small footprint that can change the world one reader at a time.
To connect with Author Jaimie Engle:
@JaimieEngleAuthor on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat
http://sunshinerodgersblog.simplesite...
Jaimie Engle
Me: Thank you for being here today, Jaimie. Tell me and the readers a little bit about yourself.
Jaimie: I am a mother of two boys, a real estate agent with my husband, and the owner of a hound dog named Ahsoka. I am a total goofball who could live on coffee and macaroni ‘n’ cheese, if need be. One of my favorite things to do is geek out with readers on Goodreads and inspire kids on TikTok. It is so awesome that authors can just “talk” to people they don’t know who have read their books. It makes me feel like I’m truly making a difference in a kid’s life when I can offer them hope in 15 seconds or less.
Me: You have written quite a few books. What advice would you give to those who are aspiring authors?
Jaimie: If you want to be an author, you must READ and you must WRITE. In reading, you will begin to develop muscle memory to cadence of story and language, truth in dialogue, pacing, and character/story arcs. You also need to write a lot of stories and poems that will never see the light of day. If you think about an athlete, the majority of their time is spent training, not performing. Most aspiring authors have great stories to tell, but they don’t spend enough time training before they think they are ready to perform, and that brings about bad reviews, rejections, and discouragement for a gift that simply wasn’t ready to be shared with the world…yet. I have a great book called “Write a Book that Doesn’t Suck” that goes into details about ways to improve craft. There is also a great Facebook group of the same name that any author is welcome to join.
Me: Great advice! And you mentioned your book title "Write a Book that Doesn't Suck." Tell me about some of your other books.
Jaimie: My most recent fiction novel “Metal Mouth” was an Editor’s Choice by Kirkus and a recipient of the Publisher’s Weekly Book Life Prize in Fiction (2020). It’s about a girl who gets struck by lightning, and then her braces start transmitting a boy’s voice in her head. She has to figure out if he’s real and if so, why has the universe brought them together? It’s a magical YA romance that touches on deep issues such as drinking, self-image, and boundaries with boys. It received such rave reviews by fans and teachers, that I have outlined a dual book from the boy’s POV that I will work on next year. And my next book launches on 11/24/2020… the second book in the Clifton Chase Adventure series: “Clifton Chase on Castle Rock.” In book 2, Clifton is back in the past to help Robin Hood on an adventure, only he might be able to change the future for his friend in the past….
Me: And what do you hope your readers will gain from reading your books?
Jaimie: I write realistic fiction that questions reality, where every day kids become heroes. When I read a book, I want to leave my life…my problems, my fears, my past…and find myself lost in another world and in another’s shoes. I close a book and want to feel like I can become a better person, that I’ve learned something about life or relationships between the pages that I can apply to my own situations. I hope when people read my books they are transported to a world they never knew existed to discover truths about themselves and the world around them. I hope I leave behind a small footprint that can change the world one reader at a time.
To connect with Author Jaimie Engle:
@JaimieEngleAuthor on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat
http://sunshinerodgersblog.simplesite...
Jaimie Engle
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