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If I’m going to be brutally honest,
Pain Bleeds a Heroine follows a suffrage strategist as she transforms imprisonment, political resistance, and personal sacrifice into a nationwide campaign to force the US government toward women’s voting rights. What inspired you to tell Alice Paul’s story in screenplay form?
There’s a statistic out there that says only 20% of Americans read books nowadays, and the statistic for people who read historical biographies is hard to even measure. It’s that small. Alice Paul deserves recognition that’s above 20%. That’s why I wrote this piece for movie theaters, where audience appeal for historical works is significantly higher.
How did you balance historical accuracy with the heightened, action-driven portrayal of Alice Paul?
I understand most people haven’t studied screenwriting, so I’ll break it down for everybody. You could have one scene in a movie taken from multiple real-life occurrences—perhaps several—because the main thing every producer wants is brevity, brevity, brevity. A screenplay is only supposed to be 90 to 120 pages long. As you can imagine, it’s extremely complicated to squeeze a life story into 120 pages. Which is why a screenwriter has to be very creative when they shove several true stories into one scene over and over until they get to 120 pages. Obviously a great deal of the dialogue was my imagination at play (as is every other screenwriter’s of historical masterpieces) since we don’t know ANY of the behind-the-scenes whisperings from over 100 years ago, but I spent an absurd amount of time in my attempt to make everything as accurate as possible.
Which scene involving the imprisoned suffragists was the most difficult or meaningful for you to write?
If I’m going to be brutally honest, I’ve been starved and beaten by prison guards, so I have an idea of what those suffragists went through when they were protesting conditions while incarcerated. Being hidden away from polite society allows correctional officers to behave in ways that can be shocking and unbelievable to the average individual. But it meant a lot to expose a fraction of the realities of confinement.
How did you approach developing figures such as Lucy Burns, Dora Lewis, and Inez Milholland alongside Alice?
I thoroughly enjoyed writing Lucy Burns’s character. To me, she had the most personality. There’s a line I gave her that she said in real life while incarcerated: “I am fat and flourishing.” That one sentence is a beautiful portrait of a warrior that can have fun when they’re at their worst. It revealed more of her than anything else I wrote on this one suffragist in Pain Bleeds a Heroine. Each one of these “secondary” women demonstrated characteristics Alice Paul was lacking. Lucy Burns = fun, Dora Lewis = caring, Inez Milholland = charismatically likeable. Alice Paul had practically NO personality. *lol* She wasn’t known to laugh or joke. She was just a straight-up soldier, so focused, so goal-oriented. Obtaing the right to vote was her obsession. Writing that just now choked me up. I’ve never read about another historical figure I’ve admired more, other than Booker T. Washington. He’s right there with her in my eyes. It brought me an abundance of pleasure highlighting the attributes of these surrounding characters to FURTHER showcase the strength of Alice Paul.
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Pain Bleeds a Heroine
Pain Bleeds a Heroine by J. L. Chaffin is a historical drama written in screenplay form, centered on Alice Paul and the campaign for women’s suffrage in the United States. The story begins with Paul returning from Britain in 1910, physically weakened by imprisonment and force-feeding but already looking toward the next fight. From there, the book follows her rise as an organizer, her clashes with established suffrage leaders, the creation of the National Woman’s Party, and the public pressure campaign against President Woodrow Wilson. It’s a sweeping account, but its focus stays firmly on the people doing the work, especially Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, Dora Lewis, Inez Milholland, and the women who march, organize, picket, and endure prison together.
Chaffin presents Alice as both a brilliant strategist and a person whose devotion to the cause consumes nearly every part of her life. Her ability to turn rejection, violence, political resistance, and even personal tragedy into public momentum gives the story its drive. The screenplay format makes the book feel fast and visual, moving quickly between rallies, political meetings, newspaper headlines, elections, and jail cells. Some scenes lean heavily on explanatory dialogue, but the strongest moments come through action: Alice breaking windows for air in jail, Dora feeding her while she continues writing, and the imprisoned women singing together over nearly inedible food. Those details make the movement feel physical rather than purely historical.
The book reminded me of Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures, which also brings overlooked women into the center of a major American story. Both works show that history is rarely changed by one effortless breakthrough. It’s changed through preparation, persistence, alliances, disagreements, and people doing exhausting work while receiving little credit. Chaffin’s approach is more openly dramatic and confrontational than Shetterly’s. He turns Alice Paul into something close to an action hero, with political strategy functioning as her special power. That heightened style fits the screenplay structure and gives the suffrage campaign the urgency of a battle story, though the supporting characters often provide its most human warmth.
What stayed with me most was the book’s picture of courage as something communal. Alice may be the central figure, but her strength grows through Lucy’s fire, Dora’s care, Inez’s sacrifice, and the willingness of ordinary women to keep replacing one another outside the White House and inside the jails. The story has anger, humor, grief, friendship, and a clear admiration for people who refuse to accept political patience as a substitute for justice. Pain Bleeds a Heroine is an energetic tribute to Alice Paul and the women’s suffrage movement, told with the conviction that suffering can create purpose and that organized pressure can move even the most stubborn government.
Pages: 151 | ASIN: B0GX32NT24
Who do those recidivists’ crimes hurt more?
Would Jesus Do Time? is a satirical drama that reimagines Jesus in present-day America, discovering the faults with the modern-day justice system. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration comes from firsthand experience. I’m currently incarcerated, been locked up 22 years. But what inspired me most was how a lot of people don’t know what goes on in here. Like, how slavery has NOT been completely abolished. It’s thick in the penal system. In the 13th Amendment, it says slavery’s been abolished “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”
Some people may say, “Good. Teach prisoners the value of a hard day’s work.” There’s a bit of sophistry at play with that line. We’re literally “paid” pennies for an entire eight-hour day of labor that our blood, sweat, and (sometimes) tears provide. People who’ve never held a legitimate job in their lives will never understand the value of an honest dollar.
Being forced to work against your will when you’d rather educate yourself demonstrates the lack of value they place on our lives. Do you think this makes us respect authority? Slavery dramatically decreases our self-worth and has far-reaching effects. 85% of prisoners will be released one day, and the recidivism rate is currently at 75%. Who do those recidivists’ crimes hurt more? You. They hurt you, the average everyday citizen.
These are merely some of the thoughts that went into Would Jesus Do Time? I also knew the visceral reactions that’d bubble to the surface for people upon seeing Jesus behind bars. When you wear prison scrubs, you feel you’re no longer perceived as human, but. . . “expendable,” “judged,” “condemned.” They’re not a factor in polite society, the rational-minded say to themselves. People forget how Jesus was tried, found guilty, and sentenced just like every other prisoner. So, not much has changed with the biblical version of events. I simply wrapped Jesus in a story that happens every single day in America.
Writing Jesus as a dramatic character is a bold undertaking. What were the biggest challenges in approaching that task?
The biggest challenge was trying to be as respectful as possible of this religious figure while also giving Jesus a sense of humor. As you can see from my answer to your first question, we’re dealing with heavy subject matter here. You can’t have purchasers wanting to freaking kill themselves while reading your work. My job is to entertain. I’m an award-winning writer, and I better act like it by giving readers their money’s worth. If I don’t, I’ll stop selling books.
I want people to laugh, feel their adrenaline pump, and experience a rollercoaster ride through my writing. That’s what a professional word entertainer is supposed to do in my humble opinion, and if they take something deeper with them after they set my book down in this process? Even better. = )
What do you think satire can accomplish that a more straightforward drama cannot?
Comedy and drama go hand in hand. The best comedies are draped in dramatic clothing. Satire merely allows a writer to cut deep into a reader’s soul, because you let down your guard when you’re laughing, right? So, as those walls are lowered, the exceptional author can get surgical without the reader being aware that they’re being implanted with a knowledge they’ll carry with them throughout the rest of their lives.
What spiritual question do you hope readers and audiences continue wrestling with after the curtain falls?
The spiritual question I want people to grapple with is, Now that I’ve brought you into a world that’s deliberately hidden away from prying eyes, what are you going to do with this newfound insight? Do you enjoy giving back to your community? Do you realize the smallest of loving gestures can make a great impact on the world, similar to the butterfly effect? Does doing something positive for someone even appeal to you? If so, there is tremendous beauty in you. Show the world what you’re capable of.
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