Jason “Jake” Stetler is first and foremost a storyteller.

An avid reader, he started writing at a young age. Mythology and classic literature became obsessions, but genre fiction and films have been his predominant focus. Samurai and gunslingers populate his imagination. Even now, most of his work is in the action, sci-fi, thriller, and western genres. His stories feature ordinary men and women who find themselves in extraordinary situations and have to unleash the warrior within to survive.

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Stetler is a veteran of the United States Army and a former paratrooper. While jumping out of a C130 aircraft over the jungles of Panama, he had an epiphany –

His calling was to be a writer and a director!

Jake decided early on that he wanted to master every aspect of the craft to sharpen his skills and earn the respect of potential cast & crew. He has worked as a production assistant, grip, gaffer, and videographer. Stetler immersed himself in classes in the Meisner technique and acting for television and film. He attended an action stunt camp where he learned to do high falls into an airbag, work with blank-firing weapons, and fight on camera. (Formative years as a martial artist and gymnast had paid off!)

Writing continued to be his principal compulsion. He took workshops, attended conventions, and completed the Feature Film Writing Certification at UCLA Extension.

His first professional opportunity came when he was chosen as a finalist for the Flicks on 66 Film Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He had one week to direct a short film based on his screenplay, Icarus Has Fallen. It premiered the following Saturday.

No Sanctuary, his first attempt at directing a feature film, premiered in 2013. The project took years to complete and ultimately became Stetler’s defacto film school. He wrote, produced, and edited the film. Defying common-sense rules for low-budget projects, the movie incorporated night scenes, weather, special effects, gunplay, stunts, child actors, several horses, and a helicopter.

Stetler is an active member of the Western Writers of America and aspires to eventually achieve a Spur award.

In recent years, Stetler has received award-winning recognition for screenwriting, including Grave Injustice, Restitution: The Legend of Cordell Pierce, and Calf Rope.

Post-production is underway on the thriller A Stray Ember, a feature he directed. The screenplay was written in the Feature Film Writing program at UCLA. The microbudget film, crowdfunded through Seed & Spark, is being edited on nights and weekends. Stetler hopes to premiere it in late 2022.

Stetler wrote Calf Rope with Bradley Hawkins. The short went on to garner a slew of film festival awards, including a handful for writing. The feature version of the screenplay is now in development.

A devoted husband and father, Jake Stetler lives in Central Pennsylvania with his wife and four children.