The Paid to Play Podcast

Tabletop Gaming Company Founder and Publisher Chris Birch loves the tabletop gaming scene, from roleplaing games to wargames and boardgames; he grew up on Dungeons & Dragons, Steve Jackson’s Ogre and 15mm historical wargames. He loves it so much that he long harboured a dream of making and publishing games. Five years ago, Chris followed his dream to create and run a game company and founded founded Modiphius. The company used Kickstarter to enable their first project, Achtung! Cthulhu; since then Modiphius has become full-time employment for Chris and around twenty employees. Modiphius has created new games and secure the licenses for some of the biggest franchises around, including Infinity, Fallout, Conan and Star Trek. Join Chris and I for a great chat about headphone-stealing squirrels, what a major convention does to your work schedule, preparing for the tabletop gaming business through the music and fashion industries and making sure you choose projects based on whether you genuinely love them! Chris Birch and Modiphius Official Website of Modiphius Modiphius on Facebook Modiphius on Twitter Modiphius' Games Achtung! Cthulhu Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Star Trek Adventures Thunderbirds Games, People and Events Cubicle 7 (tabletop game company) David Grant (Wikipedia) Free League Publishing Gen Con The Lord of the Rings - 1981 BBC radio adaptation (Wikipedia) Matt Leacock Mike Pondsmith (Wikipedia) Ogre Starblazer - Space Fiction Adventure in Pictures (Wikipedia)

Tabletop roleplaying and digital game designer Jared A. Sorensen has been a mainstay of the indie scene since the turn of the millennium. He's probably best know for his roleplaying game InSpectres, about busting ghosts while balancing the budget, but he's worked across projects across the gaming spectrum. Jared is one of my classic guests. I first spoke with him for Episode 8, all the way back in 2012, and I'm glad to have him back on to talk about his latest project, a hardcover compilation of his Parsely series of party games inspired by the text-based computer adventures of the seventies and eighties. As of this posting, the Kickstarter for the Parsely book has finished with over 300% of the requested target! Join us for a chat about nightclubbing spiders, the great screenwriter in the sky, running a game at a planetarium, adjectives and expletives in Australia and the United States and being a travelling mad scientist! Jared Sorensen Jared A. Sorensen's web site and RPG brand, Memento Mori Jared A. Sorensen on Twitter Jared Sorensen's chat for Episode 8 Jared's Games Parsely The Parsely Games Compilation on Kickstarter InSpectres Steve Darlington's RPGnet review octaNe FreeMarket Friends Luke Crane Sorensen/Crane Vincent Baker Games, Gamers and Gaming Atari 2600 game console (Wikipedia) Burning Wheel and Burning Empires Greg Costikyan The Forge Gen Con Gen Con 50 Retrospective Panels, including "Creative Millennium: RPGs at the turn of the century"  with Jared Sorensen, Jonathan Tweet, James Wallis, Vincent Baker and Ron Edwards; hosted by Luke Crane Ghostbusters roleplaying game (Wikipedia) Iello Games King of Tokyo Oceanos The Nerdist Podcast Nintendo Entertainment System (Wikipedia) Paranoia roleplaying game, published by Mongoose Publishing Pendragon, a.k.a. King Arthur Pendragon - Edition 5.1, roleplaying game published by Nocturnal Media Peter Adkison Greg Stafford Wargames West - article on Shut Up, Internet Other Links The Charles Hayden planetarium at the Boston Museum of Science Images sourced from the Memento Mori website.

Game designer, writer, executive and philanthropist Ian Livingstone is one of the founding fathers of the UK games industry. He co-founded iconic games company Games Workshop in 1975 with Steve Jackson, creating hobby magazine White Dwarf and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, which soon after spawned the juggernaut tabletop miniatures games Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000. Ian also co-authored The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the first interactive book in the Fighting Fantasy series, with Steve Jackson in 1982. Since, the series has sold 20 million copies worldwide. Ian has written 15 titles in the series, including Deathtrap Dungeon and City of Thieves. His new book, The Port of Peril, will be published by Scholastic in August 2017. In 1995 Ian oversaw a merger that created Eidos plc where he served as Executive Chairman until 2002, and later as Creative Director. At Eidos he launched global video games franchises including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Ian co-authored the influential Livingstone-Hope Next Gen review published by NESTA in 2011, recommending changes in ICT education policy. He chaired the Next Gen Skills campaign, working with government to introduce the new Computing curriculum in schools in 2014. He is opening Livingstone Academies in 2019 in association with Aspirations Academies Trust, with a curriculum focused on problem-solving and digital creativity. Join us for a chat about saying "no" to partnering with the makers of Dungeons & Dragons, retaining control of your intellectual property, the Twittersphere posing a question Ian has never been asked before and Ian throwing a game mastering gauntlet down at the feet of your humble host! A huge thank you to guest for Episode 111, Neil Rennison of Tin Man Games, who are republishing the Fighting Fantasy series as digital gamebooks for computers, tablets and smartphones, for getting Ian and I in touch! Thanks also to Twitter fans MalcolmGarcia and furious george ☭‏ for your questions! Ian Livingstone Ian Livingstone on Twitter Official website of Fighting Fantasy The Fighting Fantasy section of Gamebook Adventures, app versions of game-books Fighting Fantasy Legends by Nomad Games Games Workshop Tabletop Gaming Dungeons & Dragons Video Gaming Eidos Interactive (Wikipedia) Tomb Raider (Wikipedia)

3D character artist and tabletop miniature wargame maker Delaney King chats about working in the video game industry!

Narrative designer for computer and video games Evgeni Puzankov works as a freelancer in the video game industry from his home base in St. Petersburg in Russia. After working as an employee doing scripting and production for video games and becoming a lead narrative designer on Suricate Games’ title Panoptes, Evgeni went full-time as a freelancer in October 2016. Since, he’s crafted narratives for the Steam Greenlight game The Long Reach and a few more games yet to be announced. Evgeni Puzankov Evgeni Puzankov on Twitter Evgeni's Games Depths of Betrayal The Long Reach Panoptes Phantom Trigger Evgeni's Favourite Games Darkwing Duck (Wikipedia) Darkwing Duck Video Game (Nintendo) (Wikipedia) Video Game Design Source Engine (Valve) Unity Unreal Engine

Miniature model maker Fon Davis has worked on over thirty feature films across a two decade career. He’s an alumnus of the Industrial Light and Magic Model Shop and Disney, having produced concept art and made models for Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. Recently, he’s worked on Interstellar, Guardians of the Galaxy and Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium. Fon founded his own design and fabrication studio, Fonco Creative, in 1997 in San Francisco, and after setting up shop in the premises of Vanaheim Studios in Los Angeles, he bought the whole 16,000 square foot facility out at the end of first quarter 2017, renaming it Fonco Studios. Join us for a fantastic chat about the importance of a portfolio in the special effects industry (and why Fon didn't wind up needing one when he interviewed at ILM), the possibilities of virtual reality in entertainment, how special effects folks insert themselves into the movies they work on and the questions from the show's Patreon backers! Thanks again to my guest for episode 86, Lauren Matesic of Castle Corsetry, for getting Fon on the show, and thanks to Patreon backer Matt Dawson for your questions for Fon! Fon Davis, Fonco Creative and Fonco Studios Fon Davis on Facebook Fon Davis on Instagram Fon Davis on Twitter Fonco Studios / Fonco Creative Fonco Creative on Facebook Fonco Studios on Facebook Movies Coraline Galaxy Quest (Wikipedia) James and the Giant Peach (Wikipedia) The Nightmare Before Christmas (Wikipedia) Starship Troopers (Wikipedia) Fon's Projects and Loves Kaiju movies (Wikipedia) MORAV Movie and Effects Companies Colossal Pictures (Wikipedia) Henry Selick (Wikipedia) Disney Industrial Light and Magic Mark Anderson (IMDb) Lucasfilm Stan Winston School of Character Arts Tippett Studio (Wikipedia) Television BattleBots Other Projects Hyper-Reality MegaBots

Voice actor, narrator and RPG actual play podcast Host David O. Steele is one of the crew of the podcast, A Quest for Magic and Steele. In each episode, David and five others create a tale of sword and sorcery, elves and dwarves, using the fifth edition of the Dungeons and Dragons RPG rules. They get paid to play via a Patreon page created in December 2016. I've been catching up on A Quest For Magic And Steele for the past few months and it's always fun listening to David portray his character, Gnu Gnu, a gnome bard with a mouth quite big enough to fit both his feet in, which he does regularly and gleeflully. Join us for a chat about approaching Patreon as a podcaster, David's next projects, the joy of discovering roleplaying games through your children and repurposing content for Patreon! David O. Steele Steele Empire Steele Empire on Facebook David O. Steele on Twitter A Quest for Magic and Steele A Quest for Magic and Steele A Quest for Magic and Steele on Patreon Tabletop Roleplaying Games Dungeons & Dragons Podcasts and Resources Critical Hit Podcasting Resources Dave Jackson - School of Podcasting Voice Resources Voice123.com

Australian science fiction and fantasy author Saffron Bryant has been writing since she could first hold a pencil but only started getting serious in 2011. Saffron's first book, The Fallen Star, was released in 2012 after Saffron was forced to take leave from her studies in biomedical science at uni while recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumour. Now, at the age of twenty-six, Saffron has fifteen novels available for sale on Amazon, a degree in Biomedical Science (with honours) and has just finished her PhD in chemistry at the University of Sydney. As of last year Saffron earned enough royalties to pay all her bills. In her spare time, Saffron is a huge fan of multiple fandoms, including The Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones and Stephen King (especially The Dark Tower). She also plays Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs and even tabletop ones like Dungeons & Dragons. Join Saffron and I as we get back together (after our chat for Episode 16) for a great chat about the first fiction you write, how writing is the perfect cure for the boredom of convalescence and the process of screening editors - not to mention a geek-out about Doctor Who! Saffron Bryant Official website of Saffron Bryant Saffron Bryant's author page on Amazon Self-Publishing Tools BookBub Science Fiction and Fantasy Black Mirror (Netflix) Doctor Who Game of Thrones The Lord of the Rings (movies) Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower series and many more Supernatural Games Dungeons & Dragons (tabletop roleplaying game) The Legend of Drizzt (board game) The Lord of the Rings Online (massively multiplayer online roleplaying game) Pathfinder (tabletop roleplaying game)

An audio AND video thank-you from your humble host to all the wonderful folks who made April an unexpectedly massive month - even with the schedule change from weekly to fortnightly!

Australian comic artist and writer Dean Rankine has contributed work to the Dark Horse Comics title Hellboy, the classic UK kids’ comics Beano and Dandy, and the Australian MAD Magazine, but he is best known for his work on the official comic books of the animated mega-hit TV series, The Simpsons, published by Bongo Comics. You can often find him at Australian pop culture conventions creating commissioned "Simpsonised" portraits of con-goers. Dean has also created his own title, the twisted comic book Itty Bitty Bunnies in Rainbow Pixie Candy Land, published by Action Lab. Join us for a chat about setting goals for publishing your comic, showing your kids how to follow a creative path and moving from comics to storyboarding! Dean Rankine Dean Rankine on Facebook Bongo Comics, publishers of The Simpsons comics Itty Bitty Bunnies in Rainbow Pixie Candy Land (Facebook) Inspirations Adventure Time! The Regular Show SpongeBob Squarepants Comic Books Writers and Artists Gary Chaloner Jhonen Vasquez Comic Book Titles Beano The Dandy (Wikipedia) Johnny the Homicidal Maniac (Wikipedia) Australian MAD Magazine (MADtrash.com website) Comic Book Labels Action Lab Comics SLG Publishing (Slave Labor Graphics) Featured image provided by Dean Rankine

Ryan Schapals, chief minion of the Twitch channel Hyper RPG, talks livestreaming roleplaying games and writing for Open Legend!

An announcement of a schedule change for the Podcast and the reason behind it - making more time to explore GMpreneurship!

Podcaster, voice talent and author Mariah Avix is the creator of the podcast, 600 Second Saga; a space for developing authors to explore the realms of science fiction and fantasy in 10 minutes or less every week. On March 20th, 2017, Mariah celebrated the first anniversary of 600 Second Saga, having released an episode a week for the last fifty-two weeks! After a short break, the show will return for its second season on April 5th! Mariah also narrates audiobooks and writes magical tales of how technology will change our world, and technologically laced tales of magic that probably isn’t real. Join us for a great chat about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the division of trust between writer and reader, how current references can become future Easter eggs, getting to the meat of the story in 1,000 words, the benefits of pre-planning your podcast and working diversity into your freelance portfolio - and keep listening after the chat wraps for one of Mariah's flash fiction works, "An Axe"! Mariah Avix 600 Second Saga Slippery Fish An Ill-fated Scarf Mariah Avix on Twitter Science Fiction The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Wikipedia) Podcasts Far Fetched Fables Starship Sofa Audiobooks ACX - Audiobook Creation Exchange

S.R. Ringuette is author/illustrator/cartoonist and educator who, from his hometown of Calgary, Alberta, attempts to use creativity as a secret staircase to subvert traditional employment. His lifelong love of cartooning turned into making comics as an adult and eventually teaching kids and teens to do the same. Sebastien has created a comic series, The Aversion Bureau, that has become two collections and even a pair of novels. He also created the web comic Gamer Roommates and in November 2016 launched a new web comic, It Has Pictures! Since then, Sebastien has been posting new witty art based on whatever takes his fancy and doing freelance design work for web series, podcasts and friends in between. Join us for a great chat about the perfect storm of arrogance and ignorance, the importance of loving your own work, knowing when to step away from the things you love doing and how nothing matters more than the personal touch! I must thank my guest for Episode 77, Teri Litorco, for recommending Sebastien! S. R. Ringuette Official site It Has Pictures! The Aversion Bureau Gamer Roommates Exploding Wumpus S. R. Ringuette on Facebook S. R. Ringuette on Twitter Inspirations Calvin and Hobbes (Wikipedia) Penny Arcade Starslip by Kris Straub (Sebastien's favourite web comic artist) Computer and Video Games Castle Crashers Conventions Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo

Game director, producer, writer and designer Neil Rennison is the original founder of Tin Man Games, a company that brings the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks of Eighties childhoods back to life as apps. Neil has worked in the computer and video games industry for over fifteen years. He's been involved in over fifty published games including such high profile titles as the Need For Speed series, Nascar series, The Sims series and the Tiger Woods Golf series for a variety of platforms including iPhone, DS, PSP, and Wii. Neil has had a number of articles published in 3D World magazine & PC Format, has dabbled in university lecturing, is an adjudicator for government funding in games, and has given talks at various gaming conventions and gatherings of the International Game Developers Association. Listen in for a great chat about the snowball effect, going freelance in the video game industry, being asked by the superstar in your business to adapt one of his works and that odd sensation of, "I could be perfectly happy staying where I am now - but..." I have to thank my guest for Episode 11, Gavin Lucan, for hipping me to Tin Man Games via Twitter and, of course, Neil for coming on the show! Neil Rennison, Tin Man Games Tin Man Games The Siege of the Necromancer Miss Fisher and the Deathly Maze Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks Official website of Fighting Fantasy Jonathan Green Video Games and Companies Razorworks (Wikipedia) Total Immersion Racing (Wikipedia) The Sims Conventions Penny Arcade Expo Graphic Design Software 3D Studio Max Maya

Veteran stage and screen actor Tony Bonner is known worldwide for playing helicopter pilot Jerry King in the classic Australian TV series, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. Tony's had a long career in the performing arts and continues to appear on TV, in movies, in theatres and on the web today. Earlier this year (and after our chat), Tony was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours list. Thanks to my guest Travis Bain, I was lucky enough to catch Tony in late 2016 when he was in Cairns as part of his endeavour to pass his skills and experience on to actors-in-training across the country (and perform in Travis' upcoming film Landfall). We chat about Tony's dream role, the worldwide reach of Skippy and how little an actor's career changes over fifty years! Tony Bonner Official Website of Tony Bonner Save

College eSports team coach Zac, a.k.a. The IMP, chats about playing Heroes of the Storm competitively and coaching Texas A&M's Team Maroon though the Heroes of the Dorm 2017 championship!

Host of The YES Effect podcast, possibility hacker and fire captain Shelli Varela talks saying yes to your gifts!

I count the Top 10 Most Downloaded Episodes of 2016 down! Who was your favourite guest?

Cosplayer and game master Kimi is better known as the Golden Lasso Girl, which ought to tell you that she's a full on geek. She absolutely loves Wonder Woman, not just as an arse-kicking superhero but as an icon of feminine empowerment. Naturally, Kimi's enthusiasm for cosplay has led her to attending many conventions in various iterations of a Wonder Woman costume, but also for creating a YouTube channel for which Kimi records tutorials for cosplay and crafting. Kimi's skill is such that one of her cosplay designs for a "bombshell" version of Big Barda was adopted by DC Comics as Barda's official outfit in their Bombshells comic! On to of that, Kimi loves tabletop roleplaying games, so much so that not only has she assumed the role of game master for her friends, she's also become co-host of the Happy Jack's RPG Podcast. This show features a crew of gamers getting together to answer listeners' questions and have an enthusiastic chat about RPGs over a few bevvies. (Yes, that's alcoholic.) Kimi and I have a great chat about her interest in metalworking, getting into cosplay by wanting to show the professionals how to make a Wonder Woman costume, being one of the cool teachers at school, the joys and struggles of game mastering, sharing your hobby loves in podcasts and how-to videos and the wisdom of deciding not to monetise your passions. Thanks again to my guest for episode 86, Lauren of Castle Corsetry, for getting me in touch with Kimi! Kimi, Golden Lasso Girl Official Golden Lasso Girl Website Golden Lasso Girl on YouTube Happy Jack's RPG Podcast (Pursuing the RPG hobby with reckless abandon. And beer.) Empire's Twilight Actual Play (Star Wars: Edge of the Empire) Mote of Sin Actual Play (Vampire: The Masquerade) Vast Dominions Actual Play (Stu Venable's Moment of Truth system) Cosplay, Costuming, Renaissance Faires, Conventions and Bands Kimi's Bombshell Big Barda cosplay. The Belles of Bedlam (band) Castle Corsetry (Lauren Matesic) (my chat with Lauren for Episode 86) Avengers Angels (San Diego Comic Con 2015), feat. Kimi as the Incredible Hulk and ep. 89 guest Bernadette Bentley as Hawkeye The Merry Wives of Windsor (band) RenFaire.com The Southern California Reniassance Pleasure Faire San Diego Comic Con WonderCon Stan Lee's LA Comic Con (formerly Comikaze) Fan Movie Projects Metroid: The Sky Calls (fan short film by Rainfall Films) Wonder Woman (fan short film by Rainfall Films) Comics Big Barda Wonder Woman Tabletop Roleplaying Games Kimi's cosplay of Big Barda (original design) Dungeons & Dragons Wikipedia: Editions of Dungeons & Dragons Masks Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Vampire: The Masquerade (Wikipedia) Wild Talents Featured image supplied by Kimi.

Professional prop-maker Steven Meissner owns and operates SoloRoboto Industries as a full-time business. He makes custom and replica props, weapons, and accessories for cosplayers and collectors, and has occasionally made trophies for other companies, as well as worked on projects for the odd TV commercial. Steven and I have a great chat about discovering that other people will pay you to make cosplay costumes for them, running the maths on your passion business, teaching yourself your craft with the help of a community, and what it means to live in a city that no one grew up in and where everyone's pursuing a dream. Thanks to my guest for episode 89, Bernadette Bentley, for recommending Steven! Steven Meissner, SoloRoboto Industries Official website SoloRoboto on Patreon SoloRoboto on Storenvy SoloRoboto on Twitch Costume Making Supplies Apoxie Sculpt TV Shows and Movies 300 (Wikipedia) Batman Beyond (Batman fan wiki) Doctor Strange The Rocketeer (Wikipedia) Cosplayers and Prop Makers Bernadette Bentley (my chat with Bernadette for Episode 89) Bill Doran, Punished Props Frank Ippolito Creature Geek Podcast Tested.com Universal Laser Systems Kit Quinn Conventions DragonCon Palm Springs Comic Con San Diego Comic Con Games Hearthstone Featured image supplied by Steven Meissner

Veteran video game designer and roleplaying game master Steven Lumpkin has worked for some of the biggest names in the online gaming industry, including Red Storm Entertanment, the makers of the Rainbow Six franchise, and Funcom, the makers of Age of Conan, Anarchy Online and The Secret World, as a level designer. His job was creating the tense action scenes that have challenged players across the globe as they venture through these games' vast virtual worlds. Steven is now working on the Rollercoaster Tycoon franchise, but has gone from creating levels to working on the basic infrastructure of the game itself as a game designer. Steven is also a lover of tabletop roleplaying games. He's been a game master for the RollPlay team on the Twitch channel ItMeJP, where he ran the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition campaign, The West Marches, which featured a huge rotating roster of streaming and YouTube celebrity players. While Steven was on hiatus at the time of recording, he's since returned to gaming with a new campaign on his own Twitch and YouTube channels and is looking forward to GMing for the Misscliks and other channels! Steven and I talk about having a day job in gaming while pursuing a musical hobby in his off hours, the reality of working quality assurance in the video game industry, taking out the trash in online game encounter design, how to manage the "crunch" cycle at the end of pre-release game development and staying chill when gaming with some of the biggest names in live streaming. Thanks to my guest for episode 81, Adam Koebel, for getting Steven and I in touch! Steven Lumpkin, Silent0siris On Twitter On Twitch On YouTube King Arthur Pendragon (streamed roleplaying game) RollPlay R&D and Dark Heresy RollPlay: The West Marches Professional Website The North Carolina Master Chorale Chamber Choir Streamers and YouTubers Day9 InControl ItMeJP TotalBiscuit Game Design Challenges for Game Designers by Brenda Brathwaite and Ian Schreiber (Amazon) "The Door Problem", from the blog of Liz England Roleplaying Games Dark Heresy (Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay) (Wikipedia) Dungeons & Dragons Computer & Video Games Funcom (developer) Age of Conan The Secret World Myst Rollercoaster Tycoon Shadowgate (Wikipedia) StarCraft Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Wikipedia) Red Storm Entertainment Unreal 4 Engine Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade World of Warcraft Deadmines Quest (World of Warcraft Fan Wiki) Trash Mob (World of Warcraft Fan Wiki) Audio Hardware Blue Microphones Snowball Yeti Featured image provided by Steven Lumpkin

Podcaster and creative TDot, also known as Anthony Sargent, is all about helping folk get out and stay out of the nine-to-five rat race and being the best themselves they can be. He created and hosted Bursting Through the 925, a weekly podcast where we interview a different entrepreneurial minded guest to see what they are doing to get or stay out of the nine-to-five, and is working on a new chat-format show, Six Hundred Degrees of Separation. He may even be starting a Fillipino import-export business! This episode is a great, straight up chat, where TDot and I pretty much go on about what comes to mind, including television shows, a three-year struggle with the Philippine authorities to get his wife and child to the States, getting present in everything you do, the "newness" of Kevin Hart, growing vegetables and why aiming to be better than your idols is the best compliment you can give them. "TDot" - Anthony Sargent TYOPod: That's Your Opinion Podcasts Podcasts and Entrepreneurship Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee) Pat Flynn John Lee Dumas

Geek collectable company owner Shaun Paulet decided to take a slightly different approach to the collectable market than most vendors. Instead of sourcing all the usual lines of stuff from the producers for the toy and collectable business, Shaun levered his passion for affordable collectibles to create, in conjunction with a collection of top Australian artists, a line of limited edition collectable prints available online or nationwide at Australian conventions for his company COMICS2MOVIES. But after finding success within the artistic world of prints, Shaun decided to bring his own creativity and passion for comic books to the table, and thus was born XCT, a comic book series about clones of mythical monsters and ancient warriors like Spartacus fighting to the death for an audience of billions in the Xtreme Champion Tournament.  XCT was successfully launched in Australia, New Zealand and the US in 2014. Shaun and I have a great chat about high school sporting achievements, being the most funded Australian comic book crowdfunding project on Kickstarter, letting other people play with your stories, competing with the iconic American comic books for shelf space in Australian stores and ensuring your daughter shares your love of comics! Shaun Paulet: COMICS2MOVIES and XCT COMICS2MOVIES Deadman's Land XCT: Xtreme Champion Tournament Comics Aquaman Boom Studios Killeroo Comic Writers and Artists Barry Duffield (Listen to Barry's chat for Episode 95!) Brendan Halyday Darren Close Humberto Ramos Jerry Gaylord (DeviantArt) Comic Shops All-Star Comics. Melbourne Cosmic Comics, Perth KerSplatt! Comics and Collectables, Cairns (Listen to KerSplatt's Mal and Amy's chat for Episode 3!) Mac's Comics, Mackay TV Shows and Movies Spartacus Liam McIntyre Barry Duffield (Listen to Barry's chat for Episode 95!) Filmink Magazine Sports UFC: Ultimate Fighting Championship

Creative Director for Paizo, inc.,  James L. Sutter, is one of the privileged few who helps us geeks combine board gaming, improvisation and flights of imagination via the hobby of the tabletop roleplaying game. He co-developed the rules for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, which lets players adventure through dungeons and slay dragons, and was recently appointed as the Creative Director of the upcoming Starfinder Roleplaying Game which will shift the high fantasy world of Pathfinder a few thousand years into the future and add starships, lasers and cyborgs to Pathfinder's elves, dwarves and magic swords. Not only does James write for RPGs, but James is also a keen fiction author. He manages the the Pathfinder Tales novel line for Paizo and has written two novels for it; Death's Heretic and The Redemption Engine, as well as a multitude of short stories for other publications. James enjoys playing with high-concept ideas like the meaning of atheism in a world where deities are objective fact. James and I have a great chat about a high school teacher who encouraged his students to create their own RPGs, getting his arse handed to him in Wheel of Fortune, evolving timelines in game products, the joys of communal living and the spirit of adventure at the heart of tabletop roleplaying games! James L. Sutter James L. Sutter on Twitter Paizo, Inc. Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Pathfinder Tales Starfinder Brides of the Lizard God (Bandcamp) Games Dread Featured image provided by James L. Sutter

Online fiction authors and multimedia producers Birdy and Mike Diamond follow a concept they call "Fiction Isn't," which they discovered whilst exploring psychic channeling. It's the idea that, when authors say that their characters suddenly started telling their own stories, that's what's really happening: the author has made a mental link to actual people in realms elsewhere from ours. Instead of creating stories, authors are writing the biographies of these people. Birdy and Mike are making early ventures in getting paid to play under their brand, JourneyBirds' Wonderland. They've created a Patreon page to support their works, which include Arrows in Flight, an Arrow-inspired vigilante story; Church of the Guardian Angel, where two unlikely servants of a cat goddess quietly work to keep the world sane; and Crosswell's Flying Circus, an unusual airshow company dragged into a dark conspiracy (all of which feature readings by yours truly)! They've also developed some tools to help writers find inspiration and crank their daily word count out! I chat with Birdy and Mike about getting serious about writing whilst being trapped in a hospital bed, psychic hyperlinks, the struggle to be open about yourself in a society that frowns on the unusual, warbird outfits, winning NaNoWriMo, minimum viable perfection and how fiction facilitates the conversations we need to have about the issues that truly matter. Thanks again to my guest for episode 20, Catherine Caine, for introducing me to Birdy and Mike! Birdy & Mike Diamond, JourneyBirds' Wonderland On Facebook On Google+ On Patreon On Twitter Fan Fiction Bardic Raven on Archive of Our Own Blackbird Tells Tales on Tumblr NaNoWriMo National Novel Writing Month official web site Psychic Functioning and Channelling Mediumship and Channelling (Wikipedia) Featured image provided by Birdy and Mike Diamond

Cosplayer and YouTube show host Feisty Cuffs has been in love with the cosplay community since her very first convention. She enjoys the creative process of constructing her own costumes and props, and picks her next cosplay projects based on whether she can learn a new technique or skill. Feisty loves attending conventions as a cosplayer, panellist and cosplay judge, and connecting with like-minded geeks. You may even recognise her as one of the hosts and of the Kapow! Comic Book Show on YouTube. Feisty and I have a great chat about being that friend you invite to a fancy dress party, a love of European comic books, meeting those crazy people you just click with, the awesomeness of being asked to host a cosplay competition at the Rooster Teeth Expo and her favourite comic book character of all time! Keep listening after the chat wraps for a retrospective on the first 100 episodes of The Paid to Play Podcast! Thanks to Glenn Hodges and my guest for episode 76, Twerkin Gherkin, for getting me in touch with Feisty! Feisty Cuffs Official Feisty Cuffs Website Feisty Cuffs on Facebook Feisty Cuffs on Twitter The Kapow! Comic Book Show Video Games Final Fantasy VIII Lulu (Final Fantasy fan wiki) Infinite Crisis (Wikipedia) Cartoons, Comics and Movies Adventure Time Feisty Cuffs' Atomic Wonder Woman cosplay, complete with chainsaw. Photo by Maleficent Images. Angela (Wikipedia) Asterix Guardians of the Galaxy Nightwing Penny Arcade Saga Tintin Wolverine Wonder Woman Atomic Wonder Woman Statue (Big Bad Toy Store) X-Ray and Vav Cosplayers and Conventions Comic Gong Whoniverse (Doctor Who Convention) Evey Dantes - Dantes Inferno (Check out my chat with Evey for Episode 57!) Penny Arcade Expo PAX Australia PAX West Rooster Teeth Expo (RTX) - AU San Diego Comic Con Twerkin Gherkin (Check out my chat with Twerkin for Episode 76!) All photos provided by Feisty Cuffs. Featured image taken by

Podcast coach and host Scott Doucet loves podcasts. He loves listening to them. He loves making them and helping people make them. He loves them so much that he co-founded and continues to administer a huge community of podcasters on Facebook. And just recently, he's applied his experience and passion for podcasting to launch an all-new show, Podcast Bay, where he invites podcasters new and veteran to talk about the trash, the treasure and the trickery of the podcasting game! We have a great chat about Scott's first job in radio at 14, his discovery that podcasting isn't just guys sitting around talking movies, finding a mentorship on a budget, and being hockey in the streets but Warhammer 40K in the sheets! Thanks to my guest for Episode 75, Ross Barber-Smith, for getting me into the Podcast Discovery Center and giving me the opportunity to meet Scott! Scott Doucet Scott Doucet on Facebook Scott Doucet on Instagram Scott Podcast Coach Down & Dirty with Kim Boudreau-Smith & Scott Doucet Edge-ucation with Scott Doucet and Josh MacKenzie (Stitcher) Podcast Bay Podcast Bay On Twitter Episode: It's Not You, It's Me - featuring Rob Farquhar of Paid to Play! Podcasts We've Been Great But You Gotta Go! SModcast Coaches and Mentors Marc Mawhinney - Natural Born Coaches Mark Black Featured image provided by Scott Doucet Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save

Business Vision Catalyst and founder of Calahan Solutions, Inc. Stephanie L H Calahan works with busy, purpose-driven entrepreneurs at the intersection of heart and head, to leverage their business and get their message out with power, ease and joy; so they can make a powerfully positive difference in the world, exponentially up-level their profits, shift their mindset towards possibility and take a no-excuses approach to boldly creating a highly successful and meaningful business built around who they are. In short, to enjoy a highly-successful and meaningful business… while working less. After Stephanie chose to leave a successful-on-paper nine-to-five corporate life that was putting her through an emotional and physical wringer, she quickly discovered that if not approached correctly, entrepreneurship could be just as damaging. Ultimately, she stepped back and re-defined everything, and now lives a self-employed working and family life that brings her all the benefits she offers her customers. Stephanie and I have a great chat about being a consultant from childhood, armchair travel, unlocking the golden handcuffs, a blinding flash of the obvious, giving a child the benefits of a stay-at-home mom without being one and the crippling fear of disappointing your spouse. Stephanie L H Calahan, The Business Vision Catalyst Official website of Stephanie L H Calahan Featured image provided by Stephanie Calahan

Hybrid paranormal romance author Lauren Dawes writes the Half Blood series, four novels of the Helheim Wolf Pack, and the Dark trilogy, tales of ancient Norse gods living and battling amongst humanity. The Dark series are published by Pan MacMillan, while Lauren self-publishes the Half Blood series. Lauren was born in South Africa to English parents who then raised her and her brother in Sydney. She loves reading, naturally, but also travelling and, perhaps unsurprisingly given the action-packed nature of her novels, muay thai kick boxing. Her love of urban fantasy and paranormal romance sprang from reading authors like Laurell K. Hamilton, J.R. Ward and Charlaine Harris. Lauren and I have a great chat about what Stephenie Meyer did to the vampire genre, the author's burden of the rejection slip, juggling writing with raising a youngster while the armed forces make off with your husband, the work of world building, going from writing a novel in private to speaking at panels in conventions. Huge thanks to my guest for episode 83, Kimberley Clark, for recommending Lauren to me! Lauren Dawes     Official Website Lauren Dawes on Facebook Lauren Dawes on Twitter Lauren's Loves Vikings Authors Brandon Sanderson Gemma Arlington (Facebook) Neil Gaiman Larissa Ione (Demonica series) Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter and the Merry Gentry (fae princess) series) Anne Rice The Vampire Chronicles Publishers and Agents Alex Adsett Publishing Services Pan MacMIllan Novelist Resources Query Tracker Romance Society of Australia Conventions Australian Movie & Comic Expo (formerly Armageddon) Book Expo Australia: October 8th-9th, Sydney Oz Comic-Con Supanova Featured image and banner supplied by Lauren Dawes Save

Television host and actor Steven O'Donnell is better known to gamers across Australia as Bajo, one of the four hosts of the ABC television show Good Game. Bajo's prestige amongst the Australian geek community has made him a go-to guest and MC for pop culture conventions. Bajo has acted in close to 40 short films and 6 independent features and is part of a team developing a new children's TV show for the ABC, which has just been green-lit after four years of development. If that's not enough, Bajo and fellow Good Game host Hex have written a children's book series called Pixel Raiders for Scholastic. Bajo and I have a great chat about night-long Counter-Strike marathons four days a week, making children cry at Warner Bros. Movie World, the sheer amount of work involved in making multiple television shows each week, seeking out challenges that make you feel uncomfortable and how community is at the heart of any passion! Thanks to Glenn Hodges for getting Bajo and I in touch, and thanks to Patreon backer Angus Morrison for the great question! Bajo, a.k.a. Steven O'Donnell Official web site of Steven O'Donnell, a.k.a. Bajo Good Game Official web site of ABC TV's Good Game Stephanie "Hex" Bendixsen Games Counter-Strike God of War (Wikipedia) No Man's Sky Quadrilateral Cowboy Quake (Wikipedia) TV and Movies Batman: The Animated Series (Wikipedia) Midnight Zoo (Wikipedia) Books Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith (Wikipedia) Pixel Raiders, Book 1: Dig World Featured image from Bajo's web site. Save Save Save Save Save Save Save

Veteran of the acting scene Barry Duffield moved from the UK to Australia with family as a youngster but found acting success after moving to New Zealand, where he studied at the South Seas Film and Television School in Auckland. This led to recurring roles the New Zealand medical drama Shortland Street. Genre fans, though, undoubtedly know him for his portrayal of Lugo, the Germanic warrior in the Starz TV series Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned. Listen in for a great chat about how Berry got his big break thanks to a motorbike, the unique experience that is "Option Hell," working on Young Hercules, his (spoiler warning) epic death in Spartacus: War of the Damned, helping a young boy who had beaten cancer get to a Spartacus convention and how he's just as big a fan as anyone else! Huge thanks to Glenn Hodges for connecting Barry and I up, and also to Patreon backer Paul Cockrem for the awesome question! Barry Duffield Barry's writing / production firm, Dreamchaser Productions Graphic Novels Deadman's Land and Tandoori Apocalypse Barry Duffield on IMDB Spartacus: Vengeance and Spartacus: War of the Damned (Starz TV show) Lugo (Spartacus fan wiki) Rebels Spartacus Convention III - September 24th-25th, 2016, Paris, France Young Hercules (Wikipedia) Kazankis (Hercules & Xena fan wiki) Images provided by Barry Duffield. Save Save Save

Young adult dark romance author Jacinta Maree considers herself a chocoholic with an obsession with dragons, Japan and video games. Jacinta has created three worlds with which she weaves the stories of her novels: The My Demonic Ghost series, the Immortal Gene series and the upcoming Time Collector series. So far, the My Demonic Ghost series has become a best seller, won the  People’s Choice Award Horror of the Year 2013 from Turning the Pages and has been nominated for other multiple Young Adult and Paranormal awards. We have a great chat about her stories, her friends in the publishing  houses that take her novels to press, the convention experience and even not letting a difficulty with spelling prevent her from writing!

Geek event organiser and cosplayer Bernie Bregman is  the man to thank for making events that aren't just geek-friendly but outright geek-celebratory! Bernie Bregman is one of the best contest/masquerade hosts on the US cosplay circuit with over a decade of experience and several elite-level shows under his belt. Through his company Nerds Like Us, Bernie has organised midnight movie screenings, convention after-parties, meet-and-greets and even a network of nerd nightclubs! Bernie and I have a great chat about making a career out of getting geeks together, from his introduction to geeking out and cosplay via The Rocky Horror Picture Show through first business venture organising a screening of Repo: The Genetic Opera! to the day-to-day ins-and-outs of running a geek culture event entertainment business.

Author of Science Rhymes and internationally published poet Celia Berrell has a passion for taking science concepts and presenting them to people – children in particular – as poems. Her work is regularly featured in the children’s science magazine of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Celia and I have a great chat about a lifelong love of science, the importance of a website to self-promotion, the joy of having a printed, published book, the necessity of checking your facts even when writing poetry and being caught out not being a child when writing poems for a children’s magazine. Celia also reads her poem, “Body Chemistry”!

Roll20 co-creator Nolan T. Jones loved playing tabletop roleplaying games with good mates until relocating across the US almost ended his close friendships. Instead, he and his friends looked online for help with playing the games they loved - and when none of the solutions was good or easy enough to use, they built their own. Now, Roll20 is one of the world's largest virtual tabletop applications, and probably the most well-known.Thanks to Nolan and his mates, gamers across the world are getting together every day to play RPGs from Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder to Star Wars and Traveller. In  addition to being part of an industry-leading tabletop gaming company, he's worked in comics, including writing the books 'Colonial Souls' and 'House of ORR.' He has a degree in film and East Asian culture from the University of Kansas, and considers himself a qualified speaker on screenplay structure, Dragon Ball, Vince Guaraldi, and the Mighty Mutanimals.

Veteran podcaster CJ Ripka has been creating audio content for over a decade. He started when it was still just called "audio blogging". His skills as a host and personality have shot up, though, since he started his own shows, Average 2 Awesome and his current show, Raw & Real. CJ has recently expended his podcasting portfolio, joining Ray Rideout, Jr. every day on The Crossroads of Podcasting and inviting Ray to co-host Raw & Real. The two have also started the SDWV Podcast Network, of which this show is an inaugural member, to help podcasts build audiences and earn incomes from their shows! We have a great chat about making podcasts for the national guard, the struggle of setting your own rate, how creating a celebrity persona helps you succeed and what you do when injuries or external forces not just impact your business but prevent you from doing your thing entirely.

All-around geek entertainer Bernadette Bentley is a lifelong performer who never let others crush her enthusiasm. She may be best known for cosplaying Xena: Warrior Princess at conventions around California and the States, but Bernadette is passionately pursuing her dream of enriching lives with entertainment. Bernadette’s nature refuses to let her focus on one thing at a time, which has led her to act on stage and screen, in voice over and web shows. She’s hosted geek events and cosplay conventions. She co-founded Le Geek So Chic, a traveling fashion show that highlights the cream of geek clothing design. Her newest venture is Bernadazzled, a company that allows Bernadette to indulge her love of rhinestoning by creating glamorous fashion items and bringing a little extra sparkle to the world! We have a great chat about the external pressure from well-meaning folks to not just settle down and get a real job but also to focus on One Thing, the power of lists, the epic experience that was both her first convention AND her first cosplay as Xena, meeting Lucy Lawless, working with a community of fantastic fellow creatives and enthusiasts, moving on when people act against you and helping an animal rescue charity take care of their dogs! Featured photo from Bernadette Bentley's website; taken by Estrada Photography

Game designer and writer Monte Cook has worked on hundreds of roleplaying and board game products. He co-designed the Third Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, served as design consultant on the Pathfinder roleplaying game and, in 2012, co-founded Monte Cook Games, LLC. As Creative Director and Lead Designer, Monte co-created the Cypher System roleplaying game rules that are the heart of The Strange and the award-winning Numenera. Monte also bends his writerly talents to novels and fiction, comic books and nonfiction works. In his spare time, he makes the odd YouTube series with fellow geeks, like the a tongue-in-cheek take on ghost hunting reality shows, Geek Seekers, co-starring Jen Page. Please listen for a great chat about sleeping on couches while interning with an RPG company, some of the dearly departed brands of the RPG industry, why you shouldn't listen to gossip about the "big guys" and the differences between working for and running an RPG company. Huge thanks to my guest for episode 87, Jen Page, for getting me in touch with Monte!

Full-time multi-talent geek Jen Page is a wonderful example of what can happen when we connect the little dynamo of energy inside us to the things we love to do. She juggles a full-time job managing Microsoft's community of casual gamers with acting in indie films and web series, modelling her own fantasy fashion creations and making mermaid tails on commission! Jen and I have a great chat about the life of someone who has gone all-in on every aspect of herself. We touch on how being a navy brat helped Jen overcome shyness, how stage work is not her thing, her secret desire to be a freelance thief for tabletop roleplaying game groups and just how she manages to make time for all her interests and a day job that doesn't stick to a set nine-to-five! Thanks to my guest for Episode 71, Tonja Davis, for getting me in touch with Jen!

Castle Corsetry owner-operator and cat-lover Lauren Matesic has designed and built hundreds of corsets as well as custom costume orders specialising in expertly tailored spandex suits and impeccable cosplay recreations. As a geeky girl herself, Lauren's enthusiasm makes her work truly exceptional, and fellow geeks have come to know Lauren as the go-to girl for commission cosplays for conventions across the country every year. Her designs have been worn by geek-culture celebrities like Team Unicorn, Ivy Doomkitty and Adrianne Curry! On top of all that, Lauren's latest project is an upcoming web series Pawsplay, which launches on the AWE Me YouTube channel Monday, July 18th! Lauren and I have a great chat about the challenges of working with spandex, how the makers' collective that Lauren lucked into sharing office space with inspire and challenge her (and made her the most awesome office space in the world) and about how keeping your child self's imagination alive after when people say the days of dress-up ought to be over is at the heart of getting paid to play.

Board game marketer Brittanie Boe, known to pretty much everyone as Bebo, is an example of paid to play success for those of us who feel like life has locked us into the nine-to-five. She is a single mother and lover of board games who had a day job working in the marketing department of an insurance company. Now, Bebo is the marketer for a board game distributor, managing multiple social media channels with a team of fellow enthusiasts, attending industry and fan conventions and generally helping enthusiasts find the right games for their tastes. On top of all that, she works from her home! And if that’s not enough, Bebo joins forces with my guest for episode 77, Teri Litorco; together, they are the blogging, YouTubing and podcasting duo of tabletop gaming, The Board Dames! It was great chatting with Bebo about how she transitioned from day-job dullness to work-from-home wonderment, how Bebo’s friends and family help stop her from losing herself in work and what her next steps will be – as well as her not-so-secret desire to form a country music band!

Independent film maker Travis Bain has been in love with movies and the making of them most of his life. His day job is filming weddings and corporate videos, but he pours his spare time into movies like the indie horror film Throwback, the upcoming disaster thriller Landfall, and a currently in preproduction love letter to the works of H. P. Lovecraft, Starspawn. We chat about how a Mexican singer led to Travis committing to the course of his life, the difference between producers and directors, how hard it is to get your hands on the works of H.P. Lovecraft outside a major city and how kids these days substitute ambition for genuine love and curiosity.

Self-published author of urban and erotic fantasy Kimberley Clark is determined to make sure that every item on herbucket list is crossed off. One of those items was to write a novel – yet after completing that project, Kimberley discovered that rather than moving on to the next thing, she had to keep going as a writer. Kimberley is now the self-published author of a trilogy of erotic urban fantasy novels, the Battles in the Dark series, which are on sale on Amazon. We had a great chat about pursuing your dreams, the struggle in finding a good editor and the choice between self-publishing and seeking out a traditional publisher.

Though she’s only 21 years old, Elle Sommerling has almost ten years of experience behind the microphone, the majority of which is as a working voice artist. She’s soon to graduate university in the United States with a degree is in Education, but her passion lies in voice acting. Elle - who, when this chat was recorded, was still using her real name of Ann Tworek in her voice work endeavours - has completed work for international companies as well as small-time amateur character projects and currently has ongoing projects in both the commercial and character acting fields. As an aspiring voice talent myself, it was great to chat with Elle about how her family helped her get started in voice performance, how she juggled study with freelance voice work and how boxes and closets can be vital to good sound recording!

Tabletop roleplaying game GM Adam Koebel is at the forefront of an explosion of RPG popularity online. Though the creative storytelling hobby of tabletop roleplaying games have been around since the advent of Dungeons & Dragons in the mid-seventies, it’s only in the last few years that people have been able to harness live streaming and YouTube videos to present their play for others’ entertainment. Adam is currently the Game Master in Residence at Roll20, a platform for playing tabletop RPGs across the Internet, and GM of the RollPlay: Swan Song and Rollplay: Balance of Power campaigns for Twitch live-streaming channel itmeJP. Adam also co-designed the award-winning Dungeon World tabletop roleplaying game and streams analytical content and video game play from Vancouver, Canada. Join me as I have a great geek-out over a shared hobby and chat about how modern technology is enabling not just RPGs as entertainment, but all us hobbyists a chance to improve our skills and find our audiences!

Sim Lauren is in a position that we wish were less unique than it is; not only does she have two hobbies that she gets paid to play with, but she’s also working at a day job that she quite enjoys! Sim has been a gamer for as long as I’ve known her (since the late nineties), and has turned painting miniature figures for wargames into an income stream, having recently completed a sixteen-inch-high Chaos Reaver Titan for commission. Not only that, though, she indulges her love of knitting and creating clothing by doing consignment work for stores across the UK!

Technologist for hire Shane Gibson has loved technology since he was a kid, and when he was made redundant from a full-time IT job, he decided to put his skills to work for himself as a freelance consultant, helping folks integrate their computers and electronic gadgets into their lives. Shortly afterward, however, he discovered that the paperwork requirements for being self-employed weren’t for him, and he leapt on a job opportunity with a multi-state radio network that allows him to keep plying his skills with technology and computers for a full-time wage! Shane and I have a great chat about not just how well (or not) new technology works, but also how it could help those with impairments due to age or disability overcome those handicaps. We also discuss the struggle of setting and keeping to your own rate, knowing what kind of work is right for you (including nine-to-five or on-call employeedom) and some of the perceived potential negative effects of being surrounded by so much wireless technology.

It’s probably the dream of every comic fan to work for one of the major comics brands, and Brisbane boy Wayne Nichols has made it real; he is a penciler, the person creating the line art that forms the base of a comic book’s pages, who has worked on The Incredible Hulk and the official comics for the Orphan Black TV series. His work is not only critically acclaimed; it has also made him a guest at Australian pop culture conventions, where he gets to both be a fan and meet the fans of his work. Wayne also uses his skills in visual art as an illustrator, creating art work for projects and story boards for videos. It was fantastic to finally catch up with Wayne after meeting him at Tropicon and chat about his favourite titles as a reader of comics, his dreams of making it as a bassist in an alt-rock band and just what it’s like to do comics and visual art for a living!

Cosplayer Twerkin Gherkin has been very busy for the past few years. Not only is she a mainstay of the Australian East Coast scene, becoming an invited guest cosplayer to regional conventions, but she was also the first employee of Brisbane-based children’s party entertainment firm, Ever After Parties, where she enjoys bringing smiles to children’s faces, especially at charity events. Twerkin and I get to have a great chat about her love of comic book villain / anti-hero Harley Quinn, knowing your audience and what you really want from your working life, the weird feeling of not being weird enough and the changes within the cosplay community over the last few years – not to mention fending off a dog invasion!