Newsletter

Q: How long have you been writing?
A: As soon as I learned how. I remember sitting on the floor as a toddler watching my mom do paperwork and I would try scribbling on bits of scrap paper in hopes that it would spell out something even though I couldn’t read yet.

Q: Have you ever dipped maple syrup in snow?
A: That is not a thing. House hippos, on the other hand…

Q: What roles do you play in Creative Typo?
A: I wrote Seasons One and Two of Sticks Shift Incorporated and voice the lead character, Skyler.

Q: What is your favorite pantheon and why?
A: Ooh, that has become a difficult question. As is so often the case when I write fiction, it tends to unlock something about myself. And what SSIP unlocked is wild. I’m now a Reiki practitioner and teacher, a tarot reader, and a shamanic practitioner. It’s that last bit of training that makes this question difficult to answer, especially because there are issues of open versus closed practices, neo-reconstructions of pantheons versus historical practices, generalized deities versus local versions, etc. It all gets really complex really quickly, and I am by no means an expert. Long story short, I now deal with deities on a daily basis and know better than to pick favorites. If I have a cultural right to work with a pantheon, am approached by them, am able to find enough information about them to work with them in a polite and respectful way, and they want to help add some much needed healing to this world, they are welcome at my table. 

Q: What is your favorite thing to do on the weekend?
A: I don’t really have a weekend. My schedule is in constant flux depending on where and how I’m needed to work. But even when I worked a traditional 9-5, I never really did the whole weekend thing. I’m very much a homebody and always have been.

Q: What figure from your childhood do you think has the most influence on your writing?
A: My mom, hands down.

Q: What is your favourite charactuer (npc/pc) in all of Creative Typo?
A: Probably Victor.

Q: Is your current favorite dinosaur the same as when you were a child or has it changed and what is it?
A: What an oddly specific and weirdly enough, deeply relevant question. Yes. So as a kid The Land Before Time was HUGE. And my name rhymes with Petri. You see where this is going? So kids would tease me endlessly by saying that I was Petri, the pterodactyl (not my favorite dinosaur). But what is BANANAS is that no matter where I moved or which school I went to (army brat) every single kid quoted Petri to me wrong. And that would bother me so much, I didn’t even know why. If you’re gonna mock me, get it right, I guess. But instead of saying “I flew” like Petri, they would always quote, “Yup, yup, yup!” Which was Ducky. But I always had a soft spot for the long neck, Little Foot. And that leads me to my favorite type of dinosaur: sauropods. Whether it’s a brontosaurus or a brachiosaurus (there’s been some controversy back and forth over the years as to whether or not they are different species) that branch of dinosaurs has always fascinated me. They are very near and dear to my heart.

Q: How long have you been playing/voice acting?
A: I played off and on starting around 2007, but was more into LARPing then. I didn’t get serious into D&D/TTRPGs until 2018 and that’s what led to this!

Q: When did you first grow your magnificent beard?
A: Middle School, I think? I remember I had to start shaving the summer after fifth grade.

Q: What roles do you play in Creative Typo?
A: Let’s see: Writer, director/DM, voice artist/player, editor, producer, publisher, website building, social media manager (thank you Sarah for taking over on that, it’s my least favorite thing to do), Marketing, co-owner, and all the things that need to be done. I manage to keep that all organized somehow.

Q: When can we expect you and Manrose to merge into a single being?
A: Who said we were separate entities? 

Q: What is your favorite thing to do on the weekend?
A: Binge watching shows, currently watching Star Trek Enterprise, video games, getting food from a favorite restaurant or trying a place I haven’t been to before, and of course working on podcasts. There is always something to work on.

Q: Which is your favorite trucker hat in your collection?
A: I really like my tan/brown M&M hat. I need a new one and need more hats for different shows, not just ours. So if you got a podcast and are selling Richardson style trucker hats, hit me up. If you don’t, fix that.

Q: Who is your favorite character (npc/pc) in all of Creative Typo?
A: I’m a bit biased, but Manrose. He holds a special place in my heart. A character not my creation, Emory in Ethereal Embrace makes me giggle every time and you can’t help but to love her.

Q: Which cosmic horror deity has influenced your life the most?
A: Nyarlathotep

Q: Off that, did any specific work influence the creation of Microphones and Monsters?
A: Oh so many things throughout, really can’t nail it down to one. TAZ: Balance, Stargate SG1, They Live, Rick and Morty, different Lovecraft stories, Chambers, SCPs, Marvel/DC comics, and a lot of stuff I can’t think of right now. Also started M&M with the intention of doing multiple campaigns. So when Darkwell Chronicles is done, expect to hear more!

Q: How long have you been playing/voice acting?
A: I’ve been voice acting for 3 years and playing D&D again for the last 2 years, after taking a 25-year break.

Q: What roles do you play in Creative Typo?
A: I am the host of into the night anthology, which is a every other Thursday trip down whatever twisted path our author Caroline takes us.
I have also had the opportunity to work on other projects with the creative typo community. The only one that I can talk about is Tiana in A Fool’s Quest. And then, of course, I’ve played in a couple of one shots. Most notably, I was Gannie the pigeon monk on the horseshoes of speed one shot.

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekend?
A: Honestly, my favorite thing to do on the weekend is absolutely nothing. I like to sit and catch up on shows that I’ve missed throughout the week, maybe play some D&D and whatever video games I have at the ready.

Q: Who is your favorite character (npc/pc) in all of Creative Typo?
A: This is an unfair question, just going to put that out there. 

My favorite character in all of creative typo is probably Victor in Microphones and Monsters. I can’t even tell you  exactly why, but I look forward to Victor and every episode. And I absolutely love the relationship he has with Julian and I think that just makes it all better.

Q: If you had a superpower, what would it be and why?
A: It’s not so much a superpower because it’s more about magic in the mystic arts, but I’d really like to have the powers that Doctor Strange does. I love the thought of magic and being able to bend the physical world to my needs and my desires but also being able to help people and defend people and defend myself with that type of power. I’m a sucker for magic and it really shows in my characters.

Q: You have a really amazing voice. We all love listening to it. When did you find out that you had an amazing voice?
A: I didn’t find out that I had an “amazing voice” until people started listening to the podcast. I just knew I’d always wanted to be in voice work and I knew that people like to talk to me on the phone so I figured it would be a simple thing that I could do as a hobby. But then I started getting people contacting me and telling me that they absolutely love my voice, that they loved to listen to me, that they fall asleep to my stories and that just floors me. So I guess the short answer is 2 years ago, but it is still hard for me to believe people like my voice so much even now.

Q: If you could narrate one book series, what series would it be?
A: The Talent Series by Anne McCaffrey

Q: When you stub your toe, what is your go to exclamation?
A: Ah fuck!

Q: How long have you been playing D&D?

Richard: Let’s see…I started playing DnD when I went off to college way back in the fall of 2003.  So, about 18 and a half years now with a few gaps.  Which I am just now realizing is over half of my life.  Cheers!

Q: What is your favorite dinosaur?

Richard: Believe it or not, I was actually wanting to be a paleontologist back when I was in elementary school.  So, favorite is a little difficult.  That said, I always really liked the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Q: What roles do you play in Creative Typo?

Richard: Within Creative Typo, I play Aleister in Microphones and Monsters, Z.OUS! in Dreadtek Inc., Grrötscho in the M&M 2021 Holiday Special, Mr. Katakosmos and William in Sticks Shift Inc., and an agent of The Many-Faced God and Leche Chocolatada in AFQ’s NPC Interludes.

Q: What do you think of your own giggle? Do you think it’s as cute as the rest of us think it is?

Richard: It’s kinda weird.  I never think I laugh as much as I do.  Then, I listen back to the episodes and have to wonder if Adam made a laughtrack of me and just adds it in everywhere.  Seriously, though, I like my laugh alright, but really I’m happy people seem to enjoy it.  I mean, you do get a lot of it.

Q: You seem pretty smart. What’s your favorite smart guy thing to talk about?

Richard: As anyone who has spoken with me for longer than 2 sentences can tell you, I love to talk about trivia and random facts.  That is a really broad answer, though.  To be more specific, I absolutely love talking about and discovering etymology.  The evolution and underlying meaning of language is fascinating.

Q: Did you model Aleister after Frasier Crane?

Richard: No, actually.  Although that is a great comparison, there were two other figures I had in mind when I was figuring out how Aleister would act and sound.  I was watching a lot of Lucifer and definitely drew some from that.  As for the other, there was an observation someone made I always liked about how Gilfoyle from Silicon Valley is the human embodiment of a cat.  I can see some similar threads amongst all three.

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do on the weekend?

Richard: I am a consumer of media, so I probably spend the majority of most weekends watching movies and shows, playing games, reading comics and books, etc.  Pretty much anything with a story.  My only problem is there is never enough time.  Lately and for the foreseeable future, I have been going to all of the Charlotte FC home matches, which is a great excuse to get some exercise.

Q: Who is your favorite character (npc/pc) in all of Creative Typo?

Richard: Saving the hardest question for last, I see.  The obvious answer is Aleister, but that is what Aleister would say.  I think for me it’s actually collectively all yakfolk everywhere.  It has cracked me up since Adam started doing that voice in a campaign before M&M.  The real reason Aleister actually likes the Stouthearts is because I find them hilarious. 

Mike’s been playing Dungeons & Dragons since the blue box basic set from ’77-’79, as well as other tabletop games like Star Frontiers, Gamma World, Call of Cthulhu, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Marvel Super Heroes, Star Wars the RPG, Shadowrun, Champions and many more. Games have always been a great form of escapism for Mike, in much the same way as books, movies, TV shows, music, etc.

When he’s not playing games or soaking up other nerd media, he enjoys stand-up comedy, which you’ve probably already noticed from all his cheesy one liners in A Fool’s Quest.

Michael is the primary editor and one of the musicians for the show. You have him to thank for all the cheesy sfx and kazoo symphonies.