Interviewer
Through years of podcasting (including Fictitious and Nerd For A Living), convention stage work, a YouTube channel, plus a career in radio and copywriting, I’ve developed into a keen and insightful interviewer. My interview style is conversational and entertaining, digging deep into the subject’s work and experience with a structured, thoughtful approach.
My interviews include over a hundred conversations with authors about storytelling craft. Dozens more feature creatives in the film, TV, animation, and comics industries. Whether focused on career paths (breaking in, staying in, thriving and surviving) or the technical nuts-and-bolts of how professionals do what they do, these interviews dig deeper than casual Q&A’s.
My interviewing skills have made me a go-to moderator / interviewer for numerous pop culture conventions around the country. If you need this skillset for your in-person or virtual event, reach out using my contact page.
Below are some of my favorite interviews, and an archive of my conversations.
Featured Interviews
“Sheriff Jim Hopper” on hit Netflix series Stranger Things. (Nerd For A Living podcast.)
Author of Shadow & Bone and Six of Crows, recently adapted to a hit Netflix series. (Fictitious podcast.)
Comics legend, writer of Watchmen, V For Vendetta, and Swamp Thing. (Nerd For A Living podcast.)
American Ninja Warrior superstar and Wonder Woman 1984 stuntwoman. (Nerd For A Living podcast.)
Author of Sea of Rust and Day Zero. Co-screenwriter of Marvel’s Doctor Strange. (Fictitious Youtube.)
Author of the award-winning MurderBot series, including All Systems Red. (Fictitious podcast.)
Creator of Babylon 5, co-creator of Sense8, author of Becoming Superman. (Fictitious podcast.)
Author of the Green Bone saga (Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy). (Fictitious podcast.)
Author The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Once and Future Witches. (Fictitious Youtube.)
Actor (Veep, Arrested Development), co-creator of Archibald’s Next Big Thing. (Nerd For A Living podcast.)
Interview Archive
The following list is a catalog of interviews I’ve conducted over the years. Links to audio/video/text versions are included as available. This archive is not comprehensive. *** Last updated: July 9, 2021. ***
Authors
Alexandra Monir — Author, Black Canary: Breaking Silence. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Alina Boyden — Author, Stealing Thunder. | Fictitious Podcast.
Alix E. Harrow — Author, The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Once and Future Witches. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube. Second Interview.
Andrea Stewart — Author, The Bone Shard Daughter. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Annalee Newitz — Author, The Future of Another Timeline. | Fictitious Podcast.
B.B. Alston — Author, Amari and the Night Brothers. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Bonnie Burton — Author, Crafting with Feminism. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Brian Keene — Writer, Thor: Metal Gods. | Fictitious Podcast.
C.L. Clark — Author, The Unbroken. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
C.M. Waggoner — Author, The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
C. Robert Cargill — Author, Day Zero and Sea of Rust. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Cass Morris — Author, Give Way To Night. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Caitlin Starling — Author, The Luminous Dead, The Death of Jane Lawrence, and Walk Among Us. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube. Second interview.
Claire Holroyde — Author, The Effort. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Clay McLeod Chapman — Author, The Remaking. | Fictitious Podcast.
Dan Stout — Author, Titanshade and Titan’s Day. | Fictitious Podcast. Second interview.
Daniel H. Wilson — Author/Editor, Press Start to Play. | Fictitious Podcast.
Dayton Ward — Author, Star Trek novelizations and expanded universe. | Nerd For A Living Podcast.
Drew Chapman — Author, The King of Fear; TV writer. | Nerd For A Living Podcast.
Duncan Swan — Author, Monstre: Volume One. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Eli Brown — Author, Oddity. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Emily B. Martin — Author, Sunshield. | Fictitious Podcast.
Essa Hansen — Author, Nophek Gloss. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Eugen Bacon — Author, The Road to Woop Woop. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Evan Winter — Author, The Rage of Dragons. | Fictitious Podcast.
Evie Green — Author, We Hear Voices. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Fonda Lee — Author, Jade City and Jade War. | Fictitious Podcast.
Gareth Hanrahan — Author, The Gutter Prayer. | Fictitious Podcast.
Genevieve Gornichec — Author, Walk Among Us and The Witch’s Heart. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Grady Hendrix — Author, We Sold Our Souls. | Fictitious Podcast.
Greta Kelly — Author, The Frozen Crown. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Gwenda Bond — Author, Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds. | Fictitious Podcast.
Heli Kennedy — Writer, Orphan Black: The Next Chapter. | Fictitious Podcast.
Isaac Marion — Writer, Warm Bodies and The Living. | Fictitious Podcast.
J. Michael Straczynski — Author, Becoming Superman. | Fictitious Podcast.
J.S. Dewes — Author, The Last Watch. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Jackson Ford — Author, The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind and Eye of the Sh*t Storm. (aka Rob Boffard) | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Jason Denzel — Author, Mystic and Mystic Dragon. | Fictitious Podcast.
Jennifer Giesbrecht — Author, The Monster of Elendhaven. | Fictitious Podcast.
Jordanna Max Brodsky — Author, The Wolf in the Whale. | Fictitious Podcast.
Josh Malerman — Author, Bird Box and Goblin. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Joshua Philip Johnson — Author, The Forever Sea. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
K.A. Doore — Author, The Perfect Assassin. | Fictitious Podcast.
K.B. Wagers — Author, A Pale Light in the Black. | Fictitious Podcast.
K. Eason — Author, How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse. | Fictitious Podcast.
Kat Howard — Author, A Cathedral of Myth and Bone. | Fictitious Podcast.
Katy Rose Pool — Author, There Will Come a Darkness. | Fictitious Podcast.
Keith R.A. DeCandido — Author, A Furnace Sealed. | Fictitious Podcast.
Lauren Shippen — Writer/Creator, The Bright Sessions. | Fictitious Podcast.
Leigh Bardugo — Author, Six of Crows, Shadow & Bone, The Language of Thorns, and The Lives of Saints. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube. Second interview.
M.A. Carrick — Author, The Mask of Mirrors. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Madeleine Roux — Author, Salvaged. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Marina Lostetter — Author, The Helm of Midnight. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Marissa Levien — Author, The World Gives Way. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Marshall Ryan Maresca — Author, The Velocity of Revolution. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Martha Wells — Author, All Systems Red and Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries). | Fictitious Podcast.
Mary E. Pearson — Author, Dance of Thieves and Vow of Thieves. | Fictitious Podcast.
Mary Robinette Kowal — Author, Ghost Talkers. | Fictitious Podcast.
Megan E. O’Keefe — Author, Velocity Weapon. | Fictitious Podcast.
Menna van Praag — Author, The Sisters Grimm. | Fictitious Podcast.
Neal Shusterman — Author, Game Changer and Scythe. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Nicholas Eames — Author, Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose. | Fictitious Podcast.
Nicky Drayden — Author, Escaping Exodus and Symbiosis. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Peng Shepherd — Author, The Book of M. | Fictitious Podcast.
Quincy J. Allen — Author, Blood Curse. | Nerd For A Living Podcast.
R.F. Kuang — Author, The Poppy War. | Fictitious Podcast.
Rhiannon Paille — Author, The Ferryman and the Flame. | Nerd For A Living Podcast.
Rebecca Zanetti — Author, Lethal Lies. | Fictitious Podcast.
Richard Kadrey — Author, Sandman Slim and Ballistic Kiss. | Fictitious Podcast.
Robert Jackson Bennet — Author, Foundryside. | Fictitious Podcast.
Rob Hart — Author, The Warehouse. | Fictitious YouTube.
Robin Furth — Author, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: A Concordance. | Fictitious Podcast.
Roshani Chokshi — Author, The Gilded Wolves. | Fictitious Podcast.
Ryan Van Loan — Author, The Sin in the Steel. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
S.A. Chakraborty — Author, The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper. | Fictitious Podcast.
Sarah Beth Durst — Author, The Bone Maker. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Shaun Barger — Author, Mage Against The Machine. | Fictitious Podcast.
Suyi Davies Okungbowa — Author, Son of the Storm. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
T. Frohock — Author, A Song With Teeth. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Tade Thompson — Author, Rosewater. | Fictitious Podcast.
Todd McCaffrey — Author, City of Angels and Dragonriders of Pern series. | Nerd For A Living Podcast.
Tricia Levenseller — Author, The Shadows Between Us. | Fictitious Podcast.
Vivian Shaw — Author, Strange Practice. | Fictitious Podcast.
Zen Cho — Author, Black Water Sister. | Fictitious Podcast & YouTube.
Film & Television
Cas Anvar — Actor, The Expanse. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
The Animaniacs Voice Cast — Voice actors Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Maurice LaMarche. | Planet Comicon 2018 Main Stage.
Chris Peters — Director, To Dust Return. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
David Harbour — Actor, Stranger Things. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Dominic Lewis — Film/TV Composer, DuckTales and Peter Rabbit. | Animation Invasion podcast.
Eli Craig — Director/Writer, Tucker & Dale vs Evil and Little Evil. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Ernie Hudson — Actor, Ghostbusters, APB, and Grace & Frankie. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Griffin Burns — Voice Actor, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Devilman Crybaby, Genshin Impact, and Fire Emblem. | Anime St. Louis virtual event.
Guy Birtwhistle — Actor/Producer, Alistair1918. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Ildy Modrovich — Co-Showrunner, Executive Producer and Writer, Lucifer. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Jason Spisak — Voice Actor, Young Justice, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Superman: Red Son, and Batman: Bad Blood. | Mainframe Comic Con 2020 virtual event.
Jim Cummings — Voice Actor, Winnie the Pooh and Darkwing Duck. | Planet Comicon 2018 Main Stage.
John Ottman — Composer and Editor, X-Men: Apocalypse. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Kathryn Burns — Choreographer, Crazy Ex Girlfriend. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Kevin Mellon — Storyboard Artist, Archer. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Kristin M. Burke — Costume Designer, Sleepy Hollow, The Conjuring, Insidious. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Lawrence Grey — Producer, Lights Out. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Lee Joyner — Film Makeup Effects Artist, Admissions Director for Cinema Makeup School. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Linda Ballantyne — Voice Actor, Sailor Moon. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Mark Kolpack — VFX Supervisor, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Marrisa Stotter — Director, She Makes Comics documentary. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Matthew Jensen — Director of Photography, Wonder Woman. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Michael Wylie — Production Designer, Legion. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Mike Collins — Animation Artist, The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show. | Animation Invasion podcast.
My Hero Academia Voice Cast — Animation voice actors Jamie Marchi, Justin Briner, Monica Rial, Elizabeth Maxwell, and Jason Liebrecht. | Planet Comicon 2019 Main Stage.
Rachel Vine — Animation Writer, DuckTales and Rainbow Brite. | Animation Invasion podcast.
Robin Linn — Artist Manger, The Third Floor pre-visualization studio. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Rob Kutner — Comedy Writer, Conan. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
RWBY Voice Cast — Voice actors Lindsay Jones, Kara Eberle, Arryn Zech, Barbara Dunkelman, Elizabeth Maxwell, and Michael Jones. | Planet Comicon 2018 Main Stage.
Sarah Marino — Animation Artist, Nickelodeon Studios and Book of Life. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Shadi Petosky — Animation Writer, Co-creator of Danger & Eggs. | Animation Invasion podcast.
Susan Eisenberg — Wonder Woman voice actor, Justice League. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Tony Hale — Actor, Veep and Arrested Development. Co-creator, Archibald’s Next Big Thing. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Tyler L. Cook — TV editor, Preacher and Glow. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Victoria Ying — Animation Illustrator and Designer, Moana, Big Hero 6, and Frozen. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Zach Callison — Voice Actor, Stephen Universe. | Planet Comicon 2018 Main Stage.
Zach Lipovsky — Director, Dead Rising: Watchtower. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Others / Misc.
Aaron Mahnke — Creator/Host, Lore podcast. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Adam Warren — Comic creator, Empowered. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Alan Moore — Comic creator, Watchmen, V For Vendetta, Swamp Thing, Lost Girls. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Amanda Nuckolls — Founder, GnomeAcres. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Amy Lee — Vocalist, Evanescence. | 1057thePoint.com.
Andy Schmidt — Founder, Comics Experience. Video game writer, Transformers: Devastation. | Nerd For A Living podcast. Second interview.
Brandon Eastman — Comics writer, M.A.S.K. TV writer, Agent Carter. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Butterscotch Shenanigans — Video Game Creators of Crashlands. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Cullen Bunn — Comics Writer, The Sixth Gun, Magneto, Deadpool. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Danielle Davis — Founder, Ladykiller Marketing. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Darlene Horn — Comic Creator, The Girl With The Donut Tattoo. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
David Accampo — Comics writer, Sparrow & Crowe, The Margins, Lost Angels. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Devastator Press — Small press comedy publisher. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Ellen B. Wright — Senior publicist at Orbit Books. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Erica Schultz — Comics writer, Swords of Sorrow, M3, Revenge. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Eric Roth — Composer, conductor, and producer, Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds, Final Fantasy: A New World, and Undertale: Live. | Anime St. Louis 2021 virtual event.
Espionage Cosmetics — Pop Culture Make-Up Company. | Nerd For A Living podcast. Second interview.
Jason Anarchy — Game designer/publisher, Drinking Quest. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Jim Zub — Comics writer, Wayward, Skullkickers, Dungeons & Dragons. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Josh Hagler — Comics creator, The Boy Who Made Silence. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Karen Hallion — Illustrator and T-Shirt Designer. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Kevin Eastman — Co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Kevin J. Anderson — Publisher, WordFire Press. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Flora Lichtman — Host, Every Little Thing podcast. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Happy Badger Studio — Independent Video Game Developers. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Jessie Graff — Competitor, American Ninja Warrior. Stuntwoman, Wonder Woman 1984. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Joelle Jones — Comic creator, Lady Killer. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Josh Blaylock — Founder, Devil’s Due Entertainment. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Karen Berger — Vertigo Comics founder. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Marlene Bonnelly — Editor-in-Chief, Comics.Tumblr; Youtuber. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Mary Doodles — Artist and Youtuber. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Monkey Minion Press — Art, graphic design, book, and product studio. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Otis Frampton — Comics writer/artist, Oddly Normal. Background artist, How It Should Have Ended. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Overwatch Voice Cast — Video game voice actors Josh Petersdorf, Lucie Pohl, and Chloe Hollings. | Planet Comicon 2019 Main Stage.
Parry Gripp — Nerf Herder frontman and Emmy-winning songwriter. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Paul and Storm — Musical comedy duo. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Paul Horn — Comic creator, Cool Jerk. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
PixelPop Festival — Indie creator/studio video game convention. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Rachel Stott — Comics artist, Doctor Who. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Rebecca Hicks — Comic creator, The Little Vampires. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Tom Kurzanski — Art Director, TeeFury apparel company. | Nerd For A Living podcast.
Tony Kim — Clothing designer/Founder, Hero Within. | Nerd For A Living podcast.