Tag Archives: Brisbane

Feisty Cuffs, Cosplayer and Host of Kapow! – Episode 100

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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!

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Kimberley Clark: A Self-Published Urban Fantasy Author – Episode 83

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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.

Bringing Princesses to Life: Sharna, Ever After Parties – Episode 69

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It’s interesting how things tuned out: The recording order of my chat with Sharna, owner and operator of and performer in Ever After Parties, comes out twelve months after she started the company!

Ever After Parties specialises in making make-believe a little more real by bringing beloved characters from animated movies to children’s parties. It’s cosplay in one of its purer forms; it’s no coincidence that Sharna was a cosplayer before she got into performing at kids’ parties.

We chat about Sharna’s love of anime and Disney, going from a princess party company employee to staring her own company at just sixteen years of age (while still at high school) and the support you can get from the most unlikely quarters as long as you stand by your paid play!

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The Soul of an Animal: Beck and Ken Drake, Zoo Studio Pet Photography – Episode 55

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After taking photos of pets as a hobby for years, it took Ken Drake answering the dreaded, “What do you do for work?” question with what he wished he could be doing (instead of the software engineer work he’d been looking for) to start him down the path of getting Paid to Play.

Ken’s wife Beck had similarly been in business and marketing for years, and when her husband’s sideline began gathering steam, Beck herself saw an opportunity to start bringing meaning into the work she’d already been doing.

The result is Zoo Studio, which produces fantastic images of people’s pets! These two were a request of my wife Vickie, and I was very glad to chat with them about going Venkman on one of the most joyous hobbies possible!

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Creating on Skin and in Costume: Ash Chain – Episode 42

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Forty-two episodes! Does that mean my guest for this episode is the Answer to the Question of Life, The Universe and Everything?

Even if not, it’s great to chat with someone who’s found some pretty good answers to the Question of Getting Paid to Play – and I mean answers, plural! Ash Chain is not only monetising her hobby of cosplay through print sales at conventions, she’s also been able to get into a day job that is all about artistic expression and her personal interests: Tattooing.

Ash has already made her name in both the Brisbane ink and cosplay scenes, and just recently she made the move from the Big Smoke to Cairns, where she will be running a stall at our first ever pop culture convention, Tropicon!

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A Rising Star of Australian Cosplay: Vicky-Vic – Episode 41

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In her handful of years in the hobby, Vicky-Vic has risen to the forefront of the Australian cosplay scene, a feat doubly impressive when she not only lives a little off the beaten track in Queensland, but also works as a registered nurse, a job that would take the spare energy out of anyone.

Nonetheless, Vicky-Vic’s enthusiasm and fantastic results have made her star rise so much that organisers of pop culture conventions across the region have begun inviting her as a guest and also a judge of their cosplay competitions. And she’s not even monetised her play (yet)!

It was a pleasure to chat with Vicky-Vic, who will be one of the three guest judges of Tropicon’s cosplay competition, about her love of the hobby, the fun folks in the scene and some of the unique difficulties of being not just an Australian cosplayer, but a slightly remote Australian cosplayer!

I also make a couple of exciting announcements on the Patreon front at the beginning of the episode!

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Getting a Book Published and Overcoming Affliction: Talitha Kalago, Episode 22

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Once again, I worry about whether I’m selling my guest the wrong way. Really, the quality of the maker’s work ought to sell itself.

But again, there is that story of having one of the best explanations for not following your passion in the world and still not letting that stop you. Talitha Kalago battles a potentially fatal disease known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. It’s a fight which could almost be a full-time occupation itself.

But while most of us only talk about getting a book published, Talitha has carved out the time to not only write but find an agent and get her work on the shelves. When I interviewed her, Talitha had just received her first royalty cheque!

This podcast, thankfully, is more about that journey to publishing that all authors face and how you can get your career as a writer started. Listen and enjoy!

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