Name: Jason Halbert Richards
Age: 28
Location: Dallas, TX

Jason is a native Texan, born and raised, and grew up in a small town called Terrell, about 30 miles east of Dallas. Writing has been a lifelong passion, encouraged by his parents and teachers from a very early age. “I guess I have always liked to write because it provides me a way to indulge my imagination,” Jason says. “I feel like I’ve always had stories to tell. My parents have always been so supportive, which made it really easy for me.”

Jason’s earliest memories of writing success are still some of his fondest. In the third grade, he won a writing contest and got to be “Principal for a Day” at his local elementary school. “It’s funny how something like this sticks with you,” he recalls, “and how it follows you through your life, but it was definitely a major reinforcement of my interest in writing. There were maybe 100 or 150 entries or something like that; I don’t really recall. All of a sudden I had people telling me that what I was writing was really good. It made me realize that there was something to this writing thing after all.” The contest involved every student in the third grade writing an essay about being the principal of the school for a day. The winner would get to fill those big shoes. “I remember pretty much everything about it. I remember getting the phone call at home and being really excited. I wore a suit that day and gave an interview to the local paper. The principal from an neighboring town’s elementary school called and asked me how I thought writing could be taught in their school. It was a big deal, and made a serious impact on me. It’s what planted the seed in me to continue to write for fun, and competitively in interscholastic competitions and such.”

Several years later, Jason would be introduced to another creative outlet to go hand-in-hand with his writing. “My good friend, Ryan Craig, introduced me to role-playing games when I was in the sixth grade. I took an instant liking to the games because it was so imaginative and creative. It also involved books, which I loved, and allowed me to be a hero. I think that’s what grabbed me initially.”

What Jason didn’t expect is that it would one day lead to multiple publications in an internationally-distributed magazine, and eventually his own by-line. It was when his gaming buddies moved away that he was left only with his original love for creating and telling stories through his writing. “I started to write up original material for some of my favorite role-playing games. Once I got wind of The Rifter®, a new quarterly publication by my favorite game company, Palladium Books, I submitted a bunch of material and made it into the second issue, then again several times over the next couple of years.” Eventually Jason’s writings grew into their own book. “The manuscript is sitting on the editor’s block right now. People keep telling me that they’re excited to see it, so for now I’m satisfied to move on to writing other things,” he says. Jason is continuing to write for Palladium while exploring other opportunities.

When asked about his future plans, he is very plain. “I’ve always wanted to be a writer. My regular career [as a structural engineer] is great, but I’m going to continue to write, no matter what I do. My big fantasy is to make enough money while writing to be able to do it full-time. For now, I’ll continue to design RPG’s and keep my ear to the ground for other things. For me, it’s about continuing to build new worlds for Palladium and maybe even some other companies until I feel it’s time to make that leap and start writing totally on my own. The experience and exposure that I’m gaining right now with Palladium is priceless. I wouldn’t be in any other place if I could change my current situation. I’m right on track.”

Jason has a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science degrees from Texas A&M University in Civil Engineering. He currently lives in Dallas with his beautiful and loving wife, Susan, and works for a prominent structural engineering firm. “By writing books or building skyscrapers, I’m designing worlds,” he says. “That’s my purpose.”