Randy Richards

Randy Richards
Author/Gaming Professional

Randy Richards originally hails from Chalmette, Louisiana, the actual location of the “Battle of New Orleans”. He currently lives in the deep south, where he runs a photography business and writes professionaly.

Randy Richards has been playing Dungeons & Dragons since the late 70s, but started in earnest in the early 80s. “In the 1980s,” Randy says, “we had the Basic D&D boxed game in our Gifted & Talented class, and I used to play a Cajun halfling. The other kids loved it, especially the accent.” Randy graduated from Chalmette High School in 1984, then from college in 1989, and moved to Tennessee. The move proved to be beneficial for Randy’s career in photography. “People know me for my writing,” he says, “but they don’t know my day job is photography. Olan Mills, which operates out of Chattanooga, hired me to work for them as a kids photographer, then a glamour photographer, and finally a church directory photographer.”

After five years in Tennessee, Randy was transferred to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and started a family. “Thats when I first got published. I wrote “Dark Magic in New Orleans” for Dungeon Magazine. After receiving scores of complimentary letters from people all over the world, I decided to start writing on a regular basis. With all my traveling with work there really wasn’t time, but while driving I would make notes on anything available: cardboard boxes, gum wrappers, paper cups — anything!”

In the late 90s Randy hosted a series of Gen Con events, one of which included the co-creators of D&D, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and other big names including Frank Mentzer, Lisa Stevens (later CEO of Paizo Publishing), and Anne Brown. “This got my name known in the industry, although at the time that wasn’t my goal. I was just trying to have fun and spread the joy of gaming.”

A few years later, Randy got the idea to write a book. That’s when I started writing Dreadmire. Then book ideas started flooding to me, and the rest is history.”