Today we’d like to introduce you to Paula Rogers.
Hi Paula, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Plano and thrived in the AP and IB humanities-based classes I took at Plano East Senior High. It’s where I first found my love of literature and all arts and culture. From there, I went to art school in San Francisco, then headed back to Texas to get my MFA in Screenwriting at UT Austin. Through it all, I’ve been a working writer and illustrator. I got my start at the NPR affiliate in San Francisco, and went on to work in publishing, advertising, film/TV, and video games.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a creative professional is rewarding but the landscape has been shifting, if not disintegrating, under my feet since before I even left undergrad. I’ve had to pivot constantly to apply my writing, editing, and illustration skills in new markets as the industry goes through seismic shifts seemingly every year or so. It seems like all I learn about how to work as a designer or copywriter or editor or reporter changes, changes some more, and then changes again. Even the sense of the industry that I gained from 20 years working as a professional writer is constantly being shattered and rebuilt. This is a common experience for Millennials like me, and not unique to the creative marketplace, but it is definitely exhausting and can break your spirit.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Because I’ve been a writer for so long, I’ve worked in a bunch of different mediums. I’m very proud to be a twice BAFTA-nominated writer in video games, journalism, film, and television. My work in print and radio has been featured by San Francisco’s KQED Public Radio, National Public Radio, the Third Coast International Audio Festival, and Salon. My writing for screenplays and games has received awards from IndieCade, Austin Film Festival, and the Humanitas Prize.
I was Lead Writer and Story Editor of the game Neo Cab, which was named one of the best titles of 2019 by the L.A. Times, The Washington Post, and Paste Magazine. I was a writer and narrative designer with Sweet Baby, Inc., a lead writer on the 2023 Tribeca award-winning game Goodbye Volcano High, and have worked on IP for Marvel, DC, and others.
I’m also the creator of the anti-dating app, rom-com webcomic, Blind Data, where I chronicle my online dating experiences and draw the men as cats. (www.BlindDataComic.com)
Lastly, I just had my debut novel published in September 2025! It’s called Swiped, and it’s a classic rom com about the creator of a popular dating app who has never actually used her own app to date. So she gets challenged by a rival coder to a race—she will use her app and he will try to meet someone the old-fashioned way IRL. First one to fall in love wins.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I grew up in Plano and my dad and I would walk to the park by our house several times a week. It’s where we’d take our dogs, where my brother and I would ride our bikes, where we would practice baseball, and where we’d run around on the playground and just be kids. And when we were tired out, we’d walk home and my mom would give us love and snacks. I cherish those memories, and the peaceful feeling I always get when I’m back at that park.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.PaulaCreative.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paularogersauthor/
