The Monkees (TV series) project by his agent. Englishman Davy Jones was a former jockey who had achieved some initial success on the musical stage, appearing with the cast of "Oliver!" on "The Ed Sullivan Show" the night of the Beatles' live American debut. He was appearing in Columbia Pictures productions and recording for the Colpix record label and had been identified in advance as a potential star for the series. Texan Michael Nesmith's mother Bette Nesmith Graham had invented a correction fluid and founded the company that became Liquid Paper. He had served a brief stint in the U.S. Air Force and had
Typewriter in the Sky still reread with pleasure". George Malko noted in "" (1970) that "Typewriter in the Sky" was "eagerly welcomed by devoted fans". Michael Ashley wrote in "Who's Who in Horror and Fantasy Fiction" (1978), ""Typewriter in the Sky" (1940) is a rollicking farce of a man written into another's story". Everett F. Bleiler found it to be "a routine adventure story carried through competently, with a good central idea". Janrae Frank of "The Washington Post" commented, "Much of his best work of the '40s and '50s, "Fear", "Slaves of Sleep", "Typewriter in the Sky", is written in exactly the same style