Hello everyone!

I thought I'd give you an update about what's been going on this year. First, Brian has worked on two titles. He worked on the first couple of episodes of Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy and is now the lead season designer for Minecraft Story Mode Season 2. 

I'm finally pursuing a degree in psychology. I like to help people as much as I like to write. This last school year I was kind of a revolving host mom to 16 students from around the globe. I now have great friends from India, Pakistan, the Ivory Coast, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia and Brazil! 

It all started when I was assigned a video about the Community College Initiative for my multimedia journalism class. Sam, who is from Colombia, invited me to a Diwali festival party hosted by a few friends from India. It didn't take long to form strong friendship with these guys. 

We visited places like the Walt Disney Family Museum and the Legion of Honor Museum. I introduced a bunch of them to root beer and many of them came over for dinner and played with my dog. 

I celebrated Holi with the my friends who are Hindu and got to learn about the Muslim religion with my friends from Egypt and Pakistan. All of them had me dancing. Something I haven't done is over 10 years. 

They went home but I've been keeping in touch with them with WhatsApp. If you have a chance to get to know international students, Do It! It's kind of like traveling without the hassle of airports. As it is, I now have several countries I'd like to visit. 

I'm also taking an art history class over the summer. It's so much fun. We are studying everything from the Gothic era to Impressionism. Fortunately I live very close to the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco. I've seen works from Monet, Renoir, and El Greco. My favorite painting is call "Russian Bride's Attire" by Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky. It's huge. 

Here's a picture of painting of Monet's Water Lilies. I thought about sharing the pic of the Russian Bride's Attire but it is better to see in person. I would hate to ruin the experience for someone visiting the Legion of Honor. Contact me if you want me to send it to you :)​

​We have more exciting news in the next few weeks about the books. Stay tuned!

Have a fantastic day!
​Juliet

Happy New Year everybody! If your 2016 was crummy, may 2017 be awesome. And if 2016 WAS awesome... well... may your 2017 be even more awesome.

Lots of great things happening in the next year so keep in touch.

Hello again, everyone! Long time no see. Sorry it's been so long, but it's been a crazy year. I spent most of this year shipping Minecraft: Story Mode, episodes 5, 6, 7 AND 8. That's a lot of things to work on. 

It's funny, because I went from shipping one game every 2 - 4 years to shipping multiple games all at once. I love working for Telltale. 

And now, for your holiday pleasure, here's some ornaments on our tree that just went up last week.

​Today is Demon Dance's 3rd birthday. Pretty cool, huh? I can remember how scary and overwhelming it all was. We had no idea about editors, book cover artists, Amazon KDP, book blog tours. The list could go on and on and on.
 
Taking that first leap was the scariest, most exhilarating thing we have ever done. We had two choices, wait until we learned everything or learn by doing. Yikes! But we knew if we didn't jump, we never would. And you know what? It has been a blast. We've made mistakes, but the payoff has been so much more than money.
 
Brian is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, we met amazing people along the way, went far beyond limits we ever imagined and most importantly, learned how great it is for us to work together.
 
If you are considering trying something but don't feel you know enough, figure out how to learn while you do it. You'll make mistakes and have some great stories. But with the right mindset, you will be able to turn those mistakes into lessons and travel farther than you ever imagined.
 
What is that one thing you've always wanted do? How can you learn by doing?

Welcome to the first day of autumn! This is, by far, my favorite time of the year. Don’t get me wrong, I like spring and summer just fine, but there’s just something about the holidays that puts a warm feeling right in that big old breadbox of mine.

And it all starts with the pumpkin lattes.

Yup, no matter where you buy them from, they are the first to arrive in my mind. There isn’t a “fall” until those hit the coffee houses. Soon as I see that up on the board, I can feel the excitement welling up inside like a three-year-old at a carnival.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Every year I go with my son to the Halloween shop to see the newest costumes and decorations, to see what to add to our collection. If I have time, I make my costume. I was Capt. Jack Sparrow the first Halloween after The Pirates of the Caribbean came out. I’m still deciding what my costume is this year, but I’ll make sure to add pictures.

I can already imagine the smell of the turkey coming out of the oven for Thanksgiving, decorating the Christmas tree, and the excitement of watching the ball come down at New Years.

It’s funny, but I seem to be getting more excited about the holiday season than I used to be. Sure when I was a kid October was the start of school free days and presents and dressing up in costumes, but as I got older it faded a bit. Then my son was born and the excitement came back, but more through his eyes.

But in the last few years a new kind of joy and wonder has come to me with the sweet wafting scent of the pumpkin lattes. I don’t know if I appreciate it more, or what, but all the little things about the holiday season just makes me all excited. It makes me feel… young.

So for the next few months, I’d like you to look past the commercialism. Look past the things that make people roll their eyes and mutter like that grouchy old guy down the street who yells at all the neighborhood kids. Look at the holidays for what they are: a chance to experience the end of the year with your family. Dress up as a zombie. Laugh over the turkey dinner. Pop in that Christmas CD as you’re driving to work. Cheer as the ball comes down.

And most of all, lift that pumpkin latte in a salute to the wonder of the holidays!

Brian

p.s. What are your holiday traditions? We’d love to see pictures.