Showing posts with label Talea Studios. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Talea Studios. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 88: "Doctor McDuke" ~ Time Loops

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 88: "Doctor McDuke" ~ Time Loops

Hosts: My bro Robbie and I

This turned out to be one of my favorite episodes!  And it almost didn't happen.  A lot of things were going on Saturday morning during recording, each in our homes with our individual set ups.  Robbie has two adorable kids, but as what happens when children are awake and playing, there was some crying.  On my end a plane was flying by in close proximity.  We were both a little spent, a little lost, and were about to hit the "stop recording" button and literally record the entire thing again on another day.  We didn't.  We pushed through... and I'm so happy we did.  This episode was really quite fun.

"What if you could have the perfect day? Nothing went wrong, all you did was right, and in the end you come out on top in every way. What kind of effort would be required to do that? It would take a culmination of all effort or very special circumstances. Or, maybe you could just relive the same day over and over again until it was just right. Time-loops are a story phenomenon that find themselves getting told again and again. Join Robbie and Sarah as they explore the inspiration behind time-loop stories."

Time Loops.  Funny enough I was watching a cute little show on Hulu this morning, Find Me in Paris.  It's for kids.  A little cheesy.  But super adorable.  The main character, a ballet dancer from 1905, time travels to 2018, and in the episode I was watching this morning one of the characters got stuck in a couple second time loop.  How annoying would that be??!!  But time loops are a fun plot device.  A movie about a seriously underrated holiday is all about a time loop.  In this episode my brother Robbie and I have fun talking about time loops, role playing a little, and then creating a story about a time loop.

Creator's Playbook is a podcast about the creative process, hosted by my brothers and I, and each week we tackle a new topic.  It can be found on Spotify, Apple, etc.

Hope you're having a great week!

I just looked at the weather report and I think we're getting 11 days of snow... :\

Sarah

    

Thursday, September 23, 2021

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 75 - "The Spoiler" - Doomsday Device

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 75 - "The Spoiler" - Doomsday Device

Hosts: My bros. Steven and Robbie.

"Fiction has done some pretty wild things with super weapons. They've become the center conflict in many stories from comic books to epic sci-fi, but how does one make an interesting and terrifying super weapon? Join Robbie and Steven as they explore the methods necessary to do just that."

We've been working really hard on getting these episodes released on Wednesdays.

I actually haven't listened to this episode.  Been prepping and researching for next weeks episode, getting set to record and fully edited by the weekend.  

Robbie doesn't seem happy about it.  We just had a meeting and he wants us to listen to this episode to learn from it.  We're all still learning what works vs what doesn't.  There's so many things I still struggle with.  Ending an episode.  Usually whoever is co-hosting with me closes the episode out, as I freeze up and sometimes can't pull it all together.  Challenge for next week!  There's so much we want to do with the podcast, and Steven and I are meeting soon to get social media worked out.  Heh, something else I struggle with... social media. 0_0

I hope you're all having a great week,
Sarah


Saturday, September 18, 2021

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 74 - "Ships passing on the big blue wet thing" - Getting Lost

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 74 - "Ships passing on the big blue wet thing" - Getting Lost

Hosts: My bros. Steven, Robbie, and I. :D

"Have you ever had that moment when you realized that you weren't as sure of where you were than you thought? The landmarks are gone, the familiar faces missing, and your direction seems lost forever. What do you do in times like those? Better yet, what do your characters do? How do stories about getting lost help a character grow? In today's episode we explore why stories include "getting lost" elements, and how you can best use these tropes in your own stories."

Oh my goodness, what a silly episode.  At least it felt a little silly while recording it.  We recorded late at night, and the crazy comes out around that time.  I listened to it, and it's always interesting listening to the final product vs how it felt recording.  There's always that moment in the middle of recording where I'm pleading with my brain, "Come up with something!"  But the episode really came together!  Bad puns and all. :P

I think we've all experienced getting lost.  It's a little scary, unless you find the experience rather exhilarating.  Some people like being lost.  Rather in our own life, or in stories, being lost is a chance for discovery.  A chance for growth.  And sometimes it's simply a test of will.  Being lost can last minutes to years.  What will you find while getting found?

The Creator's Playbook is a podcast on Spotify and other platforms, hosted by my brothers and I.  It's all about storytelling, techniques, ideas, and discovery.

Have a great weekend!  
I hope you have a listen,
Sarah


Thursday, September 9, 2021

The Creator's Playbook Podcast, Episode 73 - "In Plain Sight" - Asteroids

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode 73 - "In Plain Sight" - Asteroids

Hosts: My bro Michael and I

"Who doesn’t love a good Earth annihilation story? An asteroid spiraling towards Earth! I mean, it sure caught the dinosaurs by surprise. But is that all asteroids are good for? There’s a treasure trove hiding away in space rocks. Fortunes and resources that would have made the cunning Long John Silver crazy with wanting desire. What possibilities lay in the asteroid belt and beyond? Join Sarah and Michael as they explore the power of asteroids and what they mean for the future of the human race in life and fiction."

This was a fun podcast.  Doing this podcast made me realize how much I need to learn and relearn, which honestly is a good thing.  Something I enjoy.  For this podcast I prepared by doing a lot of research. In terms of a good quick refresh there's a video by Professor Dave Explains called: Pluto, Comets, Asteroids, and the Kuiper Belt.  Though I kept mixing up the names of moons in the podcast.  There's not a moon named Titus!  Though there should be.  Heh, though Titus in Greek means Titan, which is a moon that surrounds Saturn.  Titus is a really good solid name.

So Michael and I just had fun nerding out and theorizing stuff.  Asteroids really do hold so many possibilities in terms of value and potential use for the human race.  In terms of space exploration and growth they hold the key.

Have a great day!
The podcast can be heard on Spotify and other podcast places,
Sarah

Saturday, June 19, 2021

The Creator's Playbook Podcast: Episode 61 - "Galactic Entanglement" - Family Secrets

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode: Episode 61 - "Galactic Entanglement" - Family Secrets

Hosts: Myself with my bro Robbie

"Who doesn't love a little family drama? Especially when said drama is caused by hidden family secrets? Babies switched at birth. Great-Grandparents hiding a younger life of crime behind a prominent virtuous life. Family secrets are a great way to spice up or develop a plot. Join Robbie and Sarah as they explore family secrets in life and fiction."

This weeks episode is brought to you by family secrets and scandal.  The crazy happenings in each family known and unknown, and how that affects those involved personally.

In the beginning there's a point where Robbie was like "We need to share our family secrets!" And I was like. :\  Not something I planned on doing, so the dead air was edited out.  Honestly, what we came up with was kinda silly, and mine makes me look bad.  I thought about editing that whole section out, but left it in.  There's more deep stuff that could have been shared, we all go through stuff, but the past is the past, and I won't share anything involving others.  So I shared a story about Robbie instead, because he was present.  I would like to think I was a good big sister!!!!

The story itself starts around 10 minutes, and it's the last 20 minutes of the podcast where things really start moving and soars.  I was really getting into what we were creating.  There's a sci-fi universe I've been building up, independently, and somewhere I need this little family unit involved in a way, somehow.  I love these characters.  They're so getting a cameo or minor plot line.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Sarah

P.S. I'm listening to Disney Parks area music, and it's just so happy. :)


Tuesday, June 8, 2021

The Creator's Playbook Podcast: Episode 59, "Infinity Mirror" ~ Black Hole

The Creator's Playbook 

Episode: Episode 59, "Infinity Mirror" ~ Black hole

Hosts: My brother Michael and I

"They're older than the stories on earth. They're perhaps one of humanities last greatest mysteries. Black holes will perhaps be one of the most elusive space marks of the universe. They can't be breached but they can't be escaped. Within them could be universes in of themselves. Today Michael and Sarah explore ways to use black holes in storytelling and how to use their mysteries to inspire."

So funny thing about this episode, usually I have an idea of what we're going to talk about.  Michael hosted this episode, which means he was tasked on writing the prompt.  We were going to talk about something entirely different, and right before recording Michael's like "We're going to do black hole's!" :D  And I was like, "Black holes?" 0_0

Heh, so we did black holes.  Michael knows a lot about science, it's awesome.  I grew up on Science Fiction and loving science, but I don't understand things as well as I'd like.  During this episode I think you can hear my brain getting mushy. :P  In the end I learned a lot, and it's inspired me to start digging deep into science again.

You can listen to the podcast on Spotify or wherever else podcasts are hosted... I should probably learn those... links above.

Hope you're having a great week! 

Sarah

P.S. I'm still trying to figure out a schedule for this blog.  Ultimately I'd like to post at least four episodes a week, that would be great, but some weeks, honestly, three will feel awesome too.

 

Monday, January 11, 2021

Heads Up on the Podcast

Just a really quick update.

My brothers Steven and Robbie started a podcast last year: the Creator's Playbook.  They took a little break, but either this week or the next (the goal is this Wednesday), they will start posting episodes again.  Some exciting stuff, the official announcement isn't until the end of the month, but my brother Michael and I will be joining the podcast permanently.  We will all be hosts and each episode will be two of us, so we'll be taking turns and mixing it up.

I am announcing this early, just in case there might be those wondering if the podcast may have been abandoned.  It hasn't!!  And episodes will be starting up here really soon.

A month ago I recorded an episode with Steven, but we were trying a new program neither of us completely understood, and there was this echo default setting thing selected.  It messed up the audio a little in parts when we talk over each other.  I haven't heard it, so don't know the extent of how it sounds, but we've decided to post the episode within the next few weeks or so.  It was so much fun to record.  Hopefully we didn't talk over each other too much!!! Heh....

So we're all excited.  We decided to do this podcast fully as siblings last month.  I've got two episodes recording soon that I'm hosting, and the topics are really fun.  Planning for that.  

The podcast I was going to do with Michael is getting put on hold for now.  We've talked that it's something we would like to do, but for now Creator's Playbook is the priority.

We're still learning and growing and developing, and the podcast will get better and better as a result.  Hope you will take a listen when it comes back, or check out what has already been released.

Sarah


Saturday, January 26, 2019

Talea Studios Update: January 26, 2019


I haven't done one of these in a long time.

New Year, New Focus.

Last week I had a meeting with my siblings, and it went very well.  There are a lot a projects we're working on, and in the process we found much needed new footing.

There's not much I can say.  There are smaller projects that will roll out.  But, most important, what gets me excited, is that there is a major project that will take a bit of time that we've decided we're ready for.  It's a project that we never felt ready for, but as we've grown and worked on our talents, we're finally ready to tackle this awesome goal.  It's a passion project.  And that's all I want to say! 

There's a quote that's been popping up in my life recently.  I've mentioned it twice in the last month: "It's kind of fun to do the impossible."  Walt Disney.  Sometimes words or sayings will show up in our lives as a beaconing message.  I'm going to heed this wisdom.

Last May I got to visit Disney's private apartment at Disneyland, and at the end the hostess talked about Disney being a storyteller, and how there are still storytellers.  I wish I could remember the words she said, but it touched me.  And I realized in that moment how much I want to be a storyteller.  So I'm getting to the basics.  Working through some Great Courses Plus lessons.  I think I just have this love of stories.  I've always loved stories.  My music is a form of storytelling.  When I perform, it's storytelling as well.  And I just think of Kermit the Frog, sitting on his log in the swamp, playing his banjo and wanting to make millions of people happy.  That impressed me so strongly as a kid.  The idea of making people happy through art.

So those are the goals.  A lot of secrets!!!  I can't tell you how much I hate keeping secrets.  But as time moves forward and things finalize more will be revealed.

I just wanted to let you all know we're still working and wanting to make incredible things possible.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Talea Studios Update 07/15/2017: A VR Game!!


It's been a very long time since I've done one of these updates.  Enough waiting!

My brothers and I-- with the help of my sister-in-laws, and encouragement from the nieces, nephew, and our parents--we're putting together a VR game, and we're making pretty good progress.  I'm the music supervisor/person thingy.  I should come up with a fancy title . . . nah.

I've been working on the music, and it's been a fun journey thus far.  The last song I started working on the family didn't like, and it got scrapped.  Really, it wasn't worth saving, and back to the drawing board I went.  Today the family is coming over for a meeting, and I'll play for them what I've been cooking up thus far to get yays or nays.  So far the people who've heard this have really liked it, so right direction, hopefully.  And now I'm going through sounds to layer and shape the song.

And that's all I'll say for now!!

The door just opened and I hear nieces and the nephew!  Must go say hi and show the kiddies the board game I bought to play with them.  They love board games.

Love those kids!

Until next time!!!

Friday, October 21, 2016

Finding Motivation From Google


This last weekend my siblings and I had a Talea meeting.
 
Usually I have a really inspiring message to start the meeting with, to get it going on an uplifting note, but this last month has been hard for me, so I struggled coming up with something good to say.  My option, then, was to consult the internet, just for some inspiration, and so I searched "motivational quotes" on Google.  The top 5 search results was honestly perfect.

"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations."
~ Anon.

"You can't have a better tomorrow if you're still thinking about yesterday." 
~ quoteslife101.net

"Your mind is a powerful thing.  When you fill it with positive thoughts, your life will start to change."
~ Anon.

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."
~ (A few people are attributed to this quote)

"A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence."
~ Jim Watkins

There was honestly something in each of these quotes I needed to hear and ponder over, and it was good doing this blog post just so I can reread these quotes.

In a sorta related, not related note: My brothers and I are working on another cell phone game, this time for both iOS and Android.  We've tested out the first prototype, and my siblings and I are excited over the potential of this game.  I can't give a release date because none of us can guess how long this game will take, plus we're only on the first drafts with many more to come.  The iOS factor, and trying to get it on the Apple store is a challenge none of us have faced.  I'm composing the music!  So I have a lot to learn there as well, but there will be an EP released with the game.

I'll make sure of it :0)

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Keep Trying; Keep Praying


 "No one has failed who keeps trying and keeps praying."
 ~ Jeffrey R. Holland

I will not give up.

Maybe I'm foolish.

Maybe I'm crazy.

But I won't give up.

In me, deep inside, I believe Talea Studios can and will be successful.  I believe I can be successful in my music and writing.  I believe the games my brothers and I are working on can find an audience.

There's been bumps in the road with my family in accomplishing our Talea goals: Marriages, moving, new jobs, new families to support, serving missions, etc.  Normal stuff that can easily derail any dream and goal.  But even with bumps we are not giving up.  We all believe in Talea.

"Please don't nag yourselves with thoughts of failure.  Do not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve.  Simply do what you can do in the best way you know how, and the Lord will accept your effort."
 ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

Though I must be honest with myself.  Have I done everything I can?  Am I working as hard as I should?  Is there a lot more I could be doing?  With these three questions I can easily answer a resounding yes.  There's a lot more I should and can be doing to help the business, and I will.  I've been aimless and unfocused.  I haven't worked as hard as I should.  But here's the nice thing about life, it's not over till it's over, and I plan to live a long time, if God permits.

I'm recommitting myself to my goals and projects.

Recommitting myself to my family's goals.

By the end of the year I will have music to post online.  I'm not giving a date here, as I don't know how long this process will take, and I want to learn mastering and mixing music, so there's going to be a learning curve.  I've been meaning to learn mixing and mastering, but put it off.  And it would be good if I learn how to edit videos, so I'm not so dependent on my brothers.

And there's some other projects I won't talk about until they're close to or at completion, which will be awhile for some of these projects as there are learning curves for these projects as well.  But by the end of the year--hopefully by mid Autumn!--I'll be able to start sharing some of these things.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Mind Drift, The New Game App by Talea Studios


 Mind Drift!

 aka

MindDriftRGB

 (RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue)

 I have been teasing for some time that my brothers and I have been working on a cell phone game app.  I'm happy to announce that it's available for download from the Google Play app store for android!  Just search for either MindDriftRGB or Talea Studios.  I wish searching Mind Drift would bring the game up, but for some reason it doesn't, but the two other search terms will bring the game right up for download.  Click here to download the game.

Mind Drift is free with the occasional ad.  My brother Robbie has the ads popping up every 5-10 losses.

So what is Mind Drift?


 It's a color matching arcade game.

As the colored jewels fall from the top of the screen, touch either the right side of the screen or the left side to spin the the three colors at the bottom.  Match red with red, blue with blue, green with green.  

Mismatch the colors and the round is over.

There are a few "difficulty" levels.

Zen: This mode was newly added with today's update.  Essentially the game stays at the basic level, never increasing in difficulty, promoting a zen like state.  It's the "relaxing" mode, or the mode for kids or anyone who wants to play without the added challenge of increasing speeds.

Standard:  Mind Drift starts at its easiest, slow pace speed, increasing in difficulty bit by bit until you mismatch colors.  (I was going to write "until you fail miserably," but that would be mean.)

Medium: Unlocks at 101 points reached.  After you unlock Medium, you can select this as your difficulty, and whenever you die and need to restart, the game begins at 100 points, not 0 points. 

Hard:  Unlocks at 300 points.  Once again, when you unlock this mode and can select Hard as your difficulty level, the game starts at 300 points instead of 0 points.

Playing in Zen mode will not unlock Medium or Hard difficulty levels, nor will the points be added to your high score.


My brother Robbie is the crazy one whose achieved 540 points.  The highest I've ever achieved is 180 points.  Steven has reached 211 points.  Neither of my parents have made it over 100.

Currently the game isn't available for Apple products, as we haven't started the process of getting the game on iTunes.  That's one of our goals.

We also have the goal of adding a couple more playable modes for Mind Drift.  "Zen +" will act like Zen, only it starts around the 50 point difficulty speed, and will continue at that speed.  A little more challenging.  And there's going to be "Interchange" mode, where there are no repeating colors, aka no blocks of colors falling down.  Even though we're working on more games, we're going to continue to work on Mind Drift, improving it and making it better.

Oh!!  And a biggie!!  My brother Steven and I wrote the song for Mind Drift.  It will soon be available for download on Band Camp, under our band name Cerulean Jade.  We composed a completed version of the song, with an ending instead of the loop, we just need to do a final master of the song.

My brother Robbie did the programing for the game, and Steven did the art.

Here's a sneak peak for two more games we're working on.



And there's another game in development after these games that I've started story boarding and creating characters for.  That game, which will remain nameless for some time (though the name makes me giggle :0) is going to be fun.  Can't wait.  Those characters are so much fun to write.

So much awesomeness ahead!! :0)

Monday, August 5, 2013

My First Farmers Market


 Last Thursday my Mom, Sister-in-law Krista, and I participated in our first Farmers Market.  It's been a goal all Summer, but due to circumstances we had to wait until now to finally do it.



 Krista did all the sewing and made tutus, children skirts, and aprons.




 My Mom specializes in jewelry.  She has an Etsy store and at the Market she had necklaces, bracelets, earrings, key-chains, and car charms.




I made the greeting cards.

Overall I'm proud with what we did, even though in the end we only sold a single pair of earrings for $15, covering the $12 booth charge.  We may do it again this Thursday, but we already plan on putting everything in the Etsy store making it a boutique.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

My Moms Amazing Jewelry and Paintings on Etsy


 My Mom has an Etsy shop.  Her passion is making jewelry and Painting, and I wanted to show off some of my more favorite pieces of hers, which can be found in the Talea Studios store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaleaStudios









And the last one is my absolute favorite!  I want this bracelet.


 And my Mom even paints!  She's talented like that:0)

This painting:


Is based on this picture I took while visiting the Grand Tetons:


 This next painting is so tranquil


 And the last is a painting of my most favorite place in the World.  Cambria. (You thought I'd write Disneyland :0)

 All of these amazing pieces of art can be purchased at:

Thursday, November 29, 2012

I've Now Entered the Twitterverse!!


It's happened.  It's finally happened.  I've now joined the masses and have a twitter account.  Then again I haven't joined My Space yet, and don't plan on doing so any time soon . . . 

When twitter first became popular I vowed this would be one social media platform I'd never enter.  All I ever heard about was how many follows this celebrity had vs that celebrity, as if it was a competition, and how obsessed people were with over sharing.  (It's cliche now, but I really don't need to know when someone is using the restroom.)  The site seemed like a kinda joke, and Facebook is where all my friends hang out anyway.  It's still where they all hang out.

Then there is the overwhelming factor on how to understand tweets.  They're like another language!  All those # and @ running amok every which way.  There's no making sense of it.  It's like a special code, one of which I found daunting, so I generally stayed away.

With the help of some friends and a couple websites twitter-speak is making a little more sense.  

My decision to start a twitter account stemmed to my experience with running the Cerulean Jade fan page, which I need to do a better job with, and feeling limited with what I can share there.  With Twitter I can share what I'm working on with Cerulean Jade and Talea Studios, but then also share things that I find interesting, or currently like, or just overall geeking out over.

So if you're interested, you can check out my twitter page at: https://twitter.com/SarahStuffles

As a note, I tried to get the twitter name SarahStufflebeam, but it was too long and ended up SarahStufflebea, and I just know people were going to look at that and think "bean."  Couldn't let that happen!  Stuffles is pretty cute.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Cerulean Jade Update: 09-29-2012


I took the above picture a couple weeks ago.  It's of the Payphone cover song Steven and I did, and I still find this hilarious.  666 views with 13 likes?  Crazy.

Our next cover song "Someone like you" from Adele is on track.  Steven's finished arranging the chorus and verses, and has the bridge left, which is super close.  Our goal is to record early next week, which means the song will be online by the end of the week, at the latest!!  We've decided the video is going to be super simple, as in I'm going to sing the song in one take with myself singing to the camera.  Good ol' non-complicated cover style.  The effect will be an emotionally raw video, which works well with the song . . . and the fact that it will help us get the song up sooner is a plus!

Steven and I have also discussed putting up the instrumental/karaoke videos of the songs we do.  So we'll soon be getting the instrumentals of our original song "Dream Maze," and cover songs "Payphone" and "Someone like you" up as well, so you can hear Steven's amazing arrangements :0)

More fun stuff in the works!  And our studio is soooooooooo close to finishing!!  Carpet in, electrical almost done, etc.  I can't wait to play with the green screen.

Sarah 

Friday, August 3, 2012

Building a Studio


We've been clearing out a spot in our house to have a studio.  A place, really, where back drops and green screens can easily be put up and lit correctly.  It's a huge, great family project.  Cerulean Jade is apart of Talea Studios, and we have a lot of plans and goals with Talea. This is just the start.  I like something I read on Cinemablend.com about Joss Whedon of Serenity/The Avengers fame.  The blog post was about what Joss said at San Diego Comic Con:

"One of the earliest questions in the panel came from a self-described failed comedian who asked Whedon if he had any suggestions for struggling artists and the writer/director had some very simple advice: just make something. Commenting on the studio system, Whedon said that Hollywood is slowly starting to eliminate the 'middle movie,' only making either big blockbusters or tiny budget affairs like Paranormal Activity, so he suggested that the only way to break in is to just do it yourself. He added that with today’s consumer video equipment and the internet, there is a great amount that one can just do by themselves to get noticed. He joked that he had an easier time with it because he happened to be friends with Nathan Fillion, but 'even without Nathan, there’s so much you can do now and you have to because it’s so much harder to do it for somebody else.'”   

So Steven and I are doing it ourselves.  We believe that if we create great works we'll get noticed and build an audience.  Of course there's a lot of patience and time involved, hard work, but it's rewarding hard work.  And it's fun dreaming something up and seeing it come to life.

Sarah   

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

What's Next for Cerulean Jade?


Goodness, where do I start?

The problem with Steven and I is that we have so many ideas . . . and we're in love with all of them

For me I'm working on a cover of a song from Brave, "Into the Open Air."  I'm playing the piano on this one, and overall it's going to be simple.  For starters, I don't have Steven's amazing ability to sit down at a piano and just play.  We're different like that.  He has a couple months of piano lessons.  I have years!  Plus a music degree.  I'm sheet music dependent.  That's going to change!  This project is going to help me with this, but it's a bit scary.  And I don't know what I'm doing.  Music Theory was the easiest out of the Music Theory core for my degree (which also included Music Dictation and Sight Singing).  My fingers don't work the way I want them too!  This is a skill I really want to learn, and this is a great start.  I also want to throw in some Irish flute.  Steven's never mastered anything other then voice and electronic instruments, so this will be good practice for him, too.

The next combined Cover we're doing is Andy Grammer's "Keep Your Head Up."  It's a fun, upbeat, positive song, and it will be a little like the Payphone cover we did.  I'm not going to promise a release date for this!  I've made that mistake before.  Not doing that again.  But it is a really fun song:0)

And . . . wait for it . . . we're working on an online graphic novel!!!  Surprised?  Before my youngest brother left on his mission, he came up with the bases of a story idea.  We promised him that we would turn it into a graphic novel, as a gift, only that hasn't happened yet.  I'm still in script phase and Steven's developing art concepts.  Our goal is to get the first 10 pages up by the end of September, right before he comes home.  I've been having so much fun playing mad scientist with this world  . . . or should I admit to a slowly developing God complex?  Ehhh, I will admit that I'm having way too much fun.  Think slight Steampunk, slight sci-fi, and Final Fanstasy-ish world, and you have something akin to what Steven, Robbie, and I have dreamed up.  Art Concept drawings coming soon!

Oh, and of course original music.  Steven and I are working on an original song, and the sounds he's coming up with are super fun!  That's 2-3 months out.  Then we're going to do an original song based on the graphic novel world we've created (I can't wait to do the music video for this . . . we just got a green screen :0).  And there's a few jazz songs I've written that I was just going to release under my name, but Steven's like "it would be really cool to do electronic jazz!"  And I'm like "What!?"  He thinks it can work.  We'll see.  I'm slightly doubtfull.

Anyway, are we crazy?  Probably, but insanity is fun.
Sarah