As founder of Brunette Games, I came to form this narrative design and game writing studio with nearly a decade of experience in the game industry. But before the game industry claimed me, I'd racked up 15 years as a published journalist, short story writer, corporate history chronicler, and yes, even poet. That background is reflected in the Dreamslippers Series, a three-book saga (plus novella) about a family of psychic dreamers who solve crime using their ability to 'slip' into other people's dreams.

Solving crime that way is a lot tougher than you can imagine, as it's not like the culprit will dream of his guilt, pointing the erstwhile dreamslipper toward all of the clues. The matriarch of the family, Amazing Grace, supplements her sleeping skills with waking-life pursuits such as meditation and yoga. Young Cat McCormick, the hero of the inaugural book in the series, has an entirely different take. She bends and breaks the rules a bit, and she capitalizes on an emotional connection to solve a mystery involving a Midwestern, fundamentalist preacher and his (not-gay-at-all) right-hand man.

I released Cat in the Flock under my own imprint, Sky Harbor Press, in July 2014. It zipped up the Amazon sales charts, occupying the No. 1 spot in the Private Investigators category within the first year. It was praised by Kirkus Reviews, Midwest Book Review, Readers Lane, Book Fidelity, and countless other review sites, blogs, and institutions. I was contacted by a Hollywood producer about rights, and later, by more than one game studio interested in making an interactive version. Cat in the Flock won me my first IndieBRAG medallion, awarded to only the top 20 percent of independently published books. I would also be awarded the IndieBRAG for the other two books in the series.

I wrote, published, and marketed Cat in the Flock all while working full-time as manager of the narrative design team at Big Fish Games. It was a lot to do around not-your-average day job. But I made it work, with the help of a very supportive husband and stepson, not to mention a crackerjack team of narrative designers and strategy guide writers at Big Fish, who helped me bring my traditionally 12-hour days down to a more reasonable balance.

Bolstered by the success of the first book, and full of more Dreamslippers stories to tell, I followed up with Framed and Burning. This second book in the series is set in Miami amidst the high-stakes art world, and its prescience can be seen in the Jeffrey Epstein case today. Cat and Grace follow the clues to a murder frame-up, which takes them into the Darknet and the powerful players behind a child pornography ring. 

Framed and Burning was a finalist for the prestigious Nancy Pearl Book Award, and it was also nominated for a RONE Award, in addition to winning the IndieBRAG.

The third book in the series, Bound to the Truth, is in a lot of ways my best. It continues the series' sex-crime theme, but back in Seattle, with an informed, fair portrayal of the Emerald City's sex-positive community. Cat and her grandmother visit a sex toy shop and a sex dungeon in their quest to track down the killer of a prominent Seattle architect. It was my answer to the huge disappointment that is Fifty Shades of Gray.

The cover is my favorite of the series, too. All three covers were created by Toronto designer Monika Younger, who's also the genius behind our very own Brunette Games logo.

After that, I went back and tackled Amazing Grace's origin story in a novella, Work of Light. It's only found in the ebook boxed set. Set in the past, when Grace first discovered her powers, it follows her to an ashram in the 60s, where she uncovers the guru's true nature.

I'm grateful to the many BETA readers who gave me feedback on drafts of the books. My BETA reader program was based on the process we use in the game industry, where player feedback can truly make or break a game. We writers and designers are far too close to the work to judge it subjectively, especially the further into the drafting (or development) process we get. My BETA readers put on their "cruel shoes" and gave it to me straight, and I revised to the best of my abilities. I think it shows in the higher-than-average quality for not just an indie but for publishing as a whole.

Also deserving of recognition is Elisa Mader, who edited and/or proofread the books. The high marks I get for being error-free are entirely to her credit. You might also know her from some of our Brunette Games projects, as she sometimes freelances for us as editor, writer, and designer of games. I've mentored Elisa for years and also hired her to our freelance stable at Big Fish.

Join me in celebrating this important milestone for a body of work that is very close to my heart. On that note, it's time for an important announcement:

In honor of the fifth anniversary of the Dreamslippers Series, the ebook boxed set of all three books plus the bonus novella is entirely FREE wherever ebooks are sold, except Amazon, where it's only 99 cents (that is the minimum price we are allowed to offer through Amazon). So please tell your friends. And thank you for your interest in Brunette Games.

Handy book links here.

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When Cookie Jam veteran Michael Witz approached me about helping out on the narrative for a sweet little game he'd been developing with his team at Redemption Games, I couldn't say no–just like the characters in this game can't turn down the tasty treats they're offered.

Sweet Escapes captured all of us here at Brunette Games with its cast of cute, quirky characters, getting our imaginations going at once. Adding conflict, mystery, and connection to the narrative, we wrote all 25,000 lines of dialogue–including an intro storyboard–and collaborated with the team on a few art changes as well to give the narrative more visual oomph. The result is a game that makes us truly proud.

Here's the official description:

Match and build a delicious bakery of your own in Sweet Escapes! Conquer sinfully sweet Match-3 puzzles to build and design a village of sugary shops, with each bakery specializing in a different decadent dessert. 

From fresh food and mouth-watering pastries to premium cookie delights, build your bakery to prepare and offer chocolate candy confections and specialty coffee drinks to your toon friends and customers.

Want more of a sugar rush? Blast through Match-3 puzzles to build your shops. Enjoy food and dessert-themed puzzles where matching the right candy pieces and combinations gets you a delicious victory!

Join JOY, a lovable rabbit and your dedicated assistant, on a tasty baking adventure. You can even meet her ever-growing crew of fun and hilarious animals.

Your animal friends are always there to help when you’re caught in a jam… unless the health and safety inspector has his way.

Resurrect a rundown bakery to world-renowned glory. Create a candy shop dedicated to every iteration of sugary, succulent sweets. Launch a high-end soda shop that takes the bubbly beverage to new dessert-themed heights. 

Start building a town, baking delicious sweets and have a sugar-filled blast with Match-3 puzzle games in Sweet Escapes!

Sweet Escapes Features:

MATCHING PUZZLE GAMES

● Fun and enticing dessert-themed Match-3 puzzles.

● Find sweet, unique boosters and exploding puzzle combinations - an endless stream of indulgent fun and creativity!

● Match 3 - swap and match candy pieces to play!

● Stuck in a jam? Use power-ups to crush the puzzle!

BAKERY & TOWN BUILDING

● Design a virtual village of shops dedicated to delicious desserts.

● Redesign existing bakery & dessert shops and build new ones.

● You decide what each bakery looks like and what sweet desserts you want to make.

BAKING ADVENTURE

● Choose the mouth-watering items you want to make.

● Build the menu for your bakery – cookies, candy, pastries, and more!

● Offer special events to your customers. 

● Tend to the surrounding land while planting and harvesting fruits and herbs for your recipes.

ANIMAL TOON STORY

● Watch a crew of lovable animals rally together to help you build and run your bakery.

● Every animal friend has their own unique talent and passion for dessert!

● Crush the challenge of the kooky health and safety inspector with his unpredictable visits and ridiculous list of demands.

Start a baking, building, Match-3 puzzle adventure with Sweet Escapes! Download now!

You can download and play the game for free using any device.

Once you've played the game, tell us what you think! Thanks for your interest in our work here at Brunette Games.

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French saved me from mystery genre burnout.

I used to read a wider range of books, and by that I mean I used to be much more forgiving as a reader. But as my reading and writing tastes have grown sharper, I've become a lot more discriminating. I'll start a book and give up on it if it's not working for me or can't compete with any number of extremely well written games or books or TV shows I have at the ready. I bet many of you are no different. After all, we're not going to read another standard mystery with all the tropes (tough-guy detective, a slaughtered female body found on page one) when we can watch Ruth Langmore successfully wrestle with her "white-trash" identity in Ozark.

One of the writers who's best captured my attention - and held it - is Tana French.

Other images this page, source: www.tanafrench.com

When I picked up Faithful Place in 2016, I was pretty jaded, as a reader. I'd spent the previous five years reviewing, critiquing, and in some cases, rewriting hundreds - yes, hundreds - of mostly mystery-themed story games. During that time, I read a lot of mystery novels, everything from cozies to thrillers to classics. Before that, I'd interviewed four Northwest mystery authors for a Seattle Woman cover story. In 2016 I was nearing the end of writing my own mystery series - the Dreamslippers - inspired by the supernatural mystery games and books I'd enjoyed. By the time I stumbled upon Faithful Place in a used bookstore, I was in danger of becoming burnt out on the genre.

But Frank Mackey's riveting first-person voice reignited my love of mystery to a white-hot point. From the stunning opening paragraph, I was hooked:

In all your life, only a few moments matter. Mostly you never get a good look at them except in hindsight, long after they've zipped past you: the moment when you decided whether to talk to that girl, slow down on the blind bend, stop and find that condom. I was lucky, I guess you could call it. I got to see one of mine face-to-face, and recognize it for what it was. I got to feel the riptide pull of my life spinning around me, one winter night, while I waited in the dark at the top of Faithful Place.

Full disclosure: I'm Irish enough to have had a grandfather with flaming red hair and who knew all the old drinking songs. Alas, he lived thousands of miles away from my military family and then passed away when I was only five, so I never learned any of his songs. But it's possible there's a cadence in the Dublin Murder Squad that appeals to me on some visceral, perhaps even genetic, level.

However, I don't think you need to have a family tree that includes names like Sisley McKay and Skeets Larue in order for French's characters to resonate with you. They're incredibly well developed, authentic narrators who even when problematic gain your sympathy. 

Curiously, each Dublin Murder Squad novel was written from a different character's point of view. After reading just a few of the books in the series, you start to get a 360-degree look at the squad, as each character views his or her work from a unique perspective.

The debut novel in the series - In the Woods - follows Detective Rob Ryan, a murder squad veteran who becomes undone by a case he pushes to investigate despite its connection to a cold case from his past; as a child, he survived what appeared to be a grisly attack. Though the brilliant novel averages at a bewildering four stars on Amazon - it deserves five! - it earned praise from the likes of NPR Correspondent Nancy Pearl, "A well-written, expertly plotted thriller," and The New York Times Book Review's Marilyn Stasio, who says, "Even smart people who should know better will be able to lose themselves in these dark woods." With a bit of elitism at work in the praise, Stasio nails French's literary writing quality, which should appeal to even readers who perhaps don't normally succumb to the allure of genre fiction.

These characters feel both fresh and authentic in part because they constantly thwart cliché expectation. Though French's debut centers on a detective driven to solve not just the case before him but the case in the past connected to his own deepest trauma, he remains (or at least tries to remain) detached, even matter-of-fact about it:

Contrary to what you might assume, I did not become a detective on some quixotic quest to solve my childhood mystery. I read the file once, that first day, late on my own in the squad room with my desk lamp the only pool of light (forgotten names setting echoes flicking like bats around my head as they testified in faded Biro that Jamie had kicked her mother because she didn't want to go to boarding school, that "dangerous-looking" teenage boys spent evenings hanging around at the edge of the wood, that Peter's mother once had a bruise on her cheekbone), and then never looked at it again.

Broken Harbor's Scorcher Kennedy bursts into the reader's consciousness with a thrilling bravado that could be mistaken for typical tough-guy talk, if it weren't for the fact that the case ends up dismantling him in ways he can't possibly foresee:

Some of the lads can't handle kids, which would be fair enough except that, forgive me for asking, if you can't cope with nasty murders then what the hell are you doing on the Murder Squad? I bet Intellectual Property Rights would love to have your sensitive arse onboard. I've handled babies, drownings, rape-murders and a shotgun decapitation that left lumps of brain crusted all over the walls, and I sleep just fine, as long as the job gets down. Someone has to do it. If that's me, then at least it's getting done right.

Rob Ryan, Frank Mackey, and even Scorcher Kennedy must all three reconcile evidence in the present with memories of the past, though none of them look through rose-colored glasses at the past, nor are they scarred by it any more than they are affected by what's happening to them now. In this way French turns tried-and-true mystery fodder on its head, making the characters and their lives in the here and now the driver of the plot. You want to know what happened in the past, yes, but if you reach the end of the novel, and the past still hasn't revealed itself, it doesn't really matter. You've come to know the character fully, suffered and died and been resurrected with him, whether he finds the answers or not.

Perhaps French's greatest character design achievement is that of Antoinette Conway in the latest book in the series, The Trespasser. Conway's character is an achievement not because she's the most compelling of the series but because she thwarts our expectations best. A woman is a rarity on the Dublin Murder Squad, and of course the target of sexual harassment and hazing. Though tough beyond belief - she can physically defend herself against a stalker, she plays hardcore video games to unwind, and she does not believe in romantic love - Conway wrestles with a narrative of distrust that threatens to tear her away from a vocation for which she has a passion like no other. 

The Associated Press says, "Tana French is irrefutably one of the best crime fiction writers out there," and I have to agree. For me she surpasses other faves - Gillian Flynn, Sophie Hannah - and the ones whose popularity I can't grok (I'm looking at you, Megan Abbott). I'm four novels into the six-book series and can't wait to dive into the other two. Interestingly, French's most recent publication is a standalone, The Witch Elm. It looks wonderfully compelling, but I do wonder if the Dublin Murder Squad will go on, or if French herself has had a bit of burnout.

If you've read French, tell me what you think of her work below. If not, does this make you want to become a DMS fan? I think game writers and book authors alike can learn a lot from her exemplary character development.

Tana French.

Note: This post previously appeared on Cat in the Flock.

Motive is the main concern in most fiction in the mystery genre, whether that's a TV show like Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries or today's sophisticated novels in the domestic noir category. But when it comes to interactive fiction, where reader/player choice matters, motive is a little more up-for-grabs. If you were a nerdy kid like me in the 80s, you remember Choose Your Own Adventure books, with multiple endings and reader choice all the way through. This form enjoys a vibrant life these days, as evidenced by the many interactive novels we've worked on here at Brunette Games, such as released games Choices: Veil of Secrets and Sender Unknown: The Woods as well as three other titles currently in development.

We're big admirers of Choice of Games here at BG; though we've never designed a game for that platform, we enjoy playing them. So we reached out to Rebecca Slitt, author of the COG game Psy High. Here's her take on motive.

Rebecca Slitt:

What’s the motive in Psy High? It’s whatever you decide it is.

Psy High is an interactive novel: on the border between a book and a game. As in all of the titles from Choice of Games, you the reader direct the action at every turn: you decide what the main character does and why. Not only that, but you get to choose the main character’s name, gender, orientation, personality, and goals. 

The story in Psy High is a mixture of mystery, romance, and supernatural elements, inspired by “Veronica Mars” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” You play a teenager with psychic powers – clairvoyance and telepathy – who uses their gifts to solve mysteries. When an old friend asks you to investigate why your classmates are acting strangely, you discover a plot that could put the whole school at risk. You have to maneuver around your teachers, parents, and even your friends while using your magical abilities to uncover the truth – not to mention going to class, trying out for the drama club play, and finding a date for the prom.

The culprit has their own motive, but you figure that out – along with the culprit’s identity – fairly early. The more complicated question is: what's your motive? When you discover what's really going on in your high school, what do you do about it, and why? 

Maybe you’re motivated by altruism: you want to do what will help the most people. That’s a noble goal, but it’s not always easy to figure out how to reach it. What helps one person might hurt another.

Maybe you’re motivated by affection: you see how all of these issues are affecting your friends and want to help them. Maybe you want to help your boyfriend or girlfriend, or do whatever it takes to make them happy, or just spend as much time with them as possible. The prom is coming up, after all, and what could be more important than that?

Maybe you’re motivated by power. There’s plenty of power to be had, both magical and otherwise, and plenty of secrets to uncover. Do you care about that more than you care about your classmates? More than going to college? More than anything?

Maybe you’re motivated by a desire to fit in. In high school, what’s worse than being different? You can try to reject your magical power, act like every other kid, keep your head down, study, and try to lead a perfectly ordinary life. 

Or, maybe you think that the villain isn't such a villain after all. Maybe you realize that you share their motive: you think that their plan will make the school a better place, not worse. That’s possible, too. You can team up with them and use your magic to help them.

What this all means is that you get to choose the kind of story that you’re participating in. It can be a story about love conquering all: You can find your true love and draw on the strength of that bond to triumph over whatever challenges come your way. It can be a story about discovering deeper truths about yourself and the world: learning what you truly care about, what your values are, and how far you’ll go to defend them. It can be a story about rebellion: breaking every rule, fighting the power wherever you find it, showing the world that you’re your own person. It can even be a story about failure: No matter how strong or noble your motives are, there’s no guarantee that you’ll succeed – so if you fail, what meaning will you draw from that?

There are dozens of stories to be told inside the mystery of Psy High, each with its own motive. You get to choose which story you want to tell.

Download and review Psy High.

Follow Rebecca Slitt on Twitter.

Rebecca Slitt is an academic-turned-game-designer who uses her knowledge of medieval history to make sure that dragon battles follow the principles of chivalry and time travelers go to the right places in medieval London. She is an editor and author for Choice of Games, and has contributed to the tabletop RPGs Timewatch and Noirlandia. 

Note: This post previously appeared on Cat in the Flock.

In-game art for the 'Stepping Stone' case in Homicide Squad: Hidden Crimes.

Here's BG team member Dexter Woltman, with some insight into what it's like to transition from student to a career as a game writer/designer.

During this past year, I had the amazing opportunity to join Brunette Games as a junior game writer/designer. This job has connected me to developer teams at game studios all around the world - our BG clients. One of the studios I’ve had the pleasure of working with is G5 Entertainment.

G5 Entertainment is the proud developer of Homicide Squad: Hidden Crimes. In Homicide Squad, players put their detective skills to the test as they search for clues, find hidden objects, solve cases, and arrest criminals. It’s a popular game that G5 continues to support and update, and it’s also the game that provided me with my first professional writing assignment, a murder case that would come to be called “Stepping Stone.”

When I first joined Brunette Games, I was still a student in college. As I continued to deal with the complications of school, my work in game writing was more limited. I was new, and my focus largely stayed with editing and localization work. But while I was still a student, Lisa Brunette gave me my first opportunity to write an original piece, a case for Homicide Squad, after editing several cases for G5's localization team. Safe to say, I was more than excited.

As the writing developed, that excitement turned to hard work. G5 provided us with a case outline about a woman who walked into her flower shop one morning to find three strangers dead. It was my job to turn the outline into a full-fledged piece of writing fit with charm and mystery. 

Initially, the hardest part for me was the characters. Although the new characters introduced especially for this case were easier and fun to develop, it was the longstanding characters that proved more difficult. Here I was with a game whose main characters had been around for a long time. They’ve grown and developed over the course of numerous cases. G5 had given me two tremendously popular main characters in Detective Turino and Detective Lamonte, and I wanted to respect those characters and make them as spot-on as I possibly could.

Official G5 art for Detective Lamonte and Detective Turino.

The process for me meant going back to a lot of Turino and Lamonte’s older cases. I played through their dialogue again and again, trying to get the best sense of their characters I possibly could. In the end, I persevered, and I was able to keep them true to their characters while also adding a new layer to Turino’s sympathy.

Since this was my first original piece, another thing I wasn’t as familiar with was the revision process games typically go through. 'Stepping Stone' went through a lot of rounds of revisions, eventually resulting in about half of my dialogue getting cut. But in doing so, I learned to take advantage of textual spaces and really focus on efficient writing. So even though I lost half my dialogue, I didn’t actually lose any story. This is especially thanks to both Lisa Brunette and G5, who were extraordinarily helpful in making the case the best it could be.

'Stepping Stone' was an impactful, transitionary moment in my life. It opened the gateway to new projects with other clients, as well as further projects with G5. As a student, I wouldn’t have imagined I would make it this far in the game design industry at this age. I didn’t even think I would be a part of the game design industry at this age. That’s why, even when the stresses of school or other work were pressing down, Brunette Games always remained my priority. I knew what I was doing was important, and it made me feel better about myself every day.

There was also my transition from student work to real-world professional work. In my writing classes at school, I could basically write whatever I wanted. I didn’t have to regard tone or theme, I could just write. Then, maybe there would be an in-class workshop or two, and it was done. I was passionate about it, yes, but I was also writing for the grade. When I started writing professionally, it was a lot different. There is no grade, it’s just me always making the writing the best it could possibly be. Everything must always be efficient, quick, and top-notch.

In-game art for the 'Stepping Stone' hidden object scene.

Another notable difference between student work and professional work is the creative freedom. When I’m writing for a class, I essentially just write whatever I want to write. Whatever characters or stories I wanted to be in the story could be in the story. With professional writing, it’s no longer always just me deciding what goes into the writing. I have clients with established characters and worlds. They have stories they want to see happen. But in that way, I’m almost more creative. Writing literally anything is a hobby. Writing specifically for a client’s need is where my real skill starts to show. So even if I’m writing something I didn’t necessarily consider myself wanting to write, I always strive to make it something I want to write. In doing that, I’ve created some truly extraordinary stories I’m very proud of.

When it comes to my growing professionalism, not only do I owe it to the guidance of Brunette Games, but I also owe a lot of it to our client, G5. After 'Stepping Stone,' I took on the role of regularly editing the game’s many other fantastic cases. Through repeatedly having opportunities to edit real, professional text, I’ve learned what makes game writing work. I know how to be efficient with my writing and create natural-sounding dialogue. Every time G5 has a new editing job for me, I get excited because it’s another opportunity to enhance my writing. Well, that and the team allows me a lot of latitude in creating puns for their quest titles, and that’s always the highlight of my day.

In-game art for one of Detective Turino's quest debriefings.

Brunette Games and G5’s 'Stepping Stone' case marked a lot of firsts for me. I’m young, sure, but I’m growing into becoming a real professional. With our amazing clients and extraordinary team members at Brunette Games, I feel comfortable evolving into something better. I went to school for writing so that I could have a chance to become something more with my storytelling. Brunette Games and our clients have given me that chance, and I only become prouder of it with each passing day.

Play the Game

Homicide Squad: Hidden Crimes is developed by G5 Entertainment, with narrative design, writing, and editing support from Brunette Games. Find it on the App Store, Google Play store, Amazon App store, and wherever mobile games are sold.