the ONLY THEN team
Jess, Writer & Illustrator
Art and breathing are one and the same for Jess. From replicating her favorite cartoon heroes and villains in crayon to cataloguing the natural world in charcoal, pen and ink, and watercolor, she was determined to become an illustrator throughout her childhood. She pursued an art education in New England, where she quickly fell in love with the stories behind the art. Writing and breathing, you see, are also one.
Her writing took her north to Alaska, then south to New Mexico, where eventually she found her way back to illustration. For a few absurd moments, she wondered which path she was meant to be on: writer or artist. Those moments passed, and now she is publishing novels, illustrating games and books, and reveling in the joy of not having to choose between them at all.
Jamison, Writer & Game Designer
The rules for Jamison’s first board game were written on midline orange construction paper. His passion for playing and inventing games as a kid was boundless, and he nearly failed senior year calculus because he was more focused on coding a maze into his TI-85 than doing math. And then he grew up.
Obtaining degrees in literature and writing, he spent five years traveling the world, collecting folktales from south Asia and another five from the North American Arctic. Settling down and starting a family gave him time to reflect on what story should be told next. He decided to grow back down, learn how to code C#, and finally put those midline ideas into a game.