Sunshine Blogger Award

I'm very proud and happy to announce that I have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award.  To view the nomination please click on this link:

Sunshine Blogger Nomination

"The Sunshine Blogger Award is awarded to those who are creative, positive and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community."

There are rules for this award which I will post below:

• Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog.
• Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 bloggers and add their links.
• Notify the bloggers you include.
• Keep the rules in your post.

I would like to thank AdamEve1231 from the bottom of my heart for this honor and for allowing me to join the Willingly Writing Reading Circle last August.  Everyone is very friendly and I have been reading such wonderful stories told in very different styles.   All the stories might be different but one thing they all share is that they are creative and inspiring. 



1. What keeps you going as you write SimLit?  

There are a few things that keep me going but the main thing that keeps me going is I love the Wood/Landgraab family.  I enjoy watching this family flourish and grow.  I'm writing generation 7 but I already have the story figured out to generation 10 and I can't wait to meet these futures heirs.  I have had technical problems a couple of times but I always make sure I have a way to rebuild this family if I need to.   I rebuilt the family about 3 times already and I would again.  Which reminds me, its about time to back up the save files again.

2. Of all the worlds in all the Sims games, which world could you see yourself actually living in (i.e. either because it’s similar to your own hometown or it’s a place you’ve always wanted to live)?

Anyone that knows me knows that once September hits I'm already starting to dread winter.  I hate the winter and I can't count how many times I said "I'm moving to Arizona" especially when a snowstorm is hitting.  I guess any place like Isla Paradiso, Starlight Shores, or Lucky Palms which are supposed to be in the type of climate that shouldn't have winter.  Right now my story is based in Isla Paradiso and I have it set for no snow and I have just a three day winter set.  The season of winter does hit these climates its just that it is not as harsh as the North East.

3. If you could ask any one of my characters (or my Simself) any question, what would you ask? (and if you don’t follow/read my stories, you may replace with another character of your own).

Hopefully I'm not asking something that has already been answered and I just haven't got to it yet. 

Kass seems to have grown up quickly with taking care of her father and his illness.  Due to circumstances she has had to take off more than a summer (at least it seems like more than a summer) and take him to Mexico.  Is this just a temporary set back for her own dreams and will she eventually go to school to start her own life?

4. What’s on your desk (or your immediate writing area) right now?

Is it too late to clean it off?  I guess it is.  LOL. 

• All of my drugs (Tylenol, Motrin, Prilosec and Pepto Bismal Chewable)
• 2 bottles of Poland Springs (One full the other half full)
• Mocha Latte from Dunkin Donuts
• Box of Tissues
• Calculator
• 2 Flash Drives
• A receipt from Boston Market with a coupon I want to save
• 2 Pens
• Eyeglass cleaner with cloth
• Screen Cleaner for Monitor
• My Kindle
• Small Scissors
• Magnifying Glass
• Ponytail Holders
• Bobby Pins
• Note Pads and Index Cards
• Keyboard
• Speakers
• Mouse and Mouse Pad
• Monitor
• Cell Phone with Charger
• Desk Lamp

5. How do you go about character development, and what part does the game play?

A Race Against Time is the first sim story I decided to write and I have to be honest at first I didn't develop the character too much and basically I was strictly going on the traits.  I would roll for random traits and I would write the character based on those but some traits never showed up.  2nd generation heir Rose has Equestrian as one of her traits and yet I never was really concerned.  Third generation Wolfie rolled rebellious, commitment issues and he is a werewolf.  Since wolf is another term for a womanizer he became a womanizer.  Things started to change later on, 5th generation Starr was supposed to have a completely different story until she randomly rolled the Party Animal Trait.  I used that trait along with an idea of how I wanted her to be and changed the story completely.  Now the traits are dependent completely on the story and they reflect the personality I want the character to have.  If I had been doing this when writing the character of Dylan I would have made him a supernatural skeptic as he is a very powerful warlock who rejects his powers.  He only uses them when asked or his back is against the wall.  On top of it all he has not one clue to what he is doing so even he is surprised at the results.  Recently I have even been influencing genders and life states to coincide with the story I have in mind.

6. How would you describe yourself as a reader?

Basically I'm going to say that I am a slow reader mostly because when I like a story I like to take the time to enjoy it fully.  I like romance and dramas mostly I guess you can say I'm into Chick Lit.  Shouldn't surprise anyone as I have been watching the daytime dramas since 1978 and this reflects into the type of books I will choose.  I would have to say that my absolute favorites are when topics from the headlines and dealt with in the stories.  It makes them more interesting to me.

7. If you could change one thing about your writing, what would it be and why?

I'm afraid the answer to this question could be a book in itself. LOL!  When I review the story from the beginning those first generations make me want to cringe.  I do wish I could start the whole story over but I don't because that is what I wrote at the time.  One big opportunity I missed was in the second generation with Rose.  Everyone in town knew she was looking for a rich husband's yet I didn't have Chris' sisters objecting to the marriage.  If I were writing it now that is how the story would be written.  

I wish I could write descriptions better and dialogue better.  This is something I'm trying to work on.  

8. What is your overarching goal as a SimLit writer or what are you trying to achieve?

I basically want to see how far I can take this story and my main objective is to improve my writing skills.

9. Who is one of your favorite SimLit characters and why?

This question is impossible for me to answer with one character.  I read many Sim Lit stories and each and everyone of them has a character or characters I like.  Its too hard to pick just one so I'm not going to as all of you know which characters of yours that I love.

10. Which of your own SimLit characters is a personal favorite of yours?

This is another impossible question to answer.  My sims are like my babies and how can I choose a favorite.  Its like asking to choose a favorite with your kids, you can't do it.  Ok maybe I'm not a good example of this because I only have one kid but I couldn't pick a favorite among my nieces and nephews.  I love each one of them equally.

11. If you (or your Simself) could spend a day in another SimLit writer’s story, what story would that be and why?

I would consider myself lucky to be living in anyone else's story but it would have to be a Sims 3 story.  One of the things I consider to be the best advantage of living life as a sim would be the fact that I could eat almost anything and not gain weight.  There is counting calories in Sims 4!  

Ok seriously now it would be an honor to spend a day with characters I have grown to love as much as my own.  Again I can't choose just one as there would be reasons for each and everyone of them.

My Nominees:

Please remember that I am nominating all the stories that I love here.  If you are not able to make the blog post or you have already been nominated and posted this before, please do not feel obligated to post.   I just want to mention all of the stories that I have grown to love and stories who also need their day in the sun.

1. @Jazen  For "As Life Goes By" and "Kiss of a Vampire"

2.@Vuneca for "Iron Man Going Solo"

3.@AdamEve1231 for "Kassopeia Fullbright Series"

4.@Friendsfan367 for "The Benders"

5.@Simcraft81 for "O raj's Journal" and for your wonderful videos on youtube

6.@Illusie for "Drifter Challenge:The Keller Family"

7.@Carlimact for "Simlings"

8.@Shafer249 for "Sims 3 Stories"

9.@Mischief the Kitten for "Whispers in the Wind"

10.@Eliroc for "Elvira Slayer: The True Story"

11.@Newtothesims for "Solace of Elysium"

My Questions for Nominees:

Again I would like to remind everyone that they are under no obligation to answer.

1.  What inspired you to start writing your current story?
2.  What genre do you tend to read or write about the most?
3.  What book is your most loved favorite of all time that you can re read over again?
4.  Was there ever an event in game that changed your entire story?
5.  Do you have a personal sim game that you play just for fun that is not part of any story?  If so how often do you play them?
6.  With your Sim Lit or Sim characters do you often use naming themes?
7.  If you are playing a legacy how do you choose your heir?
8.  Has there ever been an event in your story that made you smile when writing about it or a sad event that brought you to tears when writing it?
9.  What are your feelings about getting constructive criticism on your story?
10.  Do you have a favorite author who you consider your role model for writing your story?
11.  How do you handle writing blocks?


I want to thank AdamEve again for the nomination and I would like to thank all my fellow Sim Lit authors.