Featured Author: An Interview with Sharon (Sweet Nightingale)

Happy Wednesday, friends! Today, I have the pleasure of bringing a new interview to you. This time, we are speaking to Sharon, otherwise known as Sweet Nightingale (SimLit Legacy Stories by Sharon, Simming with Sweet Nightingale).

Sharon writes some fun Sims stories, so you should check them out if haven’t already. 😀

Shall we get started?

1. How long have you been playing The Sims and what got you into it?

I was a latecomer to the Sims, having started playing shortly after Pets in The Sims 3 was released. I must’ve been living under a rock because I never knew this was an actual game. I’d seen, in different places on the Internet, where people said they were “making a Sim of___.” Me, in my ignorance, just thought this process was a sort of Avatar maker.. 
I never really gave it much thought until a couple years later when I was desperately searching for a character generator. I’d started a writing project and was lacking serious inspiration. I thought if I had an image of a couple of my main characters to actually look at – something I’d actually created from my mental description, I’d be in better shape. I was scouring YouTube when i came across some Sims 3 videos. I just had this feeling I’d stumbled onto just what I needed.

I DID stumble onto what I needed but had no idea just how magnanimous this discovery would be. Again, at first, I thought this was simply a character/Avatar generator and had no idea it was an actual simulation game. My jaw hit my computer desk when I discovered that the Sims was more, MUCH more than just a character generator. I drowned myself in Sims videos so I could see how it was played. As I did this, I researched all the “add-ons” and rushed right over to Amazon to order ALL the current packs – EP’s and SP’s both. I literally screamed and jumped up and down (well, as much as my bad knees would allow), and I wasted no time in getting everything installed on my computer. For quite some time after that, you couldn’t pry me away from the game. 🙂 I was hopelessly hooked. It didn’t take long before I found and purchases all the packs for Sims 2 and Sims 1. And of course, I had to get Sims Medieval and the Sims 2 companion games (Sims Pet Stories,Sims Life Stories, and Sims Castaway Stories). As they say, the rest is history. 😀 

2. Why did you begin blogging your Sims story?

Blogging a Sims story was an afterthought, really. I’d already made somewhat of a name for myself on YouTube as a Sims Let’sPlayer (I was never a big fish but had a nice following nonetheless). I never imagined actually writing and blogging a Sims story until I found a forum thread where people were writing challenge-based Sims stories. I started reading a few and thought, “I’d never be able to do that.” The idea of getting screenshots, especially posing Sims to get good screenshots, was totally overwhelming to me. It kept haunting me though, and I knew I’d never get any peace until I figured out how it could be done. I’d been making up backstories for my Sims for a long time already, so the idea of actually writing a story using my Sims game intrigued me. One day in 2014, I decided to just bite the bullet and go for it. It started off with “Forever in Time,” shortly followed by “As Tears Go by” (now called “Serenade”). 

“Another World,” now called “Heartsongs and Enchantments” soon followed that. By that time, my YouTube audience was starting to dwindle with the coming of Sims 4 (I pretty much remained stuck in time with Sims 3. Not wholeheartedly moving on to the “latest and greatest” was the start of the death knoll for my channel), so I focused much of my Simming energies into creating my blogs and stories. I’m so glad I did because I an combine two things I love; writing and playing Sims.

I’ve come a long way since then. Last year, I decided to move my blogs from Bloggeer to WordPress. I felt that not only would I possibly gain more traffic, I could have more professional looking sites with WordPress. By then, there was a lot in my stories I wanted to redo, so the move is allowing me to rework the parts I wasn’t happy with. It’s been a lot of work, but I feel this will give my readers and myself a better and higher quality experience. 

3. How do you come up with your story ideas?

I get my ideas from many different sources. Some I take from my own life experiences. Other times, believe it or not, I grab some bits and pieces from such things as old soap opera storylines and radio shows I’ve heard. I also take a lot of inspiration from songs. I ponder a lot of song lyrics and formulate story/chapter ideas that could possibly fit with the meaning or emotion of a particular song. I do this quite often when writing a short story. Music, being an integral part of my life since I’m a classically trained singer, is a huge inspiration in my writing. 

4. Do your sims actions help create new ideas or make the story go in a different direction than you had intended?

Sometimes. I must confess that I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to my writing. 🙂 I usually have a strongly etched out idea I want to see come to fruition, and I’ll do what I can to make that happen. However, there are times when the Sims’ actions bring another possibility or slight change to the surface. 

The biggest lack of control was Lenora’s Bachelorette Challenge. I knew I wanted and NEEDED to continue her story (Lenora is totally my favorite Sim of mine in all the world) but had no idea where it would go. Whoever she ended up with was going to be a driving force in the direction her story would take.

Another incident that comes to mind is Debbie and Simon. I knew right away that he would be a possible father for her baby (I’m not going to reveal who said father is here because I don’t want to give away such a big spoiler). Although Simon was with Ericka (when you start up Aurora Skies, Ericka starts out pregnant with Simon’s baby, I believe), he and Debbie had an attraction right away. This meant that it would be easy for me to get them in bed together. I originally was going to write it up that they’d had too much to drink one night during one of his visits and find themselves in bed but are foggy on the details the next morning. However, they were SO attracted to each other, and Simon was always doing romantic interactions with Debbie. This made it very easy to write that they had a driving passion for each other and couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. 

Still another big thing for “Forever in Time” was the quads. No, let me ammend that to TWO sets of quads. Yep, you ready it right – TWO sets of quads. I had NO idea that was going to happen. I’d been fooling with my NRAAS settings and didn’t realize how much I’d upped the chance of quads. This changed a lot, and the personalities of all the kids will steer certain events that are coming up in the near future. 

5. Which is your favorite character and why?

My favorite character of all time is Lenora. Actually, I must add Tyrone as well because as it turned out, you can’t have Lenora without Tyrone. 🙂 She is my favorite, I think, because I put so much effort, sweat, and tears into her. She has a very traumatic backstory (read her Prologue and Bachelorette Challenge and you’ll see what I mean), and I’ve spent a great deal of time developing her character. Despite what she’s gone through, she made more than a complete comeback and has no trace of bitterness about her ordeal. She’s beautiful, talented, and she’d be the best bestie anyone could ask for. She and Tyrone are a very, very powerful supernatural super-couple. With my romantic nature and my supernatural heart, what more can i ask for?

6. What chapter has been the most difficult to write so far, and why?

There are a lot of answers that fit here, so there’s no way I could stop at one. 🙂 For “Forever in Time” so far, the hardest part to write was the plane crash that killed Lincoln and Landon. Lenora actually felt them dying through her empathic senses, so writing her terror took a lot out of me emotionally. I’m not ashamed to say I shed more than a few tears as I wrote that chapter. Same for when she went to the morgue to see them after. To write such abject despair is emotionally draining. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Liam’s death, too. Losing Grandda Liam was more than awful for Lenora because of how close they were. It was rough for me because I loved Liam’s character. It’s difficult when such a good man goes.

There will be some extremely hard chapters for me to write coming up in the near future. Technically, they are already written since they’d been published on Blogger, but due to the move, I’ll be reworking them. Revisiting this material, let’s just say, is going to be heartrending. I don’t want to give too much away, but look for things such as an Orpheus and Eurydice-type situation to arise in one story and a possible presumed death in another. I won’t say which stories they are or give any more details, so you’ll just have to stay tuned to find out what happens in all my stories. 🙂 

7. Is there anything you wish was different about your story?

Normally, I would say yes, lots. However, as I explained in an above answer, my blogs have moved house, which means I have the opportunity to rework parts I ended up not being happy with. That puts me in quite a unique situation, which I plan to take full advantage of. So far, I’m happy with how things are progressing and am hoping to keep that going. I suppose, like any writer, there’s always something that can be improved. At this stage in the game, if I could change one thing, it would be to lessen the number of babies in “Forever in Time.” However, it was the game that dictated that, so I rolled with it. 🙂 I couldn’t bring myself to annihilate anyone, so I just dealt with it and made it work for the story. 

8. Do you have any advice for other writers who may just be starting out?

Sure! I think the most challenging thing we, as writers, are faced with is self-doubt. Is my material good enough to be out there in cyberspace? Will anyone even want to read my stuff? Why am I even doing this? Yep, been there and done that many times. I still ask myself these questions. I know it’s hard to do, but try not to think about what others might think of your work. Write what you want to write, and write down the stories you want to tell. You have as much right to express your ideas as anyone else does. Most of all, though, enjoy yourself. Writing and Simming is supposed to be fun, after all. If you stress over it too much, it no longer is fun, which means you’re less apt to follow through with your ideas. If you’re worried that spelling and grammar might be a struggle for you, get a friend or relative to help you edit your stuff. However, don’t let anyone make you feel you need to change your story to suit them. It’s YOUR work, YOUR masterpiece, so stay true to yourself and your characters. 

Another thing new writers will inevitably encounter is lack of traffic/viewership on the blog. It can be very difficult to get readers. I struggle with this myself and find myself totally frustrated when I look at post after post with no likes or comments. Like any other hobby/area of interest, there are cliques who will not go outside their circle to read any new material. It’s sad, but is unfortunately true. On the other hand, there are many Simmers who will come over to read new blogs. They just have to be made aware that they’re there. Many times, if you read someone else’s blog, they will reciprocate and come over to read yours. All I can say is (and I try to follow my own advice here, too) is to read as much as you can, like and comment on posts, and take part in the Sims forums. That will help others become aware that you have an active story and are definitely looking for readers. With that said, please don’t spam blogs or forum threads. If anything, that will turn people away faster than you can say Landgraab. 

9. What are the challenges of bringing your characters to life?

I think the biggest challenge is making sure they remain interesting to both myself and readers. I think my biggest strength in writing is character development. I love creating well-rounded, fleshed-out characters rather than simple “paper people,” which are very one-dimensional, basic characters with no “grit.” Sometimes I get into a comfortable groove, which can become stale. It’s fun, but sometimes very challenging, to find new situations and adventures to keep the characters fresh, interesting, and entertaining. 

10. Would you like to share an excerpt from your story or a summary of your story? Or both?

Of course! As you know, I have several stories going on. I’ll give a summary of all the main ones as well as excerpts. I have other projects on the blogs, too, but I think this will give a pretty good idea of what I’ve got going. 

“Forever in Time” This started out as being more of a legacy story but decided to change format while moving it to its new home o WordPress. It’s now more of a soap-opera sort of thing, meaning that each character will get chapters devoted to them. Because I had two sets of quads, this format is perfect in order to give each character their due screentime. We will see more and more of his as the kids get older and have lives of their own. I would not have this leeway in a multi-generational story. Because of this, “Forever in Time” will be a long-term project with no set ending point. 

The story starts out with Lenora and Tyrone Landgraab, who are charged with fulfilling a mission to keep magic, music, and art alive. The multiverse is at a pivotal point where such things as witch trials and book burning could become a distinct possibility if Lenora and Tyrone don’t help things along. They must juggle this and regular life, too. If they achieve their lifetime wish and reach the top of their career, they will gain immortality. This will be a signal that their part of the mission succeeded. The same will happen for Landon & Crystal as well as the two sets of quads and their potential life partners. Everyone who achieves immortality will have a special job and destiny to fulfill. 

Here is an excerpt. This is a silly, so-in-love moment with Lenora and Tyrone from Chapter 15, Riding High.

Lenora was giggling helplessly as Tyrone led her outside. “I can’t believe you did that to Mathilda. Had it been anyone else, she would have cursed them with chronic jock itch indefinitely.”

Tyrone grinned and shrugged. “Mathilda loves me too much for that.. Besides, I did it partly for her benefit. She’ll go back in there and tell Grandda all about it, which will lead to their own tryst. You see, it benefits us and them.”

“You are a filthy animal,” Lenora said. Faking a dizzy spell, she groaned. “Ariadne, save me from the insanity and injustice of this world, but most of all, save me from this beast who claims to be my husband.”

Growling low in his throat, a sound that would chill the blood of a stranger although Tyrone was only in human form, he grabbed for Lenora. She shrieked with laughter and pretended to ward him off with her fists. Slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of flour, he carried her toward the car. “You are now in my clutches and will never escape.”

“Oh dear…oh dear! I am doomed,” she cried, playing along in one of their favorite games. “I fear I must admit that I am besotted with my beastly captor.”

“Serenade”

This is what I call a musical legacy story. There will be ten generations with each generation having a theme song to go along with and somehow fit within their story. Some heirs will have musical talent while others won’t. For example, Debbie, who has a totally untrained singing voice but can strum a little on the guitar often plays and sings “As Tears Go By” because it’s her all-time favorite song. There will likely be some supernatural incidents but won’t be as heavily laced with it like it is in some of my other stories. 

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 5, Coming Clean.

TRIGGER WARNING: this excerpt contains a PTSD episode, depicting a past rape.

When his arms came up to encircle me, an uncontrollable, wild panic seized me. I gasped and put my hands up in a self-protective, defensive gesture. “Don’t touch me! Please…don’t touch me!” I backed away, shaking and started to cry. My body broke out in a cold sweat, and all I wanted to do was cower in a corner.

“My God!” a male voice exclaimed. “Debbie, what’s the matter?”

“Shane…please…just leave me alone!” I screamed, my voice coming out in hitching sobs. I felt Shane’s hands on me, felt his weight pinning me down, felt him ejaculate his horrible filthy seed inside me.

From far away, I heard a voice calling my name. “Debbie…it’s all right. It’s me, Simon. Open your eyes and look at me. Come back, Debbie. Nobody’s going to hurt you. Come on now and look at me.”

It was dark…so dark…and I realized my eyes were squeezed shut. I slowly opened them, taking in my present surroundings as they swam back into focus. “S-Simon…?” He was standing very close to me. I felt him peering at me intently, but he made no move to touch me.

“Yeah, Debbie, I’m here,” Simon said in low tones.

“I’m…sorry. I’m…so sorry,” I sobbed out in abject misery.

“Heartsongs & Enchantments”

This is a legacy story heavily laced with the supernatural. It starts out with Alina, who must travel in time to the present day in order for her life to be spared. This is a companion story to “Forever in Time” because many of the characters in both stories are related and will cross paths.

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1, Hurtling Through Time.

“I feared this day would come,” my mother said, her voice quivering as she bathed my brow with cool cloths. “I have lost ought but you, my Alina. Although we must part, I will not lose you.”

“I fear I shall perish, Mother, for I do not possess the immortality that runs through your being,” I whispered.

“You shall not perish. I will not have it. Do you hear me, child?” Mother said fiercely.

“If the Almighty wishes to take me, there is nothing we can do. Mayhap Father wishes for me to be by his side,” I replied.

“Nay!” my mother said with determination. “It is not your time. This was confirmed to me in my crystal ball. You will live, but it will be in another place and time.”

“I do not understand,” I said. “I am weary.” My eyelids refused to remain open, and I felt sleep desiring to claim me.

“You just sleep while I make preparations,” Mother said, touching my brow as if in benediction. “You will understand. I only pray I can complete the preparations in time.”

When awareness returned, I was being shaken firmly as Mother fought to rouse me from deep slumber. “You must awaken, child. You must look up Alina! Awaken, child, for if you do not, it could mean your life.”

I finally roused with reluctance. “Why do you weep, Mother?” I was vexed, for it was only during times of deepest distress that my mother wept.

“I weep because I must bid thee farewell, my sweet one,” she said, her hand touching my cheek.

“I am dying?” I asked.

“Not dying,” she said. “You are going on a journey. I have summoned magic from every ounce of strength and learning I possess so I can send you to a place and time where being a witch will not harm you.”

Wow! This was such an amazing interview! I’m so happy we did this Q&A! Thank you so much, Sharon!

Go, Lenora and Tyrone! 😀

Did you all enjoy this interview as much as I did? I hope you will check out Sharon’s stories because they are such fun reads!

and

Notes: 

If you are a blog author (it does not have to be The Sims related) and would like to be featured in an interview, please send me an email using my contact form! I would love to interview you, too!

And, I have one more thing to say…. Happy Anniversary to the love of my life! You are everything a husband and father should be; a protector, provider, leader, and teacher. I’m so lucky to be loved by you.

Thank you for reading,