Phony Photos: December

I already used the December calendar page back in 2012, so I decided to make up a little XMas card in the Sims 3.

I tried to find holiday stuff for the Sims 3 but didn't have much luck.  About all I could find were child's shirts, so I made kid versions of Val, Stacey, and Kari from the calendar and then I made a vaguely holiday looking adult Emma.

And like 4 months later I still couldn't find anything for adults.  But I did find holiday-themed fabrics to make some tacky sweaters.  Check this out:

Happy Holidays!  May they be SIMply the Best!  Punny!

Incidentally, I already made my 2014 calendar using Sims 3 versions of my Girl Power characters.  Here's a preview:

If you want you can buy a copy for yourself for $19.99, but I doubt anyone is that stupid.

Phony Photos: November

From the SIMply the Best calendar it's November's page!  This should be a pretty familiar face by now.  No, not Stacey Chance.  It's Emma Earl!  Why wait until November?  I don't know it just seemed appropriate for my birthday month.  So there.

You might notice Emma's hair in the left picture is a little different than how it used to be.  I just liked this style a little better.  On the right is Emma in her Scarlet Knight armor.  Of course the reds of her hair don't match.  There's not much I can do about that.  I mean "red" to some people means a lot of different shades.  It's kind of annoying.

This is a Sims 3/Sims Medieval version:

Next month is a holiday-themed one to wrap it all up!

Tomorrow is my book report for 2013!  Find out what were the best and worst books I've read all year.

Cover Reveal: Powered by Cheyanne Young & Phony Photos: October

As someone who's written now two series of superhero novels I eagerly signed up to get an ARC of Cheyanne Young's superhero novel Powered.  It was really good.  I particularly like the unique world Cheyanne created for her heroes and villains.  Are you born a hero or do you become one by the choices you make?  Find out!

Release date: November 28th 2013

Publisher: 336Love

Cover Reveal: October 2nd 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17157570-powered

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Maci Might's sixteenth birthday is supposed to be the day she's awarded Hero status. But thanks to a tiny anger problem and a questionable family tree, King City's elders think it's best if she doesn't join the Hero ranks. Determined to change their minds, Maci will break whatever rule it takes to prove she's Hero material. As her hair darkens and her anger grows, everyone turns against her except Evan; a childhood friend turned scientist who may be able to unlock the secrets hidden in her DNA.

When a villain attacks King City and her dad is held prisoner, Maci discovers a truth she refuses to believe. She may not be a Hero after all—but this time the Heroes of King City need her more than she needs them. And she won't let them down.

About the Author

Cheyanne Young is the Amazon Best Selling author of Motocross Me. She is a native Texan with a fear of cold weather and a coffee addiction that probably needs an intervention. She loves books, sarcasm, nail polish and paid holidays. She lives near the beach with her daughter, one spoiled rotten puppy and a cat who is most likely plotting to take over the world.

Official links: 

cheyanneyoung.blogspot.com | twitter.com/NormalChey | facebook.com/authorcheyanneyoung

Rafflecopter Giveaway Code:

<a id="rc-642629115" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/642629115/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>

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Direct link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NjQyNjI5MjVkYTkyNTY3NjE4OGIzNjQ2NGE5MWE2OjExNQ==/
 Here's the official Grumpy Bulldog review http://grumpybulldogindie.blogspot.com/2013/08/powered.html

And now from the SIMply the best calendar it's October's page!  Since Halloween is at the end of the month, what better to feature than witches? 

On the left is Sylvia Joubert, only the younger version from Volumes 4-5 of the Scarlet Knight series and also from the prequel story that remains unpublished.  On the right is Sylvia's older sister Agnes Chiostro, the younger version from Volumes 3-8.  In the center on the top is Akako, Agnes's wife who came from a parallel universe where America was colonized by the Japanese and Agnes was a man and they were married.  On the bottom middle is Agnes and Akako's daughter Renee; this is the adult version of her from the future.  And you might wonder how Agnes and Akako have a child...it's magic!

And now the Sims 3 version:

Next month is an even more familiar face...

Tomorrow I say goodbye to Breaking Bad!

Phony Photos: September

From the SIMply the Best Calendar it's time for September's page!  To wrap up the Perfect Worlds series is Krisee the girl who seduces Kari (last month's pin-up girl) and steals her away from Val.  Maybe you can see why...or not.

On the left is teenage Krisee in her hot cheerleading outfit.  In the center is a slightly older teenage Krisee going through an awkward phase with pimples and turning to the dark side with a leather jacket.  That wasn't really the one I wanted to put in the center but it was the one I had to because the program kept complaining the others weren't high-res enough.  On the bottom right is the same Krisee as the center only in a pink wig.  And then at the top is an adult Krisee in a sexy nurse outfit.  OK it doesn't look so sexy there but the bottom has fishnet stockings and little else.  For some reason the nurse costumes people make only come in the sexy variety.

So maybe you can see why Kari would trash her relationship with Val for Krisee.  Or not.  Whatever.

And here's the Sims 3 version:

Next month gets back to more familiar ground.

Phony Photos: August

From my SIMply the Best calendar it's August's page.  Last month I introduced Val from my story Perfect Worlds and now it's time to introduce her girlfriend Kari.  Hooray!

If you were paying attention, you might recognize the center one as the Lady in Red from last year.  Or probably not.  Anyway, that's Kari in her young 20s as a hot secretary.  On the left is Kari a little older and more mature with brown hair and funky sports goggles.  On the bottom right is Kari a little older yet and back to red hair.  And at the top is Kari in her awkward teen phase with pimples and tattoos around her collar.

And here's the Sims 3 version:

Next month this series ends with the homewerecker who ruins Val and Kari's relationship.

BTW, according to the Sims calendar today is Stacey Chance's birthday!  (I think because it's about the day I started writing the first book in 2011.)  So why not celebrate by getting all three books for a mere $1.98?

Happy Birthday!

Phony Photos: July

NOTE:  If you haven't gotten your Box Office Blitz picks in yet, you still have today to do it!  And if you're eligible for a free ebook, be sure to let me know which one you want!

From my SIMply the Best calendar it's July's page!  Now we move on from Stacey Chances to three characters from my story "Perfect Worlds".  If you've really paid attention to this blog since the inception of Phony Photos then you'll recognize a couple in this set.

The two on the right already appeared on the first Phony Photos segments back in 2012.  On the bottom right is teenage Val looking geeky.  Above that is a slightly older Val in her "military" uniform that's actually a pilot uniform.  In the center is Val with longer hair and the sexy version of the uniform.  And then on the left is Val in her 30s, looking a bit geekier again as she goes domestic.  Circle of life, people!

And again here's what they'd look like in the Sims 3:

Next month will also be a little familiar, at least one of them.

Phony Photos: June

From the SIMply the best calendar it's June's page.  This is the last to feature Stacey Chance, more or less.  Hooray, you survived that!

On the left is Stacey in her "punk schoolgirl" outfit with bright red pigtails and a schoolgirl costume.  She's not a stripper or anything; she just dresses that way to rebel against The Man.  Though she used to be a male police officer so in a way she was The Man, which means she's rebelling against herself!  Also at this point she's barely 5 feet tall, so people are always mistaking her for a kid and she figures, "Why fight it?"  (Which is the same reason I shaved my head, because if I'm going to be bald I'll do it on my terms, damn it.)  But on her wedding day she cleans up pretty nice, as you see on the right.

And here's what it would have looked like if I'd used the Sims 3:

Since everyone wants to talk about their insecurities, I always feel insecure trying to make ethnic Sims.  Not so much black ones, because those fairly easy.  White and black are the ends of the spectrum so they're pretty easy.  But if I want to make Asians, Arabs, Indians (either kind), or Hispanics it gets tricky figuring out which shades to use.  It would have been so much easier if they had a drop down box where you could choose a character ethnicity to take some of the guesswork out of it.  It would be good too if you could choose the height and weight so not everyone is the same size.  Maxis/EA should really consult me before they release the Sims 4 next year.

Tomorrow I review something!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT AND Phony Photos: May

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:  My "publisher" for A Hero's Journey decided to get off their butts and actually contribute something to the marketing.  A very small something.  They're lowering the price of the book to 99 cents for the month of May*.  And I'm also lowering the price for the rest of the series to 99 cents for May.  If you don't remember what they're about, read this post from about a month ago!  So if you've been putting off buying it for whatever reason, stock up now before prices jump up in June!  Think about it this way:  $7.92 in May versus up to $34.42 after May.  By Grabthar's hammer, what a savings!

(*This obviously only applies to the ebook, not the paperback.  If it's not showing up yet, just check back in a day or two for it to be updated.  I know it's already updated on Smashwords, so you can go there to buy it in any ebook format.)


And now back to regular programming, which is now free of A to Z bullshit.  Huzzah!  On the down side, just six months until NanoWriMo, which means we'll start talking about that now.  (These things are as annoying as the holiday shopping season.)

From my SIMply the Best calendar it's time for the merry month of May.  Hooray!  If you remember last month's (or last week's Box Office Blitz poll) then half of this should seem pretty familiar.

I mistitled my own book on my calendar.  D'OH!

The one on the left is again Stacey Chance, as it also says on the calendar itself.  Only this time she's dyed her hair a weird red color for her first date with a dude.  Next to her is little 10-year-old Stacey Chang.  Who's that?  That would be the Chinese version of Stacey Chance.  There's a complicated explanation that makes little actual sense.  You'll hear more about it in two weeks.  Anyway, again with Stacey Chang you see the purple-for-black hair coloring.  Oy vey.

Tomorrow I review something!

Come See Phony Photos: April

From my SIMply the Best calendar it's the page for April!  This should be a pretty familiar one, at least the one on the left.  If you don't know who it is then obviously you haven't been paying attention to my blog.  Stop following all those other blogs and just focus on this one!  What else do you need?  Um, yeah, anyway...

So the one on the left is Stacey Chance.  You should know her.  I mean I posted a whole police lineup of Staceys one time to choose from.  I don't think this is necessarily one people liked but it's one I liked and my vote counts a million times more than yours.  It's North Korean-style democracy in action.  Basically the hairstyle and clothes on the left suit her personality, which is very down-to-earth and no-nonsense because only a few days earlier she was a 50-year-old dude.  A straight 50-year-old dude, so obviously she wouldn't be running around in frilly pink dresses yet.

The one on the right is also Stacey.  Only she's dyed her hair black and wearing more formal attire to escape police scrutiny.  She uses a dead man's credit card to buy a bunch of fancy clothes that are a complete 180 from her usual attire and then treats herself to a spa weekend at his expense.  (What does he care, he's dead!)  Actually her hair there is more purple because for some reason people who make these hairs think purple is actually black.  Are they colorblind?

If you want to learn more about this story, you can buy it for $1.99 here!  (Also on B&N and Amazon.)  And I'll be talking more in-depth about it in two weeks.  Because I can.

Tomorrow is the long overdue review that completes the whole Batman: Knightfall saga I talked about last August.  Since I did the whole thing half-assed it is appropriately the middle of the story.

Phony Photos: March

From my SIMply the Best Calendar, this is March's page, because it's March.  In case you didn't yet grasp the correlation.

This is another one of those where they're all the same character.  On the left is a grown-up Edie with a tan.  In the center is Edie at 17 or so.  The bottom right is also Edie at 17 or so but with a more formal look.  And then at the top is Edie at about 8 or so.

I made all these pretty much at the same time so the noses and stuff more or less match.  I always wish there were an edit button for after I've made people for when I want to go back and edit them instead of having to recreate them from scratch.  Oh well, I guess I'm about 8 years too late to ask for that.

Tomorrow I review something!

Phony Photos: February

If you read January's Phony Photos then you know all year the first Wednesday I'm giving you a corresponding page from my Sims calendar, which was called "SIMply the Best"--ah hahahaha...punny.

And just to clarify, this calendar is only for my personal use.  I doubt anyone else enjoys my Sims characters that much.  Also, this cost like $22 on Shutterfly (that was with a discount) so I doubt anyone else would want to pay that much for a calendar.

Anyway, this is February's image:

This story focuses on a Mexican mother (yes actually Mexican, PC Police, so shut up) and her two kids.  The mom, Elena, is on the far left.  Next to her is her daughter Margarita at 6.  The biggest image is Margarita at 12.  And then at the right is Elena's other daughter Anita at 5.

Besides this story, Elena and Margarita actually show up in volume 2 of the Scarlet Knight series, which is due out in six days!  See if you can find their cameo in the story.  All three characters also appear in my second Stacey Chance story "Little Chance" as well.  Because I'm lazy and just reuse characters.  Also it amuses me to put in little Easter Eggs that no one will care about except for me.

Tomorrow I review something!

Phony Photos: January

Last month I got a coupon in my email for Shutterfly and I had a brilliant idea.  Instead of going to the mall and buying some boring stock calendar like I do every year, why not make my own calendar featuring all the awesome characters I've made in the Sims?  Yeah, so that happened.  And I figured if I'm going to do one of these a month, why not use the calendar pages.  Because I'm lazy like that.

So this is January's calendar image.

The people in this are mostly the same one, only at different ages.  In the left corner is Esther at age 7.  For some reason the "brown" they had is a funny reddish-purple shade.  In the center is Esther grown up in her 30s.  The big image on the right is Esther at 12 or so.  The top right corner is her daughter Natalie when she's about 7.

Stay tuned next month for February's!

Tomorrow I catch you up on movies I watched last fall...

Phony Photos: A Look Ahead

For this final Phony Photos of the year, if not forever, here's a look into the future of the Scarlet Knight series.  


As I think I've noted before, there are 7 other books in the series.  You can look on the timeline in the Special Features to see when they take place.  On the Character Bios of the Special Features you can see the primary cast for the first book.  But as the series goes on there are many more characters introduced.  

If you read volume 0 then you already know Isis and Merlin, who appear in Volume 3 as well.  And I did an A to Z entry on Marie Marsh.  She and the Watchmaker both appear at the end of Volume 1.  Some of them appear earlier than I have them listed here but I didn't want to list too many for each one, so they got bumped a little.  And of course there are still other characters, some of whom are pretty important.

I'm not going to say anything about the characters because that would ruin a few surprises.  Just use your imagination to figure out how everyone is involved.

Vol 2:  Time Enough to Say Goodbye
The Watchmaker	Marie Marsh	Steve Scherr
Vol 3:  The Hazards of Love
Merlin	Isis	Pepe
Vol 4:  Change of Heart
Koschei	Bykov	Katarina
Vol 5:  Betrayal Begets Blood
Akako	Tim Cooper	Megan Putnam
Vol 6:  Future Shock
Louise Earl	Renee Chiostro	Cecelia Rameau
Vol 7:  Living Sacrifice
Amanda Murdoch	Katya
Vol 8:  The Heart of Emma Earl
Dr. Emma Reed	Joanna Reed	Renee Kim

Here's a fun guessing game for you:  8 of these new characters on this graphic die, though one is brought back to life.  Which ones do you think die?  And which ones live?

Tomorrow is an XMas-themed Two-Fer Tuesday!

Not-So-Phony Photos: Cover Up

On and off the last couple of weeks, I've been working on covers for the other seven books in the Scarlet Knight series.  As you can see they're a different format from the first one, but I couldn't very well ask Rusty to draw seven more covers for me.

These are not final so any input would be appreciated.

Tomorrow's Two-Fer Tuesday involves a little interoffice hanky-panky...