Asides

Delays, Delays…

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Hello everyone!

I definitely intended to post an update when the apartment repairs and upgrades were finished, to let you know when you can expect more new content. I’m sorry to say it will be at least another week before I can think about getting Chapter Four on the blog. We’ve had some unforeseen problems. I’ll explain.

Last Tuesday, my hubby and I took our two feline children and moved into a Marriott hotel for a few days while contractors repaired some of the structural problems in our home. I got a lot of writing done on Chapter Four, so the time away was productive.

On our last night in the hotel room, I discovered our room had bedbugs. Now, that’s a thing no one EVER wants to deal with. And as much as we’ve tried to keep our exposure limited, I guess it’s inevitable we brought home some extra tenants.

Now, we’re cleaning and packing AGAIN, but this time, it will be for bedbug treatment. On Friday, we’ll pack our cats and ourselves into the car and vacate our home for four hours minimum while our apartment is treated. I’m guessing PetSmart and Petco will see a LOT of us on Friday.

Tonight, I’m sending my draft of Chapter Four to Chris for his perusal, so hopefully, by the end of the week, I’ll have his suggestions in my hands, ready to complete this chapter of Destiny’s life. Meanwhile, the apartment needs my attention (again… sigh!) so I’ll be working my itchy fingers to the bone. Did I mention that I have no fewer than 30 bites all over my body? I’m wondering if all this mess was worth the upgrades. Extra pain, invested time and energy, and now bedbugs and the hassle it will bring to eradicate them. My gut says, “No.”

In reality, I’m shooting for Chapter Four to be up by the end of the month. Will I make that deadline? I don’t know. I’m going to try my best. Keep an eye on Facebook or Twitter for updates, as it’s easier for me to post there than here. This is a great time to follow me on social platforms! Just a click is all you need to ensure you get every update.

I will see you on the flip side of all this mess. And hopefully, I’ll be feeling better by then, too. As always, thank you for hanging with me here, and for reading my stories. I appreciate you more than you know!

Thank you for reading

Can I Be Real For A Moment…?

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Hi everyone. 

This isn’t something I normally have to talk about on this blog, because it isn’t usually an issue. But I’ve made some promises I haven’t kept regarding the Generation Two rewrites. It’s time I come clean and tell you the real reason I can’t keep to timelines and deadlines I’ve set for myself. 

In the simplest terms, I’m a chronic pain warrior. I have suffered and struggled with Fibromyalgia for 22 of my 52 years. Some days are better than others. This past week has been my worst symptom flare up of the year, maybe of the last two years. These are things I can’t control, and when it flares up, I’m out of commission despite my attempts to remain ‘normal.’ 

This is why I appreciate your patience when I miss deadlines, or when I’m a year behind where I wanted to be with rewrites. When I started my Generation One rewrites last January, I never intended them to last nearly two years. I thought a couple of months, then revisit Generation Two, and I’d be back with Danae and Andy in Generation Five by May of last year. But that didn’t happen. 

It’s important to me to come clean on this stuff, because it impacts the blog progress. It impacts you, and me, too. I am grateful for every bit of grace you’ve all extended by way of your patience, hanging with me when it seems the stories are taking forever. I’m asking you to extend that grace one more time when it comes to Generation Two. It’s coming. It’s long. But it’s awesome. Destiny Farmer has a story to tell, and believe me, she will. Hers is a story of patience, determination, disappointment, heartbreak, love, and triumph. I promise, it’s worth the wait. 

As the great Paul Harvey once said… “And now, you know the rest of the story.” Thank you, for sticking with me, and for understanding. I appreciate it more than you know. As always, I’m open for comments and whatever else you’d like to throw my way. My email box is open. Feedback is always welcomed!

We will see you soon!

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Generation Two Rewrites Coming Soon!

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Hi everyone! First, I want to thank all of my loyal readers for your support through the craziest two years in a very long time. The blog has grown, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without you! 

As the title of this post suggests, the Generation Two rewrites will be posted beginning September 1, 2021, starting with Destiny’s character bio, and Chapter One if I can finish it to my satisfaction. My schedule for August is pretty ambitious, and though I have written several chapters in a month in the past, it has been a very long time since I’ve accomplished this feat. With or without the finale of Generation One, Destiny’s story will publish on September 1st. It will make a lot more sense, however, if I can finish and publish Generation One in its entirety before then. 

As of this writing, Chapter Eighteen is finished and awaiting the final ‘OK’ from Chris, my brilliant editor and partner-in-crime here at The Farmer Legacy. Chapter Nineteen is well on its way, and Twenty has been in my mind for a long time. Because I’ve dedicated almost two years to the Generation One rewrites, I want need to ensure the ending of their story tugs a few heartstrings and serves them well—no one outruns death, not even Charlie and Fran.

Again, thanks for tuning in! Watch the site for updates. I’m expecting a lot of new content within the month. I’ll be announcing something big before Christmas, so stay tuned for that as well! 

 

Happy New Year! The Farmer Family Legacy 2020 Year In Review

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Happy New Year, everyone! Today brings to close a challenging year by most standards. The extra time at home (oh, who am I kidding? I’m always home anyway!) has allowed me to dedicate my time to writing the blog, and maybe a novel, full time. Since we’ve said ‘good riddance’ to one of the craziest years in the history books, I thought I’d bring you up to date on all the fun and happy things going on at the Farmer Legacy!

The Generation One rewrites are still in progress, and I’m getting closer to publishing a couple of chapters together. I’m not planning a break between the generations, so once the Farmer era has concluded, Destiny becomes the star of the show in every sense of the word. I am doing preliminary footwork on the Atwood era of the story, and I’m so excited to relive Destiny’s stellar music career. I’m currently writing a character profile for Arthur, which I’ve neglected to do for far too long. He’s definitely worth the introduction. 

On August 5, 2020, I launched the Blogger site for the Farmer Legacy as a ‘sister’ site, so to speak. For now, only Generation One occupies the space at Blogger, but that will change as I update more chapters from the later generations. The stats that follow do not include the activity from Blogger—since it’s a new launch, the performance so far is sub-par and doesn’t reflect the popularity of the overall story. That’s okay, though!  I’ll be actively promoting both sites through this coming year.

In September, I met the man who became my editor, and he has been an amazing addition to the Farmer Legacy. He is teaching me so much, and I have blossomed under his tutelage. He tells me he sees unlimited potential in me, and we look forward to many chapters written together. Chris has experience in the publishing business and a background in graphic design and commercial art. I am so blessed to have him on board!

So, now to the exciting part! Despite a months-long creativity block (from April to August), I wrote twenty-one chapters last year. I have not published all of them, but at least two are forthcoming in the next week or two. Compared to last year’s one-hundred-six chapters, it seems like a slow year. Broken down into geek, that’s 256 pages for Generation One, and 15 pages for Generation Five (Andy’s Surprise, Chapter 34), 114,028 words, 613,707 characters. I realize that is a fraction, almost one-fifth, of what I wrote during 2019. But here is where everything blows my mind. During the year 2020, The Farmer Legacy saw 751 page views by 374 visitors. Compare this to last year’s 411 page views by 194 visitors, and I think I can call this year a wild success! 

This coming year, I’m hoping to get past the Generation Two rewrites and clean up Three, Four and Five before I continue with Danae and Andy’s saga. I’m also seriously considering submitting some of my work to a publisher. I’ve been researching possibilities, and I’m hoping that I’ll find one that could be a good fit with the romance genre. Of course, should a book deal arise, it will cease to be a Sims Fanfiction novel—I will erase all traces of the iconic game from the story, and there may be extra content that was never available on the blog. This will be a test of will and confidence for me, a test to see if I’m becoming the author I want to become. 

Thank you all so much for the follows, the reads, your comments, emails, compliments, your abundant patience, and for telling your friends about this blog. I don’t take a single thing for granted—I’ve worked so hard to build all you see on this site. I appreciate everything—every bit of success is possible because of you. I look forward to this new year with my Farmer family and their descendants. As always, I’m available on Facebook, Twitter, WordPress Inbox and the Farmer Legacy Gmail.

From all my families to yours, wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2021!

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Pose Credit

Poses By Bee
Couples 2 Poses

Custom Content

Around The Sims 3
Riesling Glasses and Bottle

The Sims Resource
Christmas III by Severinka

Custom Content is not my property, and everything is used in compliance with TOUs.

A Quick Update

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Hello Sim and romance friends!

It’s me just checking in with a quick update on the status of the Generation One/Two rewrites. I know Fran and Charlie’s story has taken all year. Many odd circumstances have dragged out the creative process, but I’m pleased to announce I’m writing full time and that things are going forward. Chapter Fifteen, Part Five is way late, and I apologize to those waiting for its release. I know I keep saying, “It’s coming soon,” but once you see the size of this bad boy, it will be clear why it has taken so long. It is a whopping thirty-three pages long! I can thank my editor for that, and I mean it sincerely. His guidance, encouragement, and mind-blowing edits to this chapter have made it worth the wait. I can’t wait to share it with you.

My previously ambitious, “Finish by Christmas,” schedule for concluding Gen One will extend into the new year by a few weeks and postpone Gen Two a couple of weeks. I am looking VERY forward to revisiting Destiny’s stellar singing career, her sweet, old-fashioned, but modernized love story with her soulmate, Arthur, and their three beautiful daughters—Bree, Bella, and Bianca. Be prepared for some plot twists, for some new characters to emerge, and extensive character development within the Atwood family.

Beyond Gen Two’s rewrites, I will continue to revisit old storylines and clean up grammar errors, clarify plots and expand what needs done with Generations Three and Four into the coming year. No worries, though! Danae and Andy will return to the spotlight soon with their four “Murphy Munchkins.” They continue to be my very favorite family in the saga so far, and I’m excited to see where Elyse and her boyfriend, Howie, take the storyline for Generation Six. Twins Teddy and Tessa are already six years old for the next chapter as we jump forward a few years. They made their photo debut on the front page of the blog in the Generation Five family portrait. Who thinks Teddy is a chip off the ol’ block? *raises hand*

I’m always open to questions and suggestions. Just drop me a line here, and I’ll get back to you soon! From my “families” to yours, I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, whatever it is you celebrate, and a joyous, prosperous and healthy new year!

—Wendy

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Cover Photo: Back row, L to R: Sunny, Maya, and Caleb Bradford.
Front row, seated: Destiny, Fran, and Charlie Farmer

Pose Credit: 

Poses By Bee 
Three Generation Pose Pack

Custom Content:

The Sims Resource
Christmas III by Severinka
Little Angel (Destiny’s Dress) by Altea127

NewSeaSims
Maya’s Gown

All custom content and poses are used following the creator’s TOU. I do not own any custom content used in the stories except where noted. 

Hiatus Announced

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Hello, fellow simmers and romance fans (if any are following for that purpose.) I just want to bring you up to date on the blog and myself very quickly.

I am taking a planned posting hiatus for January 2020, mostly so I can begin my planned re-writes of Generations One and Two. I’m anticipating this will take some time to complete, but I am hoping to publish Generation One in its entirety in January.  The rewrites are in very rough draft form, but I found my original gameplay notes, so I have some foundation to work with. Fingers crossed on this huge undertaking.

Second, I am obviously not going to be finishing Generation Five any time soon. Danae and Andy’s stories have been incredibly fun to write, and I’m not even close to drawing this to a close. That said, Elyse’s story is currently in development, along with Eamon’s and the… new Murphy munchkins! They are born in the game, but not in the story, but I promise that the storyline will not be left hanging until February. I am planning one last chapter before the end of the year, and I’m working on that this weekend without fail.

I am available via email, Facebook, Twitter or by inboxing me on this blog. As always, I welcome your comments, kind constructive criticism and a friendly word of encouragement. This project is a labor of love and has taken a good part of my past year. I’m having the time of my life writing my stories for you. I hope to see all of you in the new year. 

The Story Shifts!

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Hello everyone!

I am excited to begin a new adventure with the Jones girls (Darcey & Danae) and their families as they move to Isla Paradiso from their hometown of Starlight Shores. This is the first move since Destiny Farmer moved from Appaloosa Plains to the Shores at the beginning of Generation Two.

If you’ve been following the stories for long, you’ve discovered that one of my favorite worlds to write about has been the beautiful Caribbean-inspired island of Isla Paradiso. The storyline has been stale in the Shores really since the Estevan debacle in Gen 3, and it was time to shake things up a bit for Andy, Danae, Clint and Darcey with a whole new save game, new Townies to meet, a new job (in the story) for Andy and a career change for Clint (from LEO to game design. For the first time since graduating from Sim State, Clint will actually use his technology degree!)

For now, I am planning a month or so hiatus at the conclusion of Generation Five to continue to develop my ideas for the Generation One rewrites. That project has been slow, because I am having difficulty finding my notes from my original game play. If I cannot find them, I will go back and recreate my game using an old save file.

What will the hiatus mean for the beginning of Generation Six? I am not anticipating the Five and Six storylines will overlap much, if at all. Danae and Darcey are older parents, having started with their main story almost halfway through their young adult cycle in the game (They are significantly younger in the stories.) I am not anticipating the twins will enjoy the same benefits their parents and grandparents did. I don’t see Danae and Andy living to see their grandchildren born, and the same for Darcey and Clint. That said, Elyse and Eamon are still toddlers in the story, and Generation Five still has a lot of life left to play.

I hope you are enjoying the generational saga that has become the Farmer Legacy. We’re almost halfway there. Thanks for sticking with me, and let me know your thoughts, feelings and ideas in the comments.

From the Author

Published on by WendyLeave a comment

Hello everyone! I hope y’all are enjoying the continuing saga of the Farmer Legacy, now well into its fifth generation. As the blog becomes more and more popular, I find myself wanting to revisit some of the stories from the prologue and first generation, starring Charlie and Frannie, and of course, Penny.  As time allows me, I plan on expanding their story, making them more detailed and (as my husband would say) long-winded. I hope to be making these changes within the next few months, and it will be slow, as I have to go  back and read some notes from my early days of game play.

Until then, stay tuned for the continuing story of Danae and Andy, and the completion of Charlotte and Travis.

Generation Five

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Hey everyone! I have some news regarding Generation Five. The twins, Danae and Darcey, are now officially young adults in the game, which means… their stories are coming shortly! Because they are identical twins, their stories are written as one. I’m sure neither of them would have it any other way!

Devin is now officially a teenager, and is almost the spitting image of his daddy, Travis. I won’t know for sure if he will stay with that strong resemblance, or if he will lean more toward Charlotte by the time he is an adult. We will see!

For those of you who do not follow our Facebook page, I will post the photos (read:Screenshots) of the Generation Five actors, in all life stages, below.

I sincerely hope you are enjoying the stories, and as always I welcome feedback, comments or questions at the end of each post. I feel like the Jones family is my own, and I will miss Charlotte and Travis when it is their turn to meet the Reaper.

Without further ado:

Danae Elizabeth Jones

Danae, toddler
Danae, childhood
Danae, teenager
Danae, young adult

Darcey Isabella Jones

Darcey, toddler
Darcey, childhood
Darcey, teenager
Darcey, young adult

Devin Rogelio Jones

Devin, toddler
Devin, childhood
Devin, teenager
Devin, young adult

Thanks again for reading, and for allowing me the chance to share the combination of my two passions: The Sims, and writing. I’m thankful for the opportunity and the resources to do both.

Thoughts About Generation Three

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The conclusion of Generation Three, with Bella and Rogelio St John, has been published, and I thought I would share a few thoughts about the chapter, and about Bella and Rog as a whole.

Rog & Bella have been the most interesting of the families I have written about yet. In many ways, they might be the peak of what this legacy will look like, though I admit I never know in advance which way the story will go. Bella’s early relationship with Estevan Best was actually very rocky in the game, and with his “Mean Spirited” and “Evil” traits, he became the natural antagonist in this generation. His craziness was offset with Rog’s happy-go-lucky nature, and his fierce love and desire to protect Bella. Often, when I was writing, I’d run into a snag with a story line, and I would have doubts about taking the story in the direction I was writing, so I would write an alternate ending, or path. Usually, my original plot was more interesting than the rewrite, so I wound up keeping it.

If I said their in-game deaths weren’t devastating, I’d be a big ol’ liar. Rog’s death tore me up, and Bella’s death the following sim day was equally horrible. I was attached to them and their story, so I am hoping that I did their final days some justice in the last chapter. I, like Bella, was not ready for them to go.

I hope you have enjoyed the stories up to this point. There is a lot more coming, with Generation Five growing up faster than I can say “Sul Sul.” Charlotte and Travis still have much more to live, and their beautiful children have their own stories to tell.

I look forward to sharing this passion, my heart, with you. Enjoy!