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Moving and Grand Opening Contests These last couple of days, I've been rushing around, picking up prim and searching for a new home in SL. I figured it was too good to be true, having a home in SL for over two years when change is the constant norm.

The first four months I was in SL, I hunted for an underwater home. It made sense to me since I had a series of selkie, mermaid, and dolphin shapeshifter romances just released, plus mermaids are typically friendly.

Since I was having no luck on the underwater search for a merhome, I settled on a lovely Lake Como styled villa where I stayed for several months before privacy (and other issues) caused me to renew my search for a little place under the sea.

While scouting for mermaid hangouts that might like to hear me read from my new books, I saw that there was a nightclub for mermaids having a ballroom tails night (yep, only in SL, lol) and the women there were very friendly and we chatted long into the wee hours. (Remember, SL is like one big graphically cool 3D chatroom).

I think it was about a month or two later that I learned the ladies I met were all living in the same sim, Tokara, and invited me to join them there—under the sea! I got myself moved into my first merhouse, and happily said buh-bye to the sim where I'd been renting the villa.

I learned there was also a mall in the adjacent sim owned by the same wonderful owner of the residential sim where I now lived, and quickly grabbed a spot where I could give away freebies and set up book readings and tarot readings and of course, posters of all my published ebooks. Those were good days. Eventually, the Tokara mall closed and I had to pull my prim and relocate my bookshop. However, my merhome under the sea remained...yet all things must come to an end.

You wouldn't think you could get so attached to a virtual place, but having had to delete the MMC website, SL, Twitter, and finally the last bastion, the MMC blog, these last couple of months—and now my merhome away from home...it's been sad. All my friends there have scattered and although I hope we stay in touch, I know how life is, both in RL and SL.

Linden Labs charges an exorbitant amount of money to own a homestead sim, hell—any sim at all, which is why my idea of having my own Mermaid Isle based on my books was soon snuffed out when I learned it costs more than a car payment PER MONTH to own an island SIM. That's insane!

Even a "homestead" sim costs over $100USD a month to maintain. Unreal is right!

Anyway, the friend who owned the sim couldn't keep up the pace with the constant tier dues and such to Linden Labs, the creator of Second Life. So the sim closed for good today.

While I'm a bit sad though, I'm also happy to say I did find a new place and the merhome I recently had custom built by Serafin Galli fits perfect into the underwater area there. I hope to hold (by invitation only) readings from my books and also tarot reading parties at my new place.

This weekend is the official grand opening of my new group in SL, Cassandra's Story Hour and to celebrate,  I'm giving away a bunch of SL gift card goodies. To enter, all you have to do is be a member of my new SL group. Go to this link to join: http://world.secondlife.com/group/8c4d6d12-a0e9-26e5-3b28-5f2fabe543a3

There will be drawings throughout Saturday and Sunday, so join up, the contest ends Sunday night at 10pm edt, August 12, 2012. There is no cost to join my SL group, but you do have to have an SL account. The gift cards are for stores located in SL and are virtual items with only Linden value.

Not into SL? You can still win a prize and here's how: leave a comment on this blog post and tell me who is your favorite Olympic athlete from the London 2012 Summer Games, and you'll be entered to win the mermaid cameo pin pictured below. Contest ends, Sunday, August 12, 2012 at midnight and the winner will be announced next week. You must have a valid email address and be over 18 years of age to enter. Void where prohibited. Odds of winning are subject to the number of entries. Good Luck!

Posted by Cassandra at 10:48 AM Labels: Cassandra's Story Hour, contests, moving, new group, Second Life, SL 
I am not really sure what SL is.
debby236 at gmail dot com

August 10, 2012 at 11:37 AM 
Hi Debby! SL is short for Second Life, a virtual reality site where people can go to meet people, shop for virtual items to dress up their avatars, including skin, make-up, hair, and eyes, body shape and skin color, the whole thing, plus clothes, houses, landscaping, and is like a chatroom, only you walk into it, in a 3D graphic look, like a painting you can get immersed into, but unlike a painting, this one moves as you move and goes where you go. I'd never heard of it until summer of 2009 when my best friend from college told me about Second Life and said it would be a great place to promote my ebooks. I didn't do anything at first, because I was still trying to learn the hang of MySpace, lol! But then my hubby saw something on CNN about this woman who sings and plays guitar in the virtual world of Second Life and makes over $30,000 a year in Real life selling her CDs through promotion in SL. So, yeah, being broke from medical expenses (2008 cancer surgery and then same year another unrelated surgery), I needed to increase my reader base, and if more people knew about my books, then maybe I could pay off the hospital and doctors before the next shoe hit the proverbial floor. lol

Since you're not into SL, obviously, have you been watching any of the Olympics? Who is your favorite athlete of the games in London? I love the swimming (being part mermaid, lol) so yeah got to give it to Michael Phelps, but there are other folks who are pretty darn amazing too, and just to be there participating is a major feat in itself, let alone medalling. Wow.

August 10, 2012 at 12:55 PM 
If anyone is having trouble getting into Blogger to leave a comment, you can leave your comment on my Facebook author page. *leaving myself a reminder to check my author page on FB Monday morning* :-)

August 10, 2012 at 12:59 PM 
I just can't get into the whole Sl thing, but I do enjoy your stories and pictures you've posted about it.

I think I've enjoyed watched Michael Phelps the most, but I also watched the U.S. Gymnastics team as well. That's pretty much the only two things in the Olympics that I watched.


August 11, 2012 at 2:22 PM 
Oh the gymnastics were great this year, but I didn't think anyone was an Olga Korbut or Nadia Commenech. I was so happy Mexico won the gold in footbol/soccer. I haves to pull for the underdog. :-) Oh yeppers, and omgosh the volleyball, especially the beach volleyball was spectacular, both the mens and the womens. Good luck in the drawing. I'll probably have Bear pull a winner for me on Monday.

August 12, 2012 at 12:33 AM 
This contest is now closed and a winner will be announced soon. Thanks for entering and/or checking out my blog.

August 13, 2012 at 11:23 AM