For years, Second Life has been trying to shake off the unfortunate stigma of being just another virtual world game by people who have never experienced the many paths Second Life can take Avatars. Being immersed in virtual world Media since 2004, I have seen what these platforms can do to help people discover talents they never knew they had, to building and expanding their businesses on a global scale.
The possibilities are endless. Now is the time for those who continue to devalue the continued virtual support and effort of true professionals, such as Musicians, Fashion Designers, Artists, Architects, Business Owners and even Authors like Dandilyon Jinx, to finally realize it is much more then leisure time spent.
People who want to learn the developing skills necessary to possibly
develop a program as successful as Second Life can find info at http://www.onlineuniversitydegree.org.
In the Internet age, programs such as Second Life will be popular for many
years to come.
Interview with Dandilyon Jinx
Lanai: Hi Dandilyon! It is great to have you in the SLE Hot seat for an interview. Thank you for taking some time out to talk about your book End of Mae and share your thoughts on this virtual world. I would like to begin by asking, what brought you to Second Life and how long have you been here?
Dandilyon Jinx: I actually came into Second Life specifically as a way to get to spend time with my online boyfriend, now real life husband. He was living in Australia and I was in America. We actually met in an online game called Lord of the Rings Online. We tried out Second Life because it offered more freedom to get to know each other. In SL we got into the vampire scene and ran two clans for awhile in Bloodlines and Hunger from our sim, and both clans were called House of SilverJinx, so it was a natural extension to call the clothes label the same. The word SilverJinx was a combination of our SL last names, Jinx and Silverfall. It was our involvement with our vampire clans that helped me finish my book. There was a key element missing in the story originally, a motivation for the antagonist. Then I realized he was a vampire. We've been in SL since early 2009, and were partnered officially soon after.
Lanai: Wow that makes for a virtual love story! I wish you both much love and happiness. I know how difficult it is to try to explain this virtual world to my family and friends, some of which still have no clue what it is I really do here lol.
Now with the stigma of Second Life and other virtual worlds being “just a game” with no true purpose, how would you respond to that? Is it really just a game or an extension of your real life?
Dandilyon Jinx: Originally, I thought of Second Life as a game, but then I found out you could do some very real things here. Make an income is one. Right now I can’t legally work in Australia until my visa is approved. The income we make from the shop is paying my one bill right now, what we still owe on a 1968 Airstream caravan back in the states. It’s our ‘vacation home’.
Another thing that I found SL invaluable for was helping me to get through a painful divorce. Rather than go out to RL clubs, I would club in-world with my online friends. At the time my RL friends thought I was being unhealthy, and that I needed “to get out” and heal. One thing I appreciated was that no matter what a wild time I had, I didn't have to worry about driving drunk, getting anything slipped into my drink or wind up in a situation I would regret later. It helped me get through a difficult time with no regrets.
I also think that the relationships you form in Second Life can be very real. I keep in touch with my kids back in the states in SL. My daughter and I work together with House of SilverJinx now, and go visiting new places together. The other day one of my sons and I spent the morning snowboarding. This is an experience we couldn't share in the regular world not only because of the distance, but because I would've probably been killed.
I can also say for a fact that my current husband and I would have never gotten together in rl. Not only are we from two separate countries, but we are 20 years apart in age (I’m the older one). We met as friends, then he became my best friend, and then we realized we loved each other. SL was the perfect way to really get to know each other before getting physical. I think of it as more like old fashioned dating. You really know someone before you ever meet this way. After we practically lived together in SL for just over a year he came to visit me in the US for 3 months. He had to return, but asked me to come live in Australia with him. Within a month we were married in rl. Now we celebrate two anniversaries.
Lanai: Thank you for sharing a more personal side of your life and virtual experience with SLE. Many people come to Second Life for leisure, love and the role play aspect and others come to enhance on an existing business or discover their talents and suddenly become an entrepreneur. Where do you put yourself?
Dandilyon Jinx: Definitely as an entrepreneur, but I also use Second Life as an extension of my regular life. SL is the perfect place to take photographs for my blog or to experiment with new ideas. The day I learned that Lindens could be exchanged for US currency, my ‘playtime’ became much more serious. In this economy everyone could use a little extra money. I keep telling them they should meet up in Second Life. You don’t have to just run a shop. There are as many ways in here to make extra income, or even support yourself, as there are in real life, and more really. I could never be a clothes designer in RL; my sewing skills are at the high school home Ec. level.
Lanai: I can’t sew well either but I’m pretty good with a glue gun! Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, what other things you do in this virtual world and how it parallels what you do in real life?
Dandilyon Jinx: Lately I just come in to work either on new designs for House of SilverJinx, or promoting my book. I’ve also been accused of being addicted to building our shop. Since January I think I’ve torn it down and rebuilt it about six times. I started holding art exhibits featuring both real and SL artists and have had a very positive response. My art exhibits are held in Second Life but designed as a way that I can publicize SL's value on my blog. Now that things are normalizing again I will be getting back to that.
I would love to come in and play more, so I’m starting to combine work and play in a once a month “End of…” party. This month will be on June 29th at 8pm slt and will feature a live performance by DirtyDee Sweetwater, always an excellent show, and will end up with a live reading by me in a scene built out of the book. We'll be giving away House of SilverJinx gift cards, books and some other prizes. It's open invitation, the more the merrier.
Lanai: Oh nice! It sounds like that will be a fun party to attend!
Being an author and Owner & Designer for House of SilverJinx you must keep yourself pretty busy here, can you tell me a little bit about your designs and where they can be found?
Dandilyon Jinx: I am lucky because I have two other people working with me on designs. Abs often puts the prims together while I tend more towards working with the textures. Whenever there are a lot of little prims to put together, that's Abs. My rl daughter, Kira, also helps with prims, textures, does all our machinima marketing and is invaluable for going out into SL and getting new ideas. We each have our different tastes and style and feel that the diversity is a strength... We’ve been focusing on boots lately, and we have four new designs that we will be bringing out soon. All our shoes and boots are always $L 50. Later this month we'll also be releasing a signature line of lingerie inspired by the music of DirtyDee Sweetwater.
Our designs can be found in world at here
And on the marketplace at https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/38470
Lanai: What advice can you give someone considering utilizing Second Life for their talents and business?
Dandilyon Jinx: Take Second Life seriously. Each avatar represents a real person somewhere in the world, so for networking it's priceless. Recently the in-world End of Mae area was chosen as an editor's pick for their Destination Guide. That exposes this book to 150,930 on Facebook alone, not to mention all the blogs that subscriber to that feed. That kind of exposure can only happen with a medium like Second Life. I could go on for pages on this alone, but that's why I'm writing my new book on alternative marketing techniques. Called All You Need Is "Like", it should be released within the next three months.
Second life shouldn't be overlooked as "a game" when there is so much opportunity in-world. It is really an enhancement for anything you do in the physical world. I had my book trailer filmed in SL and it has been so successful I've been told a few times that people bought the book because they loved the trailer. I couldn't have afforded to film it in rl. I don't think of it as my 2nd life, it's more like life 2.0... Enhanced and optimized.
I’d also say to be strict on yourself with your work schedule. SL is fun, and there are so many things to see and do, but if you want to have a business you will have to focus on it and say no to fun stuff not only sometimes, but often. When you have it rolling you can take some time to relax, and it will be so much better knowing that your goals are accomplished.
Lanai: I agree with you, It takes a lot of dedication, time and effort to run a successful business here in Second Life. Spending too much time leisurely can hinder that production and growth for sure. Let’s get to this Book of yours! End of Mae sounds like an interesting story, especially with a description like,
“Mae was a born writer. Her life’s passion was to find the ultimate story. In her quest to find the truth behind the Jersey Devil disappearances, Mae uncovers something much more sinister wandering the Whitesbog area at night. Little did she know the ultimate story would be her own and she’d be dying to tell it.”
The description alone makes me wonder what Mae finds out and what becomes of her. Without giving too much away, can you tell me what inspired this story and any details you wish to share?
Dandilyon Jinx: Sure, Lanai! End of Mae was born when I lived in New Jersey in ‘Jersey Devil’ country. In the 80’s there was a big news story because someone claimed to have found footprint evidence of the Devil. The entire area had a dark and eerie feel about it, especially at night, making it easy to believe something was out there in the shadows.
That was also where I had my first reporting job, in a newspaper called The Community News just like in the story and one of the articles I did was about the Jersey Devil. Researching the legend’s origin ignited my imagination. Around the same time I wound up having an argument at a writer’s conference with someone who loudly claimed that journalists wrote nonfiction because they had no imaginations. Always up for a challenge I set out to prove him wrong. I just wish I had him on Facebook so I could post one big “Ha!” on his wall. That being said, I am glad he made me mad enough to delve into a new genre. It has been an adventure for me.
Lanai: OOhh that peaks my interest, I like spooky mysteries. How long did it take you to write?
Dandilyon Jinx: I’m almost embarrassed to answer this one. Altogether, just counting actual writing time, probably a few months. I started it around 10 years ago, but it got a bit intense so I put it down for a long time. My imagination started working on me double time and I started getting jumpy and thinking I saw Heylel in the shadows. It was a long time before I picked it up again, but I just hated leaving the story unfinished. I am continuing it with a new book now, but that part of the story is finally over.
Lanai: What type of audience would you say this book is appropriate for?
Dandilyon Jinx: I’d say teenagers to adult. I personally don’t think it is very scary, but I personally don’t scare easily. There are some more intense scenes, but nothing too graphic I think. I’m not much for gore. I would have read it as a child, but then again in first grade my favorite book was a collection of tales by Alfred Hitchcock. Wonderfully creepy stuff!
Lanai: Mystery Novels can be hard to interpret because they can have many twists and turns that a reader must follow to come to the conclusion. What do you find to be the most challenging and rewarding as the author of End of Mae?
Dandilyon Jinx: As far as the entire experience, it has been conquering new challenges. Now that I’ve done it, I can share what I’ve learned with other aspiring authors. End of Mae has already done better than I ever hoped, and it’s just a few weeks old. Now I’m just having fun with it.
Lanai: Is this your first book or do you have others?
Dandilyon Jinx: This is my first book. Up until now I have primarily worked doing nonfiction, journalist style pieces. I am in the middle of my second book now, which explores the alternative marketing techniques I am using for End of Mae. I hope to help new authors find an edge without having to spend a fortune and help real life business in general discover Second Life for the invaluable business tool that it is.
I am also starting to lay out the next portion of what happens to Mae and Heylel (and Ms. Prym/Alichino) I’m pretty sure that Dr. Smeltzer becomes Mae’s accidental lunch.
Lanai: It sounds like a follow up interview will have to be done! Dandilyon, it has been a pleasure interviewing you and I wish you the very best with End of Mae and your upcoming projects. But before I go, can you tell our readers where they can purchase a copy?
Dandilyon Jinx: I'd love too! End of Mae is available in kindle and paperback on Amazon, and all other digital formats on Smashwords. To make it easy, I am keeping all the availability links current in one place, endofmae.com. That's a page on my blog with its own address to keep it simple. Silverjinx.com leads to a similar page dedicated to House of SilverJinx news. You can also visit the interactive scenes from End of Mae in world.
Additional Information:
House of SilverJinx SLURL:
SLE Spotlight Interview, Lanai Jarrico
The SL EnquirerGot News? Get it Published!
Dandilyon Jinx aka Angela Yuriko Smith is an American that met and married an Aussie and now finds herself on the other side of the world and loving it.
She is a professional writer with extensive experience in newspapers and online publications. Her work has been featured internationally, including a live interview on NPR.
Under her former byline she worked for two years as a contract writer for MilitaryLifeStyle.com which included interviews with Joan Jett, John Nance, Amy Dacyczyn, and Randy’L He-Dow Teton, the only living model for an American coin. There she published over 60 articles and maintained two columns entitled SAHMM I Am, Military by Moonlight and covered the 9/11 crisis from the viewpoint of a military spouse. She was also interviewed at that time for the Satellite Sister’s Show on National Public Radio.
Preferring to work online, she has a monthly column called Machinimist Marketer up at HyperGrid Business, and is a guest virtual fashion blogger at Look What the Cat Brought, in addition to maintaining her daily blog, dandilyonfluff.com.
Currently she is finishing up a book on cost-effective marketing. Her first book, End of Mae was released on 31 May 2011. The ongoing adventures of Mae & Heylel are already underway, with more information available at endofmae.com
This is the best piece I've read on SLE in a while! Definitely interested in learning more about Dandilyon and her works...as an author IRL, I'm always fascinated about the ways writers use SL to promote and market their wares! Great piece, Lanai!
ReplyDeleteShe did an excellent interview Shon! I look forward to checking out your work... we writers need to band together and support each other ;p
ReplyDeleteThank you both for your comments. it is a pleasure to know and work with you both!
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