Sarah MacDougall had just turned 30, had ended a long-term relationship and all her worldly possessions were in a storage locker in Vancouver that she wasn't sure she could afford.

"I was definitely at a crossroads,” she told the Star Tuesday.

"Do I want to continue doing what I'm doing with my music or is it time to figure things out and maybe get a ‘real job?'” she said.

While figuring out what direction she wanted to take, MacDougall wrote the song Sometimes You Lose, Sometimes You Win.

The song is about "being courageous when life has its ups and downs,” she said.

It appears it has led to one of life's "ups.”

Now, a few years later, the song has landed MacDougall a nomination for Songwriter of the Year at the upcoming Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA)— one of two nominations the Whitehorse artist received this year.

Her album, The Greatest Ones Alive, was also nominated for Roots Solo Recording of the Year.

"I was so surprised, I still don't really know what to say about it,” MacDougall said after the nominations were announced.

These are her first WCMA nominations.

Yukon artists make an appearance in six different categories this year, including Brandon Isaak's Bluesman's Plea for Blues Recording of the Year and Contemporary Christian/Gospel Recording of the Year for The Blue Warblers made up of Natalie Edelson and Kim Beggs and their album Pretty Good.

Beggs and Pretty Good are also in the running for Album Design of the Year, and Yukon company Magnum Opus Management received a nomination for Agency of the Year.

"That says that the community is supportive of artists and allows them to take the time and develop and really find their voice,” MacDougall said of the Yukon's creative community.

"The community is so artistic and talented, even people who don't make art for a living have so much to offer.”

Born in Sweden, a 19-year-old MacDougall made her way to Vancouver for 11 years before arriving in Whitehorse a year and a half ago.

She was offered the chance to open for Yukon artist Gordie Tentrees on his Alaskan tour and after arriving in Whitehorse was offered a temporary house-sit for a few months.

It turned out to be not so temporary.

"I decided to stay and do some of the recording and the mixing here, and I haven't left,” she said.

A folk music artist, MacDougall wrote all the songs on the nominated album and describes it as having a "storm theme,” focusing on how to weather the difficult parts of life.

"I was thinking about what it means to grow up in a world that can be hostile but still keep your inner child and that outlook on life.”

Completed in 2011, it is her second full-length creation after 2009's Across the Atlantic.

MacDougall openly admits that her Swedish heritage, combined with the fact that the first agency to sign her was from England, means she is "probably more well-known in Europe” then in North America.

Swedish magazine Nöjesguiden recently declared her "One of Sweden's best singer/songwriters” and 24 hrs Vancouver called her ‘one of the most promising exports out of Sweden since ABBA'.

MacDougall will be at the Maverick Festival in Suffolk, England on June 30 before preforming at Canada Day festivities at London's Trafalgar Square.

She will also be playing at the Atlin Mustic Festival in July.

As for the Vancouver storage locker? She still rents it and is not as worried about paying that bill.

"Things are definitely better for me now, it's amazing.”

The 2012 WCMA winners are set to be announced at the gala awards show on September 30 in Regina, as part of the BreakOut West weekend.