Some time ago, I posted a short essay about Frodo and Sam's life on the other side of the Sea. Meanwhile, I've revised and much expanded the thing, and the finished version is now up at my website ( Read more... )

...that I'm hopelessly disorganized when it comes to writing essays. I was going to continue with my Sam essay before starting anything else, but a couple of things got in the way. But the 'intruder piece' below still focuses on Sam, so at least I didn't get totally derailed. ;)

SAM’S STAR
An entry in Lord of the Rings Appendix B describes the ( Read more... )

... Frodo looked at Sam rather startled, half expecting to see some outward sign of the odd change that seemed to have come over him. It did not sound like the voice of the old Sam Gamgee that he thought he knew. But it looked like the old Sam Gamgee sitting there, except that his face was unusually thoughtful.That's exactly how I feel when I ( Read more... )

A recent discussion on Whether Or No brought up a whole ream of questions about Frodo and Sam's life in the Immortal Realm, and I'm posting some thoughts here that I tried to piece together during the list discussion (perhaps a little more coherently ;). Tolkien always insisted that the hobbits would remain mortals in Valinor, but for how long ( Read more... )

Since this chapter grew,um, rather bulky, I'm dividing it into two sections, each with its own footnotes. Sections 2.2 and 2.3 are the more theoretical parts here, just so you're warned. ;) I hope you'll continue to enjoy reading this and look forward to all thoughts and comments ( Read more... )

( 2.5 to 2.7 )

*puts on academic hat and prepares to look silly* Here it is then, the first chapter of my hobbit sex essay. There are some theoretical bits and pieces in this part which I hope won't be too confusing or scare anyone off. I've got the first two chapters written (though there are still some page numbers etc. missing) and will start out with a table ( Read more... )

So I have a hard time writing something genuinely *happy*. Not like that's a big secret... There's some measure of angst in almost all my stories, even when there's happiness, and that actually makes it more tangible to me. It's that murky tracing of risk and loss around happiness and fulfillment, the bedrock of realism that sharpens its edges. ( Read more... )