Yuletime Journeys: Our Annual Essay Contest.
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Lindariel
- Posts: 1062
- Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:30 pm
- Location: The Hall of Fire, Imladris (otherwise known as Northern Virginia)
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Lindariel
- Posts: 1062
- Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:30 pm
- Location: The Hall of Fire, Imladris (otherwise known as Northern Virginia)
I am THRILLED to report that my Yule Journey story has passed through the lengthy review process at HennethAnnun.com (it must be reviewed and approved by 9 separate reviewers) and has been approved for publication on the site as a HASA reviewed story.
I received the reviewer comments this morning -- all of them glowing. The only suggested change was to remove the Elvish translations from within the body of the chapters and place them as footnotes at the end. Easily done!
The story is in queue now for publication. I'll let you know when it goes live. Still waiting to hear back from StoriesofArda.com, but I suspect they will also decide to publish. YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!
I received the reviewer comments this morning -- all of them glowing. The only suggested change was to remove the Elvish translations from within the body of the chapters and place them as footnotes at the end. Easily done!
The story is in queue now for publication. I'll let you know when it goes live. Still waiting to hear back from StoriesofArda.com, but I suspect they will also decide to publish. YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!
Lindariel 
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
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Iolanthe
- Uinen
- Posts: 2339
- Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:21 pm
- Location: Washing my hair in the Sundering Sea
. I hope that means that you will write a lot more of them!-
marbretherese
- Posts: 765
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 1:42 pm
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
Great news, Lindariel!! 
"Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back.
But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy."
http://www.marbretherese.com
http://marbretherese.blogspot.com/
But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy."
http://www.marbretherese.com
http://marbretherese.blogspot.com/
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Lindariel
- Posts: 1062
- Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:30 pm
- Location: The Hall of Fire, Imladris (otherwise known as Northern Virginia)
Thanks ladies! Here are the "capsule reasons" selected by the reviewers to indicate their primary reasons for approving the story:
Gapfiller: creative; skillful extrapolation; fits seamlessly
Overall impression: story as a whole effective/remarkable
Characters, original: believable; consistent; suitable
Setting: authentic; vivid descriptions; captivating atmosphere
Middle-earth aspects: smooth/integral; Tolkien's world shines
Several also provided some wonderful additional comments in their reviews, beyond just the capsule reason. Here are a few:
I loved this variation on the twelve days of Christmas. Seeing the countryside through the eyes of the characters, enjoying their love of life through the celebrations and hardships, and experiencing the daily lives of some of the peripheral characters was wonderful. I would highly recommend this story to anyone.
What a gapfiller, and how well you have managed to capture the feelings of the Shire, Bree, the Wilds, and Imladris, and the characters of Hobbit, Rangers of Eriador, and the denizens of Rivendell. I was tickled to see I'm not the only one who has imagined Bilbo sending a book of Shire tales to a young Estel. Very wonderful, and loved that the last smudge was again of raspberry jam, applied by a child! Heh! A lovely tale, and I'm proud to vote YES!
A delightful little tale, full of interesting side characters and quite an original plot.
I was drawn further and further into this story, particularly when we began to get into the details of the Rangers' society and their life in the Wild. I loved the wealth of description and the author's obvious immersion in the culture of the Dunedain -- and the Peredhil saving the day! As for the sender and recipient of the parcel (lovely device, by the way) -- initially I was fairly sure it was from Bilbo, and therefore probably going to Aragorn; then, I wondered if it were Frodo sending to Bilbo, but didn't think Frodo would be as familiar with the Elves as this Hobbit was. Then the carefully-phrased descriptions of Young Estel, which could have been of a hobbit (the bare feet!) almost threw me off the scent, oh cunning author! Great fun!
What a perfectly wonderful story -- both gentle and dramatic, with just enough canon detail to make me want to read the original books all over again for the umpteenth time. This is the sort of thing one can imagine reading to one's children a chapter a night -- thank you for making me smile, Writer, and may you long continue to delight!
Vivid descriptions of the surroundings. I like the balance between paying attention to details and keeping the plot at a good and clear pace. The tone of the writing is wonderfully in-canon. What I especially noted was how the tone adapted to each new bearer of the package.
A pleasant mystery, and nicely resolved at the end. What a journey to be had by one package!
Gapfiller: creative; skillful extrapolation; fits seamlessly
Overall impression: story as a whole effective/remarkable
Characters, original: believable; consistent; suitable
Setting: authentic; vivid descriptions; captivating atmosphere
Middle-earth aspects: smooth/integral; Tolkien's world shines
Several also provided some wonderful additional comments in their reviews, beyond just the capsule reason. Here are a few:
I loved this variation on the twelve days of Christmas. Seeing the countryside through the eyes of the characters, enjoying their love of life through the celebrations and hardships, and experiencing the daily lives of some of the peripheral characters was wonderful. I would highly recommend this story to anyone.
What a gapfiller, and how well you have managed to capture the feelings of the Shire, Bree, the Wilds, and Imladris, and the characters of Hobbit, Rangers of Eriador, and the denizens of Rivendell. I was tickled to see I'm not the only one who has imagined Bilbo sending a book of Shire tales to a young Estel. Very wonderful, and loved that the last smudge was again of raspberry jam, applied by a child! Heh! A lovely tale, and I'm proud to vote YES!
A delightful little tale, full of interesting side characters and quite an original plot.
I was drawn further and further into this story, particularly when we began to get into the details of the Rangers' society and their life in the Wild. I loved the wealth of description and the author's obvious immersion in the culture of the Dunedain -- and the Peredhil saving the day! As for the sender and recipient of the parcel (lovely device, by the way) -- initially I was fairly sure it was from Bilbo, and therefore probably going to Aragorn; then, I wondered if it were Frodo sending to Bilbo, but didn't think Frodo would be as familiar with the Elves as this Hobbit was. Then the carefully-phrased descriptions of Young Estel, which could have been of a hobbit (the bare feet!) almost threw me off the scent, oh cunning author! Great fun!
What a perfectly wonderful story -- both gentle and dramatic, with just enough canon detail to make me want to read the original books all over again for the umpteenth time. This is the sort of thing one can imagine reading to one's children a chapter a night -- thank you for making me smile, Writer, and may you long continue to delight!
Vivid descriptions of the surroundings. I like the balance between paying attention to details and keeping the plot at a good and clear pace. The tone of the writing is wonderfully in-canon. What I especially noted was how the tone adapted to each new bearer of the package.
A pleasant mystery, and nicely resolved at the end. What a journey to be had by one package!
Lindariel
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
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Merry
- Varda
- Posts: 3263
- Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 7:01 am
- Location: Middle-west
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marbretherese
- Posts: 765
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 1:42 pm
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
What great feedback, Lindariel! no wonder you're delighted!
"Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back.
But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy."
http://www.marbretherese.com
http://marbretherese.blogspot.com/
But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy."
http://www.marbretherese.com
http://marbretherese.blogspot.com/
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Lindariel
- Posts: 1062
- Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:30 pm
- Location: The Hall of Fire, Imladris (otherwise known as Northern Virginia)
My story is now officially published at www.henneth-annun.net and has gone live! It will be featured at the top of the homepage for the next several days. YAYYYY!!!!!!!
Lindariel
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
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Philipa
- Ulmo
- Posts: 1866
- Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:03 pm
- Location: Surfing on the OO or hanging with the Teleri
Contratulations L!! That is so wonderful to find out this morning. I'm a bit late to the news and a bit disappointed the server maintenance on the site has stopped me from viewing the story on their site but excited none the less.
I will keep checking their site and add it to my online directory too.
Congratulations once again!
I will keep checking their site and add it to my online directory too.
Congratulations once again!
Aiya Earendil Elenion Ancalima!
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Lindariel
- Posts: 1062
- Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:30 pm
- Location: The Hall of Fire, Imladris (otherwise known as Northern Virginia)
Thanks so much, ladies! Now that the story is live, it has gathered several general reader comments in addition to the official reviews -- all positive so far. It's really nice to see the story getting broader circulation in the Tolkien community and continuing to be well received.
Lindariel
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
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marbretherese
- Posts: 765
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 1:42 pm
- Location: Middle England
- Contact:
Glad to hear your tale is getting a good reception, Lindariel! although I'm not surprised . . . 
"Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back.
But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy."
http://www.marbretherese.com
http://marbretherese.blogspot.com/
But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy."
http://www.marbretherese.com
http://marbretherese.blogspot.com/
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Lindariel
- Posts: 1062
- Joined: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:30 pm
- Location: The Hall of Fire, Imladris (otherwise known as Northern Virginia)
Re: Yuletime Journeys: Our Annual Essay Contest.
FYI -- Thought you all might like to know that another one of my Tolkien-inspired stories has been reviewed and accepted for publication at Henneth Annun. You may recall the 2008 Yule Story Contest, in which we were challenged to create an "adventure" for Bilbo, Gandalf, and Beorn to encounter on the 25th of Foreyule during their journey around Mirkwood and back to Beorn's home after the Battle of the Five Armies. We had a 1,000 word limit. My "adventure," in which Bilbo, Gandalf, and Beorn shelter in a cave to escape a severe snowstorm and encounter what appears to be a wounded werewolf but who proves to be one of Beorn's kinsmen, was well received by reviewers and will be published to the website sometime during the next week. Will let you know when the story goes "live."
Lindariel
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”
“Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and the World shall Be.”