11/13: Finished, I think, pending editor's approval. Will let you know what she says.

11/12: Hoorah. Have wrestled the final chapters to the ground. I am now pondering whether there will be a final chapter with Sam taking his leave from Elanor, or if I will just leave the story "as is". Got any opinion? Comments are welcome.

11/11: (Anguished moan) These last few chapters are torture. I feel like cutting out all this emotional wallowing and just *ending* the thing. The Muse insists that all this is quite necessary, so I will withhold the cutting blade for the nonce, at least until I reach the end and go back through the story again. The last few chapters have run so long that I have ended up splitting several of them (for example, chapters 65 and 66 were once one lo-o-o-o-o-o-ong chapter. My attention span is too short to tolerate such.) Dad, I'm thinking of you this Veteran's Day. I miss you. Bet you'd still laugh at me when I read a sad story and get a tear in my eye... and now that I'm *writing* sad stories I can only imagine what you'd say!

11/8: Ran Chapter 63 past Jodancingtree, who is my guide to Frodo and Sam characterizations (I think I've got Pippin and Merry down, but Sam and Frodo still make me nervous when I have to write them) and she suggested a little change. My editor agrees, having gone so far as to craft Jo's suggestion even further, and so, if you've already read ch 63, know that it changes a bit.

11/7: Chapter 63 is in the works, just to let you know. If I can finish it during my lunch break I will post it today.

10/27: The chapter numbers are fixed. I had a bad moment this morning when I was thinking about having to fix them on ffnet, but remembered that I'm not posting this there, yet, until my editor has a chance to go over it... and of course, astute readers who comment on flaws that need fixing!

A chapter split itself into two over the weekend, but there are still only ten or so more chapters on the outline. We shall see what evolves.

10/25: Ahem. It has been pointed out that there are two chapter 42s! This will take a bit of time to fix. My editor missed this, being too busy changing "laying" to "lying" and "survived" to "rallied" and other such niceties of grammar and nuances of meaning. We had a good laugh together, wondering if a beta reader might miss it as well. As it was it took an astute reviewer!

10/24: Though there will be high points yet, such as the wedding, the bittersweet is growing. This story, is, after all, canon. Got a challenge for you. Can you figure out Frodo's malady? No prize, just the satisfaction that you're a good clue reader. Clues will be sprinkled into upcoming chapters. No, it is not all supernatural or Ring-deprivation (somehow that never satisfied me as an explanation for why Frodo had to leave). I'll tell you if you guess correctly.

Comments are always welcome. This is a draft. See sign. :::Under construction: Author at Work:::

As an aside, I figured out in the shower this morning how to re-write parts of "Jewels" to make Estella her proper age. I do my best thinking in the shower, wish we had a larger hot water tank! What a relief! (Edited: trying to re-write and change Estella's age made me lose my grasp on the characters' relationships and their "voices" in interaction... I think, at the moment, her age will stay the same)

10/23: Those of you who are saying, 'Wait a minute, more angst? What is this? Why are you picking on Merry?' after reading chapter 46, well, I am bringing this story in line with an earlier work of mine, "Jewels", which is not yet on SoA. You can find the edited draft on Fanfiction.net. It is undergoing some changes as I incorporate the beta comments (I am way behind on this, sorry Jen and Katakanadian, I just seem to use up all my time writing new material... *got* to get back to beta-work, I know.), but the gist of the story will remain the same. Anyhow, as I get the beta comments incorporated, I plan to put "Jewels" up here, as soon as I finish putting up "Where the Merlin Cries". So much to do, so little time!

10/21: The next six chapters are fully outlined and ready to write, and there isn't too much to the story after that, as far as I can tell (another five chapters? perhaps. There is a rough outline not broken into chapters yet). We are making progress. My editor tells me I am managing not to be too terribly wordy this time, and may keep chapters 38 and 39 since readers seem to like them. Thanks for your input!

I am not yet sure if chapters 38 and 39 will remain in the story. They are mostly background information, explaining in my own head why Estella changes so drastically. I do this a lot when I write, create stuff that is "background" as a kind of map or guide, though it never appears in a story, since it might slow things down or divert the storyline from the main plot.

Anyhow, you were aware that this is a draft, weren't you? Here you get to see the writing process at work.

If this is driving you crazy, then wait until all the kinks are ironed out by my editor and beta reader. The final version will hopefully be posted eventually, labelled as such.

Comments are welcome. Who knows, people might actually like chapters 38 and 39...