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Healing the Long Cleeve  by TopazTook 9 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/5/2005
About time she cottoned on. She still is an innocent, but smart enough to realize when others are doing their own flirting with her man! About time, about time.

Author Reply: Mmm-hmm. She’s not dumb. (“Stand by your man...”) Sorry. The phrasing of your review just caused me to have a little Tammy Wynette flashback moment there. ;)

Alayna the Tallest HobbitReviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/16/2005
(“Well, in answer to your question you asked,” she said with kind exasperation, “you could start by calling him ‘Pippin’ as near to everyone else does!”

It sounds a fine menu indeed,” she smiled at him. “Pippin.”

Her husband’s face grew even brighter.)

Yes! Happy Dance time! I'm so glad, but I never expected Rosie to be the one to tell her.

Alayna

Author Reply: Nobody else apparently did either, LOL. She's got a good head on her shoulders, that Rosie.

Nina the powerwriterReviewed Chapter: 10 on 9/6/2004
I think this is my favorite chapter so far! Pip and Diamond made so much progress in it! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for letting Diamond finally call him something else. I nearly jumped out of my seat when I read that part! Poor Pip getting frustrated over not having intimacy with his own wife. *sighs* At least she finally realized he was courting her.

The dinner scene was a bit confusing, and I didn't understand what it meant until the next scene. That's okay, as long as it makes sense somewhere near the fact.

Yes, I have noticed the small conversations Pip and Diamond have been having. I guess I want to see something more emotional. Drat! I like things slapped with lots of butter too much :D

Good, good, good, good job! I can't emphasize enough so I just use the same word over again to get the point across. Keep going!

Author Reply: Thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks! Glad you liked her calling him by name, and that she realized he was courting her.

The dinner scene was actually *supposed* to be a little confusing: the idea is that you have sympathy with Merry and Estella until you get to the point where Pip says "thank you" to Diamond, and then the subsequent explanations that come after that turn the situation around and make the point that Diamond's formalities do have their good points, and Pippin benefits from them -- which at least he realizes, if the other hobbits don't always quite catch on as soon.

Sorry this fic might not have as much butter slapped on as you'd like -- it's tending to be a bit more subtle -- but I shall keep going. :)


AuntiemeeshReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/30/2004
What a delightful chapter. I'm glad someone finally told Diamond it was alright for her to call Pippin by name, lol. Rosie is a very smart hobbitess. I liked Diamond's initiative at Brandy Hall, when the servants were a little too familiar with Pippin. And it seems those books the healer gave her are doing some good. :)

Author Reply: What a delightful review. Yes, Rosie is a very smart hobbitess. Glad you liked the name revelation, Diamond's formal manners doing good for Pippin in the situation with the servants and Estella at Brandy Hall, and her revelation through the books -- there were several moments of "clarity" in this chapter.:)

pipspebbleReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/29/2004
Her eyes drank in the sight of him standing bare-chested upon the riverbank, laughing as he shook the water from his curls. A secret thrill ran through her.

*sigh* I just know I'm gonna enjoy what you come up with for these two. This is, still, a lovely story and you are still making me like Diamond more and more with each chapter you post. Can hardly wait to get where you're going with this. Hee, hee, hee. Bare-chested Pippin, indeed!






Author Reply: I thought someone (besides Diamond, that is, of course) would appreciate bare-chested Pippin.:) You are, still, a lovely reviewer. Glad you're liking Diamond and that you're looking forward to where I'm going. (Ooh, the pressure!)

BeruthielReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/29/2004
"You could start by calling him Pippin - as near to everyone else does." Thank you, Rosie!

Maybe I'm incredibly dense, but the scene at supper confuses me. Why are Merry and Estella so upset, and how exactly did Diamond's actions benefit the Tooks and Thain?

Diamond's realised Pippin is courting her! At last, they're getting friendly and not so mind-numbingly formal!

I agree with Ariel here, those books do need more detail.

Author Reply: Merry and Estella are upset because Diamond dissed Estella in front of a whole bunch of other hobbits by implying that she was out of her head/acting crazy (although she did it very politely and tried to blame the food rather than the hobbitess), and took her food away -- a harsh thing to do to any hobbit, and also the sort of punishment you’d inflict on a child.

The reason this was a *good* thing from Pippin and Diamond’s perspective is because, no matter how casual their relationship in the past or in private, Pippin is in the process of assuming many of the responsibilities he’s heir to -- he’s at Brandy Hall as the Thain’s representative, not as Merry’s cousin Pip -- and Estella can’t just go poking him in public, implying he’s an irresponsible litterbug, and making sexual innuendos about him with and in front of the servants.

Those “mind-numbingly formal” manners you cite -- and Diamond herself -- do have a purpose, and Pippin (as the representative of the Tooks and the Thain) benefits from them, as he realizes.

As for the books, as I said to Ariel, we are not reading the entirety of the books, they are not all the same...and I can only write so many hobbit romances at once.;)

RogerGamgeeReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/29/2004
I'm so glad to see Diamond addressing Pippin by his given name now instead of 'husband' all the time. I was beginning to think she didn't know what his name WAS.

I wonder how long it'll be before Diamond starts putting those books she's been reading to good use...LOL. Excellent work...looking forward to seeing how Pippin's 'courting' turns out.

Author Reply: Actually, Pippin *isn’t* his given name, so by calling him Captain Peregrin (which she doesn’t do to his face, but only when speaking *of* him), she’s closer than the rest of the Shire.;) And she still gets to use both appellations -- “Pippin” and “husband” -- at various times. Notice that, as long as she calls him Pippin occasionally, he doesn’t mind the other coming from her?

Thanks for your compliment! As for the influence of Diamond’s reading material, and Pippin’s courting, stay tuned.... :)


KrisztaReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/29/2004
Warming up, warming up... I like it! My favourite line: "...it suddenly occurred to her, with perfect clarity, that even though they be already wed, her husband - Captain Peregrin - Pippin - was courting her, just as the lads did the lasses in her books." By the way, thank you for her using the name Pippin. I know spouses not necessarily call each other by their first names, but the name (Pip, honey, Dad, whatever) tells a lot about how they think of the other, what they consider each other. (E.g. you can imagine what it means when a husband thinks of his wife primarily as "Mum"...)


Author Reply: Glad you liked that line. I have a friend who really likes to know where the title of a book or a chapter comes from, so sometimes I try to appease her and make it as explicit as possible. And everyone thought all she could get out of the books was sex tips! (Shakes head.)

The names do tell things about a relationship...for instance, you might notice that Pippin doesn’t want anyone *else* calling him husband, but kind of likes it on occasion from Diamond. :)

ArielReviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/29/2004
*Munches on more popcorn*

I think she needs one of Violet Brownlock's ettiquette manuals. Those books she's reading aren't nearly detailed enough.

Thank you for the prompt update - I should take lessons from you!

Author Reply: Hmm. Reviews with accompanying menus. Interesting. Did remind me to go make some popcorn, though -- thanks!

We are only getting the relevant parts of the books she’s reading...and, unlike the stereotypical view of human romance novels, they are not all the same. (Adamantine and Rufus’s story was historical fiction, in case you cared.:) )

And you do realize that I have to write those books as well as the main story -- and that I’m getting paid even less for the hobbit romance imprint than I am for “Healing”, if that’s possible? Sigh. And here I thought that silhouette of a pointed-eared, rounded tummy hobbit embracing a pointed-eared lass who’s kicking up her heel on the spines of them was a sufficient mark for the Shire booksellers to identify the writer/editor/publisher and funnel the profits along.

As I said before, I’m really trying to meet my goal of regular updates. Might be somewhat delayed in the week after next, though, as I will have houseguests and less writing and computer time.

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