The Question by LKK
Leaward · 2 February 2005 · Chapter 1
What a lovely story. I love how you wove the 'Father Yule' tradition into the Shire and then had it introduced to the 'big folk'. I also liked how you put lines in ..."Time’s relentless march seemed to have skipped his friend, a fact that the wizard found increasingly curious." and the remark about "A wizard arrives precisely when he means to and leaves precisely when he means to," It made it so much more 'Tolkien.' Again, well done!
Merlynnod · 28 December 2004 · Chapter 1
Oh, what a wonderful story! :D And the subject matter...so close to home, but not often written about. I suppose it's one of those things everyone has happen in their lives (either as the child or the parent), but people just don't write about it often. Your story was lovely, perfectly capturing that difficult conversation, but finding a way to make it joyful too. I really enjoyed this tale. :) Thanks so much for writing it!
Author's reply
I'm very glad you enjoyed the story, Merlynnod. I have never been on the parent side of that conversation, but I clearly remember the child's side when my mother and I had the talk about Santa Claus over 35 years ago. I really appreciate you taking the time to drop me a note. Thank you! LKK
Peppi · 3 February 2004 · Chapter 1
LKK, I really enjoyed this story! It brought back some childhood memories. Your style of writing makes for easy reading -- a pleasure!
Author's reply
I'm so happy you enjoyed this, Peppi. I hope the childhood memories it brought back were pleasant ones. Thanks especially about the comments on my writing style. As an author, it's always nice to hear when someone appreciates the writing itself. :-) LKK
Lasse-Lanta · 13 January 2004 · Chapter 1
This is a sweet, sweet story. I love how you've blended the tale of Father Christmas into Tolkien's universe and then spread it back to the world of humans. I was particularly touched by the responses of the elves (loved Glorfindel what an old softy). Splendid writing, a jewel of a story.
Author's reply
Thank you, Lasse-Lanta! Your review makes a wonderful Christmas gift to last me the year round. :-) LKK
erunyauve · 27 December 2003 · Chapter 1
This is a lovely story - and a reminder of why we persist in telling children about Santa Claus, no matter how disappointed they might be when the magic ends. Of course, the idea of Gandalf as the original Santa Claus is just irresistable. I also liked the bit about Peri Took and her resemblance to her forefather and the allusion to Bilbo's peculiar youthful appearance.
Author's reply
Thank you for your generous comments, erunyauve. I believe that there is something special ... something magical ... in a child's belief in Santa Claus. A reminder to us older, more jaded, folks that there is still wonder to be seen in the world. So when the challenge came up to present Gandalf as the original Santa Claus, I couldn't resist combining two of my most favorite magical, wonderous characters. I'm glad you found the result to your liking. I'm also pleased you enjoyed the allusions to Pippin and the Ring. I put those in as surprise gifts for readers. Little moments of "ah!", I hoped. LKK
LOTR lover · 14 December 2003 · Chapter 1
What a warm, wonderful Yuletide story! Thank you so much for posting this!
Author's reply
You're very welcome, LOTR lover! The story was my little Yuletide gift to the SOA community. I'm grateful that you found it to your liking. Thank you for your review. :-)
Elena Tiriel · 12 December 2003 · Chapter 1
LKK, what a delightful story! I love your Elves... and your hobbits... and to think that Ro's thoughtful gesture spawned a tradition that even spread to Gondor -- what a hoot! Thank you for sharing your obsess - er, talent with us! - Barbara
Author's reply
Obsession .... talent ... you were right the first time, Barbara. :-) I'm pleased that you enjoyed it. Thank you for your wonderful comments. (And your help!) LKK
Hai · 12 December 2003 · Chapter 1
That was really sweet! I like how you wrote about Sam's descendants yet still used original characters! Woderfully done and a wonderful idea! thank you for sharing it!
Author's reply
Thank you, Hai. I'm glad you liked Sam's descendents in the framing story as well as the more familiar favorite characters in the main story. I had fun writing this one and am happy you enjoyed it.
coonzalas · 12 December 2003 · Chapter 1
awwwwwwwwww, i loved it! coon
Author's reply
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, thank you!!! :-)
jenolas · 11 December 2003 · Chapter 1
What a truly lovely story and so well written. I really liked your approach to this challenge and whilst not a fan of Hobbit fics, I found this to be fascinating. well done. jenolas
Author's reply
I am so glad that you found the story fascinating, jenolas. Your comments mean a great deal to me, coming from a non-Hobbit fic fan as you are. It's good to know that I was able to create a Hobbit story that appealed to non-Hobbit people as well. Thank you for the compliments. :-)
Nilmandra · 11 December 2003 · Chapter 1
This is beautiful. You caught the hobbit voices so well, and the elves too. Yes, Glorfindel can go on and on...and doesn't Elrohir just have the most tender heart? This is a great story woven around the tradition of Father Yule. Well done :D
Author's reply
Thank you for your comments. They're so sweet. I know that Glorfindel has many official duties in Rivendell, but as I've come to imagine him, I think he also has the unofficial duty of resident storyteller. In my mind, he seems to love to tell tales. And he has so many to tell! I'm glad you liked my depiction of Elrohir as your History Lessons story played a large part in forming my image of him. I'm very honored at your comment, thank you!
Jay of Lasgalen · 11 December 2003 · Chapter 1
A lovely tale. I like the idea of Father Yule, especially the fact that the tradition has spread across the Shire and as far as Gondor. Well done to Elrohir, too - I am sure Roch had many happy memories for him. Jay
Author's reply
I'm glad you enjoyed the story, Jay. It was important to me that the Father Yule tradition spread outside of the Shire and into the Big People's world. When I was designing the story, I saw Father Yule serving as the basis for Father Christmas when Christianity came. So I wanted to hint that Men were taking up the tradition as preparation for that. I think Roch had a very special meaning for Elrohir. I couldn't get all the details from the elves. They can be quite close-mouthed at times! But from what I could get out of them, apparently something traumatic happend to Elrohir when he was young. Glorfindel carved the horse to comfort the elfling, and possibly to comfort himself, as well. (That last bit is my suspicion. Glorfindel would never admit to that, no matter how much I prodded.) When the trauma was over, Elrohir treasured the toy for the loving memories it brought him. Oh, this is a bit long for a review response, I guess, so I should just say Thank You and be done. :-)
Bejai · 11 December 2003 · Chapter 1
Delightful, delightful story. Just a joy to read. Father Yule and the elves, indeed :) Nice to know where the story REALLY came from.
Author's reply
Thank you, Bejai! I had to put on my Reporter's Press Hat and dig deep to find out the truth behind Father Yule and the elves. Everyone kept insisting that the truth ended with the overly large bearded guy in the red suit and those underly tall guys at the North Pole, but my reporter's instincts told me there was more to the story than that. I dug deeper and uncovered the truth for all to read. LKK *fearless reporter* :-)
daw the minstrel · 11 December 2003 · Chapter 1
Very touching. My favorite story about this kind of stuff is my niece asking my brother in law if there really was a tooth fairy. He asked her what she thought and she said that she thought he was the tooth fairy and she thought that because she had seen him in the night taking her tooth and leaving money. He confirmed that she was right. Then she said that her only question was whether the other parents knew he was the tooth fairy. That's off the topic of your nice story, but it amused me!
Author's reply
What a darling story, daw! I don't care that it was off-topic from my story, I'm glad you told it. :-) And thank you for the warm words about the story. I'm happy to know that I touched someone with my tale.
Karri · 11 December 2003 · Chapter 1
Oh! Too sweet! An excellent response to the challenge! Thank you.
Author's reply
No, Karri, Thank *you* for posing such a fantastic challenge. I fell in love with your challenge from the moment I read it. What magic did you instill in it, by the way? Once I read it, I could not stop thinking about it. Running ideas through my head, planning, plotting. I had no choice but to answer your challenge. I wasn't getting anything else done! I'm so glad that you liked the results. :-)
shirebound · 11 December 2003 · Chapter 1
What a lovely story, and *so* creative! I adore this idea, that Bilbo, Gandalf, and Frodo initiated such a wonderful and long-held Shire tradition.
Author's reply
Thank you for your kind words, shirebound. You make me feel as if Father Yule has visited my parlor already! :-)