harrowcat · 30 July 2007 · Chapter 21: Message from an Absent Cousin
Oh, poor Merry. Well done Sam and Pippin. You made me cry Lindelea!
Author's reply
Sorry. *hugs*
Jewels by Lindelea
Reviews (295)
harrowcat · 26 July 2007 · Chapter 20: Mid-year's Eve, Afternoon into Evening
And so the worst is happening..... poor Merry, poor Pippin...poor all of them!
Author's reply
It's awful. And it was awful. I'm so sorry. But it does get better eventually. I promise. (((hugs)))
Larner · 24 July 2007 · Chapter 20: Mid-year's Eve, Afternoon into Evening
And they lost two? Alas! Poor lads, and poor North-Tooks! Glad Sam and Rosie are there now for them.
Author's reply
I'm sorry to say, yes. And yet, if Merry and Pippin had not been with them, everyone in the second waggon would likely have been drowned. Thanks!
Larner · 18 July 2007 · Chapter 19: Mid-year's Eve, Noontide
So--this was the way of it, was it? Oh, my heavens! Poor Merry, and the poor North-Tooks! At least the twins and Taddy are all right. And I'm glad Frodo's gone--this would probably have brought back horrible memories of his parents' loss.
Author's reply
O my, I hadn't thought of Frodo's possible reaction. But you're right, this was the solution to the canon problem. Thanks!
harrowcat · 16 July 2007 · Chapter 19: Mid-year's Eve, Noontide
oh dear -disaster strikes! Don't keep us hanging on the end of these ropes too long - pleeeeese.
Author's reply
Will do my best.
Pearl Took · 8 July 2007 · Chapter 18: Mid-year's Eve, Morning
Light, happy and jolly! I love Tad, he's adorable :-)
Author's reply
Yes, I love Tad too... just can't help it! Thanks. Glad to have you along for the ride.
Larner · 5 July 2007 · Chapter 18: Mid-year's Eve, Morning
Alas, I hope that song won't backfire on poor Merry! Although we know SOMETHING did! Heh! Just awakened by a pack of Pomeranians greeting the grandsons, just back from the store. Hope Zoë doesn't do the same for you. Worked last night for a colleague so that he will work for me Friday evening, although I have to spell him for a few hours Saturday morning. Hope the Fourth was pleasant for you and yours.
Author's reply
Yes, indeed! My writing partner is quite vocal, not yappy but deep-voiced as befitting her size, yet she lets herself be heard... We had a wonderful Fourth, thanks! Went to one of the smaller local rivers to cool off and managed to keep the little ones in life jackets the entire time, whew. (Lots of people have drowned in that little river... deceptive as it looks, cool and inviting, it must be quite treacherous in reality.) Saw the huge fireworks display from a distance that did not involve huge crowds of people, and got to bed before midnight. I'd say it was one of our better Fourths, even if the little hobbits didn't get to set off their crackers until the next day.
harrowcat · 5 July 2007 · Chapter 18: Mid-year's Eve, Morning
Ok, right now I am getting anxious that all this happiness is heading for a fall in the next 24 hours as you say this isn't AU. But I am lapping up the happiness.
Author's reply
*sigh* Very astute. All I can say at this point is, Live in the moment. Whew.
Pearl Took · 25 June 2007 · Chapter 17: Tears of Joy
I do love our rascal! Dear nervous Merry! And Ruby, all gone pale. And I love Tad imitating Pippin. Great fun, m'dear Lin!!
Author's reply
He is a lovable rascal, indeed! It is so cute to see a tiny lad copying a very tall one... especially when the very tall one has a gentle heart. Thanks! Still have your latest story on my "to read" list... and July is nearly here!
Larner · 25 June 2007 · Chapter 17: Tears of Joy
Hmm. I know this match didn't happen, so now await the word as to why it failed. Alas for Merry; but in the end he got the right one for him, I know, with Estella Bolger.
Author's reply
True, for this tale is not AU though at the moment it seems to be. Thanks! Hope your ISP is behaving itself.
harrowcat · 25 June 2007 · Chapter 17: Tears of Joy
The lows and highs for Merry are a bit of a rollercoster at present but glad it is bringing joy to all.
Author's reply
Yes, rollercoaster, good description of this story in general. Thanks!
harrowcat · 14 December 2006 · Chapter 16: Invitation from Long Cleeve
I like 'chit-chat'! *g* I went to see 'Mission Impossible 3' last year and came out of the cinema feeling physically assaulted. The plot had got totally lost in the non-stop action!
Author's reply
I haven't seen that movie, but I can certainly appreciate the sentiment! (Have seen a few movies that were more action than plot...)
Pearl Took · 13 December 2006 · Chapter 16: Invitation from Long Cleeve
Lovely, whether it is like Jane Austin or not ;-) It fits hobbits nicely.
Author's reply
Thank you!
Larner · 13 December 2006 · Chapter 16: Invitation from Long Cleeve
As I recall it, my own chapter in which a grown-up Pippin meets a grown-up Diamond for the first time since the quest was also compared to Jane Austen, so it appears that the temptation to write in her style seems to come out when writing about the North-Tooks. Heh! And Ruby has her eye on Merry? Poor lass, doomed, we know, to disappointment.
Author's reply
Hmmm. Perhaps Jane Austen came from that branch of the family? Poor Ruby, indeed. *sigh* Hope you made it safely home again.
Pearl Took · 5 December 2006 · Chapter 15: Invitation to Long Cleeve
oooo! Interesting! Poor Pip, it is hard to know what to do at times like that. "'But now, I know how to fight.'" It's good Merry has the tools/knowledge he needs now. Why are they so interested in those Long Cleeve lasses? ;-)
Author's reply
Hmmmm. And Long Cleeve really not on the beaten track between the Hall and the Smials, or the Hall and Bag End, or even Bag End and the Smials. Quite out of the way, as a matter of fact, very inconvenient. It makes one wonder...
Larner · 5 December 2006 · Chapter 15: Invitation to Long Cleeve
Yes, they ought to have told Merry's parents.
Author's reply
Yes, they ought. Poor lads. Glad it came out well.
harrowcat · 5 December 2006 · Chapter 15: Invitation to Long Cleeve
I am glad that Merry knows how to fight for to give him to Gondor so soon after losing Frodo to keep him from death would be too much for us all.
Author's reply
It really would! Especially when I stop to consider that Merry has always been my favourite hobbit. (Don't know why I find it so hard to write about him!)
harrowcat · 29 November 2006 · Chapter 14: The Grey Havens
Aw.... *sniff* Where was the hankie warning? I loved it all. I missed my share of the blackberries too this year. My favourite fruit.
Author's reply
My favourites are probably tree-ripened peaches or nectarines, although fresh-picked strawberries come close. Sorry about the hankie warning. There's a lot of that in this story. Just keep a spare lying by the computer, will you? Of course there are plenty of bright bits too, lest you lose hope.
Larner · 28 November 2006 · Chapter 14: The Grey Havens
Yes, to learn to live properly is a great adventure, allowing one to more properly appreciate the greatest adventure of all--finding what comes next! We love our four, and are mostly glad that Frodo chose life in the end.
Author's reply
You certainly have a way of summing up the most important part. Thanks! Author Reply: p.s. that new story is still residing on paper. Haven't had time to type it in, yet, but will send chapters off to you as I get each one typed in, if you don't mind piecemeal.
Pearl Took · 28 November 2006 · Chapter 14: The Grey Havens
*sigh* Well told, Lin! *sigh*
Author's reply
*sigh* right with you, Pearl.
Pearl Took · 20 November 2006 · Chapter 13: Another Visit
The darkness creeps in, but still, this is more the feel of things that I have always had. Frodo is fading, but still not overcome. Well done, Lin!
Author's reply
Thank you! Yes, Frodo didn't strike me as so very miserable and depressed that he had to leave, although I wrote this before reading JRRT's letters and gaining additional insight. I think that his gallant spirit would have fought on to the last gasp, if he had not had the avenue of escape that the Elves offered. And I think he took that offer reluctantly, and perhaps more for Bilbo's sake (that the old hobbit not be all alone, without any other hobbits, in that fair land) than his own.
Larner · 19 November 2006 · Chapter 13: Another Visit
So--Saradoc and Esmeralda are recognizing the signs, while the other Travellers are in denial. Although I suspect Pippin is merely keeping his own counsel. But in the depths of his heart Merry is recognizing what will come....
Author's reply
No, actually, I have Pippin and Sam in denial and Merry keeping his own counsel. But it might easily have gone the other way, with Merry being so close to Frodo from his early years.
harrowcat · 19 November 2006 · Chapter 13: Another Visit
'I could give you the same answer. It goes.' He took a deep breath of the sweet summer air. 'Life is good, Merry. I might not have chosen the path that was set before me, but I cannot complain of the outcome.' He gestured vaguely to the laughing children, sunshine sparkling on the water, the bright sky, the myriad greens of grass and tree. 'Just look around, Merry. There is no Shadow here. And we helped to make the difference.' Oh Frodo. Seeing with his head and so totally committed to seeing his friends and the Shire heal but he can't share it. And Merry coping and turning his experiences to the good of the Shire with an able assistant in Pippin. Great to see this Lindelea.
Author's reply
Thank you! Tuesdays are a busy day for us, so it makes Tuesday a good day to give an already-written chapter a buff and a rub and post it. Therefore, unless the bronchitis attacks again, this ought to be updated on Tuesday! It's a plan, anyhow. This part always grabs me in the throat. These chapters were a result of my trying to work out just why Frodo had to leave the Shire, for I simply could not see him leaving all those he loved unless it was a matter of life and death. But no time for a long drawn-out discourse on the matter--aren't you relieved? *g*
Pearl Took · 19 October 2006 · Chapter 12: A Visit from a Favourite Nephew
Oh, Lin, I loved this!!! I put it off a bit as I didn't want to face the usual "gloomy gus" Frodo. What a wonderful surprise!!! You have a happy, sly, loving Frodo - much more the way I always pictured him being for most of his first year home. MEWD!!!
Author's reply
O good, we're still thinking along the same lines. I liked giving him a peaceful year in the Shire, marred only by anniversaries. I'm sure he savoured peace, and watching the Shire grow green again, and life resume its pattern. That's the way I wrote him in "A Short and Passing Thing", anyhow, which sort of spun off this chapter and the next two. Author Reply: oops, meant "Small and Passing Thing" but I was trying not to type "Long and Passing Thing" which is something of a joke between EF and myself.
harrowcat · 19 October 2006 · Chapter 12: A Visit from a Favourite Nephew
a Favourite Nephew who works hard to reassure his favourite Aunt and Uncle! Lovely Picture with the flowers.
Author's reply
Thank you! I love that picture--I can see it in my mind's eye, an echo of when Frodo was a little lad and brought his auntie fistfuls of half-wilted wildflowers.