Reviews (295)

Author's reply

As I mentioned in another replay, I definitely understand having other things to do. Thanks! (The next chapter will be posted as soon as I make sure it fits with the "Pippin, Diamond and Farry go to Gondor" story that is under construction.) Author Reply: Oops, typo alert. "replay" should have been "reply" above.

Author's reply

This was indeed a difficult chapter, both to write in the first place and to revise! Let's see... I haven't really gone into what Pippin's sisters are doing at this time. However, the following descriptions fit my Fourth Age timeline, more or less: At this point in time, Pearl is married to Isum, and I think they are farming the family land, which was abandoned because of ruffians' raids during the Troubles when Lotho's Men menaced the Shire and has needed quite a bit of work to recover. She doesn't take sides in the father-son conflict so that she can maintain contact with both. Pimpernel has married Odovacar Bolger's younger brother (an OC) and is living in Bridgefields. She has left the Tooks behind (at least at this point in her life) and is greatly enjoying the relative freedom she has as a Bolger. She may even be unaware of the estrangement since the Tooks are so clannish as to "keep Tookish business within Tookland's borders". Pervinca lives in the Great Smials and might be thought to be under Paladin's thumb, rather, except that she spends most of her time in the ancestral library, buried in a book. Out of sight, out of mind, as it were. It's even possible she's unaware of (or, alternatively, ignoring) the estrangement. Thanks so much for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! I do appreciate it.

Author's reply

Paladin rather got used to people responding with "How high?" when he told them to jump. After all, he was the brains behind keeping the Tookland free during the Troubles, and the Tooks owed him a great debt. Fathers and sons. Sigh. It can be such a wonderful relationship when both sides understand how to compromise and when to give some slack. Belated thanks for the heads-up on Chapter 31! I am always eagerly anticipating your updates. Please thank Hubby turned Beta for his contribution!

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Sam has picked up some tricks over time from some of the company he keeps, for sure. Thanks!

Author's reply

Poor Pippin. It must feel quite odd to be the one who's bamboozled rather than the bamboozler. I certainly empathise with having other things to do... While I could happily spend all day with fanfic, real life doesn't work well that way. Sigh. The cats are very helpful in managing life balance. They start brushing against my legs like sharks when they think I've sat at the laptop too long. (One of them even bites, so I always jump even when the cat is simply walking past.) Thanks!

Author's reply

I hope my explanation makes sense. It's been a challenge. (And yes, it was fun to imagine Sam thinking that Pippin followed Merry everywhere in their earlier days, and so it made perfect sense that Pippin Gamgee came after Merry Gamgee in birth order.) Thanks!

Author's reply

Well, my rationale was that they knew the ruffians paid more attention to the main part of the Shire than to Buckland. I have no idea why. JRRT doesn't really talk about Buckland after the Black Riders attack Crickhollow. Fishing is a nice, quiet, rather boring activity that encourages quiet conversation or companionable silence. I should think it would be quite peaceful, for the most part, especially compared to the bustle of an ancestral manse with many occupants. (Several hundred, didn't the Professor say?) Thanks!

Author's reply

It must have been so difficult to see his lad come back from the dead (joy) and then see the changes in him (pride, but also worry), and want to help but not know quite how... Signs of healing would bring a welcome sense of relief, even though there may still be a long way to go. (Thanks!)

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:::raising my teacup to join in with your toast::: Gotta love those hobbits... I'm glad the chapter made you laugh. Thanks!

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I remember being so excited when doing the research for this story and finding that pony twins were possible! No wonder fanfic is so diverting and absorbing. So much scope for the imagination! Thanks!

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Okay, so you keep throwing me these tantalizing hints and mentions... So here I am, having to ask, where in your stories would I find Pippin editing and performing someone else's work? (Eventually, I want to read through them ALL, of course!) Wouldn't it be fun to spend a few days (weeks? months?) exploring the Mathom House? I can only imagine... Thanks!

Author's reply

He had a pretty steep learning curve, as I recall. (It doesn't excuse some of the things he did, but it might explain them.) It's one thing to carry out someone else's orders and uphold someone else's vision (as steward), and quite another to be thrust into the leadership position at the top of the pyramid and having to come up with all the right ideas in the first place. Whew. Especially when you never wanted to take up that leadership position in the first place. Thanks!

Author's reply

I hadn't thought of that! I'm thinking that when I wrote the first draft of Jewels, I might not have known that Paladin became Thain when Pippin was 25. (I had to revise several stories because I lacked that piece of knowledge when I first began writing LOTR fanfic.) Things became much clearer to me when I started thinking of Paladin as a farmer first and Thain second. Thanks!

Author's reply

Ah, yes, the handfasting. I'm so glad Eglantine nagged Paladin into showing up and (sort of) supporting the new couple. And you're right about Pippin and Paladin's relationship being strained like Faramir with Denethor. But you've brought me a new insight: I really hadn't thought about Pippin naming his son Faramir for that reason, but it's very plausible! I also love the ideas in your last sentence, such a wonderful hope! (Faramir and Beregond have long been my two favourite Men in Tolkien's story.) Thanks!

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Whew. That particular plot thread (mixing up the couples) is finally untangled. What a relief! Thanks!

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I haven't read a lot of stories about Éomer and Faramir, but since diving back into fanfiction, I've started branching out and reading about more people than just hobbits. So I'm not sure I know what you mean, but I'll probably find out as I read more widely! (I've been enjoying immensely the Éomer stories and Faramir stories I've already sampled so far...) LOL! It sounds like the chapter might have surprised you. I'm glad if that was the case. One of my fears over the years I've been writing is being too predictable. I try hard not to be boring. Thanks!

Author's reply

Very nice speculations! That's how so many stories of mine get written... a problem comes to mind, and then I have to write the characters into and then back out of the situation. The father-son relations made sense to me at the time, though (as you probably know) I've been re-thinking my characterisation of Paladin for awhile now.

Author's reply

When I was a beginning fanfic author, several already established authors took me under their wing, so to speak. One of these was Dana. She was wonderfully encouraging and patient with me. Her LOTR fanfic stories were vivid and dynamic, and she loved hobbits as much as I did (and still do). We even wrote a story together in a genre I don't typically write, horror, and I think it turned out amazing. We lost touch a few years ago, and I would love to reconnect and hear what she's doing these days. I hope she is well but I have no way of knowing. I miss her. Anyhow, Dana loved to challenge me, to push me out of my writing comfort zone. In one of our phone calls, I mentioned the idea of mixing up the canon pairings (and then having to figure out how to straighten them out again). She loved the idea of sticking Pippin and Estella together; in one of her reviews, she compared Jewels to "an enjoyable soap opera". She also kept asking me to write more stories about the two of them together. LOL! As you've already seen by the time I wrote this reply, Farry and Ferdi are making steady progress on their way to Gondor. Thanks!

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(Putting that story at the top of my "Want to read" list...) Thanks!

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I hate to say, the visit was much rougher in the earlier version. Whew. Of course, I was a very new writer then and not as familiar with nuance. I'm glad for the opportunity to rewrite some of the rough edges of this very early effort and, in doing so, make Paladin's stance a little more understandable. At least, I hope that's how it comes out. Thanks so much for reading and pausing long enough to share your thoughts! I appreciate finding new insights into these characters who have become such a fixture in my imagination over the past few decades.

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Alas, poor Pippin. He's so used to being the one to talk in circles around others, confusing them into agreeing with him. It is all the more difficult when everyone else is presenting a united front and engaged in a benevolent conspiracy! (But he really is in need of a rest, as his difficulty in "fighting back" shows, so it's all to the good.) I'm glad to hear from you! It certainly does feel good to settle again, even briefly, after a busy time. My problem is that I've been resting so much this past month, the cats have decided that resting is the preferable state of affairs. Now that I'm using the laptop again, they are in rebellion – meowing, racing through the house at top speed and making a thunder of their paws, and cruising by my ankles like small, furry sharks. That last part always makes me jump because one of the three cats occasionally used to bite the tendon at the side of my knee when I spent long hours at the laptop editing. Thus, when I feel a cat brush against my leg, I'm always expecting a bite. It's quite distracting!

Author's reply

MM! Oh! I hadn't thought of that similarity! Remembering that bit from Airplane! just now made me laugh. Our family has a habit of quoting from movies. One of the quotes from that particular movie that has often been heard around here is the air traffic controller's "Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up (fill in the blank)..." and his paranoid "No! That's just what they'll be expecting us to do!" And you're exactly right. Pippin's inability to follow the conversation is a definite sign of his need for some rest and recuperation. (((hugs))) Lin

Author's reply

MM! I have read Chapter 30 and left you a note! (Hampered by an impatient cat who wants me to shut the laptop, retreat to the couch, and provide a lap for a two-hour cat nap.) Poor Pippin. He's up against a conspiracy of cousins and friends, and he'll probably have about as much success as Frodo did in terms of fending them off. Thanks so much for reading and stopping to share your thoughts. (((hugs))) Lin

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Sam might as well bow to the inevitable and get cracking. Everyone will be much happier as a result, himself included. Thanks for your lovely comments! Author Reply: p.s. Does one of your stories go into how Merry and Pippin came to live at Crickhollow? If so, which?

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GMTA, for sure! I might even have seen someone else (for example, Shirebound, perhaps? Or one of the other hobbit-writers whose works I devoured in those early days?) use the Elf-jewel in the same way and followed suit. It's long enough ago, I don't remember. Thanks!