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If we have any members who are writers (and I'm sure we have!) I thought I'd set up a topic where you can, if they wish, promote and discuss your works. There are a few rules to follow!

1. Promotions and Discussions should be for works that relate to Tolkien and/or his themes.

2. Promotion of your writing is to be confined to this topic.

3. Discussion of your writing is to be confined to this folder.

4. I will ask you to repost here any promotion of or extended discussion of your works that are posted in other threads. Persistent infraction of rules will result in deletion of non-compliant posts.

5. Don't spam!

Michael wrote: "If we have any members who are writers (and I'm sure we have!) I thought I'd set up a topic where you can, if they wish, promote and discuss your works. There are a few rules to follow!

1. Promoti..."

Hi Michael: Thanks for the guidelines -- I may be using an out of date browser, but I can't seem to see the link for the correct place to link to my own writing on Tolkien. I don't want to put any links in the wrong place & annoy people. Is there an URL you can send me? Sorry for this.

David

Hi David,

Sorry about the delay replying - notifications not working properly again!

Your writing will need to be published and listed on ŷ������ for the usual link function to work - "add book/author" just above the comments box.

If you have published your work on a site like Smashwords, but it isn't on ŷ������ yet, send a message to my inbox with the details of your work, and preferably its url, too, then I can add it to the ŷ������ database for you.

NB: ŷ������ does require that your work be published , either on paper or electronically, in order to be listed.

Hope this is clear, but I'm feeling a bit fuzzy-headed as we're about to have a thunderstorm, so apologies if it's a bit disjointed!!

I write detective novels set in Iceland. The first of these, published in 2010 was called Where The Shadows Lie. The premise is that while Tolkien was teaching at Leeds University in 1924, he met an Icelandic student whose family had kept a saga, a sequel to the Saga of the Volsungs, which included a magic ring tossed into Mount Hekla in Iceland. This saga is clearly very valuable, and something someone will kill for. Strangely, the more I researched this idea, the more plausible it seemed. Tolkien was fascinated by Iceland, spoke Old Norse, and translated the Saga of the Volsungs. Iceland is also a really good setting for a crime novel.

That sounds really interesting I will have to ask my library for it.

Michael, I've often thought Iceland's legacy has been underrepresented in the literature. I've always had a keen interest in Celtic tradition, especially the tradition of the "Land to the West" where the souls of slain heroes live in the Mead Halls of the Gods. Iceland? Possibly. Have you looked into this?

Richard wrote: "Michael, I've often thought Iceland's legacy has been underrepresented in the literature. I've always had a keen interest in Celtic tradition, especially the tradition of the "Land to the West" whe..."

The Mead Halls of the Gods sounds a bit like Valhalla: I'm not sure what geographical direction that is, but I don't think it's west - I have a feeling it's east.
However just before 1000AD the Icelanders discovered Vinland, which is mentioned in convincing detail in a couple of sagas (Greenlanders Saga and Leif Eriksson's Saga). This was Eastern Canada. If the Land to the West is mentioned after 1000, then it might be North America, via Iceland.

There was tremendous commerce in people and goods between Iceland and Ireland in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Indeed many Icelanders are genetically Irish (and British) through the women's line (strongly Norwegian through the male line).

As are many in Ireland, especially in the North, where the Danish bloodlines are common as well. The Western Tradition is a very old one, predating the Colonization of Iceland. It comes from the Celtic tradition. The Celts who settled Ireland were supposedly from Northern Spain, first, before sailing to Ireland, originally for trade in metals. There have been burial finds along the Silk Road in China, of all places, containing mummified remains of people with braided blonde or red hair and wearing tartans, so the Celts did travel a bit. History says they built the city of Kiev, so maybe the blessed Isle was Ireland!. But where the "Fir Bolgs" and earlier tribes came from is anyone's guess. England was connected to Eurpope through most of the period when men lived in Europe until right after the last Ice, so the Celts were quite late to come to the table. Still, I wonder about the hero's halls in the West -- Tolkien made lots of use of this establishing Valinor to the West. Sorry for being so long-winded. It's better not to get me started.

Yes, Michael. UCLA (my alma mater) once offed a language course in Icelandic (extension program). I wondered how it could be offered on-line---. I think middle english is fun and easy, but Old English daunting.

I'm not sure how you identify differences in genes through the males and female lines????

Men have x and y chromosomes while women have x chromosomes only. Therefore, anything on the y chromosome is exclusively male and can be used to trace male genetic lineage, though obviously only for men and not women.

However, the cellular "fuel-packs" called mitochondria sit in the nucleus of every cell (apart from red blood cells, which don't have a nucleus), have their own DNA and are inherited from the mother only. So female lineage can be traced for both men and women via the mitochondrial DNA.

Wow, thank you for this. What is in the fuel-packs? I heard James (I forget his lat name) speak on DNA at Cal-Poly U. about how we will be able to trace our ancestors through using DNA exclusively. My husband was Norweigian. When they (ancestors ) came to the US they changed their name from Vinterthur to Williams---what a come down---

Joanne wrote: "Wow, thank you for this. What is in the fuel-packs?..."

Well, now you're asking! It's a bit of a stretch for my memory back to school biology lessons, but I think it's the chemical conversion of a molecule called adenosine triphospate to adenosine diphosphate that releases energy which the cell can use.

You'd probably better Google that for accuracy before repeating it to anybody :-D

If I might add, it is also the way they traced the modern human genome back to a single woman in Mother Africa, as the female Mitochondrial DNA isn't changed through generations and is not as subject to mutation... or something like that!

It does mutate, but at a statistically predictable rate, which is how paleo-geneticists have been able to date such events as the human migration out of Africa - although, there are other competing theories.

OK - here's another related mystery. Icelandic, which is very similar to Old Norse and taught by Tolkien, is a great language to start to learn until you get to the grammar. Then there is a massive matrix of cases, genders and declensions to learn - quite a lot like latin or greek. But Danish has less grammar than Icelandic, in the same way Italian has less grammar than latin. Which means that there is a strong similarity between Old Norse and Latin grammar, whereas the words seem totally different. So is complcated grammar a "natural" state of language, from which simpler grammar has evolved in parallel? Sounds odd.

This is something I am sure JRR could have answered!

And Richard, if you know, do the Celtic languages have latin-like grammar structures?

That is where my great storehouse of knowledge runs completely dry. Modern Irish and Welsh are evolutions of the old mother tongues, Breton as well, so there must be someone out there in GR land who can speak one of those and can read latin as well.

The complication thing almost seems, intuitively, like a work-around to bridge linguistic and cultural differences, much as English has evolved. Worthy of further research.

My Mormon bishop loves German because one can make "portmanteau" works like Zeitgiest work. There are just too many cases in German for me.

He defined Zeitgiest as Spirit of the times, whereas Jepardy called it Time Spirit. Not quite the same.

In my small experience grammar tends to become simpler in use---most things tend toward Chaos!

It's odd how many ways we can see the past: myth, language, genes and that's before you get to the supposedly hard facts of written history and archaeology. I think that's why I enjoyed studying the Dark Ages in history and medieval Iceland. And why Tolkien appeals: of course that is exactly what appealed to him.

Same, for me. Tolkien's writing struck something in my nature that resonated. Still rings true. Our bloodlines carry that resonance, all the way back to the events no one recorded or remembers.

I always thought History was Facts----no just one man's perception of the facts---should one believe what many others define as facts, or finding one person's opinion of the facts that seem to fit with my perceptions?

Tolkien was Christian-Catholic----The truth often rings true, resounds in our basic DNA.

I forgot to mention I am not Catholic, but Mormon.!

Anne wrote: "Hi Michael, I am having the same trouble as David. I have recently added myself as a GoodReads author and added my book Moments of Grace and Spiritual Warfare in The Lord of the Rings. But the links are not working for me either. Help please! Le hannon!..."

All seems to be working now Anne Marie :-)

Moments of Grace and Spiritual Warfare in The Lord of the Rings by Anne Marie Gazzolo

I think I would like to read this--JO

Hello, I'm Davita. I've written a fantasy fiction novel, although I doubt its as Tolkien related as the last book mentioned. Unfortunately my agent is still in the process of looking for a publisher, so as yet I'm not published. The story is about a young woman who was raised by a shepherd and his wife, who finds out that she's actually the Queen of a far away land. She and her band of friends must fight the dictator that rules the land to attain the throne and right the wrongs of 20 years. Anyway... that's the basic gist.

Ah, right... I misunderstood your query! There are no links in my original post, I simply highlighted the words for emphasis - sorry if that made it less, rather than more, clear! :-)

So, if you want to announce and promote your book to the Group, you do it in the present topic heading: Group Members' Writing. By promotion I mean announcing publication, highlighting sites where the book can be bought, advising of giveaways and generally "puff pieces" about how amazing your book is!

However, if you want to discuss the actual content of your book, then that can go as a new topic in the present folder: Other Authors.

I hope that I have actually made it clearer this time!

thanks

I suppose I might post my books here for the members' scrutiny.

The Red Gate was published in 2009 and was my first novel, followed the next year by The Gatekeepers the next year. They are the beginning of an historical fiction/fantasy series set in Western Ireland along Mayo's craggy coast, beginning in 1911. I wanted to try my hand also at writing with a slight period voice, which changes as the dates unfold.

The next book in the series, once I begin it, will be set during the Cold War, so the voice will be substantially different. They and my more recent books are all available in print and in all ebook formats online at Amazon and B&N, Kobo, Smashwords, etc. I would appreciate hearing from any members here who take the time to read them. Of course, while I try to minimize any direct influences, Papa Tolkien's spirit, at le4ast, is clearly evident.

The Great Succession Crisis

Hello, I'm author Laurel A. Rockefeller. In August I self published the first book in my "Peers of Beinan" trilogy.

My series is very much influenced by JRR Tolkien who taught me that the best stories are set in a complete world of my own creation. Ironically enough, the reviews I've received here on Good Reads are a bit critical of me for doing exactly that!

But I think Tolkien was right. What I love so much about Middle Earth is feeling like I'm not in a cheap copy of something here and now. I have tried hard to emulate that. So I hope that you, as fans of Dr. Tolkien appreciate that about my work. "Great Succession Crisis" is rooted in not only my love of Middle Earth, but also my history background (I've been a member of the SCA as long as I've been a Tolkien fan -- over 22 years) and my knowledge of the Tudor dynasty in particular. My Princess Anlei experiences many of the same things that Princess Elizabeth experienced -- including and especially the lack of confidence in her abilities just because she was a woman. Great Succession Crisis explores gender politics while telling a great feudal action-adventure romantic tale with mystery and a sinister villain you won't see coming!

All of this sets up for book two, "Ghosts of the Past" which I hope to release in 2013. "Ghosts" explores the consequences of Princess Anlei's choices three generations later.

I think as fans of Tolkien you, more than anyone else, will really enjoy Great Succession Crisis and its coming sequels. I'm saying this as someone who is truly passionate about Middle Earth. It is my hope I learned from Dr. Tolkien how to write amazing stories. Please let me know what you think. Like Dr. Tolkien, I wrote five appendices (called "data files") which I put in a supplementary volume.

Hello, everyone. My book, Angel War, published in April, 2013, I think may interest at least some of the members of this group. Certainly, it shares some of the themes that Tolkien explored in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, most notably the war between good and evil and the idea of setting out upon and fulfilling a quest.
"Childe Rowland to the dark tower came."
That is a quote from King Lear by William Shakespeare. When I first read that, I felt a strange thrill in my stomach. It is just a fragment, part of a ramble by the Fool in the play. Later, I found out that it is a quote from an old ballad, called Childe Rowland. It is one of many, about the quest of a young man to free his sister and brothers from the dark tower of the king of Elfland. Tolkien himself quotes from Thomas the Rhymer in his essay On Fairy Stories in Tree and Leaf and I am sure he would have liked Tam Lin. For me it is the light of the Silmaril, fashioned by Feanor, and the quest of Beren to take a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth which remains in my mind after reading The Silmarillion, and it is the quest of Frodo to cast the Ring into the fire of Mount Doom, which remains in my mind, after reading The Lord of the Rings.
My book, Angel War, was inspired by Chapter Twelve of the Book of Revelation, which speaks of the war in heaven, fought between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. The Bible only says that the war happened, but not why, so I decided to create my own version of the events of the war in heaven and its aftermath. In my book, I give my version of the origin and history of angels and dragons. At the root of my story is the quest of Khem, the Child of the White Mountain, who takes it upon himself to go down to the
Citadel, the home of the Dragon, the one known on Earth as Lucifer, the Devil, Satan, to try to be his slayer with his Silver Sword. Morgoth, of course, in The Silmarillion, is Tolkien's version of Satan, while Sauron in The Lord of the Rings is his version of a fallen angel. Angels and dragons have been part of our culture for at least four thousand years, and I have found writing my own version of their history and origin a very interesting experience. I had better end now, as this is a big subject. To end, I thought I would add the words of a song I wrote in 1987, inspired by the tale of Beren and Luthien in The Silmarillion. I think they work well on the page as a poem. I have already printed the verses on a page in the group called Tolkien's T.C.B.S, so I thought I would include them here, at the end of my long ramble.

SONG FOR LUTHIEN TINUVIEL

Feanor he made the Silmarils,
Revealed his power and his skills,
Precious jewels of the Elven kind,
Majesty moulded from his mind.

Elf maid Luthien Tinuviel,
Danced, held aloft a Silmaril,
When I saw her laughing through the trees,
Her white dress blowing in the breeze.

Entranced, I was lying on the grass,
Saw Elven folk through a shining glass.
I saw Elves the lays of old had sung,
Tall Elves from when the world was young.

Feanor, his blue stone tower tall,
Faraway, saw behind a wall.
Felt I was poor in my heart and soul,
I was a fish, lost by the shoal.

Felt I was young, knowing I was old,
I was a sheep, strayed far from fold.
On my quest over wild moor and fen,
I was lost and was lost again.

Unlooked for beauty came to my eye,
Elf maid dancing beneath the sky.
Queen of Elves the lays of old had sung,
Fair elf from when the world was young.

Luthien Tinuviel
Held aloft a Silmaril.

Hello All,
I have just published Gatemoodle, a novel directly inspired by Tolkien. The main character is a 17 year old boy whose Tolkien-loving parents named him Cirdan, and Cirdan (“Dan��) compares his own adventures as they unfold to Tolkien’s writings. Tolkien inspired a fundamental theme of Gatemoodle: the need for enchantment in life, and the struggle to maintain enchantment in the face of loss. This theme I believe is implicit in Tolkien’s fiction, and explicit in On Fairy Stories.
My website johnrosegrantauthor.com has further description of Gatemoodle as well as links to order it. I would love feedback from any members of this group, since I think Gatemoodle may have a home here.

Gatemoodle: Book One of the Gates of Inland
is now available on Kindle, Amazon, and BN.com.

Rich and absorbing. With luck (good or bad!), wayfarers move deep into a world that grows stranger and more dangerous. Survival depends on solving an enigma that permeates the story.
--William Combs, Professor Emeritus of English, Western Michigan University

Gatemoodle is a terrific book. It is wonderfully written, engaging, and filled with intriguing characters who draw us into their lives and struggles. Rosegrant has given us a great read �� I highly recommend it!
--Marsha Levy-Warren, author of Press Pause Before Send and The Adolescent Journey

Available for free download from Kindle, Monday Dec. 2 & Tuesday Dec. 3:
Gatemoodle: Book One of the Gates of Inland

My book, Angel War, has been chosen as one of the twelve finalists for The Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards for 2013 in Category 5, fiction (for adults), I am very surprised and pleased to announce. The Gold, Silver and Bronze medalists will be announced in April, 2014. Available as a paperback since April, 2013, my book, Angel War, will soon be available as an E-book, too. My book has its own page here on ŷ������, Amazon and on the Fast Print Publishing on line bookshop at
More about my book can be read in a comment I posted on this thread in September, 2013 and on my Author Profile Page, here on ŷ������.

Folks here in this Tolkien-centric group might be interested in my recent book,

It's about the power of fantasy to ask deep questions and explore spiritual ideas (in a non-dogmatic, creative way).

In the intro section, I talk about the purpose of fantasy as seen by Tolkien and Chesterton in their writings about fairy tales.

There's an inexpensive Kindle edition ($3.99), as well as a paperback edition ($14.95).





Any feedback is welcomed!

I'm a self published author of two different fairy tale/fantasy books.
/book/show/1...
and
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Dragon's Curse is the first in a four part series and I'm prepping book two (having it beta read and crit) for publication sometime this spring.

I've long been influenced by Tolkien. Enough, in fact, that my love of his works inspired me to become a writer. To date, I've published one epic fantasy novel, with the remainder of the series under way.

Tolkien wasn't my only influence, but for those who might be interested, I've started a blog that concentrates mostly on his writing techniques. For instance, some of the ways he created depth and made it seem that he was writing a history rather than high fantasy.

Why Tolkien named the book after the villain is a very interesting question, Anne Marie, and I would love to hear your thoughts and those of others.
Two reasons occur to me: The first is a simple matter of thematic unification--all the numerous plots of the book circle around and point toward Sauron.
The second, more interesting reason is that this is an example of Tolkien's depth of understanding of the human condition; he names the book after Sauron to highlight that good and heroism are always in a dynamic with evil. This is similar to how Tolkien gives us consolation and hope that are always interwoven with a steady current of loss and potential loss.

I think it's a good question too. I've often wondered about it - TLOTR being a strange name for a book. I guess from an author's perspective a title that stands out from the rest is more likely to catch the eye of potential readers.

Also, letter 35 (The Letters of JRR Tolkien)throws some light on it. He was explaining to the publisher (in 1939) that the proposed Hobbit sequel may not prove very fit for that purpose, as it was more grown up. He blamed this on the readers of The Hobbit who clamored for "more about the Necromancer."

So, as mentioned above, Sauron was central to the plot and most of the sub-plots, which makes him a unifying factor.

There was always a question throughout The Hobbit as to who the real owner of the ring was. Did Bilbo win it fairly? Where did Gollum get it from in the first place? In its way, the title of the sequel provides a direct answer.

Most of all, I suppose, the title has a certain gravitas, and Tolkien probably just liked the ring of it...

October Giveaway!
I will be giving away 12 copies of Gatemoodle, the "rich and absorbing" first volume of The Gates of Inland young adult fantasy series, to help new readers get ready for Kintravel, the second volume, to be released in November.
Gatemoodle: Book One of The Gates Of Inland
See ŷ������ Giveaways.

Giveaway almost over--time's up Oct. 31! Giving away 12 copies of Gatemoodle, volume 1 of The Gates of Inland, to help readers get ready for volume 2, Kintravel, to be released next month.

Gatemoodle: Book One of The Gates Of Inland
See ŷ������ Giveaways

Discount on Kindle, January 9-16!
A chance to try Kintravel, Book 2 of The Gates of Inland.
"A solid YA sequel that offers a wider worldview and deeper themes of responsibility."--Kirkus Reviews.

Kintravel

FREE on Kindle through this Sunday March 8:

Kintravel

The Battle for Halcyon

Just to let my friends in the Tolkien Group know my most recent book is out now. Although I write Science Fiction, I have been strongly influenced by Tolkien's writings and so in many ways my SF stories read like Fantasy. My most recent SF colonization epic The Battle for Halcyon it is now available both as a trade paperback and as an e-book [ ]. You might also check out Dave Hershey's ŷ������ review [ ].

I also wanted to mention that we're in the final week of a 5-book give-away ending August 15th [ ]. If you'd like a chance at a free trade paperback, why not get you name in?

My first two novels, in the O'Deirg Legacy series, The Red Gate and The Gatekeepers have been combined into a single bundle for Kindle. If you enjoy immersive reads with a period voice, this will give you a perfect trip to Ireland and a stay above the cliffs of Western Mayo as a small family re-connects with an ancient legacy they must protect. The bundle is specially priced at $3.99
The O'Deirg Legacy

Here's a link to new Group member N.A. Finlay's story, Phusen Noix: By N.A. Finlay, which he describes as being the start of his own world-building.

Michael wrote: "Here's a link to new Group member N.A. Finlay's story, Phusen Noix: By N.A. Finlay, which he describes as being the start of his own world-building.

[bookcover:Phu..."

Thanks Michael! It is available on Amazon. Just search for the name!