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| Family Matters by Lindelea | 39 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 6/21/2025 |
| So, a houseless spirit of sorts? Interesting…. Loved the reunion with Mardi!! ❤️ Another big one still to come, but hopefully now we know all will be well. Author Reply: Exactly, a houseless spirit of sorts, caught between worlds. He wasn't in the original outline but popped quite unexpectedly into the story somewhere during the process of converting the draft chapters to final form. And yet it made a weird kind of sense, forming a pair of bookends from this chapter and the earlier chapter where Pippin told Diamond that "dead is dead!" in no uncertain terms. So I suppose the Muse knew what she was doing all along, even though it came as a surprise to me during the process of finalizing the story. I'm so glad the reunion with Mardi works! You're right, one more big one to come in the next chapter, and after that, the Epilogue (still undergoing beta-reading, but it makes me smile all the same). And then another story will be complete! Thanks so much for reading and generously pausing to share your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 6/21/2025 |
| Wow! I don’t blame Pippin for being tired and stressed - this *is* a lot of hard work! But hopefully they’ll get through it and things will start to settle for Tolly… Author Reply: It is definitely hard work! I can only hope it is not hard work to read about it... Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 6/14/2025 |
| Good grief! Such a stressful decision! And what consequences if all fails. But I suspect if he chose to just stay that Tolly, being the extra-dutiful sort that he is, could never in the end be easy with the idea of all those he had left behind…. Author Reply: Geez, I hadn't even thought of that! (That's one reason why I love reviews.) You're right, he probably wouldn't be able to easily accept the idea of forgetting those he'd reconnected with (as well as those he hadn't) and leaving them all behind. Thankfully, we're almost to the happy (and the Epilogue might even be called joyous) ending. Whew. | |
| Erulissé | Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 6/13/2025 |
| This makes total sense. I have no medical knowledge when it comes to recovering from amnesia, but it makes sense nonetheless. Poor Tolly, he has a difficult choice ahead of him. And poor Sweetie! She’s going to get quite the shock when the news of events reaches her, no matter what Tolly decides to do for his future. I really like Aggie, she seems exactly the sort of person to have around, firm and no-nonsense, but kind and caring. Lovely! Author Reply: I must confess, before I tackled this story, my only "medical" knowledge of amnesia came from movies and television. When I began searching out factual information and actual cases, I had a rude awakening! Therefore, the type of amnesia in this story is fictional, though it blends some elements from real life, such as the use of hypnotism in treating Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). I tried to make it sound realistic within the confines of Tolkien's creation while drawing from some of my own earlier stories in aiming for some sort of consistency. I'm glad to hear you say it makes sense. I'm glad you like Aggie. She's what the old folks would have called "the salt of the earth". (And so is Bolham.) Thanks for your lovely reviews this weekend! I find feedback so encouraging... | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 6/9/2025 |
| I love how Tolly’s whole family is taking them all in - I’m sure Meadowsweet will as well, once she gets over the shock and has an explanation. So glad for Gorbyl and the kiddos… Author Reply: The last part of one of these stories is always the most fun to write, tying up the loose ends and knotting the threads. And Meadowsweet is what you might call "solid folk". Also, I'm glad to hear from you! I don't know about how things are by you (here's hoping you and yours are well), but my fanfic reading and writing has slowed to a trickle over the past couple of weeks from a combination of beautiful weather, sunny but not hot, and a lazy feeling. But now that a heat wave has hit, I'm hiding inside, and the laptop provides a wonderful diversion... All the chapters of this story are in final form, except for the epilogue (which I still need to discuss with my beta-reader before finalizing), and so I'm trying to figure out which WIP to tackle next. Thanks so much for reading and pausing to share your thoughts. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 6/9/2025 |
| So many hard decisions to make! And hopefully all will be well, because Tolly didn’t only promise for himself to come back if the Smials didn’t suit, but for Sweetie and the other kids too… But I have a feeling things will be good. So glad Gorbyl is feeling better! I was afraid he would not survive, but so glad he did… Author Reply: In a very early draft, the children were already orphans on their own when they rescued Tolly, and in the first revision that added Gorbyl, he died, but that made me too sad to want to finish the story. In the last rewrite, the story actually worked much better with him surviving. (throws confetti and breathes a sigh of relief) It's a very solemn promise, indeed, and not one he could make lightly, as you pointed out. In other words, I'm very glad he did, too! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 20 on 6/9/2025 |
| Well those were some dark memories and times. But it’s good, I suppose, that it meant someone was able to help Tolly return to himself in the best way possible. And yay for that!! 😁 Author Reply: That seems to be the way life works so often. Going through trials is... well... no fun (massive understatement). And yet the process of going through trials is often necessary to be equipped to help someone else at some future time. Yay! (Adding my cheers to yours!) Thanks! | |
| Erulissé | Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 5/30/2025 |
| Oh man! This is awesome! The suspense has been killing me! I find myself thinking about Tolly all throughout the day, hoping beyond hope. This is so well written!!! :D Author Reply: Good to hear from you! I often encounter the same phenomenon, where I'm constantly thinking about a character I've been reading about. Currently, MirkwoodMaiden's Éowyn is one, along with her Gilraen. PSW's Dirhael and young Aragorn are two more. Honestly, there's a long list, too many to name here. (And it's after midnight and I'm tired, into the bargain.) Thanks so much for reading and stopping to leave an encouraging word! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 5/26/2025 |
| Oh Lark, sweetie… ❤️ Glad they’ve found him, but it looks like everyone will have to wait a while longer for their answers. I hope Tolly comes around quickly, in any case, w Gorbyl seeming really ill? I think the kids will need him even after the truth is known. Glad at least someone is there who knows them. Author Reply: Oh, I know... She's so little and fierce, and I fear she's somewhat feral by the usual Shire standard, at least at this point in time. That said, I think Tolly makes an excellent da. Regarding Tolly "coming around": Because my investigation of amnesia while plotting this story revealed that a sudden recovery is pretty unlikely (except maybe in movies and television shows), I gave a lot of thought to the underlying causes together with the recovery process in Tolly's case. Hopefully the remainder of the story will come off as plausible even if it doesn't exactly have a parallel in the world of nonfiction, and even if it strays into somewhat unexpected territory before the resolution happens. At least I can say that there aren't many chapters left before the resolution! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 5/24/2025 |
| I suspect things are about to get a little nuts! Though with things as they are, it may take them a while to find him again (and that’s after Pippin stops trying to convince his mother she was mistaken)…. We shall see! Author Reply: I suspect you're right in your prediction. Things start moving and gathering speed from here on out. Thanks for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! You've made my day. :) | |