Reviews (69)

Author's reply

Yes, Bracken is still young. I wonder if he's salvageable...?

Author's reply

That love of family will carry them through much hardship to come. Alas for the hardship. But I (as usual) am writing towards a satisfying conclusion. (Not everyone gets a happy ending, of course. You only have to look at the scouring of the Shire to remember that...) Thanks! Author Reply: p.s. are you available for some beta-work?

Author's reply

Yes, the weather is a blessing in disguise! ...too bad even for the ruffians to be out and about. Whew. (But then, no hobbits are able to take advantage of their absence, because of that same weather.) I am going to try to keep working context clues in, as it helps me to keep the timeline straight in my head. Just so long as I can do it without it being too contrived... Glad to hear from you!

Author's reply

Scar certainly livens things up. Thank you!

Author's reply

I know how that goes. I often read fanfic on my phone, and trying to type in a review from there is a painful process. I am trying to spend an hour a day in writing. Sometimes it feels as if I can't spare even that, but this is something I've decided to do for me. It helps. Seems like so little, but it can add up. I've already been able to finish several half-done chapters that were languishing on my hard drive forever. Or so it seemed to me. It's funny how life can get busy, isn't it, just when you think things are settling into a regular schedule of sorts... Thanks for taking the time to leave a good word.

Author's reply

Oh, I really feel for the people who are being slammed by winter storms this week. We had a fireplace in our previous house, and it was really nice to have a bright, snapping fire when a storm was howling outside. We didn't worry as much about the power going out, knowing we could have the fireplace to heat us if need be. Our new house doesn't have a wood stove or fireplace, sad to say. Maybe someday we'll put one in, but it's not high on the list of priorities. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!

Author's reply

Very astute summation of Scar's wits. Poor hobbits, they don't understand the depth of evil they are dealing with. However, their natural caution will help to keep them safe, I'm glad to say. Thanks!

Author's reply

Scar's backstory is a sad one, and I don't know how much of it will come out -- depends on if it becomes a plot point. Tough to tell just from looking at the draft. Hally and Rose certainly have to walk on eggs. Or is it eggshells? Something very fragile and easy to crack, anyhow. But they're brave, clever, and resourceful, or else Ferdi would have insisted on their removal to the Tookland, instead of offering them this task. Things will occasionally be very dicey in their story, but I promise, there is a satisfying ending in the works. Thanks!

Author's reply

I wonder if it's like befriending a wolf, or tiger. (I mean, them befriending him.) You hold out food, and count your fingers when you draw your hand back. Yes, you're right, he does get his -- his end was already written and posted in another story. Sometimes it feels a little weird to be writing him here, at an earlier point on his timeline, knowing what will happen. I have a hard time painting "all good" or "all bad". Scar has reasons for the way he is. It explains some of the whys and wherefores of what he does, even though it doesn't excuse him. He might have had a very different story... some of it comes from things that happened to him, and some comes from the choices he's made. (How can some people experience horrendous abuse/circumstances and come out of them noble and upright, and others become monsters? I have pondered this for years and still have no answer.) Thanks!

Author's reply

Amen to that! Hope this finds you well. We have a buyer for our house! Let's hope the sale goes smoothly. (Will let you know our new address once things firm up. When do you think you'll be down again?) Thanks!

Author's reply

You're right about that undercurrent. He didn't rise to his position as local boss on account of his trusting nature and good humour. Hally is wise, which is one reason Ferdi picked him for this task, and he wouldn't trust a Man any further than he could throw him, in a manner of speaking. Since all the Men are twice his size (he's on the short side), that wouldn't be far at all. Thanks!

Author's reply

It's a delicate balance -- the Bolgers will have to be absolutely consistent in their actions and apparent attitude to carry this off. But you're right; they've got the brains and the courage to see it through, and they've pretty well got the tiger by the tail at this point. Can't let go, just have to hang on tight. Four -- almost five -- month-old puppy grew six inches in height in the last two weeks. On a walk a few days ago we encountered an 18mo Lab, and they were fully the same height. She's going to be ginormous.

Author's reply

Thank you! Scar is finding Hally and Rose to be quite different from all the other hobbits of his acquaintance, and that interests him.

Author's reply

I'm glad you had access to a computer, too! It's always good to hear from you. (Appreciated your email, by the way, though I lost it somehow before I got the chance to reply. I hate it when my email does that. I probably saved it to the wrong folder accidentally.) Scar is trying to figure Hally and Rosie out. (See lengthy reply I just wrote to another reviewer.) Thanks for stopping by with a word of encouragement!

Author's reply

I'm back, in fits and starts. We have a new puppy, and it's amazing how labour-intensive such a creature can be. But at the moment she's stretched out at my feet in a sweet, deep puppy-nap and I have a little time. My goal of finishing this list of WIPs is stretching out. At present I can't afford the time to post a chapter a day of various stories, but I will keep plugging away. Maybe before the end of the year, I'll get it all done, since I've passed my original goal of mid-summer. Scar is curious about these hobbits, who are so different from the rest of his acquaintance. They're not openly hostile, they're not cautious (at least, they don't show it outwardly), they're not standoffish, and they're not at the other end of the spectrum, acting as collaborators would, sort of fawning and looking for favour. No, they're just (apparently) open and sympathetic and inclined to be friendly. He's trying to figure them out, and coming in the middle of a storm he might be hoping to catch them off balance, see them as they really are, or he might just be trying to scratch a mental itch. He wants to be cynical, but Hally and Rosie's actions and attitudes don't support that. As chief of the ruffians in the area, he's not comfortable with anything he doesn't understand. Such a thing can come back and bite him. He has to figure them out so he can categorise them, put them in the right box, and know just how far to trust them. And he owes them, for their help for Bracken. He probably doesn't like that fact, either.

Author's reply

Hope Hally can get to Gundy soon. At least the weather is taking a hand, making it less likely that Hobbits will be out and about and get caught by skulking ruffians.

Author's reply

I think Gundy will become an expert at starting rumours without anyone being able to trace them back to him... I can just see a greedy Lotho claiming all the trees and game and streams, and what he can't claim, he seems to be happy to spoil (as in pouring filth into said streams). A sour, grasping fellow, who learned his lesson too late, if Frodo was right about him near the end.

Author's reply

I hope it doesn't get bogged down in too much detail! So much of this story is actually background material for other stories... But I'm growing to love these formerly peripheral characters the better I get to know them. Funny how it works out that way! (I'm glad they're out of the smial, too! Whew.) Thanks!

Author's reply

The funny thing is I can't bear goat's milk. I remember being told that super-fresh goat's milk in a herd with no resident males is indistinguishable from cow's milk. It's not. (At least to me; I can still taste that musky-goat-smell aftertaste that I get from goat's cheese and older goat's milk.) I think it's so cool you can keep these small creatures and get milk, butter, and cheese from them. I just wish I could stomach the product. Alas, poor Lotho. He's greedy, yes, but I don't think he envisioned the terrible evil that he helped bring to the Shire. Frodo pitied him, after all (and Frodo is much wiser than I am), so I follow his lead in being sorely grieved. And he ended badly, so I suppose he paid for it in his last weeks of life (after Lobelia was taken to the Lockholes) and in his ending. But you're right. Sometimes he makes me so mad... But he's a great foil to show Hally and Rosemary's compassion and good sense! Thanks!

Author's reply

Thank you! Working on it today, as a matter of fact.

Author's reply

Bracken's not really a bad sort. It's more a matter of having fallen among evil companions... Glad to hear of your confidence in Hally. There's much more to him than meets the eye, as Gundy, Ferdi, and Rosemary could tell you. ThankS!

Author's reply

Hally's laying it on a little thick here, but it's all to the good. The ruffians will believe that he's incredibly naive and a little simple-minded and they'll cultivate that, and think themselves very clever, and so play right into the hobbits' hands. It is quite possible that others benefit from Hally's efforts, though since the story is from Hally and Rose's POV you might not see that directly. Thanks!

Author's reply

I know; I click into SoA every morning in hopes of a little something to read with my coffee... As you can probably tell, Hally and Rosemary are firm believers in the old saying, "Whatever is worth doing, is worth doing thoroughly." Thanks!

Author's reply

Good point about gossip. It's unhealthy, and poisonous, and yet can be so tasty. Things can only get worse as the Troubles deepen, but there will be bright spots along the way. Hally and Rose will try to keep life as "normal" as possible for the children's sake, and some of the ruffians are even likeable, in a strange way, if you can believe that. (Truly misguided, as Rosemary would say, and probably not so bad if they'd made other choices with their lives.) Thanks! Author Reply: (I'm glad I can post again, too. I was so afraid I'd corrupt the other stories if I added a new chapter to any of them. I'm glad the problem is fixed.)

Author's reply

I think Gundy's job is every bit as difficult as Hally's. Those forest Bolgers are tough. I don't envy them their choices, or the consequences they face, but I do admire them for walking into the situation with their eyes open, knowing what will happen and even welcoming it, if that makes sense. (Might as well be hanged for a sheep, as a lamb...)