talesofredbook

adesso @ 02:19 pm: I hope we're allowed to plug new fic communities here. :)

I've just created 20_rings, a LotR fic/art community where members claim characters/pairings/platonic relationships and create fanworks about their claims based on two sets of themes. All relationships are welcome, and any character from LotR, The Hobbit, The Sil, or UT is fair game. I'd love it if you folks would take a look. :)

ansostuff @ 11:19 am: Story update - Fields of Gold
Fields of Gold - PART TWO: Promises given

ansofics: here
talechal12: here
Stories of arda

You can find part one here.

ansostuff @ 11:55 am: NEW STORY - Fields of Gold
Title: Fields of Gold
Author: Anso the Hobbit
Beta: Marigold
Rating: PG
Characters: Pippin, Merry, Eglantine, Paladin, Pearl, Pimpernel, Pervinca, Esmeralda and Saradoc, Frodo and Bilbo, Daisy Took (OC)
Timeline: Whitwell SR 1398, so Pippin is 8, Merry 16, Pearl 23, Pimpernel 19, Pervinca 13 and Frodo 30.
Summary: When an innocent childhood illness proves to be quite contrary, promises are given and eventually kept.
Note: Written for Marigold’s Challenge 12, as a sequel to War of Wills. You do not need to have read War of Wills to enjoy this story, but it is recommended. ;) War of Wills can be found on Stories of Arda or here.

PART ONE: Tea and a nap
talechal12: here
ansofics: here
Stories of Arda

marigoldg @ 09:39 pm: Challenge 12 Stories : )
Challenge 12 was posted on Friday, and there are over 30 great stories for your enjoyment at talechal12! The theme for this Challenge was to write a story from an assigned line of dialogue. Please review the authors : )

I am giving out starters for Challenge 13, the One Year Anniversary Challenge - the theme is to write a story that answers a question that I will assign to each individual author. You can request a story starter question from me at MarigoldCotton@aol.com : )

marigoldg @ 10:56 pm: The East Gate
Chapter 10 of The East Gate, Findings and Failings, has been posted. There is also an update to Behind the Scenes at The East Gate, called Visa or Mastercard. Reviews are most appreciated!

marigoldg @ 10:07 pm: Friday Recommendations : )
Happy Friday everyone! There is a lot of news this week, and I’ve recommended two great stories!
Also, there is a new chapter of The East Gate! Llinos has finished editing Chapter 10, Findings and Failings and it’s really exciting! Will Legolas, Haldir, and his brothers find injured Merry in time? Will Gollum attack Frodo and Sam again or can Aragorn protect them? Have Boromir, Gimli and Pippin finally found a way out of the Mines? For the answers to these and other edge of the seat questions, go and read at once, and please make sure to review! All of us involved with this story, Llinos, Baylor, Budgielover, Rachel Stonebreaker, Mainframe, Nilramiel, Q, and myself, love to read your comments!

KnittedMerry and KnittedPippin, owners of KnittedHobbit and Ptnrs, announce that their Magnificent 2005 calendar is now ready! There are 13 pictures altogether, and they are really terrific! I especially like the ice skating picture. And the fishing picture. Oh, and the kite flying picture. (All right, I like them all!) LoneWolf and I have bought one, and some Yule cards, and LoneWolf couldn’t resist the Cool Rules! baseball jersey. Purchases meant as gifts can be sent to a different address if you like. There will be new products every few days, so check back often.

The Middle Earth News Community is really taking off! This is a terrific place to make announcements or to find out the latest happenings in the fandom. It is posted Monday through Friday, and is a wealth of information, and a great place to promote your stories, chapter updates, and artwork. This is a community that promotes happenings in the entire fandom; whether you love elves, dwarves, or men, or are a devoted hobbit fancier like me, spread the word to your friends throughout the fandom!

I hope that all of you are writing away on Challenge 11! Anyone may participate, and all genres and ratings are welcome. This Challenge has a festive theme and your hobbity story should be about a holiday, or a special event or celebration. It doesn't have to be specifically a hobbit holiday, just so hobbits appear in the story. By event or celebration, write about something like a birth, wedding, anniversary, celestial event, or whatever you might consider appropriate. All questions and stories should be sent to me at MarigoldCotton@aol.com. I am hoping for quite a few stories so that folks have lots to read during the holidays!

Llinos and I are very excited that Anso the Hobbit will be visiting us in the Shire this weekend! We have a lovely day planned, talking hobbits nonstop of course, walking in the woods and along the river, and taking tea at Ye Olde Bell with the KnittedHobbits. It should be a lot of fun!

This weeks stories are:

Pick:

Hiding From Daylight by Mariposa

This is a very funny glimpse of the morning after the night before! Merry and Pippin have made a little too merry and can’t face a formal luncheon with Esmeralda and the Aunts, but is the alternative any better? The characterisations and plot are very hobbity, and I loved Merry’s stash and that Pippin obviously was quite familiar with its location! Esmie is great in this story too! The dialogue is too, too perfect and I laughed out loud!

Best Bet:

Cold Be Hand by Nickey

Slash Warning. This is a tale not for the faint of heart, but it is brilliantly written and I strongly urge you to give it a read. It cuts back and forth between the present, in Bree, and Merry’s memory of what took place in the Barrow. Merry awakens while the Wight is dressing and bejeweling them, and prevents the creatures violation of Pippin, and the possibility that the evil thing might move on to Frodo and find the Ring, by offering himself. But did anything actually happen, or was it just a bad dream, brought on by the Black Breath? Merry isn’t sure, but I know what I think. The straightforward style of storytelling makes the story even more coldly terrifying. Really, do give this a try! The slash is minimal and pretty much toward the end, it is the build-up, imagery, and the circumstances that make this such a fascinating read.

You can find the story links on the Recommendations Page! Don’t forget to review the authors, as it is all the payment that they receive. Have a great week!

marigoldg @ 04:10 pm: Friday Recommendations, late again! : )
The trip to Belgium last week was wonderful! We went to Ostend and Brugge in Belgium, and Sluis, in Holland. The theme of the trip was Tinsel and Turkey, and Father Christmas even made an appearance. We spent a couple of nights on LoneWolf’s mum’s canal boat, too, which was really fun. I’ll be posting a report of the trip in more detail on my LJ as soon as I have time, as there is a lot to write about! Thank you to Pippinswolf for being my Guest Recommender last week!

Now, at last, here is Challenge 10! I had a dreadful time posting some of the stories this time due to a strange LJ glitch, and I apologise for the delay. Many thanks to those of you that have given me a hand. Here is the list of stories for Challenge 10:

Finding Home by Mariposa
Denial by Mysterious Ways
A Lesson on Hobbits by Budgielover
The Prophecy: Èowyn by Anso the Hobbit
Bitter as Willow by Nickey
Conspirators by Slightly Tookish
Teach me, Boromir by Silver Wolf
Instruments: continued from Challenge 9 by Beethoven's 7th
A Merry Meeting by Citrine
Shire Reckoning by Anso the Hobbit
The Shield Maiden and The Hobbit by sleepy_orange
The Lady’s Offer by Pippinfan
Any Time I Want To by Dreamflower
A Moment’s Peace by Pearl Took
And Empty Holes It Fills by Lindelea
Boromir by Elendiari
Reunion by Auntiemeesh
Gaffe by Iorhael
The Trip, a late Challenge 8 submission by Melilot Hill

You can read the stories here at Marigold's Recommendations. Please review the authors!

Remember that I will happily accept stories late, for past and current Challenges, so go ahead and send them in as you finish. Challenge 11, for December, is to write a hobbity story about a holiday, or a special event or celebration. It doesn’t have to be specifically a hobbit holiday, so feel free to write about a holiday observed by any race, just so hobbits appear in the story. By event or celebration, I mean something like a birth, wedding, anniversary, celestial event, or what ever you might consider appropriate. All stories should be sent to me at MarigoldCotton@aol.com .

I am hoping for a lot of stories for Challenge 11, because so many readers have time off for the Holidays and deserve a lot of great fics to read!

In other news, Llinos and I have been lending KnittedMerry and KnittedPippin a hand (or two) this week; it seems that the Magnificent KnittedHobbits have decided to open their own Café Press shop! It should be up and running in a few days, in plenty of time to order some really fun Christmas pressies for yourself or for your fellow fans. There are some really great items, including a fantastic calendar that has a different scene for each month. There are even Yule cards! Watch for the shop’s opening to be announced!

You will also be excited to hear that a new chapter of The East Gate is just about ready to be posted - I am doing the beta even as I post this. And that is it for this week. Have a great weekend!

marigoldg @ 09:33 am: Recommendations
Hello all -- this is Pippinswolf, and I'm the special guest recommender for Marigold's Recommendations this week. It was hard to choose because so many of my favorite fics have already been recommended here in the past. However, I present three stories for your consideration. But first, an announcement from Marigold herself: (trumpet crescendo):

Challenge 10 was supposed to be posted today, but Marigold is in Belgium this week. Challenge 10 will be posted next Friday, November 12th, instead. Send Marigold your stories as soon as it is finished so that she can get them ready to post as soon as she comes back.

The theme for Challenge 11, for December, is to write a hobbity story about a holiday, or a special event or celebration. It doesn't have to be specifically a hobbit holiday, so feel free to write about a holiday observed by any race, just so hobbits appear in the story. By event or celebration, for example a birth, wedding, anniversary, celestial event, or what ever you might consider appropriate. All stories should be sent to MarigoldCotton@aol.com.

Now, onto the stories!

Picks:
Those Who Remain by Marnie
What could a hobbit gardener and an Elven lord have in common? This deeply touching story moves me each time I read this conversation between Samwise Gamgee and Lord Celeborn shortly after their loved ones departed for the West.

Black and Gold by North Star
This tale has an "Alternate Universe" designation but is excellently written and told. It presents a "what if?" scenario following Merry and Pippin's capture by the Uruk-Hai. This author is likely new to most of you unless you are also a member of the Decipher LOTR Fan Club board. She will begin posting more of her stories on Stories of Arda soon, and this will give you just a taste.

Best Bet
The Trial of Frodo Baggins by Gentle Hobbit
This is my all time favorite story by this author; it was the title that first caught my attention. Devastated by the knowledge that the Quest would have failed if not for Gollum's intervention, Frodo begins a journey toward self-understanding and healing through familiar and unexpected sources.

Read and enjoy, and be sure to review the authors! You can find the Recommendations Page here

sandras @ 12:27 pm: Lord of the Rings

- An adventure Gimli and Legolas have while visitng the deep places of Entwood.

- Letters sent by the Company to each other or friends that have helped them through the woods. Most especially to Treebeard from Merry or Pippin concerning Ent Wives.

- What would each one do if they had a Stone to see their friends.

-A story of a hobbit leaving at The Shire during Sharkey's regime.

marigoldg @ 08:28 pm: Friday Recommendations : )
Hullo! I realise that it is Saturday, but I sent in the update late and what with the time differences I was in bed last night before baylorsr was able to update the page! It’s been a really nice week here in the Shire. lonewolf02 and I have had a lot of fun, going out for bingo with the roller coaster club, out to Sunday lunch, and then helping with the locks at a canal, and we took a nice walk along the river on his day off, with a stop at an ancient pub. llinos and I have taken a couple of long walks in the woods, and she actually let knittedmerry and knittedpippin spend the night on Tuesday! It was very exciting!

Challenge 10 was meant to be posted next Friday, November 5th, but as I am going to Belgium with LoneWolf on Thursday morning, and my lovely assistant, sandy80461, is up to her ears in real life right now, I am going to postpone it a week. I will be back home on Tuesday evening the 9th, but rather than rush to get the stories posted I will just get everything set and post Challenge 10 on Friday, November 12th. That will give those of you that are not quite ready an extra bit of time. If your story is done though, please send it to me so I can get it ready to post.

There will still be a Recs Page update next Friday, so be sure and stop by!

The theme for Challenge 11, to be posted the first Friday in December, is inspired by the festive season! The Challenge is to write a hobbity story about a holiday, or a special event or celebration. It doesn’t have to be specifically a hobbit holiday, so feel free to write about a holiday observed by any race, just so hobbits appear in the story. By event or celebration, I mean something like a birth, wedding, anniversary, celestial event, or what ever you might consider appropriate. All stories should be sent to me at MarigoldCotton@aol.com .

A while ago I recommended a story by Ruby Nye called Namesake, in which Pippin takes little Faramir to meet Faramir, son of Denethor. hyelandia has sketched a wonderful picture of that meeting, called Two Faramirs! The picture is well done, and I think that Pippin looks fantastic, just the right age, and I love the way he is dressed. Take a look, and be sure to leave the artist a comment.

Aratlithiel and Elanor Gardner have started a newsletter called Middle Earth News. It is an open membership community whose purpose is to provide a central point of reference for new happenings within the LOTR fandom. They are looking for contributors and updates from all over the fandom, not just the hobbit community, so everyone, please take a look and tell your friends.

The Moria thread at Lords of The Slashed, a roleplay that I enjoy reading, is at a very exciting part! It is an AU, where Bilbo died in Gollum’s cave, and Sauron regained the Ring. The Shire was overrun and the hobbits enslaved to work the Mines of Moria. If you want to read from the very start, it will be quite long, and there was a great deal of slash as that was the emphasis back then, but here is the link to the
beginning. A good place to start the current storyline is at More To The World Than This - the emphasis now is more on adventure, although there is still some slash, so be aware if that isn’t your cup of tea, or you are not old enough. Merry, Pippin and Sam are the main hobbits in the story, along with elves, orcs, and men.

********************

There are two Best Bets today:

Coming of Age by Mariposa

I had to check three times, as I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t already recommended this! This story is broken into four parts, each one written in the voice of a different hobbit - Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin – on the occasion of each of them coming of age. It is marvelous how perfect and true to the individual character each one is. The voices and circumstances and surroundings are written perfectly for each hobbit, and in such a way that I felt that I was actually there at the festivities. Mariposa has done a lovely job here, and this story is going on my list of favourites to reread often.

And:

While We Dwelt in Fear by Pearl Took

Usually I like to try to recommend completed stories, but I just can’t wait on this one anymore. I am enjoying it so much! This terrific story is set for the most part in the Shire, though we do get to see quite a bit of our favourite hobbits on the Quest, especially Merry and Pippin. The story largely focuses on Esmeralda, although many other of the Shire hobbits have juicy parts. Saradoc, Paladin, Eglantine, the Gaffer and Bell Gamgee, and Lobelia and Lotho are all in evidence.

The story follows the families in the Shire as Lotho gains more and more control, the Men start multiplying, and gradually things are so far gone that there is little to be done. But the hobbits do what they can, and Pearl writes them wonderfully here. Saradoc and Paladin fight back and try to protect their people as best as they are able, and Eglantine is a strong presence, but my favourite plotline in this story concerns Esmie. It is quite true in this tale that long ago a Took took a faery bride, and in certain Tooks the faery blood runs stronger. Esmie is one of those Tooks, and so is Pippin. Pearl uses this special Tookish quality to enhance canon, and not change it, and everything is believable, plausible, and well written, the characterisations are strong, and there are a lot of lovely moments, too many to name. I will never lose the image of Merry and Pippin exchanging Yule presents in Hollin! It made me cry, and I will always now imagine them on the Quest each bearing the other’s gift.

The links to the stories are on the Recommendations Page. Please review the authors, and I hope that you have a lovely weekend!