16th July. Another chapter! Woo-oo-oo! I'm cracking along now!

Not :-)

But writing is a lot easier than it has been for a while, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

This chapter is a bit longer than most, and I think you can see that the story is beginning to draw to a close. There will probably be two more chapters. Then I think I should get back to the Eowyn/Legolas challenge for a while—Legolas, after all, has just been injured by a werewolf…

I also have the continuation of Winter Magic (the story in last year's Yuletide Calendar) to worry about, and a half-written short story, which I originally intended for Valentine's Day, and which has lots of lovely detail about hunting dogs, that I must finish sometime.

...

A challenge

Sagaluthien, at LiveJournal, set herself a challenge that I thought might be fun to try here, too:

Take one of my stories,

sometime in the past (before the story starts) or in the future (after the story ends) and I will tell you what happens.

...

Have you seen

It's a website that allows you to make word clouds: you just paste some text into a box, click Go, and the program creates a pattern, sizing and colouring the words according to how often they appear in the text. Common words are ignored by default (otherwise you get really big THE, AND, and FOR). You can alter the font and the colours and choose different types of layout.

This is what a word cloud of the first four paragraphs of Eryn Carantaur's title page looks like (click on the picture for a bigger version):

Hmm. Interesting that Legolas should come out so much bigger than Eowyn. Anyway, I thought I would set a little Eryn Carantaur

...

Some more Legolas and Eowyn icons!

...

I recently came second in the LiveJournal bwlims ('black and white last icon maker standing') contest!

15th June. Is it really almost a month since I last updated?

It seems about five minutes.

Anyway, I've updated Season of Mists, at last, with the second part of Chapter 7, which contains a couple of important revelations :-)

It was written a few words at a time whilst coping with all the practical problems that arise when someone passes away, so I do hope it makes sense.

(The strange thing is that—largely as a result of sorting through my Dad's huge collection of books—I've been having lots of ideas for more stories! So, although progress may be slow, I think there are some interesting stories on the way :-)

…

I've made some more icons.

…

Good Luck, Trevor Linden

My very favourite hockey player retired on 12 June :-(

And, although he's nothing to do with Eryn Carantaur, I thought you might like to see a picture of ex-Captain Canuck.

Maybe he'll donate his lovely face & body to a future OMC…

Hmm, now that's an idea.

11th May. My lovely Dad died on 24 April.

He had been suffering from cancer for about two years and had been rushed into hospital on a number of occasions, and this time did not seem any different. I travelled up to Manchester to be with him, they patched him up, gave him a blood transfusion, and I brought him home. We had lunch, he phoned his friends to tell them he was back, we talked a little, then I settled down to do some work and he dropped off to sleep, as he so often did.

Suddenly he started making the most terrible noise—like very violent snoring. I phoned for an ambulance and—after some panicking, which I will always regret—my sister-in-law and I gave him CPR. The paramedics got his heart beating again and, at the hospital, they put him on a ventilator.

Then they asked me what I wanted them to do.

At first I couldn't decide. I knew that his brain had been without oxygen for too long but I simply couldn't say, "Let him die." Eventually, one of my brothers arrived and together we were persuaded that they should take him off the ventilator and let him decide for himself.

My Dad decided to breathe.

My brother phoned his twin, who was in Poland, and he returned immediately. It took him ten hours to fly to Stansted airport and drive up to Manchester—and my Dad continued to breathe steadily until he arrived, so the whole family was with him when he quietly slipped away.

At the funeral on Wednesday—delayed because of a post-mortem, which confirmed that his heart had failed—we played his favourite Jazz, I said a few words, and one of my brothers produced a beautiful Order of Service, illustrated with photos of my Dad and some of his paintings.

I will miss him so much.

...

When my Dad was taken ill I was in the middle of writing Chapter 7 and, though I really want to, it's proving quite hard to get back to it at the moment.

So, as promised to Ann, I have posted the half that's written, and I will add the rest asap.

...

Some icons.

3rd April. Sorry about the delay -- RL problems :-(

I've added the Little Legolas story I mentioned before, in which Legolas opens some presents, plays with them, and then makes an important decision. I spent ages looking for an ending, then I realised that it was the middle that needed rewriting.

Anyway, I hope you like it!

I'll be working on the next chapter of Season of Mists over the weekend but, as things are going, I'm not sure when it will be ready…

...

Don't forget that if you join the

you'll receive an email whenever I post an update.

14th March. This isn't a proper update, I'm afraid, but I couldn't let Eryn Carantaur's third birthday pass without a new banner.

I am writing a Little Legolas story to celebrate, & will post it as soon as he stops being naughty—you'll see what I mean when you read it. I've also started the next chapter of Season of Mists, in which Eowyn does some DIY…

Meanwhile, here are a few icons:

2nd March. I'm back from holiday with the next chapter of Season of Mists, in which the plot thickens... A bit!

It was quite a productive time, really, and I've got two or three other things ‘in progress’, which I hope to post soon :-)

6th February. Another Season of Mists update—Legolas and Eowyn face the moment of truth... This chapter's been written, and re-written, and re-written again, so I hope you like it!

I'm going on holiday on Saturday (to Vancouver :-) and I'll be away for three weeks, so there will be no more updates until the beginning of March. As usual, I have lots and lots of plans, and should have something to post when I get back.

…

A big, big, thank you to Laura, who used the wonderful Wayback Machine to find an old, archived copy of the Warrior's Glory

(click on the fanfiction link). It includes one of the stories—otherwise unavailable on the web, I think—that started me writing:

It's lovely :-)

(Please ignore the piece by me, btw. It was intended as a trailer for this website so the 'clips' tell a slightly different story; but its punctuation has turned to question marks, and the first third of it has simply disappeared).

…

More icons:

16th January. A Season of Mists update! Woo-oo!

Events have taken a slightly unexpected turn—I knew that Heral had hidden something in the building works, but I didn't know what—nor the effect that it might have on our favourite couple. (Well, now I think about it, that could probably have been predicted).

Don't worry, btw, that we seem to have jumped from chapter 2 to chapter 4—it's all there. I just decided to reformat the previous part, and edit it a bit, but I haven't added any extra clues, so you don't need to re-read it :-)

I'm all fired up with this story at the moment, so I hope to update again soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

...

Back to icon making, as well!

6th January. It's Twelfth Night and Christmas is officially over, so I've taken the snow and the Yuletide banner off the front page :-(

And I hope to make a proper update pretty soon!

Ist January. Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed the holidays.

I've added two more parts of the Eowyn/Legolas challenge (they are both quite short) that finally show what happens to Legolas when Eowyn confronts the werewolf!

Thanks to Belle and Laura, I've also updated the fan fiction page with links to more Legolas/Eowyn stories and videos:

…

Before Christmas, I took part in a Secret Santa fanfic and icon swap and, as a result, wrote my first non-L/E fanfic, featuring Sir Guy of Gisborne and Maid Marian, from the BBC's Robin Hood.

The moment I'd written it, the series writers took a hatchet (or rather a broadsword) to the pairing, so now I have rather mixed feelings about my story, but if you would like to read it, and see the icons, they are here:

(I don't think the story will make much sense if you haven't seen Robin Hood Season 2 and followed Marian's tortuous manipulation of Guy, but the icons of Richard Armitage are worth a look ;-)

25th December. Merry Christmas!

I hope you enjoy the festivities, and look forward to seeing you again in the New Year :-)

24th December. Sorry for the slightly late posting of the final part—I had some family commitments.

I hope you've enjoyed the story and found it Christmassy :-) It will continue, but not until after Season of Mists is finished!

12th December. Hello! Back again! And I'll be posting a part each night from now until 23 December.

(Austria is wonderful, especially if you like cakes, and mulled wine, and potato soup, and melted cheese on rye bread :-)

8th December. I'm going to Austria tomorrow (for my birthday :-) and will not be back until Wednesday night, so I've posted the next four parts of the Yuletide Calendar today. (But that doesn't mean you can read them all today!)

With luck, I'll post part 13 on Wednesday night or, if not, on Thursday morning.

…

Some Christmas icons! (Not sure what Legolas has in mind in that second one ;-)

30th November. It's Christmas!

I've changed the front page banner and added snow :-) and I've started posting the Yuletide calendar. There will be 24 parts, one per day, and I'll post each one the night before (except for next weekend, when I'm on holiday for a few days, so I'll post several in advance—but no peeking)!

I hope to make at least one more update before Christmas, fingers crossed.

…

More icons!

11th November. I've added parts 36 & 37 of the Eowyn/Legolas challenge, at last!

They are both quite short but it was all rather complicated to write! I'll add part 38 as soon as I can (because I'm sure you'll want to know what happens next ;-) and then it will be back to Season of Mists.

Behind the scenes, btw, I'm also writing a story for the 2007 Yuletide Calendar, which I will start posting on November 30. It's cute. It has snowflakes. And, like a soap opera, it will have an extra-special episode on Christmas Eve.

At Belle's request, I've added a page of Elvish words and phrases. It isn't quite complete yet and, as I hope I make clear on the page itself, it's not 100% reliable: some of the phrases are genuine Tolkien, or come from a reputable source, but many are just my (honest) attempt at Elvish :-(

…

You may have noticed that updates have become less frequent recently. That's partly because my father is very ill at the moment, and I'm spending a lot of time travelling to see him at weekends.

I don't plan to stop writing, however, because that's what keeps me going. So please keep visiting!

…

Despite having less time at the moment, I've signed up for yet another Live Journal challenge, called Mission: Insane. The challenge is to write (eventually) two hundred stories, based on 20 tables of 10 prompts each. The only reason why that isn't complete madness is that I already have ideas for future stories, and I can see that some of the challenges will add an interesting twist to them. I haven't yet decided what I'm going to tackle first, but I'll keep you informed :-)

…

More icons!

19th October. I've added Chapter 2 of Season of Mists (in which the body is found and Legolas and Eowyn start their investigation), with a link to Something in the Woods 2 (which, in the best traditions of The Hobbit, I've edited slightly, to fit the darkness of the main story better)—I hope you'll see how it works when you read it!

Oh, and Belle asked me to increase the size of the text on the Reference pages, so I have.

I'm hoping to write part 36 of the Eowyn/Legolas challenge next, and we'll see what is going to happen to poor Legolas ;-)

...

This time, some Legolas/Eowyn icons!

3rd October. I've added Chapter 1 of the new story, Season of Mists.

I'm quite excited about this story because I'm planning to make it a real whodunnit. There are no prizes for deducing who the victim is going to be—we'll be finding his body in Chapter 2—but there are at least eight suspects, some of them more likely than others…

The story starts with a short Prologue, which you may recognise because it was originally part of Shadowland but I decided that it fitted better here. (And you may also recognise the picture of Arinna—as so often happens, I saw Polly Walker and thought, "I know who that is!")

Several other OCs return in this story, including Thorkell bogsveigir. How he comes to hold his present position will emerge by the end of the Eowyn/Legolas challenge.

...

More icons!

A few thoughts about future stories.

The following bits and pieces are Work (or, rather, Ideas) in Progress—and though the titles, graphics and order are reasonably certain, the plots may change radically as the stories develop...

It's that time of year again. King Thranduil is visiting Eryn Carantaur for the first time; Legolas is nervous about the Harvest Rite; and a man is found dead in the new building works...

A proper whodunnit this time, with multiple suspects! Is the murder racially motivated?

Special Features: A very interesting family of OCs who are neither human nor elves!

Three days before their wedding, Legolas and Eowyn find an abandoned elfling...

Don't expect cute!

Well, on second thoughts, maybe you should :-)

A Robin Hood story.

A band of outlaws takes up residence in Eryn Carantaur, terrorising travellers on the road to Pelargir. The fools!

Legolas and Eowyn travel to Rohan.

We first heard of the House of Æðelbert and its political ambitions in Misrule in Mirkwood. Now rebellion has errupted in the north of Rohan, but Berkin is on the case. Under seige, he sends Lëonórwyn to Edoras for help...

A gentle scholar, a teacher at the Academy of Minas Tirith, has invented something he believes will improve the lot of all mankind. One of his colleagues disagrees.

Legolas and Eowyn investigate his death and the disappearance of his life's work.

Celegorm has a secret that sets him apart from other elves. When a terrible disaster strikes Eryn Carantaur, one of the victims asks for his help...

Inspired by a recent TV series.

And two more stories that do not fit into the cycle...

Helm's Deep: whilst seeking renown, Eowyn instead wins the love of two elves...

A story based on the Movie scripts but including lots of 'missing scenes': Legolas' first sight of Eowyn in the Golden Hall; Eowyn's bravery in the Glittering Caves; Haldir's brush with death; Elrond's thoughts at Dunharrow; Gimli's unsolicited advice; Legolas' accidental eavesdropping in the House of Healing...

Special Features: Appearances by Elrond and Merry.

Eowyn joins the fellowship! Don't ask me how: I don't know yet. But it just has to be done.