Twelve Days
It’s been brought to my attention that my fans are missing my blog posts, so here you go! This one is for you!
First, if you are keeping track, it’s only twelve days till Lord of the Rings Day! In case you don’t know, Lord of the Rings Day is a holiday that I made up myself, but it’s a good one! It falls on Labor Day every year. (Why Labor Day, you ask? Because it takes a lot of work to get the ring to Mordor. Obviously.)
But it is a really fun day, if I did invent it myself. We basically have a big Lord of the Rings marathon, extended editions, of course, combined with a hobbit-style feast throughout the day. Everyone can wear their favorite Lord of the Rings t-shirt. I considered for a while if it ought to be full-on dressing up in costumes, but it’s a long day, so coziness wins.
Over the years, I’ve refined the menu, figuring out exactly what works and what doesn’t. I don’t want to spend the whole day cooking, so things that I can prepare in advance or things that are easy usually take precedence. We have Lembas Bread, Fish & Chips, and of course, Denethor’s Feast, with the tomatoes and grapes. If you time it correctly, you can serve Denethor’s Feast during that part of the movie, which is a lot of fun. You can really bite into the cherry tomatoes!
In other news, I’ve hit a big milestone with Somewhat Unreal. I’m now officially past the midpoint and sailing toward the end! Whenever I write, the first chapter is the easiest to get started with, but then sometimes it drags a little bit as I try to figure out where the story is going and what the shape will look like, but I usually have an idea of something that will happen at the midpoint, plus something that will happen at the end of the book.
And as you get closer to writing those scenes that have been in your head the whole time, it’s easier to stay motivated, because you can envision the finished product more easily and look forward to sharing it with people.
And once the entire Bookland series is finished, I was thinking it’d be fun to release a boxed set edition with all four of the main books, plus Somewhat Before. If you haven’t read Somewhat Before yet, it comes highly recommended. By me. It’s a great addition to Somewhat Alive and you’ll definitely want to have read it by the time we get to book three in the Bookland series. (I know the title, but I’m going to announce it officially later in a very dramatic fashion.)
Well, I’m going to get back to the writing, since I really do want to be able to release Somewhat Unreal in a timely manner. I’ve noticed that my books only get written if I write them. That’s the trouble with being an author.
Oh, and if anyone else wants to have their own Lord of the Rings Day celebration, go right ahead! It’s open to everyone!*
*To clarify, open to everyone refers to everyone celebrating in their own homes, not to the possibility of coming to my house for Lord of the Rings Day, which is very exclusive and by invitation only.