Inzilbêth of the Dúnedain

I'm absolutely  thrilled that 'Aspects of Aragorn' won its category in the MEFA's. I am really surprised and grateful so I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who was kind enough to read and review, not only at MEFA but elsewhere too. Many thanks also to Larner for the nomination.  I did rather put all my eggs in one basket with this one, since, as anyone who has read it knows, it is actually 42 individual stories which could possibly have been nominated separately. But, by lumping them together as one long work, I knew I was potentially disadvantaging it since it seems long stories often don't get as many reviews as shorter ones. And when the categories were announced, my fears were confirmed. It  was placed in a category with just ficlets which ranged in length from only 700 to 3,500 words. I was, therefore, quite resigned to seeing my 170,000 word 'epic' which had taken me four years to write, soundly beaten! My delight, and yes, relief, that it not only won, but by, what they call in racing, 'a distance,' reflects, I think, that I actually cared far more about this than I was prepared to admit, even to myself. This really was my one big work and I'm not sure I'll ever write another. So I really can't express my thanks enough. And, at the risk of sounding like one of those long winded Oscar winners, my special thanks, as always, goes to the wonderful Cairistiona without whose friendship this story would still be sitting, unread, on my hard drive.

Thank you again to everyone, from the very bottom of my heart.

                   

And on the subject of 'thank you' there is, of course, one person above all who deserves our thanks. Don't forget that today is the Professor's birthday and fans around the world will be raising their glasses for the Birthday Toast.



To the Professor! Thank you for creating such a wonderful world for us all to play in!