For me, it all began when Northern Italy went into Quarantine in February/March. My best friend @fortunatelyclevercandy (writer of @thehouseofdurin) lives there and I decided to go into quarantine with her in solidarity. Everything was fine until COVID-19 came to my country. I was living in relative safety when:
My Car Died–I walk everywhere now
Stores Closed–I get nearly everything delivered
My Heating and cooling system fell apart–now I require fans and space heaters in every room
I got sick (twice–not with COVID)
My stepmother died suddenly (no one in the family expected it to happen–it has been two years since my father died)
So, finally, after making some adjustments (while also starting another book project @thesecretofthehouseofbourbonbook) to what has got to be the YEAR from HELL (and in my country aka the USA, 14.4 million COVID cases and counting, I spend my time being extra cautious as I am High Risk COVID due to a very rare immunodeficiency disorder and was already masked up for the worst allergy season in 10 years). The only good thing I can say, I was right in the middle of writing when all items 4 and 5 happened back-to-back so I am not behind anything. I am, however, slightly perturbed that so much got in the way of doing my favorite thing–writing.
Now, I know I could not be expected to work after the sudden death of my last parent in this world (and I tried repeatedly only to find myself becoming emotional because like the spread of COVID, her death was also avoidable–even at her advanced age). She may have been my stepmother and we may have been estranged but I had known her all my life and she was part of our family long before she married my father. I was practically raised with her own children who became my step siblings. My natural instinct was to mourn then to react in anger over the situation. Luckily, I’m still in Quarantine–since March–so I only vented in the privacy of my own home (and couple times only to which my BFF and co-author of “The Secret of the House of Bourbon” scolded me and reminded me to behave–I was still on a bet to see if I could control my temper and outbursts for a year.
By the way, I was able to control my temper and outbursts for a year and counting. Congratulations to me. (On the downside, adding King Louis XIV to my list of Kings to be has made me into a rather combustible personality and even more of a little spitfire–approach with caution).
But it that time of the year once again–and so far, I’ve managed to make it here in one piece through hell and high water and tragedy. I’m eager to continue with work and put 2020 far far far far behind me. That can’t happen soon enough in my opinion. I look to Monday to make my announcement of what is up and coming. I will be spending 22 days making up for lost time across many social media platforms that are eagerly awaiting all that is coming at the end of this year and into the next. Sorry for the inconvenience.–Jaynaé Marie Miller, author of TKWRT.
First things First: I’m officially returning to work on June 26. That means frequent excerpts to come for “The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy”. After a brief hiatus, it is good to get back to work again.
Now it is Father’s Day once again. It is hard to believe my own father has been gone for almost two years now. I was lucky that he lived long enough to see the original version of The Saga of Thranduil. I remember on our last day together, I read some of it to him because they said though he was in a coma, he could still hear. After four hours with, I was about to leave when he seemed to wake up and turn to me and ask me as he always would, “Where are you going?” I said, “I’m going home.” He said ‘ok’ and that was his last words to the world. He would die two days later.
Now, book business. After we nearly destroyed WordPress the last time we had a download available, we have decided to have more than one place for people to go. Besides being available here, the PDF can be downloaded here as well:
Facebook: If you are a member of TKWRT Group, you can get it on the group page.
I have been on a short hiatus (sort of). I am not at home. I had an ordeal that took me away from all my work on @tkwrtrilogy3and@thesecretofthehouseofbourbonbook for some time. I am just now returning to work, as it were. One day, I will tell you what happened when I am ready. For now, I am still putting the pieces of my life back in order and slowly returning to my beloved work. There will be more updates on @tkwrtnewsfeedand@newsfromthehouseofbourbon.
I have NO issues in any representation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. I do not care if it is animated, live action, literary or spray painted on the side of a building. Expression is the highest form of flattery.
What I have a problem with is a representation that does not lead back to Tolkien. I purposely created “The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy” and its subsequent standalone books for the sole purpose to lead back to Tolkien’s original works. When someone says to me, “reading your story has made me want to read (or reread Tolkien),” my mission has been fulfilled.
I do not do what I do for money. I do not do it for notoriety which I have gained worldwide. I do it because of the love of reading and out of respect for my literary hero J.R.R. Tolkien. In the early days, when people confused my story with Tolkien, that upset me greatly. First of all, I do not think I sound like Tolkien as my story is told in the first person. Granted, I studied his language patterns and felt the need to take out anything “modern” in order to ensure my stories maintained a certain believability.
I have created characters when necessary but never once have I ever taken the works of Tolkien out of context. I “write around” the original material. I work with the original material. I am always referring back to the material to make sure I am capturing the essence of Middle-Earth as Tolkien created it. I made that promise to my father and Tolkien the very second I decided to write my story. I took the path less traveled at a time when Middle-Earth fan fictions on Tumblr were often filled with vulgarity and graphic sex.
I was on the last rung on a ladder of stories when I began “The Saga of Thranduil”. At any time, I could have turned the tide for more attention, but I refused. I could not bring myself to lessen the work of the man inspired me to write fantasy when I was a child. I knew anything less than my best would have disappointed my dying father. I continued on the path I chose.
When teachers started telling me they liked TKWRT and asked if they could read it to their students during a unit on Tolkien, I was shocked. When soldiers deployed in war zones asked for a copy of TKWRT, I was humbled. When high school students wrote me during Winter Recess about wanting to read TKWRT because they could not get to a library, I realized I had done something wonderful. When other published writers asked if my work was a continuation of Tolkien, I finally allowed myself to accept the reason so many people told me they had written to the Tolkien Estate asking about a “lost” book about Thranduil.
I know what I have done and will continue to do. I do not have any issues with how Tolkien is represented. I know how I represent Tolkien. He is never far from my mind whenever I write sentence. In fact, I am always surrounded by his books when I am working. I am telling histories through the eyes of his characters in his world. I make sure he is always front and center in that moment. From the naming of characters (often mentioned but never named) to new place names, I never am looking to the outside. My guide is Tolkien. Until the very last word, he will be the inspiration. He has to be, otherwise I am disrespecting his legacy, genius and his work. This entire series is dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien. I would not wish to give him anything he would not be proud to read himself.–Jaynaé Marie Miller, from Excerpts, A Memoir.
1) A new excerpt will be posted at midnight from @tkwrtrilogy3.
2) The article “Becoming Oropher” will be posted on WordPress in order to prepare everyone for the upcoming story told by Oropher in Part II of “Book I: The Epic of Eryn Galen”.
I won’t go into all the annoying fights I went through with 2 internet companies to get here. I was knocked offline for over a month because one company was too expensive and lousy and the other one was affordable but the equipment is extraordinarily cheap and flimsy. On the upside of the latter, I now have 5G. Aside from now working on two trilogies (the other being @thesecretofthehouseofbourbonbook), we are finally back on track with TKWRT after a death in the family and an ongoing family dispute.
So, until Midnight: Have a Wonderful Day.
Good to be back after several months of “you really don’t want to know”.
I have NO issues in any representation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. I do not care if it is animated, live action, literary or spray painted on the side of a building. Expression is the highest form of flattery.
What I have a problem with is a representation that does not lead back to Tolkien. I purposely created “The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy” and its subsequent standalone books for the sole purpose to lead back to Tolkien’s original works. When someone says to me, “reading your story has made me want to read (or reread Tolkien),” my mission has been fulfilled.
I do not do what I do for money. I do not do it for notoriety which I have gained worldwide. I do it because of the love of reading and out of respect for my literary hero J.R.R. Tolkien. In the early days, when people confused my story with Tolkien, that upset me greatly. First of all, I do not think I sound like Tolkien as my story is told in the first person. Granted, I studied his language patterns and felt the need to take out anything “modern” in order to ensure my stories maintained a certain believability.
I have created characters when necessary but never once have I ever taken the works of Tolkien out of context. I “write around” the original material. I work with the original material. I am always referring back to the material to make sure I am capturing the essence of Middle-Earth as Tolkien created it. I made that promise to my father and Tolkien the very second I decided to write my story. I took the path less traveled at a time when Middle-Earth fan fictions on Tumblr were often filled with vulgarity and graphic sex.
I was on the last rung on a ladder of stories when I began “The Saga of Thranduil”. At any time, I could have turned the tide for more attention, but I refused. I could not bring myself to lessen the work of the man inspired me to write fantasy when I was a child. I knew anything less than my best would have disappointed my dying father. I continued on the path I chose.
When teachers started telling me they liked TKWRT and asked if they could read it to their students during a unit on Tolkien, I was shocked. When soldiers deployed in war zones asked for a copy of TKWRT, I was humbled. When high school students wrote me during Winter Recess about wanting to read TKWRT because they could not get to a library, I realized I had done something wonderful. When other published writers asked if my work was a continuation of Tolkien, I finally allowed myself to accept the reason so many people told me they had written to the Tolkien Estate asking about a “lost” book about Thranduil.
I know what I have done and will continue to do. I do not have any issues with how Tolkien is represented. I know how I represent Tolkien. He is never far from my mind whenever I write sentence. In fact, I am always surrounded by his books when I am working. I am telling histories through the eyes of his characters in his world. I make sure he is always front and center in that moment. From the naming of characters (often mentioned but never named) to new place names, I never am looking to the outside. My guide is Tolkien. Until the very last word, he will be the inspiration. He has to be, otherwise I am disrespecting his legacy, genius and his work. This entire series is dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien. I would not wish to give him anything he would not be proud to read himself.–Jaynaé Marie Miller, from Excerpts, A Memoir.
1) A new excerpt will be posted at midnight from @tkwrtrilogy3.
2) The article “Becoming Oropher” will be posted on WordPress in order to prepare everyone for the upcoming story told by Oropher in Part II of “Book I: The Epic of Eryn Galen”.
I won’t go into all the annoying fights I went through with 2 internet companies to get here. I was knocked offline for over a month because one company was too expensive and lousy and the other one was affordable but the equipment is extraordinarily cheap and flimsy. On the upside of the latter, I now have 5G. Aside from now working on two trilogies (the other being @thesecretofthehouseofbourbonbook), we are finally back on track with TKWRT after a death in the family and an ongoing family dispute.
First things First: I’m officially returning to work on June 26. That means frequent excerpts to come for “The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy”. After a brief hiatus, it is good to get back to work again.
Now it is Father’s Day once again. It is hard to believe my own father has been gone for almost two years now. I was lucky that he lived long enough to see the original version of The Saga of Thranduil. I remember on our last day together, I read some of it to him because they said though he was in a coma, he could still hear. After four hours with, I was about to leave when he seemed to wake up and turn to me and ask me as he always would, “Where are you going?” I said, “I’m going home.” He said ‘ok’ and that was his last words to the world. He would die two days later.
Now, book business. After we nearly destroyed WordPress the last time we had a download available, we have decided to have more than one place for people to go. Besides being available here, the PDF can be downloaded here as well:
Facebook: If you are a member of TKWRT Group, you can get it on the group page.
First of all, there are a few things about this 3rd Draft of the Extended Version. It is not complete (as it should have been). Why? Because this October, my old laptop died and though it did retrieve nearly all my work, it lost all my notes on The Extended Version. Note to you (and self): Apple Stickies don’t retrieve anything if you lose something. Use Post-It by 3M if you have a tablet (and I’m doing that now). This means you may actually get another lookatThe Extended Version and this is not the last time you get to read it with the additions.
Secondly, when you get to the Appendix, you’ll probably see the additions that got lost while my old laptop died during the Catalina Software Download (and the laptop wasn’t that old, I might add)–there are “new people” not in the story (yet). You can either ignore them or start rumors of their origins (though some are self-explanatory). Some characters will be in Book III: The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen (and that extended version) and/or in Book I: The Epic of Eryn Galen (currently on-going).
There is a scene that was about to be put into this book (while I was promoting The House of Durin) that is on Instagram right now about Thranduil dealing with his future “son-in-law” (future husband of his daughter Isílriel). It is located to the right of a bright photo titled “End of Summer: LAIRË METTA”. I hope to post the scene the event takes place eventually (along with others) either there or in the complete version at a later date TBA.
Also, I just learned today, my new Spell-Check hasn’t learned Elvish. Though, Erestor is blessedly not Crestor, some things in Elvish might look weird (and my laptop froze while I was working and I freaked out because I didn’t want the trauma of losing anything again), some things are still a weird mix of Apple’s inability to recognize another language (oh, Black Speech they know–makes you wonder), Sindarin and Quenya. That’ll be fixed in post.
Please Enjoy this version of the book () knowing eventually there will be way more than 567 pages (including the Appendix) and way more adventures (most being told again in the extended version of The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen).–Jaynaé Marie Miller, author.
MERRY CHRISTMAS: ENJOY THE DAY! DECEMBER 26 IS 23 HOURSAWAY.
It is that time of the year–to celebrate the holidays. Go ahead. I’ll wait until December 26 when the Extended Version will be available for download. Watch this space–carefully. There will be a lot of information forthcoming. (Go watch LOTR in honor of December 25, 3019 T.A.)
Meanwhile, you can always catch up with the Original Version here or on WordPress. Until then, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good-night.
365 days ago, The Saga of Thranduil debuted on WordPress for the first time. 16,600+ views later, here we are. For 24 hours, I decided to release the original version one last time before the release of the Extended Version in December.
The next time it will be available will inside the entire trilogy. Don’t worry, though–another surprise is forthcoming.
If you belong to the book’s Facebook Page, you’ll be able to download it there. You may also download it here: https://tkwrtrilogy.wordpress.com/2019/08/18/happy-first-anniversary/
For everyone else, go to https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wpSK81RnBiweFnGhdUN52hym7edsMv-z
Thank you for reading. If my father were here, he would be proud.
I was initially prepared to post an excerpt for Book I: The Epic of Eryn Galen when I came upon some horrific human food that put me down for some time this evening. I’ve finally evolved into an elf so Lembas, it is then. Water, Lettuce and Lembas will be my new diet. I hope that will be enough to sustain me for when I resume sword fighting again.
Anyway, it has been quite the year–in spite of losing my father in October. He’d be proud to know his little gift from me has garnered 6700+ views on WordPress in less than six months. I credit much of that to my father–when I announced his death, my stats jumped up like the rock star he was. That, children, is how you get a mountain named after you in Antarctica (that’s true, my father has one of those for his work in the field of Chemistry). I have some very large shoes to fill on my journey through the rest of my life. Perhaps I’ll make my mark in writing. I think I’m getting good at it. ☺️ Better, anyway.
I wanted everyone to that I’m going to start posting the Character Appendix again. I think it’s time now; there are an awful lot of new characters to get you lost–just like a Tolkien book.
Also, great news! Someone taught me how to work this Tumblr thing. I’m only good for writing–I am horrible with all that technical stuff. They had to do a pictorial. As soon as I figure it out, The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy will have a Table of Contents just like on WordPress. It will make it so much easier to read. I’m gathering @fortunatelyclevercandy is going to do the same with The House of Durin: @thehouseofdurin . It will help you get through the (now) over 1000 pages of The Elvenking and his wonderful world.
This is what I do now–full time. I’m so busy with it, I’m going to need a new assistant. I can be hard to deal with but I’m reasonably adorable. Such is the life of The Elvenking of the Woodland Realm.
Thank you for reading my little story. I’m glad it’s an interesting read. I put my little heart into it for over three years now. Just celebrated my 3rd Anniversary on Tumblr (December 22). I love writing this story (and all of them; one book down, four to go).
You helped to make my father’s dream come true–you helped make his youngest child an author. He’s somewhere smiling now–with Professor Tolkien, I hope. I’m looking forward to 2019. You have a year to go for the next release of Book II: The Saga of Thranduil. I think you’re going to like it.
You haven’t seen anything yet. I can’t wait for you to find out what Thranduil is like when his only daughter (Isílriel) introduces her father to her chosen soulmate. And wait until you meet Elranduil’s daughter. (Yeah, the cousins have to do everything together). Happy Holidays!
I know, it’s been awhile. I had to take care of a few things after the death of my father. He will be missed but I know he would have wanted me to continue my work (he told me as much prior to his death). Just would like to say that there are TWO of us now–two writers of stories based on the works of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
Introducing “The House of Durin” by Deborah Meneghetti.
It will be available in (get this) ENGLISHandITALIAN! Yes, this venture is about to go multi-lingual (see below as well). See, I plugged that one, @fortunatelyclevercandy . Just for you, Angioletto .
To give you a little background on what is going on: This book is as it is described, ”The story of the heirs of Durin the Deathless”. Anyone who has read the works of J.R.R. Tolkien knows that the line of Durin runs deep so this will be an opportunity to explore it in depth. Like The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy,The House of Durin is based on the works of Tolkien; put together from what he has left behind, as it were.
Eventually, both books will weave together in many places readers are familiar with and from different perspectives, you can imagine. The other two standalone books belonging to TKWRT (The Song of Seven Rivers@tkwrtsongofsevenriversandOf Lords & Kings@oflordsandkingstkwrtbook ) will do the same thing. In the end, there will be several books telling different tales from the same world that at times meet each other.
Imagine: Girls thought of all this.
Moving on:
This year is the 3rd Anniversary of Book II: The Saga of Thranduil. It is hard to believe how far it has come. This year is special because someone has offered to translate it (and all the other books) into Polish (and possibly French). We are still working out the details and when that moment comes, read it here. Translation: We’re thinking about it.
UPDATE: TKWRT EXPANDS ITS AUDIENCE
Our demographics (according to emails and Facebook) show a demographic that was 18-65 but I learned that some people in my father’s home were into it and an 11th grader (and Tolkien fan) just requested a copy. I won’t say why an 80-year-old woman was interested in turning this book into a film about Thranduil because that would be something for the record books.
I don’t know what Lee Pace as Thranduil has done to women but it must have been something pretty remarkable for an 80-year-old to want him to return to the screen via Book II: The Saga of Thranduil. Wow, that’s just wow. According to a rumor, I had a four-hour conversation about Lee Pace and I have yet to figure out if I said anything that would offer a clue to why he’s so appealing.
Either way, TKWRT has been officially mainstream for some time now. Getting awesome reviews from people that keep asking me to have this thing published. Well, I can’t say for certain if that will be anytime soon, but I never said I wasn’t looking into it (on several fronts–I’ve made some friends along the way that could make that happen if you ask me nicely).
COMING 2019
As promised, there will be a sneak preview of the upcoming books
Reasonably since they are both connected by marriage to Book II: The Saga of Thranduil. But also another book will share the moment with them.
Most already know that this book is also here: @trenarnolegolaslasgalenand@tkwrtrilogylasttale (extended version). Yep, going to start working on the FINAL (as in, this will be the last book) in the TKWRT Trilogy. There have been some changes in the format so this is the main reason for a preview. The main reason is the additions made to the EXTENDED VERSION of Book II.
SURPRISE: IT’S BACK & ITS YOUR JOB!
What readers get to do is decide what will go into the final version of the original book. Some people like Legolas’ younger sister Isílriel and most adore the baby elves (and in this one, there are more). Some like the idea of Êlúriel surviving (which in order to have her daughter she would have to live a little longer. Whatever you like–however you like your “Thrandy”, you get some input. If I were you, I’d wait until after Book III: The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen for one reason–the last chapter of Book II is in the prologue and you might want to see that first.
Yeah, you’re going to really want to see this one.
No, seriously. What has Lee done to you people? You were once so normal. I don’t know. I hardly know most of you. Just trying to figure out this 80-year-old wanting to see a film about Thranduil based on my book with Lee Pace in it. Is it that serious? Really? I don’t see it.
So that sums up what has been happening since the last post. Still getting over my dad. It took me a couple weeks to get used to the fact I can’t pick up the phone and call him to tell him about all the things happening with the books. I have a few photos my family (who have yet to even call and ask how I’m doing–I’ll live) gave to me. It’s something. I know he’s somewhere looking over me; avoiding my mother who probably is talking everyone to death in the afterlife.
Until next time: Come for the story, stay for Thranduil. I know, I know.
NO: THAT ISN’T JUST A PRETTY PHOTO OF BARD; IT’S A NEW BOOK.
It has been a while–my father died on October 6 of this year so I was gathering myself together and of course getting myself into more trouble. I’m going to be tackling a lot of Middle-Earth History as you can see.
It is part of what has become the TKWR Trilogy Franchise (or so I’m told that’s what I am; go figure) because if you’ve been reading the actual TKWR Trilogy (Particularly Book II: The Saga of Thranduil), then you know on tiny line of the Bardings (descendants of Bard) are related by marriage to TheElvenking (via his wife Êlúriel)…yeah, it’s as complicated as it is straightforward.
Yeah, with over 3000 views in 3 months for the Official TKWR Trilogy on WordPress (https://officialwptkwrt.wordpress.com) I believe the best way to honor my father now is to keep going. The Flagship Book (dedicated to my father) has spawned a revolution (and I’ve added another writer) that will be the legacy I leave behind as I am the legacy my father left behind.
(Yeah: For those just tuning in, this book is done–except for the last chapter “Thranduil Everlasting” which is in the epilogue of “Book III: The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen”)
Yes, I am looking forward to this and all other things I will bring to the world for my father and always in honor of J.R.R. Tolkien.
It looks like the titles of a Netflix or Hulu Show. NO, it’s not a television show. It’s a book–only about Dwarves–okay, duh. Sorry about that: I spend hours a day explaining Elves, so it’s knee jerk reaction.
As it suggests, it’s coming soon which in the business means I’m going to drag it out for as long as I possibly can in order to generate a wave of gratuitous anticipation. Simply put, I’m still dealing with TKWRTandThe House of Durin is in research and development (and it has been for some time).
One of those days I wish I drank…I’ll drink some V-8. Anyway, I had estimated 20 views (and I kept Khalessi from burning down Laketown) but I got well over 100. I think this is my early birthday present. It has to be: I share my birthday with Beyoncé and so I’m quite sure I’ll be ignored the whole day as always.
Evenbefore my father’s Alzheimer’s he would come to my house and say, “Did you know it was Beyoncé’s birthday?” And I would say, “Yes, Dad. It’s mine, too.” And he’d say, “Really?”
Anyway, it was a good day. Off to the next adventure: Chicago (maybe) to meet my alter ego (Lee Pace). I’m still nursing a bruise from Monday and I don’t want to be away from my father too long these days. We’ll see.
WHERE HAVE I BEEN: WORDPRESS and other places….ahem..
Let’s just say, it has been an unimaginable summer. I sign Lee Pace’s birthday card, the next thing I know he’s signing a PlayBill and I started a WordPress Blog for The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy around the time I learn that Lee Pace (and Tom Hiddleston) will be in my backyard–6 to 8 hours away at ACE ComicCon in Chicago.
There’s more, but if I told you, I’d have to kill you…(kidding..no, seriously).
Wait, what’s this?
Okay, so Book II: The Saga of Thranduil doesn’t actually end here–it ends in the EpilogueofBook III: The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen. Soon you’ll realize Book I: The Epic of Eryn Galen will end in the EpilogueofBook III: The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen. No, The Song of Seven Rivers isn’t ending in the EpilogueofBook III: The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen (as far as I know).. In other words, no one knows how Book II: The Saga of Thranduil will end. All you know now is that THE LAST CHAPTER is called THRANDUIL EVERLASTING. And it is found where?
In the EPILOGUEofBook III: The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen. Very good. ☺️
Now, for the fun part: WORDPRESS.
OnAugust 18, 2018 (8.18.18),The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy will debut on WordPress. Yes, it will be the entire trilogy (unless something else happens this year and forces me to put it in real book form and sell it in a book store–and at this moment, I’m trying to figure out how to translate my book into Hungarian).
(I had a lot of requests for TKWRT to find a way to be translated into several different languages).
PLEASE NOTE: The Tumblr Blogs aren’t moving. The Book just has another blog to make it more accessible to more readers. It will be the last online platform for the book because, to be honest, it’s starting to outgrow the internet and is moving into website territory. When it comes to that…I have no idea what will happen but I’m sure a guy named Royd will have something to do with it.
The moment has arrived–and for some reason this year is more anticipated than before. Thranduil has been busy this summer (and it isn’t officially here until June 21). But enough about me–you’re here for the link that rules them all–until midnight on June 22).
The book is FREEandvirus-free as it is on Google Drive.
I always release the PDF version of Book II: The Saga of Thranduil on Father’s Day–after all, it is dedicated to my father. There will be a Table of Contents in this version (second draft). This year, there is more to be thankful for.
Book II: The Saga of Thranduil was invited (as it were) to be submitted to professional readers in order to be seen by publishers and literary agents. This is a first for me; nothing I said to them scared them so they are well aware of all things that will come for any publisher or agent that chooses to represent The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy–including the fact that I recently began working on the “second” book of the trilogy. All they said to me was, “We look forward to your submission.”
Book II: The Saga of Thranduil might get to see actor Lee Pace (with the first news, this “secret” news probably won’t remain quiet forever). Fans of the book and Lee Pace have been wanting him to read it and an opening to do that became available. (I won’t say when, where or how just yet–stay tuned; that one’s complicated and more so with the first news).
It is the Summer of 2018–Mirkwood Rising, I call it. It seems to be coming true in more ways than one.
So there it is: the Father’s Day gift I never expected to be able to give to my father (that received an autographed copy of my book for him for his birthday). He wondered out loud when people in the literary world were going to see this book. This year I can say with 100% certainty they will. It is a dream come true for my first book and trilogy. No matter what happens, Book III: The Last Tale of Legolas Lasgalen will always be dedicated to my readers all over the world–whether they are reading the PDFs or maybe one day, holding the book in their hands. Because of you, I got the chance.
Not a great deal of changes–just Stepford Wives kinda changes. All my web presences much change for the betterment of mankind: or in order to prove I’m worthy of a little blue check thing in order to separate my work from others (mostly Tolkien) and so people stop thinking I’m a fan of my own work.
I’ve seen fan art of The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy; I’ve seen the really weird hashtag “tkwr fan fiction”, “the saga of thranduil movie” even. It’s creepy. I don’t have 10,000 followers, but I do have a number of NYT Best-Selling Authors and a handful of celebrities and bucket full of publishers over on Twitter (Models love Thranduil on Instagram–and he’s starting to pick up a lot of male readers) so it’s time to become “bona-fide” as it were.
I have to clean up my act, so to speak.
So, no more politics on my personal pages; deleting tons of unrelated things on my blogs (not the book blogs; relax), possibly deleting whole sites I don’t use anymore) changing descriptions, designs & layouts–the whole shebang. Even my name: going by Jaynaé Marie Miller (my birth name actually complete with the little accent).✅ It’s kinda like an audition for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, as it were. I guess it would have happened eventually–I was thinking by the time I was sixty or dead–but oh, well.
This will take a while–but I’m hoping to be done by May 1 because that is the start of Legolas’ Birthday Month and in June another release is coming. There’s still the matter of other things (podcasts and websites for the actual book, but baby steps, first).
I won’t be commenting on things for a while–sorry about that. I have to unblock people (wow, I guess I’ll have to talk to my family again) and my professional résumé will be out there in the world for all to see (which does include poetry, plays and screenplays). As if getting bunch of elves to Doriath isn’t hard enough, I have to go ‘public’ with them all.
Not that I wasn’t public in the first place, it’s just that this is kinda like being famous or something. It’s pretty serious now: I mean, aside from the great reviews and actual book critics just waiting for a “real book” to rip me to shreds, I can’t even look for Elrond without running into myself on Google these days.
I even have fake celebrities–yeah, that’s not the real Richard, I follow the real one. But this account seems to mirror him; I haven’t looked in a while and I lost a few people–equaling about the number of fake celebrities following me. I don’t know if they thought I was a fake celebrity but if they did, I’m sorta flattered but I know at least one I talk to, so at least he knows who I am–our cats match (no, it isn’t Lee Pace–later–but the guy does know Richard Armitage, the realone).
So, I’m making a few changes to reflect the on-coming storm of “strange and unusual” that’s coming. Never thought I’d make it to the day I would have to become “verified”.
Just like Lee.
Welcome to the next chapter for the Elves of Mirkwood.
First of all, I’m not dropping everything to write this particular book (I don’t know why people fear that). The “new” book is not as “new” as I am implying. The story (like the trilogy) is a long and winding one.
When I began outlining the Elves of Mirkwood, naturally people wonder “where are all these elves coming from. For example, it is no secret Thranduil’s cousin Elranduil married a Noldorin (Ardúin) and Thranduil’s wife is a Nandor (Danwaith)–the last of the remaining ones. Nearly all of the main characters have a back story (and after stories), so I had written part of those around the time I began The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy. They were going to go into the Appendix (which at the time included Legolas’ Journals). When I changed the format of the book–having the story told by the four generation of elves–two being rulers and one being an heir to the Woodland Realm–I was free to do with the back stories what I wished–especially the one about the origins of Êlúriel.
It doesn’t have a title yet; it is not put together as well as the other books in the trilogy–even Legolas’ story is already planned from beginning to end. This new book will be part of the Appendix, unless it’s longer than 200 pages. There is a reason for that:
515 pages of Book II: The Saga of Thranduil (original version) is already a ream; its extended version will be at least 600pages in its final form and Book I and Book III are currently estimated to be 500-600pages each–then there’s the extended version of Book III which will more than likely be around 500-600pages long. When I put the trilogies together, that’s a lot of paper to add something 200+ pages long. I’m already over 1100 with Book I/Book II (both versions) not including Book III.
Tolkien’sThe Lord of the RingsTrilogy* in one volume is 1178 pages (including the Appendix; 1031w/o).So you can see I have a doorstop in the making. And even though this new “volume” will mesh with the trilogy (not unlike the STARZshowThe White Queen–based on three books by Philippa Gregory that tell three different sides of the same history; only in this case there’s several sides talking when you add Iarûr (Prologue of Book I) to the stories of Orothôn,Oropher,ThranduilandLegolas), I still have to decide at some point how long will it need to be to fit into the appendix or if it should just stand-alone.
I am still trying to decide whether to cut Book I in half as itself will contain two stories told by two elves–both crossing over at a pivotal event from one POV to another (hard to do especially I will have to eventually make that transition for all three of the original books). I do that, TKWRT won’t stand for TKWR TrilogybutTKWR Tetralogy. That won’t be decided until all three books are complete, though.
You are watching a novel in progress–I like to call it a reality show since readers are literally reading TKWR Trilogy in evolution. There’s is always something new coming around the corner and editing something like this requires someone that has flown over the Cuckoo’s Nest a few times and is literate in Tolkien Languages–especially Adûnaic. That hasn’t been added yet–nor has all of the Quenya. (Quenya is the hardest of the two Elven Languages known; That is why no one is out there selling “Learn Quenya” (even though Sindarin is Quendi for “Grey-Elven Language”). All the languages change with each new age/generation (as all languages do) which makes it impossible to say which “literary” version you are reading–and it gets worse with Tengwar where there’s far more to it than what most people think.
Adûnaic is harder still, even though Akallabêth is “The Down Fallen” in Adûnaic in The Silmarillion. What you get to read now is my “short-hand” for some things in Sindarin that may be translated eventually into Quenya–especially in Eryn Galen. Oropher didn’t like Sindarin at all (hence why it was unknown whether Thranduil spoke it). There is a reason Oropher didn’t like it and unless you adore reading thousands of pages of Tolkien’s notes in the form of 12+ volumes of Middle Earth History and his other works, you won’t find that reason (mostly because Oropher is in only one book of all books dealing with ME Histories by Tolkien and he’s somewhere else altogether)–hence the reason my book will have a very large bibliography. Yeah, this is an in-depth book I’m writing. I’m a glutton for punishment.
So, that’s it for now; back to work. I have a bunch of elves stuck in Ossiriand for a moment waiting for a few baby elves to be old enough to continue the journey into the West (by “west” I mean some will get lazy somewhere around Beleriand and hang out in Doriath with King Thingol and his Queen Melian). Also, I’ve been advised to use my real name in order to get the accounts for this book and myself verified ✅. Thranduil has come a long, long way from where he started.–JMM (Jaynaé Marie Miller).
*The Lord of the Rings is actually not a trilogy. It was originally supposed to be six books–a hexalogy, so to speak. In fact, in the table of contents, you’ll notice that each of the “books” has “two books” within them.
