A Writer Reads
While the Ring Went South...: 23. Author’s Notes
I DO plan on creating a sequel. Actually, two sequels. The end result is going to be a trilogy that ends in Lothlórien. And for those who are curious, yes, we WILL get to see the formation of a solid friendship between elf and dwarf. Anyway, the next installment has a working title of "During a Journey in the Dark" but is still being outlined, so it might not appear for a while.
Next up, I would like to extend a great outpouring of thanks for all who took the time to review this little story and encourage me along the way. Your contributions were all greatly appreciated, and I thank you VERY much!
Moving on, I’d like to explain the "tunnel" that Boromir, Aragorn, and Legolas carved. The book really don’t say exactly how they did get through the snow at the end of the trail except that there was something like a bridge that rose and fell. Well, I’ve been able to picture this two ways, but in my mind, for some odd reason, it made more sense to tunnel through the snow. Having grown up in an area that gets a LOT of snow for most of the year, my first choice would have been to tunnel. So that’s the way I interpreted Tolkien’s words when first reading LotR in Middle School, and that interpretation has stuck. However, I’m open to debate if anyone wants to claim they managed to push enough snow aside to go over.
Bill’s behavior in Chapter 21 has also been called into question, but I’m going to defend it. Yes, horses do put their heads up when scared, but Bill was shying. And—at least as far as my experience with horses is concerned, which involves a few Quarterhorses, some Arabians, and a Thoroughbred—when they shy, they tend to…duck. I’m not exactly sure how to explain it, and apparently it didn’t come across as well as I wanted it to, but that’s what Bill is doing. And as for moving out of the way without being pushed, it has been my understanding that upon occasion horses will freeze rather than move. Particularly in cases of fire or flood. So I decided it applied to falling rocks, too.
