R is for R is for Ready, Set, Go! Contest for 1000 Posts and Tolkien Photo Challenge Part 2 of 3 (A to Z on Tolkien and the Inklings)

is for ready, set, go!

1000 blog posts today over on my writing blog The Girdle of Melian!

I hit 500 posts back in May 2011, after nearly four years of blogging; it's been five years since then.

Many posts about the writing journey, about Tolkien, about books read and authors followed (remember the year of the unexpected Neil Gaiman?), travels galore, and so much more... I'll collate them someday, I hope.

The week-long contest starts today!

But first, the #TolkienCollection Photo Challenge!

Part one of the Tolkien photo challenge was under the letter K and answered the first seven questions. Part two covers 8 through 14:


8. Create a rainbow with items in your collection -- I'm excusing myself from this one on the grounds that taking all the books I have here (missing all the ones in storage!) off from the shelves and arranging them would take twice as long and be twice as messy with baby involved.
Instead, here she is at birth, when I was rereading The Lord of the Rings:

9. Your most unconventional item -- one of the many items in storage is a textbook written by one of Tolkien's students!


10. The "Arkenstone" of your collection -- I wish I had a first or signed edition to speak of. It's hard to pick just one item since, when we moved here, I made sure to bring them all with me, and didn't leave a single main item behind!

11. Your guilty pleasure (books, artwork, action figures, etc.) -- I do have a One Ring I was given as a gift. I find it odd that people might want to collect Sauron or orc-related items. Smacks a bit of the "orc-play" Tolkien refers to in A New Shadow.

12. Wishlist item -- Besides first editions and things? And something signed? And Songs for the Philologists? Okay, well, something more feasible -- I'd like to complete my collection of reprints of the editions of Parma Eldalamberon and Vinyar Tengwar that feature original works by Tolkien.
I'd also really like to visit the Wade Centre and the Bodleian and see the originals of all these manuscripts! And, since I now live much closer to France, I'd like to meet Christopher Tolkien...
Not too much to ask, is it?

13. Item you forgot you owned -- just discovered it the other day. Not strictly an item, but I have an email from Professor Verlyn Flieger from over 10 years ago that she wrote in response to a question I'd sent referring to certain mythological archetypes in The Lord of the Rings.

14. Largest item in your collection -- probably Rateliff's big fat book. Not complaining, I love big fat books. Otherwise, the movie tie-in jigsaw puzzle, which was lots of fun to work!

And now, the contest! I keep saying it's week-long, but it's actually going to run until the end of the Blogging From A to Z Challenge.

Prize rules are simple:

I'll do an overall name draw at the end of the A to Z Challenge of everyone who's commented on the remaining letters, including this one. Those who comment on more than one letter earn extra chances!  For instance, if you comment on letters R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z that means you have nine chances to win!

Links to your blog and to Facebook and Twitter will earn an extra chance! But please let me know in the comments that you've done it, otherwise I won't be checking.

Grand prize is a 30$ gift card to the online book retailer of your choice!