2006 Author Reviews for
Marigold

A fine author in her own right, Marigold also shines in the \"fandom\" with her generous giving of her time and LOTR knowledge, and encouragement of other writers who wish to better their craft. Her love for all things Tolkien is evident in all her work.

I have to say that Marigold is a treasure to the Hobbit fanfic community. Her skills as a beta and a breeder of plot bunnies are legendary; she is a good friend to many, and an encourager of new talent. Her monthly challenges have resulted in literally hundreds of lovely hobbit stories. But that often eclipses the fact that she is a skilled writer herself--especially of drabbles and other short ficlets. She has a firm understanding of what is ?hobbity? and what is *not*, and her love for hobbits shines through in every word.

Marigold has such a special way of writing hobbits. Somehow ordinary moments of life leap off the page when she writes about them. She writes the major characters well and I\'m sure a lot of readers have enjoyed her for that, but what has really captivated me about her writing is the way she handles the mothers and sisters of the major characters. What stands out among this year\'s writing is the way she presents Pippin\'s mother worrying over him. That piece not only reflected her missing Pippin but the situation in Tookland with the resistance of Sharkey\'s men. And that\'s another of Marigold\'s talents. She definitely knows the canon about hobbits better than anyone else I know, but she doesn\'t allow it to overwhelm the piece. Then she adds her own invention, the idea of Gandalf giving Pippin two special stars, and the result is a situation that almost feels like something Tolkien would have written. At a minimum I\'m sure he approved. Mari is an author who never fails to satisfy, and whose pieces have just the right balance of light and dark to portray hobbits as Tolkien meant them. Not frivolous children, but curiously resistant to despair.

Marigold has grown considerably in stature as an author over the last year or two. Renowned for her tenacious encouragement of others in the LoTR genre, through challenges, recommendations and tireless betaing of others work, it is good to see her establish herself as a fine and skilful writer who can turn her hand to many different styles. Her drabbles impressed me from the start and now she is proving to be an adroit writer of short stories too. Certainly her love of hobbits, in particular of Merry and especially Pippin, shines through in all she does and that is no bad thing. Not only that, Marigold has now proved her skill in writing dialogue, an area she seems a trifle timid of in the beginning. Any doubts about her ability in this area must surely have been resolved with the sparkling wit, humour as well as heartfelt feeling she is able to produce. Her hobbit voices, in particular, always ring true to character and demonstrate her deep understanding of their personalities. All these factors link well with her comprehensive knowledge of canon, which for a long time she has put to good and effective use for the benefit of others through her betaing and now can call upon to good effect in her own work. I, and I imagine the rest of the fandom, trust and hope that she will continue to write more stories in the future as they are always a breath of fresh air, as her love of the subject continues, unabated.

Ah, Marigold, how many of us you have challenged and inspired. Thank you ever for your own example.

Marigold not only writes hobbits with credibility, she manages to depict their interactions with friends of other races with equal grace and sensitivity. She has a particular talent for conveying hobbits\' enjoyment of simple pleasures, without making them seem either foolish or childlike.

Marigold has such a special way of writing hobbits. Somehow ordinary moments of life leap off the page when she writes about them. She writes the major characters well and I\'m sure a lot of readers have enjoyed her for that, but what has really captivated me about her writing is the way she handles the mothers and sisters of the major characters. What stands out among this year\'s writing is the way she presents Pippin\'s mother worrying over him. That piece not only reflected her missing Pippin but the situation in Tookland with the resistance of Sharkey\'s men. And that\'s another of Marigold\'s talents. She definitely knows the canon about hobbits better than anyone else I know, but she doesn\'t allow it to overwhelm the piece. Then she adds her own invention, the idea of Gandalf giving Pippin two special stars, and the result is a situation that almost feels like something Tolkien would have written. At a minimum I\'m sure he approved. Mari is an author who never fails to satisfy, and whose pieces have just the right balance of light and dark to portray hobbits as Tolkien meant them. Not frivolous children, but curiously resistant to despair.

Marigold has grown considerably in stature as an author over the last year or two. Renowned for her tenacious encouragement of others in the LoTR genre, through challenges, recommendations and tireless betaing of others work, it is good to see her establish herself as a fine and skilful writer who can turn her hand to many different styles. Her drabbles impressed me from the start and now she is proving to be an adroit writer of short stories too. Certainly her love of hobbits, in particular of Merry and especially Pippin, shines through in all she does and that is no bad thing. Not only that, Marigold has now proved her skill in writing dialogue, an area she seems a trifle timid of in the beginning. Any doubts about her ability in this area must surely have been resolved with the sparkling wit, humour as well as heartfelt feeling she is able to produce. Her hobbit voices, in particular, always ring true to character and demonstrate her deep understanding of their personalities. All these factors link well with her comprehensive knowledge of canon, which for a long time she has put to good and effective use for the benefit of others through her betaing and now can call upon to good effect in her own work. I, and I imagine the rest of the fandom, trust and hope that she will continue to write more stories in the future as they are always a breath of fresh air, as her love of the subject continues, unabated.

Marigold not only writes hobbits with credibility, she manages to depict their interactions with friends of other races with equal grace and sensitivity. She has a particular talent for conveying hobbits\' enjoyment of simple pleasures, without making them seem either foolish or childlike.

Marigold has grown considerably in stature as an author over the last year or two. Renowned for her tenacious encouragement of others in the LoTR genre, through challenges, recommendations and tireless betaing of others work, it is good to see her establish herself as a fine and skilful writer who can turn her hand to many different styles. Her drabbles impressed me from the start and now she is proving to be an adroit writer of short stories too. Certainly her love of hobbits, in particular of Merry and especially Pippin, shines through in all she does and that is no bad thing. Not only that, Marigold has now proved her skill in writing dialogue, an area she seems a trifle timid of in the beginning. Any doubts about her ability in this area must surely have been resolved with the sparkling wit, humour as well as heartfelt feeling she is able to produce. Her hobbit voices, in particular, always ring true to character and demonstrate her deep understanding of their personalities. All these factors link well with her comprehensive knowledge of canon, which for a long time she has put to good and effective use for the benefit of others through her betaing and now can call upon to good effect in her own work. I, and I imagine the rest of the fandom, trust and hope that she will continue to write more stories in the future as they are always a breath of fresh air, as her love of the subject continues, unabated.

Marigold has such a special way of writing hobbits. Somehow ordinary moments of life leap off the page when she writes about them. She writes the major characters well and I\'m sure a lot of readers have enjoyed her for that, but what has really captivated me about her writing is the way she handles the mothers and sisters of the major characters. What stands out among this year\'s writing is the way she presents Pippin\'s mother worrying over him. That piece not only reflected her missing Pippin but the situation in Tookland with the resistance of Sharkey\'s men. And that\'s another of Marigold\'s talents. She definitely knows the canon about hobbits better than anyone else I know, but she doesn\'t allow it to overwhelm the piece. Then she adds her own invention, the idea of Gandalf giving Pippin two special stars, and the result is a situation that almost feels like something Tolkien would have written. At a minimum I\'m sure he approved. Mari is an author who never fails to satisfy, and whose pieces have just the right balance of light and dark to portray hobbits as Tolkien meant them. Not frivolous children, but curiously resistant to despair.

Marigold not only writes hobbits with credibility, she manages to depict their interactions with friends of other races with equal grace and sensitivity. She has a particular talent for conveying hobbits\' enjoyment of simple pleasures, without making them seem either foolish or childlike.

Marigold can bring out the love between Merry and Pippin exquisitely, and for that I thank her.

Marigold has grown considerably in stature as an author over the last year or two. Renowned for her tenacious encouragement of others in the LoTR genre, through challenges, recommendations and tireless betaing of others work, it is good to see her establish herself as a fine and skilful writer who can turn her hand to many different styles. Her drabbles impressed me from the start and now she is proving to be an adroit writer of short stories too. Certainly her love of hobbits, in particular of Merry and especially Pippin, shines through in all she does and that is no bad thing. Not only that, Marigold has now proved her skill in writing dialogue, an area she seems a trifle timid of in the beginning. Any doubts about her ability in this area must surely have been resolved with the sparkling wit, humour as well as heartfelt feeling she is able to produce. Her hobbit voices, in particular, always ring true to character and demonstrate her deep understanding of their personalities. All these factors link well with her comprehensive knowledge of canon, which for a long time she has put to good and effective use for the benefit of others through her betaing and now can call upon to good effect in her own work. I, and I imagine the rest of the fandom, trust and hope that she will continue to write more stories in the future as they are always a breath of fresh air, as her love of the subject continues, unabated.

Marigold has an amazing way with words, not surprising, considering her deft beta-work. She packs so much meaning into so few words!

Marigold not only writes hobbits with credibility, she manages to depict their interactions with friends of other races with equal grace and sensitivity. She has a particular talent for conveying hobbits\' enjoyment of simple pleasures, without making them seem either foolish or childlike.

Marigold took to writing drabbles like they had been made just for her! She denies that she is any kind of a poet, but reading her work in this area would make anyone disagree. She certainly brings a lyrical style to her drabbles that are reminiscent to me of some of the best, unstructured verse I have ever read, which is no easy task. I admire her skill in this area enormously as I know how very difficult, for me anyway, writing unstructured verse is. In fact I can\'t do it! My sad drabbles always come out in verse, no matter how hard I try not to let them. Marigold\'s drabbles always sum up the situation or character to perfection. Not only that but she manages to find original and unique perspectives all the time, which I think is largely due to her love of all aspects of Tolkien\'s works ? in particular the hobbits and more specifically, Merry and especially Pippin. Her enthusiasm for the genre shines through, not just in her own work, but in her unrelenting encouragement of many, many other writers in the fandom. In addition, it shows clearly to the reader that once she is on a roll with a particular drabble she teases and pokes at it with a tenacity that ensures the finished product will be as close to perfection as is possible. I know it is a common compliment to drabble writers to say \"not a word wasted\" but in Marigold\'s case this is as true as it could possibly be. Marigold\'s drabbles are coherent, persuasive, informative and a delight to read.

Marigold has such a special way of writing hobbits. Somehow ordinary moments of life leap off the page when she writes about them. She writes the major characters well and I\'m sure a lot of readers have enjoyed her for that, but what has really captivated me about her writing is the way she handles the mothers and sisters of the major characters. What stands out among this year\'s writing is the way she presents Pippin\'s mother worrying over him. That piece not only reflected her missing Pippin but the situation in Tookland with the resistance of Sharkey\'s men. And that\'s another of Marigold\'s talents. She definitely knows the canon about hobbits better than anyone else I know, but she doesn\'t allow it to overwhelm the piece. Then she adds her own invention, the idea of Gandalf giving Pippin two special stars, and the result is a situation that almost feels like something Tolkien would have written. At a minimum I\'m sure he approved. Mari is an author who never fails to satisfy, and whose pieces have just the right balance of light and dark to portray hobbits as Tolkien meant them. Not frivolous children, but curiously resistant to despair.

Marigold has such a special way of writing hobbits. Somehow ordinary moments of life leap off the page when she writes about them. She writes the major characters well and I\'m sure a lot of readers have enjoyed her for that, but what has really captivated me about her writing is the way she handles the mothers and sisters of the major characters. What stands out among this year\'s writing is the way she presents Pippin\'s mother worrying over him. That piece not only reflected her missing Pippin but the situation in Tookland with the resistance of Sharkey\'s men. And that\'s another of Marigold\'s talents. She definitely knows the canon about hobbits better than anyone else I know, but she doesn\'t allow it to overwhelm the piece. Then she adds her own invention, the idea of Gandalf giving Pippin two special stars, and the result is a situation that almost feels like something Tolkien would have written. At a minimum I\'m sure he approved. Mari is an author who never fails to satisfy, and whose pieces have just the right balance of light and dark to portray hobbits as Tolkien meant them. Not frivolous children, but curiously resistant to despair.

I am so happy to see Marigold writing more and more this year! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading her tales--most expecially her series of Merry Yules, Merry\'s Magificent Yule, and Treasures and Mementos. She writes our beloved lads with a tender hand, and a tender heart. Her Merry is the ever-watchful and loving cousin that Pippin could ever want or need. While Pippin is the breath of fresh air and innocence at its finest. They are typical hobbit lads, and yet the bond of love and brotherhood between them is evident in all that Marigold writes. Her talent extends not only to drama, but also to humour and every other genre she touches. Not only is Marigold an excellent and most gifted author, she has also spends much of her time helping other authors hone their writing skills. I am looking forward to more wonderful stories from Marigold--and I hope she continues to expound upon her Merry Yules series. After all, she does have thirteen other Yules to cover. :-)

Marigold not only writes hobbits with credibility, she manages to depict their interactions with friends of other races with equal grace and sensitivity. She has a particular talent for conveying hobbits\' enjoyment of simple pleasures, without making them seem either foolish or childlike.

Marigold has such a special way of writing hobbits. Somehow ordinary moments of life leap off the page when she writes about them. She writes the major characters well and I\'m sure a lot of readers have enjoyed her for that, but what has really captivated me about her writing is the way she handles the mothers and sisters of the major characters. What stands out among this year\'s writing is the way she presents Pippin\'s mother worrying over him. That piece not only reflected her missing Pippin but the situation in Tookland with the resistance of Sharkey\'s men. And that\'s another of Marigold\'s talents. She definitely knows the canon about hobbits better than anyone else I know, but she doesn\'t allow it to overwhelm the piece. Then she adds her own invention, the idea of Gandalf giving Pippin two special stars, and the result is a situation that almost feels like something Tolkien would have written. At a minimum I\'m sure he approved. Mari is an author who never fails to satisfy, and whose pieces have just the right balance of light and dark to portray hobbits as Tolkien meant them. Not frivolous children, but curiously resistant to despair.

Marigold has grown considerably in stature as an author over the last year or two. Renowned for her tenacious encouragement of others in the LoTR genre, through challenges, recommendations and tireless betaing of others work, it is good to see her establish herself as a fine and skilful writer who can turn her hand to many different styles. Her drabbles impressed me from the start and now she is proving to be an adroit writer of short stories too. Certainly her love of hobbits, in particular of Merry and especially Pippin, shines through in all she does and that is no bad thing. Not only that, Marigold has now proved her skill in writing dialogue, an area she seems a trifle timid of in the beginning. Any doubts about her ability in this area must surely have been resolved with the sparkling wit, humour as well as heartfelt feeling she is able to produce. Her hobbit voices, in particular, always ring true to character and demonstrate her deep understanding of their personalities. All these factors link well with her comprehensive knowledge of canon, which for a long time she has put to good and effective use for the benefit of others through her betaing and now can call upon to good effect in her own work. I, and I imagine the rest of the fandom, trust and hope that she will continue to write more stories in the future as they are always a breath of fresh air, as her love of the subject continues, unabated.