No, really. You want to take someone, keep them running around for ten hours a day, studying and writing for five, and then attempting to sleep for six..(that doesn't make 24 but give me a break), when in reality they only get about two or three good hours of sleep on a good night. Do that, and you get me these last two months.
I hate to complain about having bad days, weeks, but especially months. But May and June were just that. There were nice bits. Beaches, reading, book shopping...tiny bits of relaxing between the running around and almost falling over from lack of sleep.
Basically, I'm kind of done with life right now and I refuse to let my summer pass like the spring.
Summer is too short and fabulous and I MUST do summer things. Dig in the sand, swim, mountain bike, pet wild bears...sit outside in the evening in my little garden.
I just need a long holiday. I plan to start it in July. All I have to do in July is play with little kids and go and get my eyes checked. I can handle that. No more tests, no more applications - I am praying - no more rushing across town for interviews. Just me, my insane pets, sunshine, and good books. (BECAUSE STEFAN BUCHMANN'S NEWEST BOOK IS MINE AND IT IS GOOD!)
I am not going to just vanish from the blogging world. But I do need to relax. At the moment I am a coil of on edge nerves and am more jittery than a cat. I need to find a way to start sleeping, to get some time to myself, to unwind, and to stop stressing about all the things which were piled up on my head. I plan to do just that this week. Thanks to my best friend I have good books to read now, pretty chimes to listen to, and just snug little homely things which make me feel I'm not just staying in my flat over the winter.
Because of how hard life hit, among other things, I got behind on a special blog award tour I am taking part in. I am sharing with you all the lovely and fun information and hope you will like joining in! It is going to be a ton of fun, and it is all about Tolkien, so even better.
Welcome
to the first ever Silmarillion Awards!
The
Silmarillion Awards have been created by DJ Edwardson and Jenelle
Schmidt as a way to honor J.R.R. Tolkien as the Father of Modern
Fantasy, open up a discussion about some of our other favorite
fantasy works, and to have a ton of fun this summer.
When
we started thinking about creating a sort of “Fantasy Oscars,” we
found it difficult to fathom any award that wouldn’t be won by a
character or item from The Lord of the Rings... so, to make things a
bit more interesting, we decided to call them “The Silmarillion
Awards” and have characters from LOTR and The Hobbit present the
awards as examples of the ultimate standard for each award. Hopefully
that will even the playing field a bit.
Joining
our team are eight other bloggers and authors who will each be
hosting one of these awards, called Silmarils, on their blogs towards
the end of July.
But
before we get there, we need YOUR help! Starting today, June 20th and
proceeding through July 1st, the nomination period for each award
will be open. Please visit the participating bloggers (found in the
list below), read the descriptions of the awards and make your
nominations!
Nominate
characters in the comments of each blog post. If someone has already
nominated the character you would have nominated, you may either
second that nomination, open a new nomination, or do both. We will be
picking the 5 characters with the most “seconds” for the final
voting period that will take place between July 4th - 13th, so you
may also “third,” “fourth,” “fifth,” etc any nominations
you particularly like.
Fine
print:
- Please do not nominate anything from one of your OWN books!
- You may nominate a character AND second, third, fourth a character... but please only vote once. You can nominate and/or second as many characters as you would like in each award (i.e. You cannot nominate a character and then also second that same character)
- Please share about the Silmarillion Awards on social media to spread the excitement far and wide across Middle Earth. Use the hashtag: #silmawards2016 wherever possible!
- Don’t nominate a Tolkien character for the awards, as the characters presenting the awards are already the standard for each award
- Don’t stress if a character you nominate doesn’t win this year. We are hoping to make this an annual tradition, and these awards are LIFETIME AWARDS, meaning that they cannot be won by the same character more than once!
Official
Schedule:
Phase
1 - June 20-July 1:
Award nominations open
Phase
2 - July 4:
the final nominees will be announced and voting will open and last
through July
14th
Phase
3 - July 16-28: Presentation
of the awards, 1 per day, each award will be hosted on a different
blog each day
Phase
4 - Celebration! July
29th was the official publication date of the Lord of the Rings back
in 1954. We invite you all to celebrate with us the 62nd birthday of
this masterpiece of Fantasy Fiction. Congratulate the winners, take
and post a photo of yourselves with LOTR paraphernalia, write a blog
post about your favorite LOTR moment, scene, character, quote, or
memory... get creative and have fun!
List
of Participating Blogs:
And now for me. I have with me Eomer....YES! Horse Master. Nephew of King Theoden, brother to Eowyn. He stayed for tea...be envious. He will be presenting the award for Best Fantasy Mount.
*Stands up, peers at the microphone, frowns, clears throat, removes helmet, looks fabulous.*
The Best Fantasy Mount Silmaril should go to a creature who is loyal, steadfast, noble, and fleet of foot or wing. This steed should be something special and play an important role in his or her story.
Let the voting begin!!

I hope you have a nice summer, and are able to relax and get some much needed sleep. :D
ReplyDeleteHope your summer goes better!
ReplyDeleteBest Fantasy Mount, hmm... I nominate Strawberry/Fledge from The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (because flying horse!!!).
I also nominate Falada from The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale and Niton from The Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight. If dragons count, too, then I also nominate Gem from The Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight. :D
I second Falada! :)
DeleteI second Gem!
DeleteDragons definitely count!
DeleteFalada! I second
DeleteI second Fledge. :)
DeleteI second Fledge for sure!
DeleteI was just thinking about him today! I second Fledge!
DeleteI second Fledge! :D
DeleteAnd I also second Niton! (Jace would think it's so weird and be so shy if his horse won something. XD XD )
-The Princess of Dol Amroth
I second Fledge!
DeleteI second Fledge! :)
DeleteI second Fledge!
DeleteOoh, yes! I've always loved Fledge (or Strawberry, as I like to call him). I second him!
DeleteI second Strawberry/Fledge. :)
DeleteI second Strawberry/Fledge!
DeleteI hope you'll have a relaxing summer, Jack!! Take a breather darling. <3
ReplyDeleteFor Best Fantasy Mount I nominate:
Bree from The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis
&
Llyan from the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. :)
LLYAN OH MY GOODNESS YES. That just made my day.
DeleteI second Llyan!
DeleteI second Llyan and Bree!
Delete-The Princess of Dol Amroth
I second Bree. :)
DeleteI second Bree and Fledge!
Delete~Priscilla White
I second Bree!
DeleteI big, Narnian second for Bree!
ReplyDeleteI third Bree! The Horse & His Boy is my favorite of the series.
ReplyDelete@Sparks of Ember: The Horse and His Boy is my favorite Narnia book too! :)
DeleteBree!!!! Yes, I second!
DeleteBree, yes! Second!
Delete*seconds Bree*
DeleteI fourth Bree!
ReplyDeleteAnd I will nominate Saphira from Eragon by Christopher Paolini.
I fifth Bree. Man, I need to read that book again.
DeleteYes, Saphira, I second!
DeleteThorn from the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
ReplyDeleteI second both Saphira and Thorn.
DeleteI second Thorn. :)
Delete-The Princess of Dol Amroth
Sounds like you certainly need a break! Best of luck in your sleeping endeavors.
ReplyDeleteI fifth Bree.
*HUGS* Get a break and some sleep and fresh air! It will make a world of difference! <3
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI second both Bree and Llyan. And may I also nominate Hwin?
ReplyDeleteYep! You can nominate and second/third/etc as many as you'd like in as many of the award categories as you like... the only limitation is you only get one vote per character!
DeleteI second Hwin too. I think i actually like her more than Bree :)
DeleteI second Bree and Hwin - I love them both!
DeleteI second Hwin! :)
DeleteI second Hwin! I like her more than Bree as well, though I love them both. :D
DeleteI second Hwin AND Bree!
DeleteI second Bree and Hwin!!
DeleteI nominate the magic carpet from Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede! :) (maybe not the most noble or swift... but it tries... and it's not carpet's fault that it has bright pink teddy bears on it)
ReplyDeleteOH MAGIC CARPETS I DIDN'T THINK OF THAT!!!
ReplyDeleteI second the magic carpet from Searching for Dragons.
I now also nominate the magic carpet in Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones (sequel to Howl's Moving Castle) BECAUSE IT HAS SO MUCH PERSONALITY AND LIKES TO BE FLATTERED AND BECAUSE OF YOU-KNOW-WHAT.
THE MAGIC CARPETS. THIS IS PERFECT.
DeleteI second the magic carpet from Searching for Dragons.
And also second the carpet from Castle in the Air for obvious reasons. *wink, wink*
I SECOND BOTH MAGIC CARPETS BECAUSE YES.
Delete-The Princess of Dol Amroth
Jack, I hope you get your chance to relax. You desperately need it. Or you will be as crazy as your pets.
ReplyDeleteI nominate Tsornin (Sungold) from the Blue Sword. That moment when he jumped over the wall--priceless!
ReplyDeleteI also nominate Graven from the Galleries of Stone Trilogy.
I totally second Tsornin!
DeleteI most definitely nominate Tug from Ranger's Apprentice! Incredibly faithful, courageous, clever, loyal, and so much more! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks so much for hosting this award, Jack! This is so fun and awesome, and of course I love that it is named after the Silmarillion in honor of Tolkien's genius. :D
Tug! Someone should nominate him for the best friend award too, i should think XD. I second!
DeleteTug, of course! The horse that became more and more a person throughout the series. I third him.
DeleteOh yes, Tug. :)
DeleteYou beat me to it! I second Tug.
DeleteI'm sorry life has been tough on you, Jack. I so very hope you get to RELAX and enjoy the rest of the summer. You deserve it. *huggles*
ReplyDeleteI nominate Dikaios from the Oracles of Fire series by Bryan Davis.
ReplyDeleteYESSSS, I second Dikaios!!!
DeleteI also nominate Blackjack from Percy Jackson and the Olympians. You've gotta love good ol' Blackjack!
ReplyDeleteI second Blackjack! He is quite awesome, actually! XD
DeleteI third him! :)
Delete-Chloe
i nominate Nugget from the Wingfeather Saga!
ReplyDeleteOHMYGOSH NUGGET!!!! I KNEW there was a dog mount somewhere in my brain and I couldn't figure out who or what it was... *facepalm* I cried so much when he died...
DeleteNugget! All. the. way. I second. :D
DeleteI nominate Falkor the Luck Dragon from never ending story.
ReplyDelete-chessi Gunter
Oh! I second Falcor!!!
DeleteI nominate Shardas from Dragon Slippers
ReplyDeleteTUG!! I fourth him! Haha, yes, he could totally be nominated for the best friend award. XD
Delete-The Princess of Dom Amroth
SHARDAS. How could I forget about him? I need to reread that book. I second him!
DeleteI'm so sorry! I put that in the wrong spot...And also had a typo in my own name. Oops. XD
DeleteI SECOND SHARDAS!! He is such a cool dragon!
-The Princess of Dol Amroth
I second Shardas!
DeleteI nominate Blizzard from Tricia Mingerink's Blades of Acktar series. How could he not be nominated already? ;)
ReplyDeleteSleep. Rest. Recuperate. Yes. The Lord made the Sabbath for a reason.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I almost petted a wild bear this month. In fact, not watching where I was going, I almost ran smack into it. And now the whole area has been shut down by the park service due to "aggressive bears" in the area. I am grateful to the Lord for His protection. ;)
I hope you have the relaxing July that you need, Jack. <3 Enjoy summer. :)
ReplyDeleteFLEDGE. I second Fledge - he's the reason I wanted a flying horse when I was little!
ReplyDeleteAnd I also nominate the hippogriff from Ariosto's ORLANDO FURIOSO.
...Flying mounts are a thing.
I definitely second Tug from the Ranger's Apprentice series. Such a loyal and smart little horse. :D
ReplyDeleteAnd I really have NO idea who else to nominate for this category. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of memorable mounts in books I read.
-Josiah
I nominate Grackle from the Oracles of Fire series by Bryan Davis! (I'm assuming dragons count? Because they *do* have wings. Besides, who doesn't love purple dragons?)
ReplyDeleteGrackle, oh yes, I second him too! Love that awesome dragon. <3
DeleteI nominate the castle in Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones, or does the vote go to Calcifer as the true source of faithfulness?
ReplyDeleteEither way, I second both. XD
Delete