My Inspiration

As all writers and artists, I find things everyday that inspire me to either write or draw. Of course I have been inspired by the LoTR movies, books and other related things. But, I have found that just about anything, from pictures from very talented artists, or stories other writers have posted, will inspire me--sometimes it's a little of both. I can't always say when inspiration will hit; it just does. Though, a little challenge now and then would be nice. Bring them on, I'm ready.

For this particular section of my site, I decided to share with readers some of the things that have induced me to write or draw. These can be anything from a song, to a drawing, someone else's writing, or even some passing idea someone has planted into my head. I'll admit that sometimes an idea will come to me without any source of inspiration; such times are rare and far between. But, most of the time I can't work without something setting off a spark in my brain. My best ideas tend to come to me before I drift off to sleep (much to the surprise of one of my good friends).

For all of the pictures posted here, I would please ask that, other than for personal use, please do not display them on your own site. Granted, I am not allowed to do so either. So, please, if you like the images you see, feel free to visit the artist's website.

Written by Ilye, this set of stories make up a trilogy that explore elven grief intermingled with love, and the concept of binding to save another (which Ilye created herself; the bonding mentioned in my stories is somewhat different). I particularly like The Saving Grace and In Lieu of Love more than I like the first piece Don't Fade Away, but that's no fault of Ilye's. It's just my personal preference for either an Elrohir/Legolas pairing, or a Glorfindel/Elrond one rather than an Aragorn/Legolas pairing.

Written by McKenna Epenshade, this twenty-six chapter AU story about an Elladan/Legolas pairing is what originally inspired me to write In Twilight. There's almost everything in this story -- angst, love, a bit of sap, conflict, battles with orcs. And, lots and lots of humor. The chapter entitled Journey to Gaidon is my personal favorite.

Written by Anu, this is the story of Gondolin told from the points of views of, first, Glorfindel then Turgon. It is a very inspirational piece, and made me want to write The Flower and the Fountain and The Palantir more than ever. It is nicely told from two separate point of views on the same subject matters. Anu also provides notes for those who want to know more about the events that occur in The Silmarillion without having to read the book itself.

This scene in book five of Return of the King was the inspiration for writing some of the final chapters of In Twilight. As there is very little mention of what occurs before and after Aragorn and company arrive to the battle, it gave me a lot of leeway to write my story. It gave me some room to add angst into an otherwise almost entirely sap story.

The Fall of Gondolin is my favorite section of The Book of Lost Tales II as it features some of my favorite elves: Glorfindel and Ecthelion. It was the main inspiration for writing The Flower and The Fountain. The book also contains background information for The Tale of Earendel, which also happens to be a favorite work.

	Not really an inspirational piece other than the fact that it gave me a really nice image of Orophin to work with while writing Soul of My Being and Starry Sky.		A piece by J.E. Bowser that reminds me a lot of Arien, the Maia who dwells in the sky and accompanies the sun. The actually figure in this painting is Amaterasu, the Japanese goddess of the sun.
	Another piece by J.E. Bowser (you can find his site in the Links section); this time the piece reminds me to Yavanna, the Valier who created the trees and plants on Middle-earth and Valinor.		Yet another piece by J.E. Bowser, this time reminding me of the Valier of the Stars, Varda known better as Elbereth by the elves, the spouse of Manwë. He has many more pieces similar to the ones that are here; please go and take a look if you enjoy these.