J.R.R. Tolkien

1892–1973

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English writer and philologist, best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien is important to me because reading The Lord of the Rings literally changed the course of my life.

Without it I may not have discovered fanfiction, and without fanfiction I wouldn't have the level of writing experience I currently have. I might not even be a writer at all.

Without it I may not have joined the Science Fiction and Fantasy society at university, and not met the literal loves of my life. Nor would I have met most of my long term friends.

Learning and Tengwar and Dwarf runes as a teenager led to a lifetime if interest in conlangs, constructed alphabets, short hand and codes.

Toikien also inspired me to read Norse Mythology, especially Beowulf. I would go on to write a novel based on Beowulf but set in space.

There are a lot of things I owe to this man who died well over a decade before I was born.

Quotes

• All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us
• If that's being queer, then we could do with a bit more queerness in these parts
• In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit
• It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay
• Its a dangerous business, going out your door
• No doubt because Gil-galad had by then discovered that Sauron was busy in Eregion, but had secretly begun the making of a stronghold in Mordor
• Pay heed to the tales of old wives
• What are we holding onto. That there's some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for