Shire Productions Stageplay Vivienne Wilkes, local amateur dramatist, and co-organiser of the annual Middle Earth Weekends at Sarehole Mill, is the author of the recently published children’s book called “Tales of Moseley Bog – The Voles of Old”. Moseley Bog has been the setting for several drama excerpts from Tolkien’s work at the above weekend and is a beautiful and unspoilt nature reserve nestling in the suburbs of Birmingham within walking distance of Sarehole Mill, the inspiration for the Mill in Hobbiton. J.R.R. Tolkien and his brother Hilary knew it well when they played there as children but today it is still a relatively unknown gem even to those living nearby. Within this atmospheric, natural woodland mini-mammals and wildlife dwell, their struggle for existence largely unnoticed by most visitors. Within the book, Moseley Bog is the Old World setting for the life and death adventures of Foxtail and Rye, a couple of young field voles, on a quest to find the mythical water voles of legend. Further details of the book can be found on-line via the website: www.shireproductions.co.uk.

Order “Tales of Moseley Bog – The Voles of Old” on Amazon.com today!

con2008-header_logoThere are lots of reasons to attend Comic-Con or even follow along at home as the San Diego Comic-Con becomes the very center of the popular-culture universe including a good dose of Tolkien-related material. The 2008 SDCC has a “Hobbit-centric” flavor and kicks off today (Wednesday) has plenty to keep the Middle-earth enthusiast busy including TORn’s very own sneak-peek of the forthcoming pair of movies centered around “The Hobbit.” Read on for everything you need to know about SDCC 08! Continue reading “Middle-earth is in the air at Comic-Con”

Frodo FranchiseKristin Thompson is going to be available to sign her book “The Frodo Franchise” during Comic-Con. “I’ve come up with three one-hour time-slots when I’ll be at the booth to sign your copies of The Frodo Franchise. (If you’ve got others of my books you want signed, feel free to bring ‘em along.) I imagine I’ll have time to chat, too, if you just want to drop by. And don’t forget to buy one or two of the T-shirts designed by Weta Workshop’s Daniel Falconer. All profits from the shirts and books go to support TORN, so it’s all in a good cause. Here are the times when I’ll be at the booth:

Thursday 1:30 to 2:30
Friday 11:30 to 12:30 (That’s shortly after the TORN panel)
Sunday 1:00 to 2:00.”

Copies of “The Frodo Franchise” will be available for purchase at the Slave Boy booth (booth #5424) where TORn will be located. If you’re going to Comic-Con, be sure and take this opportunity to visit with Kristin and have your copy of “The Frodo Franchise” signed! Read More

Music of LOTR Movies bookDoug Adams has offered fans a sneak peek of his upcoming book, “The Music of the Lord of the Rings Film”. This is a visual assembly of Adams’ own mock up layout of the book. It’s not the final edit nor design but it does supply tantalizing hints at the basic structure of the material.

After meeting with the publishers last week, Adams’ was able to report that they are looking at a finished book length of 200 or fewer pages combined with a double sided DVD containing multimedia content. The book is on schedule for a fourth quarter 2008 release. [Doug Adams]

J.R.R. TolkienRinger Diedye points us to a Telegraph.co.uk story about Play.com’s top 50 Novels of all time. The top 5 are as follows:

1. To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
2. Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C.S Lewis
4. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
5. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

For the complete article, check out the Telegraph Online. [Full List]