By the way: For @fortunatelyclevercandy. I forgot to tell you.
While discussing Book II: The Saga of Thranduil today, my reader mentioned how I handled the loss of Êlúriel (in the original story) and liked how Thranduil had “visions of her” as well as Legolas and liked how I ended Book II--because it left her wondering what happens with Legolas (he returns and he has his diary thing coming up). She thought the story was something someone who lost someone should read due to how Thranduil is able to move on and find the strength to do so. She likes how I dealt with the tragic loneliness of Thranduil. She wants to read everything TKWR Trilogy--including the Alternate End--which now somehow has turned a miniature franchise that somehow continues to grow. I pointed out the fact that when I was editing, I noticed how far I had come by how much Thranduil had changed from a child to a man and from a prince to a king. Every thing he has lived through made him the king people know today. I am not finished yet. But to pass the ultimate test--the retelling of the Battle of the Five Armies--was the greatest moment of the day. It did what I wanted it to do: rise from the page to see it through the eyes of Thranduil.
I know how it all begins and how it will end. In truth, however, Thranduil’s story as I have written it has become myth and legend and according to my reader (a die-hard Tolkien fan) leaves people wanting more. The question has become not “if” I will do something with this but “when”.
Book II: The Saga of Thranduil has become the “jewel” of the trilogy. It is even hard for my reader not to see Lee as Thranduil.
I guess “because it was real”. And it was.