What a whirlwind of a week it’s been!

Y’all sent 45 dragons descending on my house. Forty-five. Even with British sci-fi technology helping out, it’s been a bit of a tight squeeze. Some of these dragons bring a rather enormous amount of ego along with them, which doesn’t help it feel any less cramped. They also have very particular needs and demands… er… requests. Several of them have started hoards in various corners, and there are… rather a lot of little bonfires that have been started in various places. I’m really hoping that the fireproofing that came with the whole package I ordered to make the basement spacious enough is actually working, or my husband is NOT gonna be happy when he gets back from his business trip!

Oh, excuse me a moment…

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The 8th Annual Silmaril Awards are Upon Us!

Welcome back to the Silmaril Awards, the only awards ceremony on the interwebs for fantasy characters!

We are so pleased and excited to be back for the 8th year in a row (how has it been 8 years already?!) and I am beyond thrilled to be hosting the Most Magnificent Dragon category this year!

If you have no idea what the Silmaril Awards are, keep reading, because it’s loads of fun!

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The sun sinks below the horizon on a rocky and rugged landscape, the sky awash in purple and blue.

A beacon fire blazes in the darkness shedding light on the wilderland and the massive, rapt audience that has assembled for this, the final ceremony of the 2022 Silmaril Awards.

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I rush about my backyard in the pre-dawn fog in a bit of a tizzy. The damp grass soaks through my tennis shoes as I dart back and forth trying to set up everything at once. The huge canopy I rented is definitely not a one-person easy assembly operation like the nice man at the rental shop assured me, the tables and chairs are still on their racks and will probably take me all afternoon to set up, none of the decorations have been properly set up and…

A wail goes up from the kitchen door and I look over to see a young girl with curly dark hair standing on the back steps, her pixie-like face a mask of despair.

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It’s time to vote!

It’s been such a lovely first week of September, the season of Silmaril Awards, the time of Tolkien, and the hour of hobbits!

I love alliteration.

In case you couldn’t tell.

Nominations week is over, and so very many incredible Heroes and Heroines were nominated and discussed and brought back to mind in the past week. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and excitement about the nominations and all your favorite characters. It was so lovely be be reminded of characters I hadn’t thought of in ages, and to re-greet them as old, beloved friends. I also am so grateful for all the new characters I was introduced to, I always come away from the Silmaril Awards with a whole stack of new books to add to my TBR and this year seems to be no exception to that rule.

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A gong rings. A woman’s voice rises over the rolling green hills, a song pouring from her lips. A beautiful song. Strains of melody gather beneath the shadows of the hills and soar into the brilliant blue of the sky. The horses of the Rohirrim raise their heads, their nostrils flaring with expectation. Soon, they will ride!

The 2022 Silmaril Awards have begun!

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