Xenite.Org Launches Middle-earth Unplugged Essay Series

Through the years many people have asked me when I write more essays about Middle-earth. I have to admit that it has not been easy to think of interesting topics. But a few weeks ago I concluded that my problem wasn't so much lack of topics as lack of perspective. That is, I felt only so much could be said about Middle-earth from the viewpoint of the average essayist. I've written over 200 essays through the years.

In this new series I hit upon the idea of writing articles as if they were written by journalists contemporary with the events as they occur. This is similar to an experimental article I wrote many years ago but I wanted to provide more depth, more of a "you are there" look and feel to the articles.

I think I can now do that. But I first needed a platform on which to publish these essays. Normally I would consider Xenite.Org but I had to take the whole root domain offline in June because a server migration really mangled hundreds of Perl scripts. Web pages were no longer working as expected.

Subsequently I relaunched Xenite.Org as a Wordpress site and have republished some of the most popular articles there. But I also added a new site, called Middle-earth, where I am republishing my old Suite101 articles (they are no longer available on other Websites like Suite101 and MERP.com).

In addition to the Suite101 articles I've also added some news stories to the Middle-earth Website and have been publishing summaries about the various Middle-earth Talk Radio episodes that Hawke Robinson and I have recorded through the past couple of years.

And so now that I have a platform that is suitable for a new series of essays on Middle-earth, I have been quietly working on those essays. The first one, "The Eldar Get Their Game On", went live today. It introduces the reader to the environment leading up to the great First Age battle known as the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. The article also includes pictures (and believe me, it's NOT easy to get pictures from Middle-earth).

My plan is to publish a new article from this Middle-earth Unplugged series every Wednesday. I'm sure I'll eventually have to slow down the schedule but we'll see how long I can keep it going.

There will also be other sections coming out on the Middle-earth Website. My goal is to make it into a great resource for Tolkien fans everywhere, unlike any now available on the Web.

So, to all my readers through the years and to all the loyal fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, I dedicate Middle-earth Unplugged to you.

Enjoy!

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