Are You Writing Serious Fantasy?

[Saxony Tarn]

Addressing the question of Beauty vs. the Beast, well, i can proudly say that i have what is probably the fairest half-Orc in the land in my tale, and i have yet to describe her human teammate as "pretty". Austere, severe, and all-business demeanor, perhaps -- well okay, i take that back. Pippin's described her as "the pretty lady" (in relation to the half-Orc's "not-so-pretty lady") -- and Merry's disagreed with him. Hey, i guess it all depends on what you consider attractive. After all, as they do agree, blokes like Ugluk and Shagrat would probably be dueling over Skheel if they had the opportunity.

...uh oh, it's only 87 degrees out there, nowhere near the forecast delirium-inducing extreme heat yet, so why do i hear Grace Jones's voice in my head saying, "no, but seriously, Boromir, you're a wonderful man, but your skin's too thin and your jaw is shaped all wrong; it would never work out..." Guess i'll be writing "Skheel, Queen of the Orcs" after all...

s.t.