Did JRRT encourage new ME stories?

[Raynor]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hickli

Although it's apparent that I don't speak for everyone here, I think that the very much greater part of us are fans of Tolkien, not fans of Middle-earth.

I daresay it is not the author, but a particular style of writing. Sure, many of us would read some works by the author, even if he doesn't "deliver" anymore. But besides the abstract concept of the author behind the book, it is the "palpable" part, that is, what we perceive of the work, that ultimately matters to us, readers. If some of us perceive it in a new work, by a different author, then why not?