Unabeauverse - updates and extras

[altariel]

Lots of new stories by Altariel in the Unabeauverse, and a story by Isabeau added to the timeline too (full list of stories here).

Also some extra stories by Altariel that don't connect to the timeline, and e-book versions of two of Altariel's stories: A Game of Chess and Withered Tree.


Additions to the timeline

Caretaking by Altariel (Winter, 2987)
What aid can come to this heavy house?

Ariel by Altariel (March 3019)
Finduilas is made of air. A tiny ghost story.

Bittersweet Watch by Altariel (24 March 3019)
Elfhelm has kept watch for years now.

The Case of the Silver Letters by Altariel (Autumn, F.A. 14)
If you have ever wanted to read a Holmes pastiche set in Ithilien after the Ring War - you can now.

Rematch by Isabeau (Autumn, F.A. 15)
Faramir deals with the further ramifications of taking up his sword again.

Mothers' Night by Altariel (Mettarë, F.A. 15)
Faramir and Éowyn in Ithilien, weaving new traditions out of old.

Bequests by Altariel (various times)
Some drabbles from Ithilien, on the theme of bequests.

Garden of Gondor by Altariel (various times)
Drabbles from the Fourth Age about the Prince of Ithilien and his family.


Extra! Extra!

Stories that don't connect directly to the Best Loved Son arc:

By Sad Waters We Sat Down and Wept by Altariel
"And the slaves of Mordor he released and gave to them all the lands about Lake Núrnen to be their own." The King of Gondor receives an ambassador.

Head Man by Altariel
Old Ghân creeps along secret paths.


E-books!

An experiment: please bear with me as I make many stupid mistakes! Download from Megaupload.

A Game of Chess e-book MOBI | EPUB

Withered Tree e-book MOBI | EPUB

Q: "The 'Unabeauverse'?"
A: A series of stories by Altariel, Dwimordene, Isabeau, and Soledad, based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, mostly concerning the Stewards of Gondor and the Princes of Dol Amroth.

Q: "Wherewherewhere?!"
A: Hereherehere!: best_loved_sons

Comments

[tyellas.livejournal.com]

Oh, such a coincidence - I just did a post about observing more LOTR geek culture consciousness this past week, and now this! -dashes off to read-

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yay for good timing!

I'm learning as I go along, so I hope I haven't made any obvious techie blunders.

[wormwood-7.livejournal.com]

I will try the EPUB file option :)
Technical question: how did you do the file conversion?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Ooh, let me know if that works - I have a Kindle, so I could only check the MOBI version!

how did you do the file conversion?

I downloaded Calibre (free conversion software).

Saved my original .doc file as a filtered web page. Imported that into Calibre. Hit the "convert" button! Saved the new file! It was that straightforward!

(In fact, there were a few other fiddly things that I had to work out, mostly related to creating the table of contents, which took me an afternoon to work out. I can talk you through them if you decide to give Calibre a try.)

[wormwood-7.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link! I have some texts on my computer I'd like to convert so I can read them on my eReader. I got given it a couple of years ago. Can't say how it compares to a Kindle, but it is pleasant enough to read from.
I may well ask for assistance.
I will let you know how these to files look.

[kathyh]

Yay! Ebooks! Downloading the epub versions with thanks.

When I think of how fanfic has moved on from zines it's pretty mind-boggling!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Hope it works OK! I have a Kindle, so could only check the mobi version. Do let me know if there are any disasters at your end.

When I think of how fanfic has moved on from zines it's pretty mind-boggling!

It is amazing. I do miss zines as artefacts (although I don't miss having to buy them!)

[kathyh]

No, I don't miss having to buy them either, though some of them were things of beauty.

I've just uploaded both stories to my iPod Touch (the ability to carry fanfic around in my handbag will never cease to amaze me) and they both seemed to work fine. I love the very striking covers :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thank you, it's good to know both versions work. I enjoyed finding images for the covers, I'm glad they look OK!

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

eBooks! I've downloaded even though I don't have an ereader, so I won't have to convert them myself when the time comes. I love the idea of being able to keep stories with me like this.

Thank you!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

E-books! I'm quite excited about them, it was a lot easier to do than I imagined. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like in that format once you've succumbed to an e-reader (I love mine - filled it up from Gutenberg).

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

That's what I want to do--fill it with public domain books (there is SO much that I should have read, or always mean to read and never get around to) and also lots of fanfic.

Of course the idea of new-release books being instantly available is pretty appealing, too. This could end badly :).

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's even easier to click and buy than with Amazon one click - fatal! If you can hold out for a little while, the price on new-release books usually drops slightly, and there are regular sales for "books that you wanted to get but can't justify paying the asking price", e.g. I just picked up Charles Yu's How to Live in a Science Fiction Universe for 99p in the recent Kindle sale.

[infinitlight.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested to hear what you end up thinking of How to Live etc. I've had it on my wishlist in a kind of "not sure if want" capacity.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm about a quarter of the way through. At heart, it's a simple and sentimental story about a man trying to understand his father. Which is not a bad story by any means, and the science-fictional window-dressing is smartly done and adds substantially to the charm.

I don't think I would have wanted to pay full price for it, but I would have bought it second-hand for a couple of quid and felt I'd got my money's worth, and given I only spent 99p I think I got a good deal.