A nomination for TheOneRing.net

I spend a fair amount of energy and time building and supporting TheOneRing.net. Long story short: I had some passion, accidentally crossed paths with others who were passionate about shared interests and made some dear friends who had started TORn, a site I used and admired.

For a few years now I have presented for the site at conventions, written, photographed and helped with events around the country including San Diego, Atlanta, Orlando and New York. I have had some spectacular, memorable times. I serve as senior staff and consider it an honor to work on something great for the J.R.R. Tolkien community with people I respect.

The site has been nominated by Total Film Magazine, which I have read here and there over the years, as "Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog". It is a magazine and a Website I happen to think is respectable and cool, so the nomination and possible award means something.

Voting for the winner however, will pretty much pit the audience of the other nominations against the fanbase of the franchises they service. It will end up being Harry Potter fans vs. Twilight fans vs. Tolkien fans and clearly (at least to me) one group is less prone to enthusiastic voting and swamping the poll. It is challenging to match the enthusiasm of a largely teen audience who perhaps isn't widely read and may lack some perspective of where their favorite books fit (if at all) in the literature landscape. I don't mean that as an insult either. I love passionate fans.

I shouldn't care who wins, especially since the voting is done by fans and to outsiders all the sites probably look the same.

But I do care.

Can't help it.

I don't have proof but I actually don't think some of the other Websites would exist, or at least not as they do, if not for TORn. "Our" site (I have no actual ownership) owes a debt to TheForce.net. TORn came along in 1999 and helped put fans websites on the map. Anyway, I am really pulling for TORn despite knowing better.

In related news, a segment I recorded for radio show Fictional Frontiers will air soon and then be available as podcast. Details are on the site but this was in behalf of TheOneRing and I quite enjoyed the chat.