These stories first began with The Lady of Bree which was written in the summer of 1997 to fill in the rather
long gap of time that seemed to pass when Frodo returned to the Shire after the destruction of the One Ring.
This story brought a new character to Middle Earth named Lily Butterbur, who was the niece of Barliman Butterbur,
the proprietor of The Prancing Pony. The Lady of Bree was then published online in 2002, shortly after the movie
release of The Fellowship of the Ring. The popularity of this story soon grew on the web community where it was
first introduced and within a short amount a time the requests for this story to continue on grew. It was then that I
decided to write The Long Journey Home, The Road Goes Ever On and The Final Farewell which follow the lives of
Lily, Sam and Frodo until the very end. Another story, titled The Long Road From Bree is in the final stages of being
completed and it will finish up the series by allowing readers a glimpse into Lily's life before she finds her way to the Shire.

After I wrote these stories many questions also came my way from readers who were curious to know more about
the creation behind these tales, and how information found within them tied into Tolkien's books. All of the stories I have
written for Memoirs of the Shire are true to the books in some fashion, either as gap fillers or as extensions to excerpts
within the novel, appendix or epilogue to The Lord of the Rings. The same remains true to The Lady of Bree series as well.
The new characters within these stories are related to characters from Tolkien's writing and they are given a history
so they feel as though they may have been a part of Tolkien's world of Middle Earth all along.

I truly hope that these series of stories touch everyone who reads them. It was a great pleasure to write them
and it was a joy to add new characters and history to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Questions sent to me regarding The Lady of Bree series can be read on the FAQ page here where they are answered.

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THE LONG ROAD FROM BREE

Farlomin Butterbur leaves his wife and young daughter Lily to travel with a group
of men in search of treasure to the north of Bree. Along the way the tidings change
and he soon finds himself in possession of a trinket that will change the lives of many.

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THE LADY OF BREE

A week before Frodo's fifty-second birthday an unusual circumstance
comes into passing causing him to open his home and eventually his
heart to a young woman from Bree named Lily.

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THE LONG JOURNEY HOME

Time grows bittersweet for Sam once Lily leaves the Shire and Frodo sails over the sea,
yet when Sam journeys to Bree to see Lily once more his heart is saddened
and his life will forever change when he finds she is no longer there.

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THE ROAD GOES EVER ON

At last the day has come for Sam to sail over the sea to be reunited
with Frodo, but on his arrival he finds something mysterious about
his dear friend and the reason behind it lies within a trinket given to him
shortly before his passing over the sea.

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THE FINAL FAREWELL

The need for healing has finally come to an end for Bilbo in the Undying Lands
yet to Sam it seems as though Frodo's need for healing shall never end.

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IF I HAD KNOWN

A poem written with words of regret and yet a light of hope for joy in the end.