You admit that your first attempt to read The Hobbit ended in boredom. Did you find the books easy to read after seeing the movie?
Hard to say if the movies had any effect on my reading really. Of course, I showed some interest on reading them after seeing the first two movies because I just couldn’t wait for the third to know what would happen next. But now I’m an adult and I have read far more difficult books than, for example, The Silmarillion, and I’m not looking for excitement from the beginning to the end in the books anymore
What do you remember most about watching Lord of the Rings for the first time? Was it “love at first sight”, or did it grow on you?
I saw the extras of FotR first and I really liked the guys in the interviews and they seemed to have great fun while doing the filming. Also I appreciate other well done work, like the costumes, and they seemed to have done a lot of work with them. So I thought I could give a try to the movies too. And got hooked.
You seem to be a pretty avid roleplayer. Who is your favorite character, and what was his/her inspiration?
I love Morasiel Mannú most. I did so much to create her, based her on Tolkien’s writings and imagined her completely, from skills to skents and so. She has a sad history (surprisingly) but I was going to change her life to better anyway.
Mythology seems to be one of your favorite subjects. Could you describe your interest in it? (Finnish mythology in particular)
I’m interested in about everything that has something to do with human minds and mythology is something quite close to it as well. Finnish mythology is what people believed before, how they explained things they didn’t understand and it still lives in beliefs, though it’s not admitted or is spoken of with laughter. Things like “if a rowan carries lots of berries there will be little snow next winter.” I like to explain these things to myself, why have they been believed in and how they became one of the beliefs.
Is mythology something Lord of the Rings has opened up to you, or have you always loved it?
My grandmother and many other older people have always believed in things mentioned above. Even I have believed in some mythological things from past. Exploring them from books and internet came quite naturally with older age. So no, Lord of the Rings is a completely different thing, though I’m interested in what Tolkien found in our mythology and language.
It’s pretty obvious that you adore horses. Can you tell us about your favorite breed and one thing you especially like about them?
This is an easy one! I could talk about this subject for ages. Finnish horse is my favorite breed and do I really have to pick up one thing? Their nature. Humble, gentle, little bit (or a lot) stubborn and persevering.
Besides moderating the clubs section, where do you spend most of your time on CoE?
The Chat is my second home.
How do you like moderating the clubs section, vs. the journals?
Clubs are quite easy going. A lot less problems to solve and handle.
What’s your favorite thing about the new clubs section?
Personally I like easy moving around them. Probably sounds funny that someone could prefer things like that.
Are you a member of a club yourself?
Yes, I belong to the Horse Lovers United.
Any tips for future clubs out there?
Hmm…Clubs in journals had these banners and other things in their signatures to kind of advertise themselves and to tell people you were part of one. When creating a club it might be hard to get new members so this could be one way to get more attention.
And because we’re Nessians and love LotR humor : Which part of the CoE humor section do you find the funniest?
Definitely the Very Secret Diaries. They rock my socks.
