Who were the "Inklings"?

The Inklings were an informal literary group at Oxford University in the 1930's and 40's.  The primary members were J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, with other members involved on a revolving basis.  They took the name from a student literary society that Tolkien and Lewis were sponsors of before it disbanded.  The group would meet at the Eagle and Child Pub (AKA the Bird and Baby, or the Bird as it is known around Oxford).  The members of the group would take turns reading their new work to each other.  Imagine a chilly night in Oxford with the members of the group around a fire in the back room downing pints and smoking pipes while sharing new stories.  In my mind I conjure up images of the drawing room at Bag End or maybe the Green Dragon Inn.... What if the group had a secret?  The stories Tolkien shared of Middle Earth and Lewis read of Narnia were real! and the way to get to these magic lands was right there in Oxford.

This is the essential idea that is at the heart of an adventure set in 1940's Oxford and the magical lands created by these two legendary fantasy writers.

What if The Tolkien in our world is actually Gandalf in Middle Earth?

Care to join me for the journey then stay tuned and make sure to subscribe to the feed as the story I'm about to write unfolds.

Carl Stoveland

It all begins here!

Welcome to thesecretoftheinklings.  Here on the first day of 2016 I am starting this blog as a place to write a fantasy novel about Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, the Inklings and their secret at Oxford.  I have a basic idea for the story and will be sharing bits and pieces here as I work out the details.  I plan to post weekly (at least) and hope to post more as the ideas flow.  If you are up for the journey of an idea turning into a story and then well we will see from there then follow my blog and see how the story develops.