I'm a fantasy author, writing under the names of Angela Highland and Angela Korra'ti. But I'm also a passionate fantasy reader, and Tolkien was among the very first fantasy novels I ever read.
I'm also an amateur musician and a huge fan of Newfoundland and Quebecois traditional music. I play flute and a little guitar, mandolin, and bouzouki, and when I'm not writing, I go to Quebecois sessions and am working on learning French!
First Lord of the Rings reading experience:
My sixth grade English class read The Hobbit, and I was very much blown away at the time. When I discovered the existence of The Lord of the Rings, I was all "WHAT THERE'S MORE?!" and dived happily into reading that too.
I still have my sixth-grade copy of The Hobbit, including the unicorn sticker on the inside cover with my name written on it in pencil.
Favorite Tolkien character:
Luthien Tinuviel, no question, hands down. The tale of Beren and Luthien is my all-time favorite Tolkien story, partly because of the powerful love story, and partly because of it being so integral to how a lot of the rest of the history of Arda went down. Plus, for me as a reader, she's Tolkien's strongest female character.