An Emotional Response

Hello,
I suppose it's time for another blog post, eh? The writing on Shards of S'Darin has slowed down a bit due to life getting in the way. Cracked radiators and baby ear infections will do that. So, lately I have not met my personal goal of writing 1,000 words a night. Sometimes I only get 500 and some nights I haven't written at all. I make notes constantly, though. There are scraps of paper all over my desk as I write this. Ideas for names and plot points and ideas that I forgot and need to go back to add. I think one of the most difficult things about writing a sequel is making sure you don't contradict or change something from Book One. Sometimes I have to check the spelling on a name or any number of details about characters and places. So, a copy of A Dream of Storms is always close by.
A friend of mine recommended my book to someone they know and the response was, "Oh, I don't like that Dungeons and Dragons stuff." I wasn't really sure what to say in that situation. I believe that Dungeons and Dragons was inspired quite a bit by Tolkien's writing. So, what makes a fantasy book Dungeons and Dragons stuff? The fantasy genre existed before Gary Gygax created the role playing game, right? RPG's get a bad rap, I think. 
Anyone that has read the reviews for A Dream of Storms, has seen reviewers that compare my writing to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. I'm kind of on the fence about those comparisons. I mean, it is an amazing feeling to be compared to one's hero, but at the same time, he is considered the god of fantasy writing. How could my writing compare to that? Doesn't seem possible. I do appreciate those reviewers, though. I re-read the reviews occasionally. It's a good feeling when people have an emotional response to something that you have created. I hope that I can continue to reach people in that way. It's the same with my artwork. When people feel inspired, afraid, sad, happy after seeing a drawing or painting or when reading a scene that I have written, I have done my job.