I’m writing a novel (but not about dinosaurs)

Quick update on my JP toy review. I am still in the process of writing it, but it still might be a long while until it actually comes out. Until then, I will be posting little things here and there so I don’t stay inactive for too long and deprive you of any content, so bare with me. College is having me do a lot more writing than I would like.

Anyway, you can tell from the title that I am writing a novel, or more accurately I was writing a novel. I started working on it late 2013, and for some reason kind of stopped writing it around April 2014. In that time, I was almost halfway finished with the first draft. But then, life just kind of got in the way (like it always does) and the book just kind of disappeared into the back of my mind. It was around August of that year when I wanted to replenish my creative juices once again, and decided to start this blog. However, I still want to eventually finish that novel, and my devotion to this blog has kind of kept me from doing so.

So this is when I ask you, my faithful followers, if I may post my novel on this very website? I think what I need to rekindle that drive to finish it is if I get some feedback from it. I originally posted the story on the website Fictionpress, where it can still be found, and I had a follower who reviewed every chapter that came out. He helped give me a reason to continue writing. However when he stopped commenting, that was around the time I stopped updating. But now that I have gathered a bit of a community here (all 20 of yah), I figured I may have a chance to gain some much needed feedback and rekindle my love for this story.

So, this is where I tell you what my novel is about. Sadly, it’s not about dinosaurs.

Yeah, I know.

But before I reveal the premise to you guys, I think I might need to give you guys a little backstory.

I have a little confession to make. I am a bit of a furry.

What, you don’t have a good razor?

No, I didn’t say I’m furry. I said I am a furry.

DG, you have betrayed me.

Now, given how surprising and audacious this revelation must be, I think I owe it to you to answer some of the questions that may be weighing on your mind.

Are you….uh…..attracted….to animal people?

Definitely no. Not all furries are into that side of the fandom, and that is certainly an aspect of the community I don’t identify with. Heck, I don’t even engage with online furry communities and forums because that kind of stuff always seems to pop up. And I can’t even browse for good furry art because the other stuff is so prevalent.

Do you wear a fur suit everywhere you go?

No, then people would think I’m crazy.

Oh, so you only where it at conventions then.

I don’t own a fur suit. Period. Nor do I plan to. Are you aware of how much those things cost?

What do you wear at conventions then?

I don’t go to conventions. I’ve haven’t even gone to a Comic Convention before. I’m claustrophobic and I don’t do too good in big crowds.

So, do you think you’re an animal in your soul or something?

I identify as a Hispanic American heterosexual scientifically minded Christian male, not a wolf/cat hybrid or something.

So then what makes you a furry?

Well, it’s always been more the story telling aspect that attracted me. Even from my early childhood I loved telling stories, and most of those tales involved animals in some way or another. Even to this day, I love movies and cartoons that focus on animal characters; such as The Lion King, Kung Fu Panda, The Secret of NIHM, Disney’s Robin Hood, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Oh yeah, I’m also a brony. Hehe, you’re learning all sorts of things about me today, huh?

So really, I just like writing fiction about animals instead of people for purely aesthetic storytelling reasons. That’s really the only aspect of the furry community I identify with.

Really, that’s it? You’re barely a furry.

 Well EXCUSE ME princess.

Anyway, as to why this is all relevant to this post.

The story of my novel does involve anthropomorphic talking humanoid animals, in a world fairly similar to the Kung Fu Panda universe. But instead of taking place in China and focusing on Chinese animals, the story takes place in Africa and focuses on African animals.

To put it simply, my story is basically what you would get if you took Kung Fu Panda, The Lion King, Avatar The Last Airbender, Animal Farm, Redwall, and The Chronicles of Narnia and put them in a blender.

The book is called Masai Mara, the title coming from the kingdom the story takes place in and is named after a real life nature preserve in East Africa. The focus of the story interchanges between three major characters and their groups of acquaintances; the king N’Daku (along with his wife Queen N’Nitsa) and their efforts to save the kingdom in a time of crisis, their son and king in training Linku, who is trying to carve out his own destiny, and Fisi, a hyena and former member of N’Daku’s council who feels that monarchy needs to be replaced with democracy.

As of now, that’s all I’ll reveal of the plot. I would like to post the chapters I have already written here and see what you guys think, and hopefully that will give me the incentive to continue with the story. Now, just a heads up, this is a first draft of something I wrote quite a bit ago, and i know there are story and dialogue problems. I aim to fix them, so bear with me.

I would greatly appreciate your feedback with this.