The Savage Shore Universe

Name changing - It can be done whenever a female joins a male in what Humans would call marriage. It is less common than it was in the early days of jZav'Etch culture, but they still recognize it as legal and perfectly acceptable and honorable. The tradition comes from the same sort of tradition Humans have about brides taking the groom's last name. The female is joining the male's family and the change of the name signifies this. However, it was never a universal absolute. Not every female joining a male's family would have her name changed. It really depended on a lot of factors including the status of the male in the jZav'Etch social strata. You can also encounter the male who is a jerk getting married to a female who is very submissive and he changes her name just because he can. Such males are usually not respected by their peers, though.

I'm guessing the reason that Clot'ilda is so willing to accept a new name is because while Liam is not jZav'Etch, he is a male far above what her size/social strata would normally enable her to have, especially as a First.
 
Finally home. Thank God!

Okay Folks, I know I haven't updated in a very long time but in the middle of feeling good about having resolved RL issues at work new issues arose. I've been dealing with those and have not had time to devote to my writing.

For those of you who have been waiting patiently for an update I have good news. Chapter four is just about ready to post. All I need to do is read through and edit for errors. I should be able to get that done and submit it this weekend. That means that sometime next week, probably by Wednesday, it will be available to read.

For those of you who expressed concern, I'm fine. I didn't end up in the hospital or jail or anything like that. I could use a vacation, though. I don't think that is going to happen any time soon.

For those anonymous people who sent messages like "RIP Storm World." and "He's dead, Jim." you need to keep in mind that I don't work for you. I know you were just shit posting and I can take harassment and kidding, but I do have a life that does not involve providing you with free entertainment. And seriously, sending anonymous messages without a way for me to reply seems a bit cowardly. Grow some balls or go borrow a set.

As for the rest of the story... Well, chapter five is mostly done and I am pleased with the way it is shaping up. Chapter six is just barely started, but I know where it is going to go. Chapters seven and eight I need to outline, and like chapter six I know where they are going to go. I also know what the last chapter is going to look like, more or less, and that should make the story roll along more smoothly for me. I still have not got any real idea of how many chapters 'Storm World' will have, though.

In other story related news: I have come up with the introduction for one of the stories I mentioned when I returned to this site and I think you will be entertained by that. I like the idea for the first chapter so much I started writing it on a pad while on lunch break one day, though I won't be doing much more than that until I am done with SW. I really like the main character and just to show I am being honest about doing the writing here's a few details about him:

He is a human mercenary who shipped out of Sol System with a regiment of mercenaries two hundred years before the current timeline. His regiment was hired by a colonial corporation to put down a worker uprising on a planet they were heavily invested in, but when the uprising was put down by local forces the transport the mercenaries were on was diverted into a deep orbit so that the corporation would not have to pay them. The mercenaries remained in stasis and the records of the ship and its purpose were conveniently misfiled. The ship was eventually salvaged by Vespans after the war with the CP and the surviving mercenaries were revived.

I haven't got much more than that other than to tell you this story will take place during the war between the jZav'Etch Hegemony and the Conglomerated Planets. I think I'll place it well before Liam and his wives meet, so there is a slim chance I will include one of the characters from UaSS in the story. If I do (and that is a big IF), that character will have only a small part.

Again, thank you all for bearing with me. Hopefully I will not have any more RL issues that interrupt my writing schedule, but I can make no promises.
 
Thanks for the update, i just reread both savage shore and storm world to refresh myself love the world you've created, very much reminds me of early Nivin in your style and creation.
 
Answering a couple of questions.

I took the day off to get my truck fixed, so while I'm waiting for the shop to call I thought I would answer a couple of questions asked not too long ago.

The first was regarding the low rating on chapter 1 of UaSS: "What is the deal with chp 1? Why don't ppl like it?" Honestly, I don't know for certain. Most of the comments indicate it was too short. I intended it to be only an introduction to Sergeant Carter, his personality and the events that led to him being marooned on the planet with the three jZav`Etch females. In retrospect I should have combined chapter 1 and 2. I think readers would have rated that higher. Another reason might be that there was no sex in it and folks were looking for a "pound piece" or whatever it would be called on Lit. Those readers rated it low and did not come back for chapter 2. Could be other reasons, but I think those are the two likeliest.

The second question has been asked in a round about fashion by a few people. I guess it isn't a single question but I can give a pretty clear answer to all of them. Basically, some folks want to know if I am a Furry and if I consider the jZav`Etch to be Furries. I was even asked what my fursona is. I had to look that up to be sure I knew what they meant. Anyway, if you have been wondering the same thing, here's my answer: I don't have a fursona. I don't consider myself to be a Furry, though, I have nothing against Furries. And I have to say I find many Furry comics online to be very entertaining. A couple that stand out are by an artist in the UK named Phillip M. Jackson, better known as JollyJack. Look up 'Sequential Art' and see what I mean. As for the jZav`Etch, they are an alien race. They didn't come about through magic or through hybridization or anything like that. I mean, if you look at universes like Star Trek and Babylon 5, there are all sorts of races and I don't think anyone would consider them to be Furries.

One other point I want to address relates to something I have picked up while going through the comments on UaSS. Readers have expressed hopes that Liam and the girls will eventually be able to have biological children in addition to the orphans they adopt at the end of the story. There have been some suggestions that plants in the forest might cause Liam to be able to impregnate one of the girls or maybe some biotech could be developed for them to generate half Human/half jZav`Etch children. At this point in time I have no plans for either of those situations to occur. (I'm not saying it won't if I come up with a plot where it works to advance the story.) In real life a scientist might someday be able to gene splice a lion with an ape or something like that, but we cannot breed lions and apes because they are not related closely. And those animals come from the same planet. Hell, they come from the same continent. jZav`Etch are from half way across the galaxy. They evolved with an entirely different DNA. I have an explanation for why they look so much like Humans, but that would be a bit of a spoiler and it does not resolve the issue for interbreeding with Humans so I won't go into that. I will probably explain it in a later story or the intelligence report companion piece I am planning to write (discussed earlier in this thread).

There was also a brief back and forth about stories like mine involving a male human and female felinoids and why it seems to be the standard. It is an interesting observation. I think it has to do with this kind of story being geared towards male readers and how Western culture tends to associate cats with women. How often do you look at a dog you don't know and register it as a he until you are informed otherwise? How often do you look at a cat and register it as a she until you are informed otherwise? Most cat-like aliens in movies or literature are female. Notable exceptions are the Kzinti from 'The Man Kzin Wars' series and Thun the Lion Man from Flash Gordon. And on the flip side of that discussion if someone says werewolf most of the time we think of a man who turns into a wolf. It's an interesting psychological question.

I would be interested in hearing everyone's thoughts on these subjects.

Well, I think I better wash the dishes and get a few other things done while I'm waiting. Chapter 4 of 'Storm World' is up. Chapter five is pretty well done. I'm going to hold off posting it until I have chapter six roughed out a little better, but that won't be too long.

Hope you all have a great day!
 
Chapter 5

I just submitted chapter five of Storm World. I figure it will be available some time next week. Maybe by Monday. Hard to say for sure. Anyway, it's longer than my usual chapters. Originally it was chapters 5 and 6, but after really looking at them I figured they were so closely related it would be better to combine them. It reads better than splitting up the text and I have much better spot to end on. Basically, act one of the story is now posted and it's time for me to move on to act two.
 
The first was regarding the low rating on chapter 1 of UaSS: "What is the deal with chp 1? Why don't ppl like it?" Honestly, I don't know for certain. Most of the comments indicate it was too short. I intended it to be only an introduction to Sergeant Carter, his personality and the events that led to him being marooned on the planet with the three jZav`Etch females. In retrospect I should have combined chapter 1 and 2. I think readers would have rated that higher. Another reason might be that there was no sex in it and folks were looking for a "pound piece" or whatever it would be called on Lit. Those readers rated it low and did not come back for chapter 2. Could be other reasons, but I think those are the two likeliest.

The first in a long series is almost always the lowest rated from what I've seen on Lit, unless it's a top tier author that write a huge initial entry(path of the necromancer style for their first chapter, it's no longer on lit for some reason but it was an 8 page first chapter). You and Tefler both had 4.6ish starts which has turned into a 4.87ish average after a while. Chapter length was definitely your primary issue though, if you're not a solid 1 and a half Lit pages, people are always disappointed with the chapter length. It also stops at a weird point, more of a television commercial type break than a book chapter break.

I agree with your thoughts on chapter 5 of Storm World, I have no idea where you would break that in two without it feeling forced, you hit a very natural stop point, albeit with a cliffhanger the way you wrote it.
 
I agree with your thoughts on chapter 5 of Storm World, I have no idea where you would break that in two without it feeling forced, you hit a very natural stop point, albeit with a cliffhanger the way you wrote it.[/QUOTE]

I did a lot of editing when I combined the two chapters. I dropped an entire conversation with Chep `Urt vEss and TaH` Kiy mTh that took place before the quake and did not add anything to the story. I trimmed a bunch off the shower scene that really didn't add anything. There was also a pretty long sequence with M`peth qHo and Liat `del Qha coming down the tunnel and having to move rubble or climb over it. What you're seeing in the final version of chapter 5 is far more streamlined than the two chapters of text I started with.
 
Storm World character list

Readers keep asking for a character list so this morning I cleaned up my notes and here is the result. Hope this helps. Please do ask questions if something is not clear. It may also serve to read through other posts on this thread to see if your question has already been answered.

Breeds:

dTel'Qohar: Largest and most numerous of the three jZav`Etch breeds. Resemble a combination of African lions without manes and North American pumas.

Thahn `Den: Second largest breed. Resemble a combination of South American jaguars and East Asian tigers but on a somewhat leaner frame. This breed has a thick mane and narrow stripes.

Pah`Tht: Smallest breed. Resemble Lynx or North American wildcats. Longer fur than their larger cousins with sharply pointed, proportionately larger ears and much shorter, almost stubby tails.

Females:

M`peth qHo – M`peth: Pronounced with the ‘M’ distinct from ‘peth’ (mm-peth). qHo: Pronounced like ‘co’ with a long ‘O’ like in ‘no’ or ‘go’.

Rank – Ne`M`el (nee-m-el) – Commander

Thahn `Den – Military Intelligence – Thirty years old. Shoulder length, blue/black mane, auburn fur with blue/black stripes and a diamond shaped white blaze on her chest starting on her throat and ending below her sternum, black tips on her fingers, toes, ears and tail. Dark gold eyes. 5’6”/167cm tall. 34/24/36. Small, firm breasts, trim waist, firm, well-shaped butt and good legs.

Liat`del Qha – Liat: Pronounced Lee-at. `del: Pronounced ‘del’, but the ‘D’ should be distinct from the ‘T’ in ‘Liat’. Qha: Pronounced ‘cha’ like in the phonetic form of ‘got you’ – ‘gotcha’.

Rank – Pilot (Interstellar) – Equivalent to a first lieutenant.

Pah`Tht – pilot – Twenty-five years old. Light brown, blonde and white fur mixed with silver-grey highlights. Crystal blue eyes. 4’3” tall. 34/25/35. Large, firm breasts, flat tummy, firm, round butt and shapely legs.

Tem l`eth tong – Tem: Pronounced ‘tem’. l`eth: Pronounced l-eth. ‘eth’ is pronounced distinctly from the ‘L’. tong: Pronounced ‘tong’.

dTel`Qohar – veteran weapons specialist – Thirty-six years old. Dark golden fur. Light green eyes with dark “day hunter” marks below her eyes. Fur on her muzzle has faded to lighter gold with age. 5’9” /175cm tall. 36/24/36. Very large, firm breasts, slim waist, nice butt and athletic legs. (Sustained a leg wound during the escape from the ship.)

Ty`em P`tral – Ty`em: Pronounced ‘tie-em’. P`tral: Pronounced ‘pah-trall’.

Thahn `Den – engineer – Twenty four years old. Thick, curly black mane, dark reddish tan fur with black stripes, black tips on her fingers, toes, ears and tail. 5’ 4” tall. 32/24/34. Small breasts, trim waist, tight butt and nice legs. (Broke her shoulder and fractured three ribs during the escape from the ship.)

Ima` Nef`Tn – Ima`: Pronounced ‘ima’ with a short ‘I’ (like in ‘him’ or ‘hit’) and an ‘a-h’ sound (like in the exclamation ‘ah!’). Nef: Pronounced ‘nef’. `Tn: Pronounced like ‘tin’ with no distinct ‘I’ sound. Strung together it is imah-nef-tin.

dTel`Qohar – weapons technician – Twenty-five years old. Red-gold fur, dark green eyes, white tips to her ears. 5’8” tall. 34/26/38. Firm breasts, flat tummy, big, firm butt and good legs.

Males:

Chep `Urt vEss - Chep: Pronounced 'chep'. `Urt: Pronounced 'ert' with an 'e' sound as in 'her'. vEss: Pronounced 'veeyss' with a long 'e' sound as in 'we'.

Rank – Gunner (Ship's Weapons) – Equivalent to first lieutenant.

dTel`Qohar – Gunnery Systems Specialist – Twenty-six years old. Tawny fur, golden eyes with black tufts on his ears and the tip of his tail. 6’8”/203cm tall. Muscular build.

TaH `Kiy mTh – TaH: Pronounced 'tah' with more of a breathy 'H' sound at the end. `Kiy: Pronounced 'key' with a very clipped 'K' sound at the beginning. mTh: Pronounced 'm-hith'.

Thahn `Den – engineer – Twenty-three years old. Red-orange fur with a very dark, nearly black mane, burgundy stripes and grey eyes. 5’7”/170cm tall. Trim build.
 
Chapter 6

Just finished editing Chapter 6 of Storm World. I had intended to upload it this evening, but I think I had better read through it one more time and upload it tomorrow.

Addendum: I have submitted chapter 6. It usually takes about three days to post, so look for it Friday or Saturday.
 
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Just submitted chapter 7 of Storm World. Should be available to read on Friday.

Edit:
Just wanted to clarify something. A number of reviewers seem to have gotten the impression I might stop updating 'Strom World'. I did not mean to give that impression. I don't want to quit and I'm not going to. I simply feel a need to move my story forward and due to the many delays I've experienced recently I am redoubling my efforts to get chapters posted on a more regular schedule. I'm going to stick to a self-imposed schedule as best I can. There are four other stories I want to write in this series and if I can't get this one done, I really can't justify starting to work seriously on any of the others.
 
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Progress and Schedule

I just checked my email and discovered these three messages:

Sent at 12:23AM 3/30/17 by Anonymous - I really think you should post chapter 8. After over two months have of the people who were reading this story have probably stopped following it. If you wait another 3 or 4 months (which seams most likely) until chapter 10 is finished, I'll bet most people will forget this story. I already did until I found it again while searching for another story to follow. And I doubt you'll be motivated to continue when only about 1000 people are reading.

Sent at 7:12PM 3/30/17 by Anonymous - Well after not posting any chapters for six months, I doubt anyone will be left to read your story. There are many other stories on this site who's writers post on a regular basis. And few who wait over two months to say they won't be posting for another 4 or 5 months.

Sent at 7:16PM 3/30/17 by Anonymous - Until you're done with chapter 10? Sorry but I'm not waiting another 3 months for you to say it won't be posted for another two months.

I want everyone to understand that I don't expect any of my readers to simply sit and twiddle their thumbs while I continue to write and make you all wait. There are other stories out there. Go read them. I hope you find them enjoyable. At the end of the day, sending me messages of this kind is a waste of your time. These messages will have no effect on my schedule. I am writing this story for myself and sharing it here because I like to hear what people have to say. It has been suggested I should get my work edited professionally and sell it through various means, but that would force me to commit to rigid schedule my life does not readily accommodate. Forcing myself to write under stress took the fun out of writing for me and if it isn't fun, I am not going to continue to do it. So, to the anonymous person or persons who sent these messages; relax and go read another story. If you forget about Storm World and never come back to read the rest of it, okay. I can live with that.
 
Update about emails.

The vast majority of emails I have received have been supportive. Those critical of my stories have been polite and sometimes useful. However, for about a month I have been receiving anonymous emails from a particular individual. I cannot be certain they are all from the same person, but the style of the message is the same in each. Rather than being supportive or critical this person is more along the lines of whiny and nagging. Though I have no way to prove it, I also suspect this person is underage, due primarily to the wording and the childish style of the messages.

With the way LitErotica has things set up I do not want to shut off the option for people to email me anonymously because that would prevent readers from leaving anonymous reviews. Therefore, to save myself irritation, I will no longer be reading any anonymous emails sent to me. I will simply delete them unread.

If anyone wants to send me a message and actually have me read it, they will need to do two things. First, they will have to login to their LitErotica account. Second, they will need to go to my profile page and use the email link their. Why? Because sending an email from the form at the end of one of my chapters will queue it with any other email sent from that chapter and it is likely someone will send anonymously from there. That would mean your email would be deleted along with the anonymous one.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but it only takes one jerk to ruin a good thing and I have better things to do than endure petty childishness from anyone.
 
I think it comes down to people have no patience. I remember the first chapter you ever posted a little over two years ago. I read every chapter a day or two after it came out. When it was done and you made it sound like you were never coming back (or worse hiding your work) I still came back almost weekly for two damn years for you to post something. So after two years of waiting with zero indication of you ever writing again , these kids can wait another two months or how ever long it takes for the next chapters.

You'll atleast always have me as a reader, and I'll wait another damn two years if that's what it takes!
 
I hope that the author will grace us with more chapters

I am hoping that RF has not abandoned this story line. I see from previous chapter posting that it is not uncommon for RF to go many months between chapters so I have hope. Would be nice if RF could drop a note though and give us some hope.
 
Update and announcement

I think I owe my readers an explanation regarding Storm World. Simply put, I got discouraged and I lost interest in the story. A big part of this was because I jumped the gun with only a partially conceived plot. I had the outline figured out and thought I would be able to work things out as I went, much the same as when I wrote ‘Upon a Savage Shore’. My discouragement resulted from my schedule at work ramping up and having more responsibility placed on me. I was and sometimes still am doing ten and twelve hour days for weeks at a time. I was sent out of town to do installations several times, also. Basically, I was so worn down I could not summon the creativity necessary to do a good job and I knew it. That’s when I lost interest in the story. I knew it was going poorly and I don’t like half-assing anything, so I gave up and focused on getting through my workweek as best I could.

So, there it is. I’m not going to apologize for making a financial and mental health decision. I did what I did and cannot change it.

Where is the story going from here? I think I will get it deleted and set it aside until I feel motivated to go back and fix all the things that are wrong with it. Primarily, the events leading up to the heroes leaving the cave really need some major TLC from a machete. I want to cut out whatever does not move the story forward. There is a whole lot of back and forth between the characters that can be removed and still have the story going forward. I think that will make it much easier to read and improve the pacing dramatically.

What’s coming in the next couple of weeks is a brand new story in the Savage Shore universe. The good news is that it is complete and the primary editing is done. I will be reading over each of the chapters before posting and doing minor edits, but I think I can have all nine chapters posted within the next two weeks. That should please most folks. What may displease some is there will be no sex scenes. The story revolves around teenagers and LitErotica does not permit stories on the site if underage characters are depicted having sex. Even if that were not the case sex scenes would add nothing to the story or the characters. The plot certainly would not be served and I think the story would not be as good. There is still plenty of adventure and character development and some world building, and that should be more than enough to keep the reader’s attention. I am sure I will learn if the case is otherwise.

To wrap up, I’m sorry if you were disappointed with ‘Storm World’, but I hope you will enjoy ‘A World for the Taking’.
 
I understand everyday life draining your interest out of 'Storm World'. Please know that I, for one, was never disappointed with 'Storm World'... and anyone who understands how crazy life can be at times will feel the same.

I look forward to "A World for the Taking'. *smiles* Hope your schedule lightens up soon for you though.
 
While I so looked forward to the completion of "Storm World" taking time to get yourself together is much more important. Good luck and get your mojo right.
 
Talk about your "mixed emotions", brother, I am having them after reading your latest post.

I feel sorry for the end of Storm World, but I am not surprised. You said when you started writing it that you wanted to stretch yourself as an author. I commented at the time that going from UaSS with 4 prime characters to SW with so many players was more than "a stretch". It was a quantum leap. This is evidenced by the fact that you felt the need for an appendix in each chapter to let readers keep track of the characters.

Having said that whiny sounding crap, I must stress that you have not failed at all in the attempt. SW is a really good read and I have enjoyed it immensely. The promise that you will re-write parts of it and re-post it in the future makes me happy to wait for it.

Opposite the sad feeling is the great happiness regarding the pending posting of a totally new story! Add to that the part about it being complete when posted makes me ecstatic!

Nobody likes reading serials, because we are all very selfish and want no interruption or delay in our gratification. Poor babies, life is sometimes harsh, right? In your case it wouldn't generate so much anxiety in the readers if your stories weren't so gripping and fast-paced.

I mean, ignoring the part about the day being twice as long as both Human and jZav'Etch days, the entire adventure, excluding the Epilog, takes place in about two weeks! And it took you about 3 1/2 months to get it all posted!

Just ignore the whiny anons, like you said you are doing. If they can't be bothered to sign on to post comments, their words have little to no merit.

Eternal thanks for the great stories you've written, both UaSS and SW. I eagerly await your next adventure in writing.
 
How long is SW going to stay for? I just finished it the other day (Kinda newer user) and really enjoyed it along with UaSS! Are you possibly going to leave it on the sight until you’re going to rewrite it?

Look forward to reading your new stories,
 
Answer for Nitro_Blade

I'm more focused on doing the final edit of 'A World for the Taking' right now than on deleting 'Storm World'. Also, I have to request site admin to delete it for me when the time comes. I announced I was going to delete it because I figured some folks would want to give it another look before it goes. I'll be getting it taken down soon after I have the last chapter of 'A World for the Taking' posted.
 
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