Updates and Light Novels

Looks like I have fallen behind in blog posts, mostly so that I can keep call for submissions visible until I can get a website for them. That way I will be able to leave this open for my own thoughts rather than using it half for Armour Fox Press.

It's been an interesting few months since I last wrote. Armoured Fox Press has another anthology under its wing, though edited by someone else. We've also gotten some reviews, some good, some pointing out areas that need work. It's a learning progress and one I will have to just work through and learn from. (like all things)

I've been trying to read more furry fiction, as well as Japanese (and English) light novels, as these are the bread and butter for Armoured Fox Press. The furry fiction has mostly been novella sized works, and mostly erotic. As weird as it is for me to state it, I am actually a bit tired of erotic works when it comes to furry fiction. There's just so much of it, but that's not going to change as it is one of the top sellers in the fandom.

Light novels on the other hand are predominantly Isekai. (Transported to another world) This is a far more appealing genre for me and one I could have easily gotten behind as a younger me. (I even wrote some back in the day, before I knew what it was) The novels have been light and enjoyable, which shouldn't come as a surprise as they are for young adults and are distinctly lighter in tone than most 'adult' works.

What I haven't been reading a lot of is horror. Much like erotica, I am feeling pretty burned out with that genre. (as well as Lovecraftian horror, which as many of you know, I love) This doesn't mean I won't go back to reading it, as I am sure I will cycle back to it. But for now, I would rather concentrate on another genre.

Which brings me to what I am reading (while trying to finish the 80 something books I am in the middle of), which is fantasy. Not just normal fantasy mind you, but D&D fantasy novels. Dragon Lance and Forgotten Realms specifically.

I used to read these a LOT when I was younger, and here I am twenty-something years later and I have the itch to revisit them. I have already read Dragons of Autumn Twilight and found that it hadn't aged very well from when I was younger. I am hoping that as I get further into the series this changes, but even reading Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (which was written far later) isn't helping matters. It still feels very... YA.

And the Forgotten Realms is far different than I remember it, as I read the more recent Brimstone Angels. Things have changed in the realms, and nothing looks familiar to what it was when I read Azure Bonds and Pool of Radiance. It also reads a bit more like... urban fantasy, if that makes sense. It's the style of writing, and it shows the influences of a more modern time. It is fantasy that doesn't take itself as seriously as previous works did, and the characters feel more modern than anything.

Which is saying something, as the light novel Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Volume 1, though for young adults, takes the fantasy trope and adds an amount of realism to it that makes you have to take a step back and thing: "Yeah, that's right, orcs and goblins are living creatures fighting for their lives as well".

*ahem* That went off the rails pretty quickly.

Anyway, it's good to be back and thank you for reading this far. Armoured Fox Press should have a website up in the next month or so, as well as a few new books on its shelf.

And if you are going to Fur-Eh! this year, I look forward to seeing you there. (and selling you books!)
Until next time, take care and keep on writing!