Who is Zarix the Komodo Dragon? / Furry Literature

Furry literature is what really got me into writing. Forlorn was about a dragon and human knight finding love. My second book, Blood in Fur was a crime thriller mixed with anthro animals and humans. Sort of like Silence of the Lambs meets Zootopia. Both of which are in my collection, Forlorn and Other Furry Stories.

My sword and sorcery character, Darak the Minotaur, was totally furry inspired, though I don't really categorize him as a 'furry'. He's more a fantasy character and would fit well with Conan the Barbarian. I feel he can be enjoyed by either furries or non-furries.

It's interesting that there is furry literature. The Ursa Major Awards is basically the highest honor for writing furry literature.

We all know Kyell Gold, who I respect so much for bringing furry lit into the light (for me anyway.) He was the first furry author I'd heard of. 

But as much as I respect Gold and other furry authors, I myself don't read a ton of furry stories. For fear of ripping someone off entirely. Also, a lot of them are quite erotic with very graphic sex scenes. Now, I know what you're thinking.

Hey, you write erotica! Your stories have a minotaur who fucks everything.

Sure. But his stories also have a lot of action / adventure. From what I've read, a lot of furry lit is heavy on smut, but not quite so heavy on action and fighting and all the stuff I love in a story. Doesn't mean I never will read a furry book. It just means that most in that genre doesn't interest me. Romance (whether straight, gay, trans etc.) just isn't my thing. I'm not into relationships.

It makes me wonder, why do we love anthro stories? Does a character being a furry make it so different from a human novel? I myself try to add  distinct differences so it actually does matter. But it's something I think about. 

Why do romances and other stories hit differently when they’re foxes and cats? 

What’s the drive to write that? When could one just make them all human? For me, it’s pure fantasy. There’s this layer of I gotta invent little things to make my characters pop. It’s not just…a man or a woman. 

I also grew up with anthro characters. Look at Disney’s Robin Hood, Disney’s Gargoyles. My own species isn’t nearly as fascinating as monsters. 

So, I decided to take another swing at the furry lit genre after taking a long break. Blood in Fur was my most recent 'real furry' story.

I've improved a lot as an author since my early work back in high school.

My next project is a short story called The Refuge. I had the idea for a Komodo Dragon OC for quite a while. Years. 

I roleplayed as Zarix on various websites. I studied Komodo Dragons (my favorite lizard) and I thought I was gonna keep him hidden, but I finally couldn't.

Looking at the tons of furry literature gave me inspiration. Why not write another furry-centered character? It's something I enjoy. I love inventing anthro characters. I love furry artwork, and go to furry cons all the time.

Zarix is based on the action movie archetype. I try to take from writers like Gregg Hurwitz. Specifically his Orphan X series. Zarix is stoic, reserved, and a great bodyguard. But has the incredible strength of his species, which I totally make use of. He couldn't be a regular human. He'd have to be an apex predator to do what he does.

I also wanted to write a TRUE furry story. All my other furry stories have humans in the mix. I wanted to not default to humans like I had in so many of my previous stories. And that's a neat change of pace for me. I wrote a short Xmas story called Red Nose. About Rudolph being a bodybuilder. I suppose that story sorta kick started my idea of this super macho type anthro. That sort of thing isn’t usually seen in today’s media. The 80s and 90s had over the top muscle guys kicking ass. I think it is quite fun.

Also, there exists little to no Komodo Dragon furry stories. The most famous one as far as I know is the comic series, Komos And Goldie.

So yeah-I hope you enjoy Zarix. I have two short stories in mind for him already. It's nice to stretch my furry muscles again after so long.