CMed TheUniverseofCMed: Blog

My prior post was taken down. I will make this short in case this one might get taken down too. I'm tired of writing posts just to see them removed.

- Gabatrix: Veleshar is being uploaded on Storiesonline.
- Gabatrix: The First Peace, Final Edition has been uploaded on Storiesonline since it was made for the audiobook (That isn't an advertisement).

I want to thank the readers who read and enjoy the stories. Please don't delete this post. Thank you.

I'm happy to announce that Gabatrix: The Pirates of Palora, is now available to read. It will officially be the 20th book that will be published on Amazon in a few weeks. Set after the events of Gabatrix: Force and Vehemence, The Lifen crew returns to confront the criminal elements in the Paloran star system. The Nova Pirates and rogues continue to grow in strength while ravaging commercial vessels, corrupting administrative figures, and terrorizing civilians alike. It's up to Shira, Javier, and Stone to help confront these pirates and make the system safe for everyone before the system becomes too unruly for civilization to continue.

With the upcoming year, I'm happy to look back and know that in the course of 12 months, three books were written, and Gabatrix: Minerva, the audiobook, has been made and is currently on Audible. I got a wonderful voiceactress who's doing the reading along with Antonio Aguirre, the soundman from the Blue Man Group, who makes the music. Punching through the audiobook barrier alone is a major and wonderful step in getting Gabatrix more and more well-known to the public. It allows more accessibility for all who have other things to do in their day-to-day lives while also providing the visually impaired a chance to enjoy Gabatrix. The challenges overcome in having it made have now been made easier for each one to be made in turn.

So the question is, what's next? Pirates of Palora was a major step in getting back into the full swing of Gabatrix after finishing up Helsing and the Tales of Heroes (Something else that will be a benefit in reading, especially when getting into this story). 2024 is looking to be a dozy of year, especially with the political turmoil that is bound to come to some of our doorsteps. For those affected by it, know that I sympathize as we knuckle down and prepare for the coming wave. However, on the side of writing, I'm happy to announce four upcoming Gabatrix books, all in step where each one ends. My goal for 2024 is to continue expanding upon Gabatrix, with four new stories planned. The next story, Gabatrix: Veleshar, and another Gabatrix story (Dealing with Las Vegas) after that are all thanks to fan commissions that will add to the entire universe's lore as a whole. More and more ideas are always considered, and if they don't appear in one book, they will certainly be saved and ready for the next. In a sense, Gabatrix and Tales of Heroes are designed to be expanded almost indefinitely.

Another big goal is to continue forth in the realm of audiobooks, with Gabatrix: The First Peace beginning in production in about a few more weeks. Afterward, it will be Gabatrix: The Violet Wave, where I'm hoping that the voice actress will be able to nail Shira's tone and character down perfectly. With each audiobook being made also comes forth new music, with Ambassador Ifra's theme ready and currently waiting on the animation to be completed before uploading it, along with a battle theme for the audiobook nearing completion. As more and more support comes forth, so do the melodies that add along with it.

I'm also happy to see that fans are enjoying Gabatrix so much that fanart is starting to come forth. If you are ever interested, I don't mind adding lore to these, showcasing them onto Gabatrix.net, and coming up with mini-stories as each one comes out. Little things like that all goes to making Gabatrix get bigger and bigger.

Know that your support always matters. I always upload my stories onto Storiesonline so that others can point out mistakes. I always seek positive or constructive criticism. Don't be afraid to point out little errors. In a book of 160,000 words, no doubt something is going to slip through. In turn, the errors are corrected before I eventually put them out on Amazon, Bookapy, etc.

In the meantime, stay positive, have a Happy New Year, and enjoy Gabatrix: The Pirates of Palora. :)

Hello to everyone. I figured I'd let everyone know that the latest story of my Tales of Heroes is now being uploaded onto Storiesonline. Helsing and the Tales of Heroes is the continuation of Ayida-Weddo and the Tales of Heroes. I needed to take a break from Gabatrix to get another Tales of Heroes book made. It also allows me to defuse a little bit so I can come back more fresh to the series that I know people enjoy. Plus, Helsing and the Tales of Heroes will be something that will benefit the future Gabatrix stories to come.

Of course, this gets into a topic that I have to state is quite obvious. Upon uploading the first two chapters, I've received a large set of votes (almost more than some of my other stories within just two chapters), making this story the worst-rated story of the twenty stories I have written so far, at least at the time of this blog post. I know that this can be temporary as more and more chapters come flooding in. I also don't focus on it too much since Storiesonline's voting system is pretty much broken. Honestly, I was almost expecting the low ratings at this point since they took away the ability to remove voting for writers. It allows individuals to vote early when stories aren't even completely uploaded.

While the goal of Storiesonline has been to resolve the voting issues and claim that it's there to stop "troll voting" and one-bombers (which has to a point), there are ways to get around it. There are always ways to get around any foolproof system. If people see that they can't give 1 out 5 stars for something, then they will give it a 2. I'm well aware of the concept of rating sabotage. While I believe there are good people on Storiesonline, I know that others are jumping onto Helsing and blasting it before it even bears fruit.

I want to make it clear that I do believe there are wonderful individuals, and I have received positive comments about my story. Helsing and the Tales of Heroes is more than just a book of the Tales of Heroes universe. It's a dedication to the many vampire stories out there and the writers that write about them, utilizing many of the popular, past-known older stories to mend into one (no different than how many others write vampire stories). However, I also know that some people have short attention spans. I received harassment in the past either from SJWs, "Sensitive Readers", or people who think they are righteous by going after people who think are encouraging deviant behavior for or against current social norms or agendas. I have to debate with myself whether, when I look at the scores if it's an attempt to extend a middle finger to me or not. I have to ask myself if the voter looked at the disclaimers and voted then and there about what they think about me or my story without even reading it. Is it revenge voting because I didn't write the next installment of Gabatrix? Or is it an attempt to bash me because my stories have vampires in them? For newcomers, the scores can make or break someone telling others that the story is worth reading or not.

What people don't realize is that I originally had an old story that I removed from Ayida-Weddo and the Tales of Heroes. This was done because I wasn't pleased with how the story went. It was too big and inflated an already large book as it was. However, I also felt that it would be a good story once it was refined. I took the Story of Lilith away from the book and did a complete overhaul. In the original story, Lilith practically raped her husband. Looking at it today, I just didn't like it. So I took the entire heart of the story and rewrote it, freshened it, shortened it, and made it into a consensual love story while still carrying the action and main story to circulate around it. It's almost a difference between night and day. It's been incorporated into Helsing and the Tales of Heroes and adds to a vampire-centric lore and concept. If anything, I feel that Helsing and the Tales of Heroes and all its backstories contribute to a singular main story goal, something that some of the other Tales of Heroes have struggled with at times to achieve.

I've had past blog posts stating the same thing, and I know it's like beating a dead horse. Some on Storiesonline will make sure certain stories or story writers remain at the top by whatever means necessary. I don't see any hope of seeing my stories in the top 10, and perhaps I speak out for the other writers on this site as well. I care for everyone and know what it's like to make and write stories. Some are beginners, some are novices, and some have been Emmy award-winning storywriters. I don't let the scores really get to me, and I'm aware of the fact that scores can naturally rise as well as the story nears completion. If anything, I have made great successes with an upcoming audiobook for Gabatrix: Minerva coming around the corner in a few weeks to come, all in due thanks to the fans who support me. But I do ask all of you to support your writers, especially at this time. Make Storiesonline a positive environment for writers. Enjoy Helsing and the Tales of Heroes, for I think it's a story that you may genuinely like.

While I'm sure this was news for some at the beginning of this year, I was unaware of the fact that there were voting changes made for book writers on Storiesonline. One of the biggest issues that struck writers posting stories was the concept of early voting. Many times readers that see a few chapters would vote to their hearts' content. However, by committing to such an action, voters would blatantly vote on a story and make their summary judgment of a story even though the story was still in the process of being uploaded. At times, voters would, later on, regret what they voted for because it later turned out to be a good story.

Because of this, writers on Storiesonline had the simple option to disable voting. I had committed to such actions and always remembered to allow voting once the story was nearly completed. Instead, that option has been removed. Even in the Manage Story settings, I still have no means to disable voting. As a result, all stories are now free to have troll voting. Was this an issue before the changes? Yes, but the writers at least had some option to control and stem the tides of it.

I want to make it clear that, as a writer, the voting system on Storiesonline has been haphazard at best. Sometimes it turns the site into a vanity fair where veteran expert writers can put two chapters, and immediately, the audience gives a score of 9 before the story has been fully uploaded, while other new writers receive 2s or 3s. Because of this, it can punish new potential writers. Having horrible low scores is a way of telling new readers that the writer is horrible. It's also a lazy form of feedback that I have ever seen as well because it reduces your story to a number. I would open commenting on my stories, but often trollers would say a few sentences in a derogatory manner. Not just here, but on other sites, I've received statements such as "You write as if English is your 2nd Language" when I was born in the US and spoke English my whole life. I use Grammarly to help me write because hiring a professional editor is horribly expensive, and finding editors that would work for free is exceedingly rare.

While I leave the comments disabled, you are free to message me, and I welcome it. Keep aware that there are three types of feedback: Positive, Constructive, and Negative. Positive feedback is saying that you like the story. It's nice, but nothing more can be said about it. Negative feedback is where you condemn the story, or as trollers would commit to, condemn the author and waste everyone's time. Then there is Constructive feedback. The very reason that I put my stories on Storiesonline is for readers to find mistakes and let me know. Despite my rereading and editing a story, mistakes are going to be made. We are all human, after all. In other words, your feedback matters to me. From there, the stories can be improved before it hits the bookshelves.

But, with the system the way it is, I'm left to see it continue to operate in a format where I have to take the voting score with a grain of salt. I would ask for my fans or newcomers to combat troll voting by voting early, but I hate having to even say that, and it can make me look hypocritical. For those that have preconceptions about a story that they might not like, wait till it's fully uploaded before voting. We live in an age right now where a "sensitive reader" will say, "Oh, I didn't like those two sentences," or "There's no sex in this chapter, downvote!" Even my books with the lowest scores on them on Storiesonline, such as the Garden of New Olympia short stories, have the highest views on places such as Wattpad and Furaffinity. The moral of the story is that voting scores don't make up everything. I also understand that my stories fit into a niche crowd (Human/Anthro love stories aren't exactly that commonplace in the romance genre), so it might not be everyone. But all I ask is that you try to keep Storiesonline a positive place for writers and keep things in an open mind. Thank you.

Youtube Link

I'm happy to announce that the Tales of Heroes book series now has a theme. The music is done by Antonio Aguirre, a talented video game composer who also serves as the sound technician for the Blue Man Group.

Come and check it out. :)