All Comments on 'The Suitor'

What a wonderful story on so many levels (aside from the erotic parts ) ....So many things come to mind ...living our dreams , the muck of family relationships when it comes to marriages and intermarriages of race and religion , the excitement the acceptance of difference can bring us , the joy of learning and exploring and the pleasure we have when acccepted and can just beourselves ....... I really liked this story ..... and with a few deletions ( winks) will retell it to my grandchildren as a bedtime story ....

Started out, kind of knew where we were going, but got there by a different path and a sweet surprise. Thank you

WRIGHT MOAR.

I agree with the other comments, you write very well and should definitely write more! Thanks for sharing with us.

I whole heartedly agree with your other readers. WR, I enjoy your skillful writing style And how well your plot and characters are imagineered. Without the tedious repetitions that afflict this genre.

That was sweet, and lovely...and so creative. Submit to a fantasy short story mag, maybe?

Very good work, glad I clicked on it. Though, thing is, I think this is more of a Nonhuman work. It explores the differences between the partners and the Lizardfellow doesn't have an anatomically human penis. Nonhuman and Fantasy are closely related when it comes to, well, non-human partners, and I feel that the lizardfellow is enough of a non-human to land this solidly and blessedly in the Nonhuman section.

Thank you all for your kind words. Areanabenoir, your comment is especially flattering and I'm a little dumbstruck that anyone would tell a story of mine to their family, so thank you particularly.

As for this being a Nonhuman or a Fantasy story, that is something I debated over when submitting it. As far as I could tell from what I've read, the Nonhuman section doesn't seem to have much to do with how inhuman the participants actually are; so many of the stories are about vampires or fairies or a lot of other creatures that are barely inhuman at all, along with all of the stories about slimes or tentacle monsters or what have you that were as inhuman as could be. Mostly the impression I got was that the Nonhuman section was largely stories that were "Modern day, but...", with the "but" being whatever creature the story was about. Right or wrong, that impression is part of what influenced my decision about where to submit my decidedly not modern story.

The other part is that, as far as I was concerned writing it, Ssilikesh's inhumanity was more important for what it would mean culturally for both him and for Merilanth and for how it would affect their relationship, than it was for its own purely anatomical sake. Certainly, I was interested in writing about a women with a very alien partner and tried to write his anatomy to reflect that, but it was a secondary concern linked directly into the integrity of the fantasy setting, on top of being an interest in its own right.

While I believe that this story perhaps could fit in in the Nonhuman section, I don't believe that's where it belongs.

Fantasy stories have had non-humans in them for a very long time, as have Sci-Fi stories.

Many stories have elements of more than one category in them.

and as this says:

@ cittran 04/19/16

I command thee.

WRIGHT MOAR.

I concur.

I started off thinking this would be a tale of absurdity leading a spoiled young scion of wealth to her comeuppance ... then found that the deeper I got into the story, the more depths of character came to Merilanth's fore -- and very organically, not as a departure from my original assessment of her, but as an enlargement, an enhancement. Then, no sooner than I settled in for a more textured but still frivolous entertainment, the story evolved itself further -- again with total consistency -- into something genuinely moving and delightful.

This was a real jewel of a find and a mighty pleasure to read. Thanks!

I thought the kid was theirs!!!! Lol!! Beautiful story,I loved it! 5 stars!.

This story was SO well-written! Seriously, bravo! Your prose is exquisite, and you characters seem very real and multidimensional (even if they include lizard men!). I have never commented on a story before, but I just had to tell you how much I loved this one. You painted a very vivid picture of a different world, and you described their cultures so vividly and imaginatively. I seriously loved everything about this story. Incredible job!