Xena E-Xine Volume 3, Issue 3 Lori Lake Interview Issue, XWP Uber Fanfic Bard
LORI LAKE ISSUE
Volume III, Issue 3 - June 26, 2002
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Today's issue includes:
1. Feature Article -- Interview with uber fanfic bard Lori L. Lake
2. Xena quote
3. Featured FanFic and Short Review -- "Gun Shy," "Under the Gun"
4. Xena News -- ROC Takes On The Bard; Xena Virtual Seasons Finales;
Breath of Fresh O2
5. Featured Links -- Lori Lake's site; Another recent interview
6. Xena: Warrior Princess Episode Guide
"Been There, Done That" -- "The Dirty Half Dozen"
7. What's Wrong With This Fiction? -- Commentary
8. Feedback
9. PRIVACY/NO SPAM POLICY!
10. Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information
11. Credits
12. Archives
13. DISCLAIMER
==============================================
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1) Featured Article
Interview with uber fanfic bard Lori L. Lake
She has written two exceptional uber novels, "Gun Shy" and "Under
the
Gun" which have been published by RAP, about cops and partners Dez
and
Jay. And warm Love in a very cold climate.
XINE: Do you think that women who are buying new lesbian novels in
gay bookstores have any idea what Uber is?
LORI: I think a lot of readers have caught on, but don't care. There
are many readers who never watched X:WP who love to read and who are
reading our stuff. At this point, the publishing world hasn't seemed
to have accepted the
fact that the published Uber has re-energized lesbian novel writing,
and
not just romance, but also action, adventure, drama, and mystery. I
don't think the reviewers know what hit 'em. Many of us who started
out as Uber writers are expanding and writing non-Uber stuff, too.
My
first and fourth novels aren't really Uber, and my fifth
book, "Jumping Over My Head," isn't even a novel at all, but short
stories.
I can tell you right now that I have had a number of readers from
outside the Xenaverse write me by snail mail and email, and they had
no clue . . . although recently someone did write me to say that
they
had read about six or eight books from various
publishers, and they only recently had figured out why a lot of the
leads were tall, mysterious brunettes hanging out with blondes who
had
voracious appetites. I had a good chuckle over that. Some folks say
that
Rita Mae Brown's latest, "Alma Mater," is an "Uber-in-Disguise."
I'll have to decide that when I read it, but I would say that if
Rita
Mae has written an Uber, then we have to say Uber has hit the
mainstream.
And one more thing, some of the bestselling books in the nation are
from the presses that sprang originally from the Xenaverse. My
publisher, Renaissance Alliance Publishing, Inc., has enjoyed
significant sales of both Uber books and non-Uber books. My
novel "Ricochet in Time" has sold every bit as well as "Gun Shy." To
be honest, I think people just want a good story that is gripping
and
well-told, and it doesn't matter so much what the leads look like.
XINE: Some of the stories provide a few more clues than others...so
it may click in for someone who watched the show, but doesn't own a
computer.
Did you leave all of that wonderful dream imagery deja vu flashback
stuff intact in the published version? Or did the editors want to
dispense with that as extraneous?
LORI: I don't think I left much in that blatantly associates
the "Gun" stories with X:WP. If one is a big fan of X:WP and the
Uber genre, it is very easy to insert LL or ROC's mannerisms or
actions, but it is not at all necessary to have a satisfying read of
either "Gun Shy" or "Under The Gun." The funny thing is that as I
wrote "Gun Shy," back in 1998-99, I very quickly moved away from
seeing them as Uber characters. Dez
Reilly and Jaylynn Savage took on lives, personalities, and looks of
their own. When I think of them, I do not think at all of LL and
ROC.
Maybe that sounds odd, but it's true.
The online readers get to see the deja vu flashbacks in greater
detail and with much more definite relationship to X/G. I made it
more nebulous in the published version. It's still there
if you look, though.
XINE: Novel Number Five is another "Gun Shy" sequel, right? (She
asked hopefully.) Tell us about your other novels and when are you
going to get back to Dez and Jay?
LORI: People laugh when they hear this, but I am so sick of Dez and
Jay that I could scream. We are putting out a 2nd edition of "Gun
Shy" in a couple weeks with a really cool new cover that matches
with
the "Under The Gun" cover. So I took the opportunity to reread the
text and clean up any errant typos. It is being typeset once again
with a slightly different font, and between that and the
corrections,
the layout changed, which means that I have to proofread the pdf
file
once again and then later go
over the galleys. Meanwhile, we are finishing up edits on "Under The
Gun," and I'll have that pdf file and galleys for that, too. I've
read GS at least 15 times since I wrote it, and I've probably read
UTG about 10 times. I'm so sick of my girls after all this that I
totally need a break. That's why I wrote "Different Dress." I needed
something different to re-energize me, and then I finished some
literary short stories that I had been working on.
Book Six may possibly be "Isolation 2020," which is a post-
apocalyptic action/adventure about two women who meet by chance when
one of them is left for dead outside the other's safe underground
shelter. I set the novel along the Mississippi River area in
Minnesota in the year 2020. It's very tough to write. I started it
before 9/11, and after that, I didn't have the heart to deal with
life after a horrible disaster, so I put it down and worked
on "Different Dress" instead. I picked up "Isolation 2020" several
weeks ago, and parts of it are flowing. I am not so sure how long it
is going to
take, though, to get it done. It's the most difficult thing I have
written. When I have trouble with "Isolation 2020," I can work on:
*** "Missing Link," which is the first coming-out story that I have
written. It's actually calling to me lately. I may have to
put "Isolation 2020" aside because this story is begging to be told.
I am even dreaming about it.
*** "The Fourth Option," which is a family drama. In that one, I am
doing something I have never done before in a novel: write at length
from a male point-of-view. The main character's father has,
unexpectedly, turned out to be a force in his own right. He and his
daughter, Lainey, are dealing with Lainey's mother, who has early
stages of Alzheimers Disease. The daughter lost her children to her
ex-husband when she came out, and the way she is trying to refashion
her life is very interesting to me. The father is also surprisingly
fascinating. I didn't know I had a male father's voice in me.
*** "Knight Wind," a medieval knight story that may end up being
three parts. The more I think about it and make notes, the longer
and
more complex it gets. We'll see, though, when I write it.
*** "Rebecca Blaze," which is an adventure/drama about a young woman
recently released from prison. She met someone there who was
released
before her-and will she be waiting for Blaze when she gets out? Even
more troubling, will Blaze even make it home? Something happens on
the journey from the prison to "home" that nobody ever expected.
XINE: Have you attempted any X&G stories?
LORI: No, that I have not done. (I sound like Yoda: "The Force, it
is not in me"). My heart has been in the present. I don't know why
that is, but when I think of stories to write, I tend to see them
set
in modern day. I do know that the ideas for "Knight Wind" hit me out
of the blue, and if I do finish writing that Court/Knight/Medieval
piece, it will be something different from what I have done so far.
Perhaps it would prepare me for the X:WP setting-I don't know.
Just thinking about it, it occurs to me that I loved Missy Good's
Xena and Gabrielle and the world she created as much (maybe more)
than X:WP, the TV show. Missy's books profoundly affected the way I
looked at the TV show, and I found myself seeing X & G as Missy's
characters more than the show's creator's characters. I don't know
if
that is good or bad, but I have enjoyed Missy's incarnation of that
world so much that I never had any desire to try to do the same
thing.
XINE: Would you have written anyway, or is it the online Uber that
incited you to novelize?
LORI: I worked on "Ricochet In Time" from 1993 to sometime in late
1995, before either Xena: WP or Hercules was being brought to life.
I
edited "Ricochet" as best as I could, then started sending it
around.
I got rejection after rejection. Even the two presses for whom I
worked editing and proofreading didn't want it. Nobody was
encouraging, and faced with that response, I put it away feeling
quite dismoralized. I
didn't get online until early 1998, and I didn't find the Xenaverse
until summer 1998. I went nuts reading everything I could, and I saw
things that were superb as well as things that were good but needed
work, both of which inspired me. All that lesbian energy and drama
reinvigorated the writer in me so that I started to think maybe I
could
fit in somewhere in the XV.
I started "Gun Shy" in October 1998 and finished the first draft in
May 1999. When I finally sent the first section to MaryD, I had the
same sinking feeling I'd had each time the big and small GLBT
publishing houses had turned down "Ricochet In Time." Imagine my
surprise when MaryD wrote back very quickly and said, "Imagine
Oliver
Twist. All I
have to say is 'Please, sir, I want some more.' I want the rest of
this so I can post it."
It was an unforgettable feeling.
The Xenaverse had a huge affect on getting me back to writing, but I
suspect that I would have gone back sooner or later. I have always
thought of myself as a writer- maybe not an Author or Bard-but I've
always wanted to write.
XINE: Are there any other Uber characters besides X&G in your Ubers?
I
believe I sniffed out Joxer as a rookie. And Lyceus is Dez's partner
who was killed? Did you look for parallels to exploit?
LORI: When I started to write "Gun Shy," I wasn't very educated
about
the
whole flow and background of X:WP. I didn't even see seasons one
through
three until season four was about to start. (Yes, I am a Johnnyetta
come lately.) The first entire episodes my partner and I saw were
the
Quest/Destiny ones, with the famous kiss, and that's what hooked us.
We watched the first of those on one station on a weeknight, then
picked them up on the next two weekends on the WGN station. I
borrowed the first couple of episodes from someone, so I did see the
way the show
began, but I was missing lots of chunks of the story.
Later, we ordered the first season videos and watched them, but we
hadn't seen the second season or half of the third season when I
started "Gun Shy."
So when I started writing, I began with this question: if Xena and
Gabrielle were alive today, what would they be? The obvious answer
was cops. They're already the enforcers of the greatest good in the
TV series, and that's a lot of what police are supposed to do in
present time. Then I thought, "So, if they're cops, living in
Minnesota, how would that come about?" The rest worked out slowly
but surely over the subsequent nine months-practically like a birth.
XINE: I love the parallel of the opening scene to the opening of
the series. Very subtle, but effective.
LORI: You are the first person to ever tell me they noticed that.
That is the one and only scene that I can say I launched from
consciously. Jaylynn is as protective of Sara as Gab was of Lilla,
and when Dez encounters the attackers in the house that the
roommates
share, she is reeling from awful things in her past in much the same
way that Xena was. Later, after she saves the two women from the
rapists, Dez doesn't want Jaylynn to hang about or join up with her-
or the police-much like Xena discouraged Gabrielle from leaving
Potadeia and coming with her. So in some ways, the set up does
mirror
the start of the series. But from there, the story took on a life of
its own, pulling in characters and
feelings and problems from my own life.
Ryan Michaelson, Dez's partner who was shot, was definitely not
Lyceus. He was someone else in my own life who I had lost. Of
course,
I didn't realize that until much later. I was writing without clear
consciousness of what the heck I was doing. It wasn't
until months later, long after posting the whole story, that I
started to identify the themes in the book as being my own issues.
And was I ever embarrassed!
XINE: Did you get as anxious as we did waiting for the relationship
to progress?
LORI: Oh, absolutely. I had no idea how it was all going to play
out.
I desperately wanted a happy ending, but I truly had no idea if that
was what I was going to get. You have to remember that I don't write
in a linear manner, for the most part. I had all these sections and
scenes and events, and I kept trying to sew them together into a
reasonable
narrative, but it was really a challenge. Thank god for Buff, Erin,
and Joy, my three original beta readers.
XINE: You've said that many readers thought you must be a police
officer for such knowledgeable CSI and procedures; are X&G your
primary inspiration/motivation for Uberizing and modernizing the
partnership or did they come in handy as a way of springboarding the
cop story/romantic love story you'd always wanted to write? Or both?
LORI: Hmmm....I've always loved mysteries and cop stories, whether
on
TV, in movies, or in books. I was ten-years-old when I started
checking out Perry Mason books from the Greenwood Library in
Seattle.
I have jokingly said I have read over a thousand mystery/thriller
cop
books and seen three or four times more of the same on film and
television. So I think I had already absorbed a lot of the tone,
attitude, and ideas of that genre. With that kind of interest and
attention to the subject and genre, it seemed natural to have it be
a
part of that book.
I think that X&G were a springboard to the story that I never knew I
wanted to write. There's a lot going on inside this monkey mind of
mine, and if it hadn't been X:WP, I might have been incited to write
by any number of shows or books series. It's just that
X:WP had all that subtext-and later maintext-and it was so
incredibly
invigorating. It showed me that there was a whole WORLD of women-and
some men-out there who were absolutely dying to get their hands on
stories about "non-straight" women's lives and loves and issues. One
interesting detail, when I wrote the first chapter of "Gun Shy," I
was actually imagining Dez as a tall, blonde, blue-eyed, Nordic-
looking Minnesotan. But then, for some reason Jaylynn kept seeming
to
be blonde, too, and I was having trouble distinguishing between
them,
so Dez became the opposite of Jaylynn - in almost every way, too.
From that point of view, I guess you could say that the Uber
elements
unconsciously and consciously were affecting me.
XINE: Were you a "Cagney & Lacey" fan as well? How did you get your
background info for the police characters? Seems pretty realistic. I
remember an article in the Village Voice that noted the butch cop,
Lucy, on "Hill St. Blues," played by Betty Thomas only would make
any
kind of sense if she were portrayed as gay. "Gun Shy" would make a
great realistic pay cable cop show about real women under the gun.
LORI: Oh, yes! I loved Chris and MaryBeth and would love to get all
the episodes from that show on DVD. Didn't everyone want Chris
Cagney
to find herself a gutsy, reliable, loving woman? (Maybe Lucy from
Hill Street Blues!) I liked the relationship between the C & L
characters, the way they stuck together through thick and thin, even
when they really didn't understand-or sometimes even like!-each
other. From my memory, they are the first "real" women consistently
portrayed on TV for any length of time.
I researched police procedures a lot, I had a cop for a beta reader,
and like I said before, I've read a million books, both fiction and
non-fiction. I used the Internet to make connections, research gear
and tactics, and read old news stories about police actions. I made
friends with a St. Paul Police Sergeant and went with him on a ride-
along, which was very helpful. It also doesn't hurt that I work in a
prosecutor's office either (but not as a lawyer). Knowing a bit
about the legal aspects helped me, in particular, when I
wrote "Ricochet In Time."
Thanks for the compliment that "Gun Shy" would be a good TV show. I
liked that line that reviewer M.J. Lowe wrote in her Amazon.com
review: "(T)he novel reads like a season's worth of episodes from a
television show that you wish was on TV." Police
organizations, like the military or the mob or a funeral home or a
TV
station or various other settings, can be a microcosm of the real
world. It's a very creative realm to write in. A lot can be done in
exploring relationships, conflicts, and alternate morals and ethics.
Hey, wouldn't it be great if this "All Gay/All The Time" idea for a
cable channel came
true? Wouldn't it be wonderful to have TV shows like X:WP and "Queer
As Folk" and original movies with GLBT themes made by, for, and
about
the non-straight world? I hope that it happens. I know I would
watch.
I would gladly pay to add that cable channel to my home network.
XINE: How does it feel to have it in book form, to actually hold
your
words in your hands between covers?
LORI: I suppose you want me to be honest, don't you? Well, it's
anticlimactic and, in some ways, stressful for me. I've worked so
long and hard on a book, and then by the time the box of my copies
arrives, I am always working on something newly exciting. I
receive the book, admire it, share it around, and am happy about it
for a while-and then I start fretting. Will anyone like it? Will
anyone buy it? Will reviewers hate it? Am I going to be able to get
the word out about it? Oh my God, what have I done?
I am, contrary to popular belief, quite a worrier.
XINE: Have you ever engaged in female bodybuilding like your Xena
Uber? Where did that sidelight come from?
LORI: Like a lot of my writing, which comes from experiences I have
had or from the experiences of people I know, the bodybuilding
interest came out of my own life. I spent about 14 months training
and cutting weight, readying for a bodybuilding competition. I
studied it, went to competitions, got a coach, and really got into
the sport. I was down to about 19% body fat, trimming nicely and
feeling good when it got very hard, even harder than it got for Dez.
It was almost depressing to cut calories like that, and I had
another
30 pounds to go. I couldn't face that much deprivation, and I was
driving my partner crazy. I was so happy to finally decide to bag
that idea. I ate half a pizza that night along with a chocolate bar
chaser. It was great.
So if I couldn't succeed at it, what better thing to do than give
over my frustrated failure to a character who could? Dez was able to
do what I could not, and I rather enjoyed it
vicariously.
There always seems to be something in each of my books that is a
vicarious pleasure. I haven't ridden a motorcycle, like Dani
in "Ricochet in Time," since I was 22. I've never been on a
pop/country musical tour like my characters in "Different Dress,"
but
I always
wished I had been born with enough talent for it. I've never had to
live underground, like the characters in "Isolation 2020," and I
hope
I never have to. If I haven't experienced a particular activity, or
if I can't do something myself, why not explore and learn about it
in
my imagination?
To this day, I believe that ultimately, Dez's bodybuilding
competition was a LOT more fun than a real one would have been for
me.
XINE: You present such presence of place that I actually feel cold
from your weather descriptions when I read your Ubers. How much does
the familiar setting contribute to the ease with which you relate
your tale?
LORI: When writers and teachers say, "Write what you know," I think
they are referring to things like setting and place and details
specific to one's own world. I transplanted to the Twin Cities 19
years ago after living in the Pacific NW for all my young life. It
took a bit of getting used to since I moved from a temperate climate
to one with the extremes
Minnesota has. It just worked into my writing without me really
forcing it. I wrote "Gun Shy" from late fall into early spring, so
some days, I just wrote exactly what I saw when I went outdoors or
looked out the window. To have the setting clear like that makes for
one less thing to fret about. I mean, a writer already has problems
with point of view and
character and narrative and tone and pacing and continuity and
several dozen other things . . . one less makes it slightly less
daunting.
XINE: What percentage inspiration is from the series/characters
(even
the actresses)... and how much from the other Uber?
LORI: Well, "Gun Shy" was inspired by X:WP over all, but not really
LL or ROC. Xena and Gabrielle are definitely the foremothers of Dez
and Jaylynn in many ways, but who LL or ROC are in real life didn't
influence my portrayal of my characters. I don't really know that
much about the two actresses, just their public personas, and it
doesn't seem that either of them have any of the issues that Dez
has.
I wrote "Under The Gun" after the final season ended-didn't I? Let's
see, I saw FIN during June of 2001. I take it back, I think I
finished the first draft of UTG around the same time that the series
ended. But nothing that was going on in the series influenced me, at
least not that I consciously know of. The set-up of the plot for
"Gun
Shy" dictated a lot of what happened in "Under The Gun." When you
write a sequel, you are sort of held hostage by what you have
already
written in the previous book. "Under The Gun" was much more
difficult
to write than "Gun Shy," and that's why it took me so long. I had
long periods of difficulty with it.
Other Uber stories probably influenced me more in the past than they
have in the last three years. I don't have nearly as much time to
read as I used to. Lately, I have had an incredible amount of
difficulty in balancing my life and writing. I just don't have
enough
time. I often have to make the choice between writing, reading,
emailing, or spending
time with my partner. In addition, I have a herniated disk in my low
back, so I can't sit at the computer for long periods of time (which
has wreaked havoc with me being able to keep up with Susan Meagher's
S.F. series!). I have not been keeping up with all the new stuff
coming out in the XV. Instead, I have been reading published works
that have come out of the XV, most recently finishing Vendetta by
Talaran. It's a lot easier to read a book-in the recliner, standing
up, on a bench, being able to move around-than to try to do it at
the
computer.
When I am writing, I tend not to read much, though. I am focused on
my characters and plot, and it's like I am underwater in SCUBA gear.
In order to focus on someone else's book, I have to come up for air,
get out of my own gear, and change my focus entirely, and then I
lose
my own direction.
Seems like most writing manuals give this direction: Write Every
Day,
rain or shine, problems or not, no matter what! Let me be the first
to say that anyone who does that must have servants, a lot of money,
and never lose their Muse. I, for one, am not that lucky.
XINE: You split up Jay and Dez as squad car partners for realism's
sake after they were outted as lovers--can you partner them again as
detectives?! What are the rules on that? Will you? Think about it.
LORI: I don't think Dez and Jay are going to ever be able to work as
shift partners. The police just do not allow it. Most police and
military organizations see too many problems both with adhering to
professional boundaries and with the parties staying objective.
Never
mind that after two cops have ridden together long enough, they
often
grow to be as much like married couple as their spouses are! Still,
real life married partners are usually separated for the good of the
team and unit.
I am not sure what I will have happen in book 3. I have been pulling
together actions scenes since I finished UTG, and I definitely have
enough job-related stuff to fill out the next story. There is no
reason they might not work in the same sector and back each other
up.
I could see Jaylynn riding with Crystal on a more permanent basis
and
Dez training in a series of rookies. That could make for some
interesting events.
We'll see what happens in my thinking as I let the two of them
percolate around for a while. They are rich characters, and sooner
or
later, I do want to focus on them again. When the time is right, the
story will start appearing to me.
XINE: "Gun Shy" is one of the few stories that I remember in great
detail, either fanfic or otherwise. A testament to the authoress.
Who
does the landlady represent? A compilation of characters?
LORI: That is very nice of you to say. Thank you. You're making me
blush.
When I started work on "Gun Shy"-or any of the other novels I've
worked on-I didn't know where the story was headed. I knew I wanted
to have a happy ending, but I couldn't guarantee it. I wrote scenes
and tried to figure out what the pattern was. At no time did I ever
sit down and correlate any of the characters with the show. There's
no Callisto or Joxer or Cyrene in my story-at least not that I
consciously planned.
Luella, Dez's landlady, represents someone from my own life who took
me into her heart at a time when I needed a bit of extra care and
nurture. My friend was an African-American woman originally from the
South who had never had children of her own. She tended to take in
all the lost lambs and odd ducks, much like Luella does. The Luella
character took on a life of her own, though, and suddenly she had
had
children and a house and a previous job at the telephone company and
Vanita for a sister and so on. I don't know where all that came
from,
but it didn't have anything to do with X:WP.
Here's one more interesting fact: Luella personally directed the
final scene of "Gun Shy." See, I am notorious for ending a book -
and
then not realizing for a while that I am not
done. I woke up from a dream one morning, and Luella was banging on
the ceiling hollering, "You forgot all about me, you fancy-ass
writer! You forgot me!" She said, "You put me in the end of the
book,
you fool. It's not complete otherwise." I woke up from that, turned
to my partner and through bleary eyes said, "You'll never guess
what..."
XINE: Do you find the Uber genre limiting in that the parameters of
the characters are pretty well pre-defined?
LORI: I'm not so sure that the parameters are so pre-defined
anymore.
Take Radclyffe, for instance, who I think we would all consider an
Uber author. From what I have read, her characters all take off from
the X/G descriptions and tend to develop their own personalities and
traits.
Readers and writers in the XV are an incredibly diverse and
intelligent bunch. From what I see, they want a story that is well-
told and well-written. I think I could post a novel like "Different
Dress," which is totally not Uber, and people would like it very
much.
The thing is, you can find the Uber qualities in every relationship.
It's not what people look like that defines it for me anymore. I
don't need a tall brunette with a tortured past or a short, gabby
blonde. But just look at some of the literature or TV or movies that
have come out, and you will see Uber characteristics all over them.
You mentioned Cagney & Lacey earlier. A lot of things about Chris
Cagney (troubled relationship with parent, rebellion against her
background, alcoholism, and a sexual assault) gave her the tortured
aspects of Xena. At the same time, Mary Beth has some of Gab's
qualities
and experiences. Their relationship, work troubles, and personal
lives pre-date X:WP, and yet, many of the same themes are examined
in
that show.
For me, the growing, changing relationship between the characters is
what made X:WP such a fascinating show, and adding the
subtext/maintext made it all the more compelling. Lesbians had
always, in the past, had to deal with such sub-subtext-Betty
Thomas's
role, for instance, which you also mentioned earlier. We all had to
imagine a world behind what we actually saw on the screen or on the
page. But to see two women characters obviously falling in love on a
TV show was revolutionary. What other show has ever shown two women
bound together so inextricably? It gives a gal the shivers!
XINE: Do you have aspirations to write for a larger audience? You
could.
LORI: The authors who have signed with publishers are already
writing
for a larger audience. The books are slowly but surely making their
way out into the bookstores, and the online stores are selling them
like crazy. There are many people who never watched the show who are
buying them.
When Naiad stopped publishing in 2000, they left a void. A few of
their authors went to the newly created Bella Books, and Bella has
published some fine novels, but they are not yet producing at the
volume that Naiad was. Bookstore owners tell me that they haven't
been getting in quite enough new books to satisfy the appetites of
all their readers, particularly the lesbian book buyers. There is a
gap there that our books fit into quite nicely, and many, many
bookstores all over the nation are starting to find that out.
I would love to write and market on a full-time basis and earn
enough
money to enable me to do that. The Xenaverse is large and generous,
but doesn't afford enough sales all by itself. So I am trying very
hard to get the word out about not just my book, but also about all
RAP books. I never want to lose the support of all my first readers.
It was the XV that encouraged me to write, and they continue to
support my efforts by sharing emails and information with me, buying
my books, and recommending my novels to others outside the XV.
Besides, I have made some of the best friends of my life here in
the XV. It's been wonderful.
XINE: How long do you think the Xenaverse will endure without the
show? Or was it superfluous all along???
LORI: Are you kidding? The XV is here to stay. It'll be a similar
phenomenon to the Trekkies. Even if there had never been any shows
after the original Star Trek, there would still be fans. In the same
way, fans in the XV are a force to be reckoned with, and they aren't
going away.
MaryD and Missy Good tell me that after the show ended, there was a
dip in fan response, and then slowly but surely it all built back
up,
and now they have more hits on their websites than ever before. I
believe that as long as X:WP is showing in syndicated
reruns all over the world, there will be new fans finding us. I know
if I were a young lesbian coming up, I would hunt for online
resources such as the XV. I remember when I was younger, I loved the
Perry Mason TV show. A bunch of us met almost every day for lunch in
college and watched it. At that point, the TV show was over 20 years
old.
I still like to catch it every so often on cable. What do you want
to
bet that kids not even born yet will be watching Xena in 10, 15, 25
years?
The XV was never superfluous. It is filled with incredible people
who
are thoroughly energized and excited by the themes and ideas that
X:WP brought out. Think about what Lucy said at Pasadena about the
fan feedback. She said something like "Long around the 8th episode,
when we figured out about the subtext, we started playing to
it." That doesn't happen much in TV. How many thousands of people
write to ask that various shows not be cancelled, and does it ever
help? Not usually, but in the case of X:WP, we were loud enough to
be
heard regarding subtext. What that tells me is that there is a
critical mass of women - and some men - out there who had enough
influence to steer a multi-million dollar TV show toward the themes
we were interested in.
When Lucy starred in the flagging musical, "Grease," on Broadway,
they ended up with sold-out crowd after sold-out crowd, which
revitalized the show's run. I'll say it again: Women from the XV are
a force to be reckoned with.
So back to your original question: will the XV endure? Yes, I
believe
it will. It will morph and change as people come and go, but I think
it will be around for a very long time and so will a hell of a lot
of
good stories and novels. Thanks for interviewing me. It's always a
pleasure to talk to you!
==============================================
2) Xena Quote
"C'mon. Our path is waiting, and
we've got a long way to go yet."
--Gabrielle to Xena
XWP Virtual Subtext Season 7 Finale -- "Fallen" -- by Rob Tapert and
Melissa
Good
==============================================
3) Featured Fan Fiction
Reviewed by bacchae2
These superb ubers were already reviewed by us in a previous issue
which we reprint here. Read other uber novels for graphic sex and
pedestrian novels for a run of the mill cop/mystery story. Wisely,
unlike many novelists, she does not make that the raison d'etre of
the piece. It's the relationship. What the series forgot in season
five. The subsidiary plot tangentially concerns a murder, the
everyday police work is well chronicled and researched. Character
driven stuff as fine as any other uber out there.
"Gun Shy"
by Lori L. Lake
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/g/gunshy1.html
This one, a classic, had been recommended to me several times, but I
just hadn't gotten around to it (so many great ubers, so little time
online). I'm delighted that she is making this into a series. And it
would make a fabulous TV series as well like that other great police
duo, "Cagney and Lacey." It deserves the kind of more or less
'mainstream' notice and readership (actually, I'll wager the
readership
just might be larger on line) as that of someone like mystery
novelist
Sandra Scoppettone (one of the better lesbian 'mainstream' writers.)
I
love the romance, I love the characters...I really loved the
parallel
symmetry of them being partners who ride together, who meet each
other
in much the same way as did Xena and Gabrielle (Dez, short for
Desiree,
the daring cop saves Jay and the kid follows her to the police
academy)
and I especially love the fact that they, like Dar and Kerry, are
true
reincarnations who sometimes get flashes of their former existence.
Five ***** stars!
============
"Under the Gun"
by Lori Lake
http://www.ausxip.com/fanfic15/under_the_gun.htm
The equally excellent sequel to "Gun Shy." Dez lost it when Jay was
injured by a bully and is on leave and finally taking some
counseling
for the PTSD she never dealt with from the death of her former
partner
(a Lyceus uber, I believe.) The new partners have been torn apart by
rumor and revenge on the job, but neither seems to know if they've
broken up in their now not so private life as well. It takes them an
agonizing while to figure it out too. Great setting, authenticity of
detail, and supporting cast of characters. The proposed gay channel
should pick this up for a series. In fact, someone should produce an
Uber Theater. It would never go wanting for great material.
Five ***** stars!
===========
Star Rating
***** The Full Chakram!
**** Foreplay
*** Two sais and a whimper
** Half staff better than none
* Kiss Joxer or Caligula, your choice
==============================================
4) Xena News
ROC Tackles Shakespeare
"The bard does The Bard"
by E.J. Rain
"The...wren/The most diminutive of birds, will fight." Act IV, scene
ii,
Macbeth
For someone who has harbored a passion for the Bard since childhood,
and
even before I could read, thanks to the great Max Rhinehart film of
his
famous stage version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" starring James
Cagney as Bottom and Mickey Rooney as Puck the news that my favorite
actress would get to fulfill a wish of hers and mine came as a
great,
great pleasure. How did you fall in love with the Bard? For me it
began
with admiration for another actress who played the first woman on TV
who
could take care of herself, the favorite of my formative years,
Diana
Rigg's memorable Emma Peel on "The Avengers." Famous for her
Cordelia
and Viola. I knew she was RADA (it became my dream to attend that
greatest of acting schools) and RSC. I sent for their yearbook and
pored
over the dramatic photos of soon to be legendary actors. The Royal
Shakespeare Company's production of "Comedy of Errors" ran, in black
and
white (it was that long ago), on PBS and Dame Diana played the
female
lead, Adriana. A role I had to have for that reason alone and read
for
cold and got on my first day in the drama department in college.
(Which
degenerated into a misbegotten commedia delle arte whiteface
nightmare
during which I badly sprained my ankle in the middle of a
performance
and hobbled through the rest, but that's another story.) Dame Diana
also
appeared on TV in Peter Hall's lively RSC "Midsummer Night's Dream"
with
Helen Mirren and Judi Dench, three of the great actresses of the
latter
half century. And never getting enough of this favorite comedy that
I
know, literally, by heart, I got to see Peter Brooks' famed RSC
production on stage twice, one of the greatest of the century, which
featured a young Patrick Stewart and Ben Kingsley. Wasn't Missy's
Sappho
script supposed to be based upon it? How I would have loved that.
For the past year I've been faithfully reading a few pages a day
from
my
beloved copy of The Complete Works. The John Barrymore edition. A
charming, convenient faux leather bound, gilt-edged single volume
with
thinner than wafer pages, lightweight, solid, but flexible in the
hand
like a holy bible. Which to me it is. It's my favorite collected
works
edition, among many, that I own. I can see why Barrymore or any
actor
would've treasured having the Bard always to hand in such a compact
form. (There's an XWP joke in there, isn't there?) On my nightstand.
It
all begins with the love of the book, which is really the love of
words,
whether spoken by a bard or preserved upon a scroll. I had always
promised myself I would read them all, all the plays, not so
Herculean a
task. I am at the half-way mark. In the middle of a history ("A
little
touch of Harry in the night.") I started doing this to occupy my
troubled mind with something grand...that heightened
language...human
drama in high-relief because I sorely missed my favorite series
which
was also larger than life...and ended in tragedy.
And so...
I skipped ahead to (re)read "Macbeth." Shh. As a theater major I
know
the superstition. It must be referred to as "The Scottish Play" or
some
dire accident will befall the production. It's the same reason you
say
"break a leg" instead of "good luck" before a performance. Having
not
read the play since Sister Regina's english lit class in high school
where I read Lady M aloud (I was always called on to read the
androgynous-voiced, strong, anti-heroine women's roles-- Medea,
Phaedra)
and I found to my delight that, kids, it's not all that far removed
from
an episode of XWP. She'll feel right at home. Melodrama. Blood and
thunder. Even some gallows' humor.
Initially shocked at the seeming casting 'gainst type, how can we
even
wonder why she would leap to the challenge? She does, afterall, have
some experience in playing a complex character. Don't be thrown by
dear,
sweet, innocent Gabrielle, but think on cold, calculating,
manipulative
Hope. And even the tough battling bard of later years. We already
know
what a fine and versatile actress she is and how many surprising
colors
are on her palette. Though I would have gone through the entire
pantheon
and gladly given her Ophelia, Juliet, Rosalind, Viola, La Pucelle
(Joan
of Arc, described as an "amazon" and with a really big sword too),
even
Portia or Cleo, this is absolutely the last role I would have
thought
of
for her. Not because she's not capable of playing it, but, on the
contrary, my paltry imagination was not enlightened enough to
automatically embrace the concept. I have every confidence she can
not
only do it justice, but make it truly memorable.
And what a setting. Makes one think somehow of that playwright
in "When
Fates Collide" writing and staging her great epic works by the sea.
NYSF
West. Nothing beats Shakespeare under the stars. We used to picnic
all
day in Central Park for a free Public Theater production starring
Meryl
Streep or Raul Julia or Kevin Kline or William Hurt. This is very
smart
casting on their part and they should reap the benefits of it. Now,
if I
were her I'd check out that all-female Shakespeare company in L.A.
(I
always wanted to play the great male roles just like Sarah Bernhardt
and
Eva Le Gallienne.) Not all Xena fans are loutish cultural
philistines.
Even that large SCA contingent tend to be W.S. fans, especially of
that
particular play. I'm not saying, however, that they don't run the
risk
of bringing a whole new fandom to the Bard. And which bard is which
in
this instance? If truly ambitious a new company could undertake The
Wars
of the Roses (which most americans know only as a dark comedy about
divorce), I doubt that epic undertaking (all the histories
from "Richard
II" to "Richard III," with three Henrys in between, in rep) has ever
been attempted in the U.S.? That would be a 'ratings stunt'
comparable
to staging the entire Ring Cycle at Bayreuth.
Lady M is first seen, in effect, reading a scroll. ("My dearest
partner
of greatness," she reads in the letter from her warrior... sigh.)
And,
lastly, attempting to wash the blood off her hands. This, among
other
things, may provoke a lump in the throat. XWP fans may find
themselves,
though, shuddering outright at an ending in which the anti-hero is
beheaded. Murder, betrayal, ambition, lust, and greed for power.
Just
another day at the beach. Resonant. For Xena fans. To say the least.
Ghosts, witches, damnation. The three Weird sisters are no different
from the banshees, Fates, or Furies. In fact they seem to have been
based upon the Norns, or Norse saga version of The Fates. Hecate is
just
another name for Alti. Some impossibly famous lines that ROC has to
wrap
her tongue around: "Screw your courage to the sticking place,"
"What's
done cannot be undone," and the ever popular bad Fido joke, "Out
damn
Spot." And then there's the wonderful line that Hitchcock always
used
in
a crowded elevator, "Who would have thought the old man to have had
so
much blood in him?" It is her guilt, finally, over the death of true
innocents, the death of children that drives her to madness and
suicide.
Because her own babes have died in infancy, to which she seems to
allude
at one point?
It is one of the shortest plays, the shortest tragedy, I believe.
And
that seems to be due to editing for presentation at court. And this
is
the only copy of the play that comes down to us. Unfortunate. Lady
M's
part, especially in this instance, could only benefit us by being
longer. What we have is the abridged or Reader's Digest version. A
shame. But it is concise, fast and furious, and not over-long or
tedious.
"Blood will have blood." Where have I heard that before? And it's
all
about a big dumb warrior controlled by his wife. (And, sadly, I
can't
help thinking what an effective Macbeth Kevin Smith would've made.)
I
could conceive doing it in a modern version as a corporate takeover
which is exactly how it plays. The witches, caterers from hell; Lady
M
with blood red fingernails, egging hubby on to get that promotion by
any
means necessary.
And ROC looks every inch the serious young actress with her dark
hair,
stunning. Wonder if LL will be jealous, if she's always wanted to do
Lady M? Nah. She probably prefers the comedies. Imagine taming that
shrew. Never in a million years.
I still remember the "tomorrow" speech by heart. Macbeth's two great
soliloquys give us two classic Star Trek titles. Not to mention a
Faulkner novel, a true crime and a Ray Bradbury classic in a later
scene. And did you know Autolycus makes an appearance in
Shakespeare?
The thief of Greek mythology is comic relief, as always, in "The
Winter's Tale."
Wish fervently I lived in CA. I'd turn into a 'camp' follower of the
bard's band drifting from Point to Polliwog, park to park like some
flotsamian baglady reciting W.S. under my breath to see my other
favorite bard tackle one of the greatest stage roles of all time.
You
go, girl.
"Come, put my armor on. Give me my staff." Macbeth, Act V, sc. iii
*************************
Renée O'Connor news
From Creation Entertainment
Shakespeare by the Sea is free -- you do not need a ticket. Seating
is
available on a first come, first served basis. People begin showing
up
an hour or so before the show begins to get seats. Beach chairs,
blankets and warm, layered clothing are recommended. Point Fermin
has
bench seating, however many people bring their own chairs -- all
tour
locations are open grassy areas without seats - so definitely bring
your
own chairs or be prepared to sit on the ground. Picnics are welcome.
Renee will be performing Lady Macbeth in the Shakespeare by the Sea
production of Macbeth. It starts June 27 and will run for five weeks
in
San Pedro (Point Fermin Park). Then it will go on a tour of the
beach
cities of Southern California until August 16. You will find the
schedule, as it becomes available, on their web page at
http://www.shakespearebythesea.org/calendar.html
All performances have a pre-show 1/2 hour prior to the performance.
Photography/Taping is not permitted during performances -- you may
have
a chance for photos after the show - but that's not guaranteed.
Renee's dates/times/locations:
6/27 (opening night), 28, 29 -- San Pedro, Pt. Fermin -- 8 PM
7/5, 12, 18, 20 San Pedro, Pt. Fermin -- 8 PM
7/26 -- Hermosa Beach, Valley Park -- 7 PM
8/1, 3 -- Wilmington, Banning Park -- 7 PM
8/9 -- Manhattan Beach, Polliwog Park -- 7 PM
8/16 (closing night) -- San Pedro, Pt. Fermin -- 7 PM
============
The Virtual Seasons Have Their Finales
No cliffhangers.
The Finale We Deserved!
Finally.
Rob allows Missy to redress a wrong.
Both Virtual Seasons ended in amazon arcs wherein Xena discovers the
New
World and gives the Amazon its name. (What are the odds?!) And we
wondered how that happened, huh? Xena is the short answer to all
things.
"Fallen"
Story by Rob Tapert/Script by Melissa Good
http://xenamultimedia.com/XWPSubtextS7/S7E19/S7-E19-Teaser.htm
This script reads like the finale we all wanted (at least where the
X&G
relationship is concerned, the extraneous plot needed some work,
would
Lila and Sarah, both saved by Xena, really do that?! and the bard's
sister even says she knew long ago that Xena was Gab's home)...I
mean...it reads like A finale (that could've been THE finale) and
it's a
happy ending! And Missy's Disclaimer here leaves absolutely no doubt
that that's what it is too. She gently bites the hand that led her
without remorse. Don't know if she rewrote any for this posting, but
if
this is the full original script, it's like they had an alternate
ending
ready to go, or, perhaps, just an ending to season six if they
thought
at the time they were going to do another season (pretty hard though
if
Lucy was going to leave anyway). Then again...wasn't the Japanese ep
planned as a future tv-movie at one point? But I've always thought
that
Rob offed Xena just to spite the studio!
Since Missy says it's an official (she even gives the number!)
unproduced script I'm quite sure it was written and handed in as to
Rob's story concept. But where were they gonna place it? Instead of
"Many Happy Returns?" An attempted Missy replacement script for the
scrapped Sappho ep (which I think made it into pre-production)?
This was the interaction we wanted to see at the end of the series
between X&G and to the ultimate point to which their characters'
development had arrived. Yin/Yang come full circle and, literally,
by
bringing them back, at fade-out, to the exact spot at which they
first
met. Now, that is true journey's end. To paraphrase: 'They shall not
cease from exploration, and the end of all their exploring shall be
to
arrive where they started and know the place for the first time.'
And
to
know exactly who they are to each other and to themselves and that
they'd do it all over again knowing all they know.
Anyhoo...they literally walk off into the sunset together holding
hands.
X calls G "my love," G refers to "our love," and they kiss on the
mouth
(though, once again, one of them is unconscious! GEEZ! People!) Did
Missy rewrite this? She doesn't say it's based on a script, she says
it
IS the script...which means SHE had them calling each other "my
love,"
"our love," and kissing on the mouth, as well as her usual feeling
the
bond stuff. No wonder they couldn't do it!
Wonder if this really was an alternative ending...though it seemed
Rob
always had the Japanese arcana in mind. It certainly reads like the
finale we all really wanted to see instead of what we got. That
sunset
the way we wanted to experience it. Wonder how many other unproduced
scripts Missy worked on besides the Sappho one and I assume she got
paid
regardless if it was produced or not?
Xena facing her fears and her sins (of the past) and choosing
life...and
Gabrielle.
That's the only atoning Xena ever had to do for her sins, be willing
to
give her life, especially for Gab, but never actually die.
And perhaps "Full Circle" would've been a better title.
Are they gonna do this all over again come September? Or they could
leave it right there and I'd be satisfied and feel vindicated. TN,
Sue,
and Missy (et al) as primary writers--and what a remarkable
accomplishment that is in itself--gave us a season better, overall,
than
Season Five. Three women who did a better job than many Hollywood
writers/producers. They should be very proud of the achievement as
we
are of them. They deserve our kudos and applause and heartfelt
thanks.
Now I wish they'd put up the Sappho script!
===========
A Breath of Fresh O2
Finally Oxygen (the neo network) wised up (sorta) and are visibly
employing the WP as a major attention getting attraction to their
fledgling cable/satellite channel. We'd been thinking all along that
they needed her as a more visible symbol to spice up their on air
promos. The ad which features an endless array of beauty contestant
bimbos is pretty hard to sit through (and I didn't at first) until I
finally caught the pay-off for their punchline re typical female
stereotypes. To rebut that charge we are suddenly awakened by the
glorious sight of Xena in full battle mode as a pugilistic, yet
pulchritudinous image of womankind that, indeed, changed a lot of
miss-perceptions. This was just the breather of fresh oxygen the
doctor
(and she is in) ordered to draw some attention (if not actual
attendance) to the barely respiring network for women. I saw this ad
during every damn commercial break on Larry King one night when
Jodie
Foster was the sole guest (for "Panic Room") and got the breath
knocked
out of me every single time by the still literally breath-taking
sight
of my beloved warrior. Just breathe. Deeply.
=============================================
5) Featured Links
Lori L. Lake's Webpage
http://www.lorillake.com/
A handsome site that will give you all the info you need on ordering
her
uber and non-uber novels, merchandise, etc.
===========
Another Recent Interview with the Author
http://www.katlynfic.com/Authors/LoriLake.htm
Delightful interview, asks all the questions we didn't. (And I find
we
share a love for Ray Bradbury.)
==============================================
6) Xena: Warrior Princess Episode Guide
by Bacchae2
Episode Forty-eight "Been There, Done That" and Episode Forty-
nine "The
Dirty Half Dozen"
"Been There, Done That"
Best comedy ep. Great slapstick. Not overdone...for a change. Joxer
dies, is burned and returns the 'same' morning--all in the teaser!
Group
hug. What a clever script. Even though it's 'based' on "Groundhog
Day"
it is still very fresh and exuberantly well-done. Favorite comic
moments: when Xena rants on and the camera slow pans to Gab and Jox
bound and gagged and when Xena kills Jox with her chakram and goes
back
to sleep and Gab freaks. Xena throws a mean tantrum. This ep makes
me
laugh out loud every time. Ad infinitum.
Subtext Rating:
Carpe Diem...
Sieze the day. Literally.
The 'cameo' of Xena lying with Gabrielle in her arms...to die for.
The
sweetly guilty expression on Gabrielle's face when Joxer asks Xena
if
that's a hickey. They should have made as big a deal of Gab's
'death'
as
well even though Xena knows time, by this time, will reverse itself
in
the morning. We hear her mourn at the pyre. But we should have seen
it
and felt her pain. Their reunion is cute...though Gab has no earthly
idea what they are celebrating. She doesn't seem to mind. And Joxer
interrupts again. Argh.
"The Dirty Half Dozen"
Steel. Steal. The Magnificent 7 ride. The motley six or so, that is.
Gab
& Xena look cool in capes. Ares gets off on playing war games. ROC
is
beautiful by firelight.
Subtext Rating:
The Changer and the Changed.
"Gabrielle is a good teacher."
Gab asks, "Am I what you made me?" What would have happened if
they'd
met earlier... That's one to ponder. They've both changed each other
so
much, even at this point. Gab says, "I'm not a little girl." Xena
muses,
if I had met her before, maybe... "Question is, who would I be
without
you?" Ah, thank you, Xena. That was the thoughtful warrior I fell in
love with.
==============================================
7) Commentary
"What's Wrong With This Fiction?"
Ya ever notice how one of a lesbian couple (especially a potentially
happy ever after lesbian couple) just seems to always have to die?
This
not only sucks big time, but it happens to be so old-fashioned it
creaks
out loud and is ill-conceived in mirroring the same-old/same-old
didactic, moralistic edict from, apparently, on high (TPTB) that
dictates the girls can only kiss with passion if a death will occur
shortly. This, like totally, bums me out, man. I'm prompted to cry
foul
yet again after the painful season-ending arc on "Buffy" brutally
killed
off Willow's girlfriend and fellow Wiccan Tara. What's with these
producers anyway? You'd think Joss would've had the smarts to learn
from
Rob's debacle. And adding injury to insult it turns out that his
co-producer, Marti Noxon, who oversaw most of this mostly so-so
Buffy
season which played like a teen soap (she's actually referred to it,
disparagingly in my mind, as "Party of Five with monsters") has two
mommies and should, presumably, know better! They need to discipline
the
child for this. First Xena, now poor little Tara, can Dr. Kerry
Weaver's
firewoman lover on "ER" be far behind? At least maybe they'll get
some
bathetic farewell scene while she's dying from some heroic deed in
the
emergency room. This over-rated drama is just as melodramatic as
Xena
or
Buffy afterall.
So...the more things change the more they stay the same. Yeah, you
know
the drill. Poor, wretched, unloved (at least not 'that' way) Martha
in
"The Children's Hour" hangs herself after she's forced out of the
closet
and can no longer be just a loving 'sister' to her best friend
Karen.
The joyful, budding schoolgirl Manuela in the early German film
classic
(a role played on the british stage by a 14 yr. old Jessica Tandy)
"Madchen in Uniform" who has a crush on her beautiful, caring
teacher
must leap to her didactic demise after she is outted by a glass of
wine
to celebrate the already drunken success she feels for her
triumphant
turn in a trouser role assayed at an all girls' school. At least
that's
the way it had to play in America. There is a much more satisfying
alternate ending in which she is rescued by her schoolmates before
she
takes the plunge. Even in novels written by lesbians from the
classic
"Well of Loneliness" to the recent, lyrical first novel, "Fall On
Your
Knees" (an Oprah Book Club selection!) written by the actress who
played
one of the lesbians in the charming Canadian film, "I've Heard the
Mermaids Singing," a happy ending is just not in the cards for our
girls. The only walk into the sunset I can remember is "Desert
Hearts."
When will love be allowed to conquer all where women loving women
are
concerned? Thank Aphrodite for Uber!!!!!!!! Bless you Bards.
=============================================
8) Feedback
Dear Lady Adell,
Thank you very much for the kind comments of my stories, I am ever
in
your debt. The stories are a part of me, yet the plot elements of
several of them had slipped my mind until you reviewed them. I
reread
"Xenaquest I&II" for the first time in several years. Painfully
awkward
in some places, the fun I had in writing them is still evident. The
relationship between Xena and Gabrielle took on a life of its own,
as
it
should have. Their love will live on in fan literature, and I had a
blast at having a very small part of it. Take care, -John (Ogami)
{Ed. Note - We are so tickled we actually inspired a bard to read
his
own work.}
Dear Jo.
Well well...these xines just keep getting better and better. Very
well
done. Loved the dialogue between Ogami and the xine - very
informative.
And the URLs to the stories, the run downs of same and the in-depth
look
at Missy Good's work is just marvellous.
Well done, indeed. Keep up the good work. Trish ardentTly
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are accepting submissions for featured articles. Send to above
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11) Credits
The Xena E-Xine Staff:
Founder:Lady Adrell
Editor/Head Writer: Bacchae2
Researcher/Writer/Assistant Editor: Sue, Cindy FanFic Critic: Staff
Website Analyst: Staff Episode Guides: Bacchae2
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12) Archives
The archives are searching for a new home. Sorry for the delay. If
you
would like to be emailed a copy of a previous xine let us know. Or,
our
first volume of issues is still available at the old site:
http://exine.tvheaven.com/archive.html
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13) DISCLAIMER
The Lady of the Lake's depth was trolled for gold during the
production
of this xine, never panned, and was found scintillating as
Excalibur.
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You have permission to forward this to other people, and by all
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The contents of this E-Xine may be copied, reproduced, or freely
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THANKS FOR READING!
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