Xena E-Xine Volume 3, Issue 4 LA Tucker Interview Issue, XWP Uber Fanfic Bard

LA TUCKER ISSUE

Volume III, Issue 4 - August , 2002

==============================================

Today's issue includes:

1. Feature Article -- Interview with Uber fanfic bard LA Tucker,

author

of "The Light Fantastic"

2. Xena quote/Xena humor

3. Featured FanFic and Short Review -- LA Tucker's Ubers

4. Xena News -- All the news that's fit to reprint

5. Featured Links -- Tucker's website

6. Xena: Warrior Princess Episode Guide

"The Deliverer," "Gabrielle's Hope," -- "The Debt"

7. The Uber Zone? RMB's "Alma Mater"

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 Fanfic Uberbard LA Tucker

"The Light Fantastic," to be published by RAP publishing and due out

in August 2003, its sequel "The Inside Out" (both reviewed below)

are

not only two of the best and wittiest ubers we've ever read, but two

of the most entertaining novels period.

When we asked Tucker for this interview she accepted with the

stipulation that we had to come up with some "fun, off-the-wall, and

invigorating" questions. So if it seems a bit more irreverent and

loopy

than usual that's our excuse.

XINE: Do you have anywheres near a complete grasp of just what a gem

a classic romantic comedy you've created here?

TUCKER: Well, uh, thank you! All I hoped to do was to add to a

growing

body of romantic comedy long-form Ubers out there -- and if I have,

then

I've accomplished my goal. As for whether it's a gem or a rock, that

remains to be seen in the eye of the reader. And without the major

mindbending influence of having read Madam President (Blayne Cooper

and

T.Novan) a bazillion times, I would have never even tried writing at

all.

XINE: Just how punny do you think you are?

TUCKER: Not much, really, at all. Most days I am a huge

embarrassment

my family, friends, and coworkers. My friends and relatives tend to

roll

their eyes at anything that comes out of my mouth. I think I just

transferred those personal quirks to a computer screen. One of my

friends, who had no idea I was trying to write, read The Light

Fantastic

after completion, and gave me the best critiques I've ever gotten --

and

the worst, too. She said, "You write exactly the way you talk and

act."

She said that with a big grin on her face, so I'm guessing it was

her

idea of a compliment. And perhaps an insult, too.

XINE: What's par for the course? Any zen of golf Big Picture/life

lesson

links and metaphors to pass along to us duffers as we putter along

the game?

TUCKER: Oh, God, I really hate comparing sports to life. I'm a hack

golfer at best -- grass stained sneakers, saggy shorts, grubby t-

shirt ,

silly ballcap when I play 9 holes -- and of all the sports I've ever

tried my hand at, it is the most frustrating and funny endeavor out

there. I still am of the mind that it's not a sport, but an exercise

frustration with a stick and a ball. Perfectly sane people going

ballistic over the smallest mistakes and miscues. Getting stuck in

the

traps and hazards of life as we go along from hole to hole. Trying

perfect the mechanics of a swing, and then have it all fall apart by

unexpected interruptions, topping the ball, missing the mark.

Kerplunk!

Most of all, it's a very quiet activity, where a person has lots of

time

to watch the antics of those around them -- all bluster and swagger

one

minute, then lamely trying to explain away screw-ups and make up for

them forever afterward. The most dignified, intelligent people

losing

it, acting nutsy, all in the pursuit of doing a little better than

they

did the day before. Is there a life lesson in there? I'm not sure,

but I

try to observe and internalize dialogue and the way people react in

everyday situations, at the golf course, at a convenience store, in

doctor's office. I love hearing 'stories', especially by

entertaining,

everyday people just trying to get by.

XINE: What other ubers (characters) are present in the piece? Do you

specifically search for a way to incorporate XWP elements (Chloe's

tattoo e.g.) or do they just sort of fall into place organically? (I

loved the most recent off-hand ref to "The Scottish Play.")

TUCKER: I love to sneak in references of the here and now regarding

ROC

and LL, and especially show stuff, even stuff from fanfic. It

tickles

me. Just small stuff, sometimes bigger. Chloe's the Talk -- 'leaving

behind while you go have the (house) adventure.' MacBeth. Eli. Henna

tattoo. Marcy modeled physically after Ephiny. Paul as dimbulb

Joxer.

Lucy's constant squinting segued into vision problems. Tossing in

dialogue from the show, but out of different people's mouths,

instead

the uber counterpart. John Deere tractor as Argo. Jay Caesar

'crucifying' them through being the critic for the play. The

umbrella

avenging sword. Cargo the horse. Lucy's affinity for the Three

Stooges.

The Gossiping Biddies as Amazon elders. I know alot of this stuff is

probably missed, but I don't try and purposely emphasize it, it's

all

flying around aimlessly in my head and if it fits to the situation,

all

the better. Chloe's new hairdo -- dark red hair, cowboy boots

(although

I was ahead of the curve on these changes -- I must be psychic, I

wrote

that a LONG time ago, before the advent of her appearance in

MacBeth.)

Again, this is what makes it fun for me and pays tribute to the show

that I loved. And I have to admit, I really enjoy the pointed digs I

toss at Rob Tapert, too.

XINE: Is humor endemic to your mindset or is it simply situational

the storytelling?

TUCKER: All right, you made me look up 'endemic'. That's what it is

alright, endemic. <g> If pressed to explain, I suppose I look at

everything to

find the humorous possibilities in it, to set up the more dramatic

scenes, and then they just perpetuate over and over, from silly to

angst

and back again. Most of the bad/difficult things that have happened

my own life seem to have come without a 'big event' precipitating

it.

Usually, it's miscommunication and the unexpected that throw

perfectly

functional human beings way off course. How people deal with it is

usually just as wickedly funny, but only afterwards, when seen with

the

gift of retrospect. At the time, it's awful and frustrating. Three

years

down the line, and many therapist bills later, it's all a hysterical

laugh when you have to relate the details to an awed crowd.

XINE: What prompted your short uber "Convergence" (New Age meets

cute in

a convenience store) and do you intend to expand on those rather

wacky characters?

TUCKER: Ahah, the story no one ever read, and if they did, they must

have hated it. Three things prompted that story. One, my friendship

with

my co-writer, Sage Walker, a woman who practices and embraces the

old

healing arts of Shamanism and Reiki -- things I was ignorant of, and

fascinated with after making her acquaintance. She quite rightly, I

think now, attributes many of life's happenings to simply not being

aware of unseen forces and influences. Me, I like to have something

concrete to lay blame on -- Osama Bin Laden, a dippy store clerk, a

lumpy mattress, a bad haircut. Concrete things. And not to mention

the

fact that I've been held up three times while working behind the

counter

of a store.

But I don't think that way any more -- now I believe in fate and the

unpredictable vagaries of the universe, and that something out there

has

a diabolical and sometimes enlightening plan for our lives, and we

don't

have any control over it. It makes for more interesting 'excuse

making'

on my part - I was late, not because of a flat tire, but simply

because

I was somehow supposed to be stuck on that stretch of highway for an

hour so I could meet and talk to the nice cop who stopped and helped

change my tire in the pouring rain.

Second, I think of it as my Uber crossover homage to the best small

town

setting I've ever witnessed on screen, The Andy Griffith Show.

Convergence and its characters were written with the same intention

the show -- small town at its weirdest, gentlest best. Oh, and it

was

fun to write, too, so I hope to revisit the characters. A wannabe

cop

and a ditzy, sincere New Ager. Sounds like a good time to me.

XINE: What's next? Are you let down now that it's over, enervated

or,

conversely, energized to another project? Any more ubers brewing,

Chloe and Sara?

TUCKER: Enervated and ennui is moi. Not much stewing going on in my

mental crockpot right now. I'm writing a more serious 3 part

shortish

orginal alt fic story, Between A Memory and A Dream, which is almost

complete and is currently being posted in parts. I'm planning on

devoting a lot of my time to beta-ing for a new writer -- I didn't

have

a beta reader for The Light Fantastic, and I fruitlessly searched

for

one. I sure could have used the guidance. I plan to revisit Chloe

and

Sara in a short Halloween story for Merwolf, but I don't want to

write

them in long story form again. Best to let them muddle on without

me.

I'm whooped.

But on the other hand, I have some ideas floating around ...

XINE: Do you chuckle maniacally when you write this stuff?

TUCKER : I reread it, and yeah, I get a giggle. I admit it. Some of

falls flat, some of it is lame, some of it is goofy and good

natured.

give myself credit for trying.

But on a personal note:

I wrote The Light Fantastic during one of the worst stretches in my

life, the absolute agonizing worst. I wrote it to escape the

unending

tension and sorrow in my life -- my father was slowly dying in a

town

two hours away from me, and I couldn't sleep at night --so I wrote

instead, for months on end. Between work, traveling, worrying,

writing,

caffeine overload and the total lack of sleep, I have no idea where

all

the humor came from -- I look back at it now and think I must have

been

a lot crazy at the time. I had three chapters left to write when he

passed away in early September last year, a week before 9-11. I

finished

TLF a few nights before his memorial service on October 1st. After

writing 'Finis', I sat down on the floor of my kitchen and cried my

heart out for hours. I hadn't done any crying all those months that

dad was slipping away and I was obsessively writing to keep the real

world at bay. Everything was all bottled up in me and maybe someone

with

a psych background can explain to me how I was able to write

romantic

screwball comedy when I was barely functioning and completely

stressed

out. Very few people knew what was going on, I kept it to myself.

It's

still pretty unbelievable to me that I wrote that story when I did.

can only think that my dad was always there with me, telling me a

funny

story, and somehow urging me on.

XINE: Does the human honesty of this fine work impress you as much

does us? (I would remind you of the truer than true heart to heart--

and

eventually mouth to mouth--scene between Chloe and her best friend

Marcy, the Ephiny uber. Perhaps the most high-relief real moment

among

all the other true to life observations.)

TUCKER: My favorite writing so far was that scene involving Marcy

and

Chloe. Long term friendships evolve and change constantly, and I

decided

to keep their relationship uncertain and unresolved at the end of

the

story. No easy, huggy pat answers there. But to keep up that kind of

emotional intensity each chapter would be impossible for me to write

without it becoming overblown. But the kiss / break up between best

friends set the stage for the other troubles to come perfectly, if I

say so myself, and was essential for the both of them moving on. I

was

actually snuffling like a baby when I wrote that kiss scene, as when

wrote the scene with Nelson having left Stonecreek without saying

goodbye. Not all of us are emotional rocks. I certainly am not.

XINE: Ever play "spin the car" for real? Where'd you end up?

TUCKER : My friend and I invented Spin the Car in our teens, and we

hold

a copyright on it. :) Akron. Toledo. Pittsburgh. Beaver Falls.

Buffalo,

Toronto, Cleveland, Philly. And every little town with a decent

diner

it in between. I even did a solo 'Spin the Greyhound Bus' once, and

ended up in Minneapolis for a year. Ah, the idiotic folly of youth.

And

oh, although you didn't ask -- I am the Kissing Bandit.

Semi-retired.

XINE: Why panic attacks? (As well wrought out as Missy's

verisimilitude

in describing full-blown claustrophobia for both Xena and her uber

Dar.)

TUCKER: I write what I know, which is always good advice to budding

writers, at least in my case. I've lived with ten years of

panic/anxiety

disorder now, which hit me like a freight train shortly after

turning

30. I was a testcase for Paxil before it hit the meds market. It

never

goes away, but it does get better. When it first started, it totally

screwed up my life for years. I'm mostly better now, thank you, but

watch out on the days when it hits me. :)

I've shuddered through Missy's depictions of Xena/Dar's bouts of

claustrophobia, she's right on the mark when she writes those

scenes.

Perfect.

XINE: A woman and her John Deere. Care to wax eloquent on that

particular mount?

TUCKER: Again, a matter of writing what I know. I don't know

Harleys,

don't like horses (oh, quit throwing things at me! one bit me once!)

drove a rusted out brown Subaru station wagon for years, I hang out

bit at golf courses, I cut large areas of grass, I get lost in

airports

and try to act like I'm unfazed. There's not a day goes by I don't

see

the John Deere logo on something. And I like yellow and green.

XINE: Any back of the van (aka Johnson, Cliburn, Heflin, et al)

experiences remotely comparable to report?

TUCKER: I've already admitted to being the Kissing Bandit, how much

humiliation am I to subject myself to? <g> Actually, much of what

has

happened in the stories are of a personal nature. What those

particular

plot points are, I ain't about to confess. And I left out a

particular

favorite Van of mine: Greta Van Sustern.

XINE: As a fellow appreciator of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals

(as

well as a theater major who also did "Oklahoma!" in high school) how

much fun

(with your clothes on) was it to incorporate Drama into the drama?

(Did

you half-smile at the thought of X&G relating to the lyrics of

"People

Will Say We're in Love?" For you kids, that's an earlier version of

"Let's Give 'em Something to Talk About") And thanks for the most

entertaining PBS pledge break of all time.

TUCKER: I've been a slobbering fan of PBS and NPR forever. And, of

course, musicals. I don't have the first clue about being in them,

but

I'm a fanatic. I was in a 9th grade production of 'I Remember Mama'

as a

bit player -- must have been my Irish-looking red hair and green

eyes --

and that is it for my theatrical experience. Other than, of course,

being in the enthralled and appreciative audience. So it was great

fun

to write the musical experience within the big story. Theater is

just

extension of my appreciation for all the arts. Movies, plays, dance,

television, books, photography, painting, music, the guy at the

beach

who builds fantastic sandcastles. Nothing I like better than being

swept

away in some kind of experience by talented people. But being a

reader

is my favorite past time. I much prefer reading to writing. Writing

does

not come easy to me, not at all. So far, I never much plot anything

out

before hand beyond the next chapter. I've never felt more drained in

life as after I've written something. And since this is very new to

me,

the act of writing, I don't yet feel that it's an integral part of

who I

am. It's certainly not how I would describe myself. 'Writer' would

way down on my self description list, somewhere between movie trivia

geek and former 7th grade Ping-Pong champ. I'd much rather discuss

read other people's writings than my own -- those are the people who

really fascinate me, give me a smile, make me enthuse with wild

enthusiasm.

XINE: Is Doris (their old high school principal, she of the deadly

umbrella) remotely related to any actual human being living or dead

otherwise engaged? She is a corker. Equal bits Margaret Hamilton,

Mary

Wickes and any of those great straight-ahead no-nonsense character

actresses of yesteryear. Who could play her today?

TUCKER: Doris Raeburn is a conglomeration of every strong older

woman

I've ever admired or gasped at in wonder. She's who I want to be

when

get to be that age-- no nonsense, totally crackers and fearless, and

definitely a corker. I named her after Doris Day, whom I revere just

much as Patsy Cline. I did model her spirit after a movie actress,

Maureen O' Hara, who could play feisty, comedic and wise roles with

equal aplomb. But I don't see her physically as Maureen. I do love

character actor/actresses though, most times more often than the

leads

themselves. They can truly make all the difference in a film/

movie/story, so I took extra care in fleshing them out in my

stories.

Weak supporting cast, weak story, at least in my mind. Great

supporting

character actors I like: Joan Cusack (my pick for Marcy), Janeane

Garafalo, Allison Janney, William Macy, Mo Gaffney, Bonnie Hunt,

Queen

Latifah, Kathy Najimy -just to name a few off the top of my head.

Gig

Young, Tony Randall, Christopher Walken, Walter Brennan, Steve

Buscemi.

The perfect Doris -- maybe the late great Thelma Ritter? Do you

remember

her perfect deadpan, sloshed asides in 'Pillow Talk'? Watching her

act

with Rock and Doris -- pure cinematic glory. But in the end, I think

I'll leave Doris to the reader's imagination. Perhaps they have a

favorite relative, friend or boss that could fill that role.

XINE: The replay of the scene from "Desert Hearts" (the only real

out-and-'out' lesbian romance we have on film) is inspired and great

giddy glorious playful fun, the best bit of role-playing foreplay

our

theatrical pair could have engaged in. It works both as hommage of

high

calibre, a reminder of a great moment in romantic movie history (and

herstory) and as a healing 'subtext' to the relationship. What

brought

that on?

TUCKER: I have the whole movie memorized. Word for word. I can turn

off

the sound, and repeat every bit of dialogue from beginning to end. I

had

it for years on VHS and I had just gotten it on DVD ... so one thing

led

to another.

Scary stuff, huh?

I knew I had to write a difficult 'reunion' scene between Sara and

Chloe, and didn't want them to have to jump right into having the

proverbial 'sensitive chat' just yet. I think people want the

comfort

relating on an intimate level, physically, before they are ready to

tackle the big, emotional issues. Which, I believe, is why 'pillow

talk'

is so welcome -- first the physical, then the emotional stuff is

on a more relaxed, cozy level when a couple's guards are down. So, I

bald-faced 'borrowed' that scene from Desert Hearts -- as a familiar

way

for them to reconnect physically in a fun and unique way. It was

also

kick to have them relate to each other on a theatrical level, with

Sara

being a B-movie actress, and Chloe a director/ frustrated actress.

And

the tough brunette/ hesitant blonde Uber characterizations are there

all three stories, the XWP show, my story and Desert Hearts. I can

actually see LL/ROC playing out that scene, as well as the whole

movie.

Although Helen Shaver, does any woman have a better whiskey voiced

delivery than she does?

XINE: Was it really 7 of 9, or more like Six of One...?

TUCKER: Oh damn, you speak of the wonderful Rita Mae Brown. Six of

One

is my favorite novel of hers, much more so than the landmark

Rubyfruit

Jungle, and anything else she's written, especially her

(unintentionally) hysterical autobiography. I like that kind of

small

town setting, that's obvious. And if it's of a lesbian nature, all

the better. Fried Green Tomatoes, anyone?

I've never watched that incarnation of Star Trek, but have seen many

pictures of Seven of Nine, so it seemed like a good fit. God knows

where

all my influences and subsequent homages come from. I seem to

internalize the weirdest occurrences and then connect them to even

odder

things.

XINE: I felt so privileged to have a minor fillip of a comment I

made

re: Doris Day's "Calamity Jane" end up in text. I am honored.

TUCKER: Again, I have to reiterate my love for the romantic comedy.

Who

better to reference -- Doris Day, who still makes my heart beat fast

and

makes me laugh in gratitude? Thank you for the comment and

subsequent

inspiration.

XINE: Loved Chloe's whole CA dreamin' sojourn, the ambiance (amazing

for

not having scouted out the territory personally), the cameo

appearance

of Drew Barrymore who possesses that Gabular quality which ROC

exploited

so cannily in her "Rockford Files" tv movie playing opposite big Jim

Garner like the pro she was even then; the laid-back, dreamy-eyed

west

coast soul-searching that leads to her return as a "hottie" in one

the funniest scenes in "The Inside Out," striking her lover

literally

dumb.

TUCKER: All due credit goes to my beta reader, TK, for any

California

ambiance in the story. She knows the territory, through and through

and

made sure the story reflected the atmosphere. Without her help,

Chloe

would have spent an introspective week in downtown Pittsburgh, an

area I

know well. Drew Barrymore -- I adore her, and imagined her to be

friendly and accessible in the right setting, so the perfect 'star'

for

Chloe to run into in California.

And I have never, unfortunately, seen the Rockford Files episode you

referenced. I am aware of it, and hope (desperately!) to see it some

day. ROC rocks.

I had to have Chloe leave town to do some soul searching, and come

home

changed in significant ways. She's still essentially Chloe, but the

first impact on anyone you know or meet is their physical

characteristics. And we do hate change, don't we? Physical changes

the hair, the clothes, -- all are very jarring, especially when we

aren't forewarned. We're such shallow beings, we take such stock in

person's physical appearance. And when that changes, we tend to

believe

that the person underneath has changed, too. Case in point, I went

from

my natural redheaded state this summer, to nearly a white blonde,

and

think some of my friends and relatives thought that I had gotten a

tad

bit blonder in sensibility and more vapid than I usually am. I tried

hard to keep the story evenly balanced between Sara and Chloe. But I

knew this was basically Chloe's story when I decided to write the

sequel. I still have mixed emotions as to whether I did a decent

job.

Truly, I felt that Chloe was the villain and the hero of the story.

She

did some foolish, hurtful things, I thought, but needed to do them

explore her confusion, and return much more confident and poised

than

when she'd left. But this is fiction -- if a lover of mine took off

for

a week in California without telling me first, let me tell you, she

would have come home to finding her clothes and knick-knacks on the

front lawn. Later, Gator.

And I know that many of the readers were disappointed that I didn't

resolve Chloe and Marcy's friendship issues, or continue the story

with

Marcy giving birth, and some other plotlines. But the fact of the

matter

is I wanted to keep it all in the timeline of Sara and Chloe moving

from

dating duo to committed couple. The OK, we love each other, we're

having

great sex, now what? angle. The rest of it, well, the minor plot

lines

are on-going in the fictional characters' lives. Not every issue can

tied up neatly in a chapter, or a series of chapters or in the

course

a book. That wasn't my interest in the telling of the story. The

lives

go on after the end of the story, and those storylines get resolved

offpage. I kept my eye on my major prize, the near breaking then the

making of the solidified relationship between Sara and Chloe.

XINE: I hope you fully realize you could/should be gainfully,

creatively

employed and critically praised with the best of them. Sincere

heartfelt

thanks for one of the best reads I have ever had. Belongs in hard or

soft covers, on everyone's shelf. This is the one. The one online

uber

above all others that I would pick to become a mainstream novel and

made into a film or tv series. As good or better than any of the pay

cable or network, often over-rated, current 'hot' 'quirky' 'dramady'

series. This is the great american novel for women. What's more

american

than libraries, used car lots, and a high school production of

"Oklahoma!" I ask you? Touching, outrageously, unremittingly, laugh

out

loud funny. Never sentimental, yet brimful of genuine human

sentiment.

The Good Stuff. The Real Deal. The Genuine Article.

TUCKER: Well, if I read you right, I think you liked the stories,

and

sure appreciate your sentiments even if I don't believe I'm

deserving

them. I'll simply shut up and say Thank you! <g>

XINE: Want to give us a recommendation of a recent FanFic Pick?

TUCKER: You betcha. I just wrote an author some glowing and gushing

feedback, and if you haven't read her story, well, I really love it.

read it recently between mental blocks. I was wrong, new twists can

applied in the Uberworld, and she's absolutely amazing. The best

'meet

cute' I've ever encountered, and the humor is fabulous. The story is

called 'Shaken' by KG MacGregor,

http://www.merwolf.com/academy/fanfic/k/kgmacgregor_shaken1.html

posted

at Merwolf, and the blurb for it is perfectly awful for such a

wonderfully crafted story. If you take the time to read it, and like

it,

and write to her afterwards, tell her I sent ya. This woman has real

talent and I really want to help champion her story. But this woman

new, so she needs readers pointed in her direction. It was posted

complete. Tremendous stuff. I also am a huge fan of anything FlyBigD

writes. Lately I've been reading Sinful (Cindy Hart), Radclyffe,

Ernie

Whiting (absolutely spectacular stuff!), Amber., Cate Swannell,

Gabrielle Goldsby, Queenfor4. Lariel, ArdentTly, Patricia Ennis, BL

Miller, Advocate, Kamouraskan, Friction, Jp, Archeobard, Ogami,

Belle

Reilly, LJ Maas, Mark Annetts, Temora, KatLyn, Barbara Davies,

Vivian

Darkbloom, Anima, deboX, CJ Wells, CL Bactad, Gin, Jenbob, Smitty

and

innumerable others. As you can see, I read quite a bit. I reread The

Deal by M. Ryan for the hundredth time and still crack up. I buy as

many

books as I can afford. As long it's not post AFIN, I'll most likely

give

it a go and enjoy every last word of it. That's what it's there for,

right?

==============================================

2) Xena Quote/Xena Humor

Xena Quote

Here is a lovely quote, one of our all-time favorites, from the

fanfic

alt X&G classic "Cerberus' Challenge" by Puckster

"When true desire has been checked for too long, and then is

suddenly

given the language of physical love, enormous forces are released

into

the world. In that instant, an uncultivated hillside in what would

someday be called South America, collapsed in a mud slide. But also

that very same instant, there were hundreds of miraculous

recoveries,

several million original ideas, and a record hatching of monarch

butterflies. You just never know what love will do."

Amen.

==========

Xena Humor?

Bobble This

http://www.klaatucollectibles.com/xena.htm

I don't know, is it only me? But don't they have that same kind of

crazed look as the Zuni fetish doll in that old "Trilogy of Terror"

tv-movie starring Karen Black?

==============================================

3) Featured Fan Fiction

LA Tucker's Uberfic

(The first review is reprinted from an earlier issue.)

The Light Fantastic

by LA Tucker

http://www.merwolf.com/academy/fanfic/l/latucker_lightfantastic1.html

The first out and out comedy uber I've come across. I adored it. So

well

written and so damn funny. The Xena uber is an actress in crisis

hiding

out in her hometown and the Gab uber a director (of a high school

production of "Oklahoma!" which really took me back to my theater

days),

the dialogue is crisp, sparkling, the characters completely real and

endearing and contemporary; it deserves to be a published, well-read

and

beloved novel, to become a delightful film or series. This is the

best

amusing, small-town, picaresque novel I've read since the great

Fannie

Flagg's "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" with, maybe,

little quirky touch of k.d. lang's far north film "Salmonberries"

thrown

in. Did I mention I LOVED this novel!? You gotta love a book that

has

parodies (and good ones) as chapter headings beginning with the

unforgettable (and thoroughly, hilariously germane to the story),

"All

the World's a Stooge." Romantic Comedy does not get any better than

this

one. Do yourself a favor.

Five*****stars!

============

The Inside Out

by LA Tucker

Sequel to "The Light Fantastic"

http://www.merwolf.com/academy/fanfic/l/latucker_insideout1.html

The welcome and equally charming and amusing continuation of the

love

affair of Chloe and Sara as they struggle toward committment (to

each

other--or is it temporary insanity as one of the partners flies the

coop

for warmer pastures way out west?) Everything must change. But never

underestimate the power of a well-placed henna tattoo, a pair of

cowboy

boots, or some roleplaying foreplay from one of your favorite

romantic

movies. Neuroses were never more hilariously nor humanely presented.

Come on folks, can we talk her into a trilogy now that she's brought

thus far?

Five*****stars!

============

Convergence

by LA Tucker with Sage Walker

http://ils.merwolf.com/academy/fanfic/l/latucker_convergence.html

A tad quirkier than her novel length ubers this short story involves

wannabe cop (a security guard) who, one fateful (and enchanted)

evening,

bumps elbows with a tall, dark, and ditzy (!) New Ager veggie

psychic

a convenience store. A stop that turns out decidedly inconvenient

till

they both realize there's more going on here than meets the Third

Eye.

Some things were just meant to be.

Somewhat reminiscent of the wacky uber milieu of "Deja Vu All Over

Again." It's really a very sweetly quirky (as opposed to quirky for

it's

own sake which I tend to hate) tale with a charming and magical

denouement...this could be published in any number of best short

story

anthologies. It's a delight.

Five*****stars!

============

Between a Memory and A Dream

by LA Tucker

http://www.merwolf.com/academy/fanfic/l/latucker_memoryanddream1.html

More somber in tone than her other rather light-hearted ventures

this

longish short story is a self-described change of pace. Also

referred

as more of a trend (?) toward general alternate fiction. Beyond

Uber?

Though I still found it uberish. An emotionally disgruntled

bartender

caught off guard by a grudging mutual attraction when she rents the

room

over the old family bar to a terribly peripatetic young jane of all

trades (whose many skills include ballroom dancing and the banjo!)

Five****stars!

==============

The Kissing Bandit

by LA Tucker

http://www.merwolf.com/academy/halloween/latucker_kissingbandit.html

A short short from the Bards' Challenge Halloween special last year

wherein best friends Chloe and Marcy in their younger years engage

spate of spin the car on All Hallow's Eve. Like a begged for bag o'

cotton candy, marshmallow novelties, and other childhood favorites

it's

airy, sweet, but less filling.

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

Delicious News for ROC Fans from Creation

PLANS AFOOT FOR OFFICIAL XENA FAN CLUB KIT #6

"We're working round the clock to put together our next fan club

kit.

We'll let everyone know when it is time to consider ordering, but

for

now here's some news from Sharon Delaney concerning one of the

features

that will be in the next kit!

You can visit our website at:

http://www.creationent.com/cal/

AOL <a href="http://www.creationent.com/cal/">Click</a>

Thanks,

Your friends at Creation Entertainment"

"For all the Renee O'Connor fans who won't have a chance to see her

playing Lady Macbeth, we will have a "taste of Lady M" in fan club

kit

#6. Yesterday we went with Renee to Pt. Fermin Park where the play

being performed and did some filming.

First was a short sit-down interview in street clothes. After that

was

over, Renee asked if we'd like to film some of her physical warm-up

routine. She proceeded to sit down on the ground and put her foot

behind

her head! Turns out she does a yoga routine to warm up. She went

through

a series of moves for the camera.

Renee then changed into the blue costume from the play and began to

recite some of Lady M's speeches. We filmed her walking along the

stone

fence that runs above the cliffs, delivering her lines full-out to

the

sea. I mentioned that one of the other actors did his rehearsing on

the

other side of the fence. Renee hiked up the dress and hopped over

with

my camera crew right behind her! With the wind making the most

incredible moving sculptures of Renee and the blue gown, she put her

arms out and continued to recite. She looked like Kate Winslet on

the

bow of the Titanic -- eyes closed, face up to the sky. The shoot was

only scheduled for 45 minutes, but Renee stayed for an hour and a

half

and kept asking for more things to do! And, yes, we did get the

Macbeth

"Undo the Curse" Rap delivered right into the camera lens in Renee's

sauciest manner <G>

We had a still photographer there and took lots of pics that we will

have available very soon."

- Sharon

http://www.creationent.com/outback/fanclubs/

=========

It appears that a new addition of "Xena Live!", "Xena Live! 3", is

due to open in the 2002-2003 season at About Face Theater in

Chicago.

Visit their website at http://www.xenalive.com/. to read more.

=========

Xena Live!" Stars Online Interviews:

The next best thing to being her...

Inside The Head of Elizabeth Laidlaw:

(Xena)

http://www.whoosh.org/issue69/ilaidlaw1.html

Here's one for Amy Metheny:

(Gabby) http://www.whoosh.org/issue69/imatheny2.html

=========

Call for Scripts for New Virtual Season!

Season 8 of Xena the Warrior princess will be coming to the internet

September we are currently looking for volunteers as writers, beta

readers, artists, and translators.

http://MacavityCat.tripod.com/Profile.html To participate in the all

new

adventures coming this fall, feel free to contact:

xwpvs_team-owner@yahoogroups.com For full details go to:

http://macavitycat.tripod.com/xwpvs-nufq.html

============

Call for Uber Bards et al Posted at AUSXIP

"One of the greatest things to come out of this fandom is that bards

who

started out writing fanfic have developed into good writers who are

worthy of being published. Also publishing companies have been born

from

this fandom who help those writers get started. My personal view is

that

if the Xenaverse helps to get a writer noticed 'out there' then it's

great. Imagine the Xenaverse without fanfic? I can't. It wouldn't be

the same. So please support the bards, support the publishers and

get

behind them. The benefits to the fandom is that we have better

writers -

everyone benefits.

This is why I'm adding the following message from Dare 2 Dream:

Introducing Limitless, a company for women, by women, about women.

this time, Dare 2 Dream (D 2 D), a Limitless Company, would like to

send

out an invitation to all bards and artists. If you are interested in

having your work considered for publication, please drop us a line.

welcome your submissions and promise to reply promptly. D 2 D is

proud

to announce the upcoming publication of Paradise Found by Cruise and

Stoley, Defined Destiny by J M Dragon, Amazon Queen by Queen Laese,

Golden Gate by Erin Jennifer Mar, Guardian of My Heart by Charlsie

Todd,

Desert Hawk by Diana C. Evans and a volume of Poetry by Trish

Shields.

Audio books will soon be available. In addition, the CDs and

cassettes

will feature the musical talents of Bindi. Up The River by Sam

Ruskin

currently in stock and ready for immediate shipping. All of the

above

titles can be pre-ordered at this time. D 2 D also hosts a

wonderful collection of Photo Cards including the Gallery de Souza,

The

New Zealand Collection, Around the World, I Wish I'd Said That, and

others.

Our new workshop, Writer 2 Writer, will soon offer a completely

one-on-one Writer's Workshop. If you've ever wanted to write poetry,

short story, an article for a magazine, or simply write a better

resume

this is the place for you.

We encourage you to submit articles, photos, ideas, comments, poetry

and

short stories for our new magazine, Woman 2 Woman. The premiere

issue

the bi-monthly magazine will be October 2002. Subscriber copies will

sent in late September. This magazine will cover topics of interest

women. If it matters to you, it's important to us. As we all know,

the Xenaverse has inspired a lot of wonderful work. We at Limitless

want

to showcase as much of it as possible. Just remember: The only thing

that stands between your dream and reality is you. Contact Sam or

Anne at LimitlessD2D@...

The new website should be fully operational soon and we will

certainly

send the link at that time. Meanwhile, we look forward to hearing

from

you."

The Australian Xena Information Page updating the Xenaverse since

1996.

http://ausxip.com/index2.html

============

Message from Uberbard Lori Lake

"I am happy to report that Under The Gun is ready to print and is

now

available through the RAP bookstore. The information will make its

way

to the distributors and online sellers, but that takes some time.

Only

The Open Book has it listed so far, but the others will soon follow.

Join me in a big sigh of relief! Next up for editing is Different

Dress,

followed by the book of short stories. In between, I will keep

working

on the first draft of Missing Link, see if I can work the bugs out

Isolation 2020, and keep writing notes and doing research on the

Dez/Jay adventure, Have Gun We'll Travel.

I hope to see bunches of you at Dragon Con. I'll bring copies of

Under

The Gun. If you specifically want one reserved (or a copy Ricochet

Time or the 2nd edition of Gun Shy), write me so I can earmark the

book(s) for you.

Hope everyone is having a good evening!"

Lori

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lori L. Lake, Author of GUN SHY and RICOCHET IN TIME. To be

published

August 2002, UNDER THE GUN. For more information, go to:

www.LoriLLake.com or see Renaissance Alliance Books at

www.rapbooks.biz

============

A message from Lori Lake:

Here is a call for information, questions, and comments regarding

the

books of Missy Good, LJ Maas, Karen "Kas" King, T. Novan, Sue Beck,

and me. Please feel free to submit any info to the email address at

the bottom.

Thanks, and hope everyone is having a good day!

Lori

Prisms Media presents popular female authors for TV show airing on

public access TV (in Atlanta GA) !!

During this upcoming labor day weekend Prisms Media will be shooting

an upcoming show including some of your favorite female authors! You

have read their stories, bought their books, read their stories on-

line; now here's a chance to see them, hear them and share their

experiences in writing.

Melissa Good, LJ Maas, Lori Lake, Karen King, T.Novan and Sue Beck

will be appearing in a show that will discuss writing, reading,

uber-

fiction, the publishing industry, and anything else that their fans

would like to know. {Collective published works include: Gun Shy,

Ricochet in Time, Under the Gun, Tumbleweed Fever, None So Blind,

Meridio's Daughter, Prairie Fire, The Claiming of Ford, Madam

President, The Road to Glory, Cobb Island, The Story of Me, Tropical

Storm, Eye of the Storm, Hurricane Watch, True Colours: Books 1,

Many

Roads to Travel, Retribution, Restitution, and Redemption.}

In the spirit of interactivity, I would like to open up a forum for

you to submit any questions you may have, topics you would like to

see addressed, or comments to our authors pertaining to some burning

curiosity you may have, but never had the nerve to ask. Although the

taping will be a closed set, I would like to invite everyone to

submit any type content that will help to build the foundation for

the show. When it airs you will have an opportunity to see your

questions addressed and your opinions discussed.

Submit this information to Prisms Media and we will do our best to

create a show that is catered toward your entertainment and

intellectual minds. Hopefully, this will be the 1st in a long line

of programs that will not only include the viewers as passive

participants, but as vital partners by utilizing their input.

As the details of the show are confirmed, Prisms Media will keep you

informed.

Thanks in advance,

MONIQUE (Prisms Media)

prisms@...

=====================

Message from Missy; Plea for DVD

"Rumor has it that Universal might be wondering if there really is a

market for Xena DVD's. If you are interested in Xena on DVD - you

might want to let Universal know you are. Go to

http://www.universalstudios.com/homepage/html/contact_us/ and click

Accept.

Then choose Home Video and DVD's - and send them a quick note. I did

- because darn it, I want those episodes on DVD because I have a

nasty

habit of snapping videotapes off inside my VCR and it's a lot harder

mulch a disc."

============

Good News from Mary D

"I was just reviewing the June stats for ausxip and I thought I

would

share some interesting figures with you :) The counter on the what's

new

page & the index page is not a good indication of activity on the

site -

it's a rough guide. The logs from the server are a better guide to

what

is going on with the site since it counts all activity. Total Hits

for June 3,836,566. Total Hits for January - June 200,219,098,398.

What does

this tell me? Xena may be long gone from our TV screens but people

are

still interested in the show. That's a good thing and therefore

ausxip

will continue :-)

Battle On!"

MaryD

============

And speaking of Missy Good...

On how Missy can manage to write two two two stories at once...

She's ambidextrous, well, amgaydextrous.

ooo, Good one

Semi-seriously, the woman must be a sort of autodidactic automaton

with

pen...er quill in both hands like some scribbling bardic hindu

deity.

"Champion," beginning with the rough stuff (more action than Gab can

shake a stick at!), has shaped up to be another rousing action

adventure

tale with beaucoups of hurt/comfort to satisfy any afficianado. And

thought it would suffer by comparison and companioning with

"Shadows."

Oh me of little faith. Chalk up yet another classic to her tireless

devotion to characters.

=============================================

5) Featured Links

Tucker's website

www.latucker.net

(Under Construction)

"The site is very much in the growth phase and no where near

complete."

Her stories can be found at Merwolf and Ausxip.

Also, people may write to her at latucker@... if they would

like to be put on a story update only announcement list.

==============================================

6) Xena: Warrior Princess Episode Guide

by Bacchae2

Episodes Fifty - Fifty-three - "The Deliverer," "Gabrielle's

Hope," "The

Debt"

I'm treating these two two-parters or four-part arc as two two-hour

episodes.

"The Deliverer"

Where things really started going wrong for our beloved duo in a

season-long arc of tragedy that began with "The Furies." Never

travel

the land of the banshees with revenge in your heart--no good thing

will

come of it. Brittain. Caesar. Bodicea. The Druids. Stonehenge (seems

Xena was responsible, in part at least, for that too). A witch's

brew.

How amusing that the druidical cultists engaged in human sacrifice

speak

softly in proto-christian terms. Krafstar, the kelt in the kilt, yet

another prettyboy face that Gab becomes enamoured of, transmutes to

the

title character to visit the wrath of Dahok upon our poor blood-

innocent

bard. He acts as godaweful go-between to Deliver something more than

bad

news; the facilitator of fecundity as the young bard is literally

raped

by evil.

Subtext Rating: Love in the Ruins. "You're a little late...I'm

already

Torn..." Was Gabby so ticked at Xena dragging her there and then

abandoning her that she actually wanted to sleep with the keltish

boy

proclaim her independence of the warrior? Would she have if their

guard

had not been present after they were captured by Caesar? Did he

remind

her of Perdicus, perhaps? Was Xena mightily jealous? (She looks as

though she's eaten a sour grape or two.) Xena does save Gab from the

same fate Caesar inflicted upon her, the breaking of both legs as

she

hangs on the cross. "Timing" is everything though. Both in foreplay

and

friend saving. She battles for her bard, heart-broken by her lost

innocence (losing one's innocence in blood has a whole other meaning

well) and cradles Gab in her arms, finally. But-- Everything has

changed...

============

"Gabrielle's Hope"

A curious sensuous dream that turns nightmare. Gab relives her first

kill. What an ironic title as we look back upon and remember the

much

happier, light-hearted time in earlier days when Pandora's Box

became

metaphor for the hope we all carry inside us, the optimistic young

bard

more than most. Shattered now. In this lively remake of "Rosemary's

Baby" poor Gab goes though hades as she gives birth to a watermelon

sized preemie from hell. Xena inadvertantly becomes The Once and

Future

King of England when she blithely pulls Excalibur from the stone,

The

Banshees have a bad hair day, one of many, Gab is in sackcloth, o

dear

what can we do, baby's in black and we're feeling blue... The

controversy over Xena's single-minded determination to kill her

beloved's demon devil daughter not only began The Rift arc, but the

rift

among fan factions as well. There are those who still can't figure

out

what Gab was upset about. As well as those who never forgave the

warrior. How soul-shatteringly sad it was to see one friend run from

the

other. Something we thought we'd never see. The distrust is planted

beween them and will almost destroy them. And as Missy has so

chillingly

enunciated in her stories, it is as if it deliberately, evilly

contrived

to do so, in fact, it would seem. By whatever Powers That Be.

Subtext Rating:

Strange Cravings... "She's relentless." Xena, still only middling

attentive to her bard's needs, does manage to midwife, nurture, and

nursemaid the birthing mother...for awhile. She can be gentle,

tender

and loving when she wants to be. Sigh. She holds the young woman in

her

arms still sporting those sexy demon-induced passion marks on her

arm.

"You are the Gate, the Way, the Spring." Xena might say the same

thing

to her bard if she'd get over that aloof tougher than leather act.

(I'd

always wondered how in the previous ep and in this one they could

make

it look like Lucy had actually picked up Renee and was even carrying

her...having seen a few of La ROC's ultra petite costumes up close

and

personal I now understand--she just did it!)

============

"The Debt" (Parts I & II)

One of the most extraordinary made for tv films of genuine cinematic

quality that I have ever seen in decades of viewing. Pageantry,

savagery, and a sensual love story gorgeously filmed. The phenomenal

Jackie Kim's knowing performance as Lao Mao is pure stillness and

peerless depth personified. A singular character creation one

doesn't

often see on tv. Sumptuous, luscious cinematography, costumes,

setting,

etc. The series reached a pinnacle here that it never quite achieved

again. Gab's betrayal (and Xena finding her in Ming Tien's bed no

less)

is perhaps the most shocking moment in the series and thoroughly

unexpected. Despite the bard's protestations to altruistic motives,

is only too clearly obvious that it is the other woman, Xena's old

flame, that provokes her eye-popping display of the green-eyed

monster

within. Not until "Forget Me Not" will Gab come to admit to her

overwhelming Jealousy in the matter. And that angry, resounding slap

from the bard's small hand as Xena knelt before her in tears spoke

volumes as grande and substantial as Lao Ma's Book. As did Gab's

tears

through laughter when Xena requests the touching intimacy of a nose

scratch. This ep is where subtext becomes darkly maintext. They had

full

control of their narrative here and made some memorable tv.

Subtext Rating:

Paybacks ARE a bitch. Never was an opening scene more extraordinary

picking up right where the previous ep left off. At the end of Gab's

Hope the bard was pouring out her heart's blood over the Moses

Gambit

she was forced to perform for her now 'lost' and presumed dead (by

Xena)

child. This was Gab's First Lie. Which will come back to haunt them.

Big

Time. Now, as the bard had removed herself from their sleeping furs

muse alone Xena rolls over as if it is the most natural thing in the

world and extends her arm in an obviously second-nature, habitual

gesture to wrap it around the woman she fully expects to be lying in

bed

right next to her. And, in fact, when her arm finds no bard where

she

expected her to be this apparently unusual and unforseen turn of

events

instantly wakens the sleeping warrior and sets her off in search of

her

partner. Both subtle and blatant, if this did not establish the

nature

of that relationship beyond a reasonable doubt than nothing could.

The

first tentative I love yous are exchanged in what will become a

mantra

in episodes to come. Once they started saying it, they couldn't stop

themselves. And mistress of the kiss that is not really a kiss-- You

can

call it mouth-to-mouth (uh, resuscitation, of course...it sure

resuscitates me, gets my heart pumping alright), giving the breath

life, but that underwater kiss which was just and only 'that' was

one

the most erotic images I've ever seen on television. Call it what

you

will, Lao Ma's Kiss stays with you.

==============================================

7) The Uber Zone?

Rita Mae Brown's "Alma Mater"

Is it or isn't it?

by bacchae2

From Chapter one...I'd say yes...they have the attributes (though

she

messed with eye color), they 'meet cute,' the tall, strong, dark one

comes to the little blonde's 'rescue,' and if I were reading this

online

I'd have absolutely NO doubt that I was reading uber. Alma

Mater...interesting title...yeah yeah yeah, it's set at a college

(Wm.

and Mary to be precise)...but...aside from the latin meaning,

Tennessee

Williams taught us, in "Summer and Smoke," that the name Alma means

soul...(soul...mother?) and so...like Sean Connery in the SF movie

"Zardoz" who has an epiphany by accident when he finds a copy of

"The

Wizard of Oz" and placing his fingers over certain letters on the

cover

comes up with the name of the off-stage god-like title character, I

placed my thumb over the R in the title and, voila, a codename

for...soul mate? Hmm... I know, I know, I'm in "Paul is dead"

territory

here. Also, the supposed Xena uber's progenitor (her mom), her

creator,

her author in a manner of speaking, is named "R.J." This is highly

coincidental I am sure and maybe she was 'subconsciously' writing an

uber...but it could be 'the real thing.'

Oh...and the alleged Xena uber's last name is...get ready for

it...Savedge. (The Gab uber is "Chris Carter" ! in keeping with

genre

tv.) They admit to feeling "love at first sight" for each other. And

this, in Chapt. 8, was the clincher for me:

"You take life as you find it," Vic echoed the Savedge creed.

"You think?" Chris' eyebrows shot upward. It occurred to her this

was

diametrically opposed to her own worldview.

"I do."

"What about changing things for the better?" Chris asked.

"You do what you can, but at some point you have to accept fate."

Vic

replied.

******************

And this, in chapt. 18, I take as Confirmation:

Vic took a deep breath. "I could never hate you. And no, I don't

know

you and I are going to, well, whatever women do--ride off into the

sunset together. I don't know anything. But I know I am alive and

I'm

strong. And maybe whatever happens is supposed to happen. I'll learn

from it. I'll be a better person for it. Fear isn't an option."

I enjoyed this more than any Rita Mae novel I've read in years.

("Six

One" is still her best.) That doesn't mean, however, that, as with

many

RMB novels, you won't feel like tossing it across the room from time

time. I think is IS an uber. But, then again, maybe it's just a

question

of the chimp churning out one of Shakespeare's plays after an

inordinate

amount of time spent in front of the keyboard. Heh. We can see uber

anywhere...where there's that dark/light dichotomy. Even on the

covers

of the lurid old pulp fiction paperbacks where a dark butch

inevitably

'menaces' a petite blonde femme. In David Lynch's "Mulholland

Drive."

RMB has the XU describe herself at one point as "how many six foot

one

women with jet-black hair are there?" (exactly) when the police are

looking for her and has the GU say (and this is THE clincher) "Girls

just got to have fun." Of course, she couldn't quote it EXactly,

that

would be TOO obvious... She underlines the visual sight of them,

short

and tall, dark and light from others' pov. And even the dust jacket

is a

very nice companionable painting of a pair of canoe like boats on

the

river water side by side.

And the XU says "I believe we make our own luck." Isn't that, like,

direct quote from Xena?

You'd think she'd have lesbian fans/friends who are XWP and fanfic

fans

or who, at least, know about the phenom who would've told her about

it.

But I'll wager she was a fan of the show.

============

Take a SIP

Here's another intriguing "Strangers In Paradise" comic cover...

http://www.strangersinparadise.com/issues/volume03issue41.html

Now does this remind you of anything as much as it does me? Someone

once

sent me that amazing pic of ROC in bareback costume from the 5th or

6th

season, it might've been something Missy had posted. It was a shot,

facing away from the camera, of her incredibly buff, muscular back,

with

a weapon strapped to one leg and she was holding something,

saddlebags?

in her other hand, just like this image. Does anyonel have that

picture

or know where I can find it to compare?

And here is the classic cover (it's on a trade paperback and a tee

shirt

too) that looks so much like LL/Xena to me. The black eye just makes

all that much more raffishly uber somehow. First in the upper left

hand

corner.

http://www.strangersinparadise.com/issues/collectedsipvol01.html

============

The Real Deal

An uber classic revisited

From the late Tonya Muir's sequel to "With Faltering Steps," "Making

Strides"

"Everything was about this. All the frustration and anger and rage

boiled down to this small blonde woman and how she made her feel. It

was about being wanted and needed. It was about being loved today as

every other day, despite moods or problems or outside forces. It was

about loving someone so much, you only wanted to please them and

fill

them and honor them with your body. "

=============

A Few Recent Uber Picks

"Illumination"

by Jules Mills

Wow. Talk about LONG awaited.

Jules Mills has finally revived the Nanoverse series! And we assume

that

virtually everyone in the virtual Xenaverse has read the first 7

parts.

Here is part 8:

http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/nano/Nano8-Illumination1-4.html

Goddess, I missed these incarnations and their erotic (there's a hot

love scene in the current update, extra added bonus), sometimes

amusing,

always breathlessly exciting adventure. Tres brilliant. So near

future

it's almost not even sf. Much better than that cyberpunkish tv show

"Dark Angel." She put up part one of "Illumination" some time ago at

Bard's Corner and I would check periodically to see if she's added

it--not for many many many moons--until recently. Thanks, Jules. It

may

be slow in coming, but it's always of such superb quality.

============

"Engravings of Wraith"

by Kiera Dellacroix

http://merwolf.com/academy/fanfic/k/kiera_wraith1.html

One of the best action thriller ubers since "Lucifer Rising." Nicely

parallels the major storylines of XWP...what am I saying?! Nicely?

Masterfully. Brilliantly. Memorably. I wept at the 'death' of the

Xena

uber here, something I could not do during the actual FINale, being

too

shocked and sickened to mourn. I have to thank this bard for a much

needed catharsis. This is a superbly executed novel and a great read

any standards. The XU has black as night eyes just like her ultra

violent alter ego in "Dreamworker," a switch I didn't mind in this

case.

And the surprisingly shy, sweet, sexually inexperienced (but soon to

awakened) XU (a deadly ex super secret agent formerly involved with

the

IRA and trained as a killing machine a la La Femme Nikita) is

diametrically opposed to the sassy, brassy, brazen, and brash XU of

the

same author's sci-fi uber below.

============

"Icehole"

by Kiera Dellacroix

http://www.merwolf.com/academy/halloween/kiera_icehole1.html

Don't go there. Unless you can handle it.

Dellacroix's sf uber "Icehole" was written for the Bard's Academy

Halloween special issue. I went looking for it after I finished her

excellent uber "Engravings of Wraith" and wanted to read more. This

science fiction uber was extremely funny, highly erotic, and very

very

gross.

Loathe at first sight instead of love. Which is a delightful

turnabout.

But I cringe when bards mess around too much with physical

attributes

hair and eye color). These ubers torture each other mercilessly,

banter

(deliciously politically incorrect), throw things, have tantrums,

display bad behavior before they get down to...well...you know...and

then an alien spaceship frozen in polar ice a la the sf classic "The

Thing" with an unhealthy dose of X-Files for bad measure throws a

spanner in the works for sure. This takes place on a secret,

isolated

military base, XU is the CO and GU is the MD. Nail-biting suspense

ensues. But have a strong stomach if you dare to venture beyond the

Tracy/Hepburn friction of the love story. This, remember, was a

chilly

Halloween horror story, and it's chilling as all hell.

============

And just for good measure, and because I can, here's a great pick

for

solid, classic X&G non-stop action-adventure in the Grand (and Good)

tradition.

Storms of War

by JLynn

http://www.amazontrails.com/xena/stormsofwar1.htm

I really loved this epic (it's long) which could be published as a

pro

Xena novel as is. Though there is a growing awareness of the true

nature, between them, of their relationship, it's nothing that was

not,

finally, explored on the series. This is X&G as we want to remember

them, warrior and battling bard. Rousing stuff.

=============================================

8) Feedback

Hi Bacchae!

Just read the latest issue of the Xine, always a pleasure, of

course,

but your Lori Lake interview was truly sweet. How is it you keep

coming

up with these wonderfully intelligent questions that engender

equally

intelligent answers, and more, create a dialogue that's not only

informative, but greatly entertaining? It's a gift, I tells ya!<G>

And

we're lucky you've got it! It's always nice to learn a little about

the

person behind the talent. Speaking of which, having seen the error

ways, and, as the Academy has declared this "Feed the Bards Month,"

would you kindly send the following on to Lorilei for me? Just some

long

overdue feedback. Thanks, B., and keep those Xines coming!!

Jo/Friend

**********

Hey Bacchae,

I am responding to you personally since you seem to have almost

single-handedly produced the latest e-xine (and don't we all marvel

what can be accomplished with one skilled hand <wink, wink>).

Anyhoo,

especially enjoyed the interview with the talented bard Lorelei.

Your incisive questions and her patiently detailed answers were a

delight. She is as loquacious as Dez is reticent, huh? Nice to know

she

is prolific in ALL her writing! I do agree that her work is

definitely

pro quality. So many of the talented bards in the xenaverse could

indeed

be published by mainstream houses. Maybe some of them will actually

awakened to that possibility through efforts of fans like you who go

the

extra mile to expose these so-called amateurs for what they are -

writers who <gasp> can WRITE!! Anyway, keep up the good work. I look

forward to the next xine (AND the next offering from the featured

bard

who, I must say, does not appear to be gun shy at all <G>). With my

sword at your service,

Flighty Aphrodite

**********

I read every word of the interview. It was excellent and made me

want

go find the books. I had to laugh at the comment about reading fic

and not remembering much of what was read. It's like I read and

ditch

from my head in no time at all so I can make room for new input

which

take in and ditch...and so on. I also got a kick from the comments

about

Cagney and Lacey. I used to love that show and now I watch Sharon

Gless

on QAF, love her depiction of Michael's mom, Deb. She's so real and

has

such heart.

I also read the review of ROC's Lady MacBeth. It seems to me an

unlikely

role for her, but what do I know? Seems your obsession with the dear

girl has not waned. <BG>

Sorry I did not write and tell you my thoughts sooner. The Xine was

great as always.

Hope you are doing extremely well.

Love,

Jan

**********

btw, I enjoyed reading the latest exine, as always they were really

interesting articles and reviews :o)

Jo :o)

=============================================

If you have any comments, suggestions for content, or articles to

submit

to this Xine, then please contact Lady Adrell at ladyadrell@...

(We

are accepting submissions for featured articles. Send to above

address.)

==============================================

9) PRIVACY/NO SPAM POLICY!

NO SPAMMING OR LIST SHARING!

You can rest assured that your subscription email address will be

kept

in the strictest confidence. We do not divulge, nor make available

any third party, our subscription list. Your privacy is paramount to

us!

Therefore, it receives the respect it deserves!

==============================================

10) Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information

If this Xine was forwarded to you and you would like to receive your

own

free copy; you can subscribe at http://www.xenaexine.f2s.com or send

blank email to: xenaexine-subscribe@yahoogroups.com PLEASE NOTE: You

are

receiving The Xena E-Xine because you subscribed at

http://www.xenaexine.f2s.com, or you requested to be added to our

subscriber list.

To unsubscribe, send a blank e-mail to xenaexine-

unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

==============================================

11) Credits

The Xena E-Xine Staff:

Founding Editor: Lady Adrell

Editor/Head Writer: Bacchae2

Researcher/Writer/Assistant Editor: Sue

FanFic Critic: Staff

Website Analyst: Staff

Episode Guides: Bacchae2

==============================================

12) Archives

Only the first 17 issues of Volume I are still available for reading

our old website. The Archives need a new home.

http://exine.tvheaven.com/archive.html

Newer issues are posted at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xenaexine/messages

As always, if you'd like to be mailed any previous issues just let

know.

==============================================

13) DISCLAIMER

No banshees or druids were defamed during the making of this

xine...well, maybe just a little, but they're tough, they can take

it.

==============================================

You have permission to forward this to other people, and by all

means,

please do.

The contents of this E-Xine may be copied, reproduced, or freely

distributed for all nonprofit purposes without the consent of the

author

as long as the author's name and contact information are included,

unless where otherwise stated. Example: Reproduced with permission

from

worldwide.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

==============================================

THANKS FOR READING!

==============================================

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