Of Things That are Not but Should Be (2017 Beauty and the Beast zine)

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Zine
Title:	Of Things That are Not but Should Be
Publisher:	"A Treasure Chambers Production"
Editor(s):
Date(s):	created for a September 25, 2017 convention
Series?:
Medium:	digital
Genre:	gen and het
Fandom:	Beauty and the Beast (TV)
External Links:
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front cover, "derived [by an unknown fan] from an original painting by Olivia de Berardinis"

Of Things That are Not but Should Be is a 2017 Beauty and the Beast (TV) 400-page digital conzine for an online convention celebrating the 30th anniversary of the show.

From the title page: "A Retrospective Fan Fiction Zine Celebrating 30 Years of Fan Fiction. Featuring previously published stories, art, and poetry, inspired by the characters so beautifully brought to life by Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman from 1987-1990."

The editorial team was: Allison Duggins, Barbara Anderson, Cindy Rae, Janet Rivenbark, Judith Nolan, and Linda O’Leary.

The title of the zine (and con) is from "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde.

Comments from the Con Chair

From the zine, words by the con chair, Angie:

When it was announced in late 2016 that the 30th Convention in Los Angeles was not going to happen, I had already promised that there would be an online con. It was originally going to launch at the same time as the “physical” con in September.

So, suddenly I was faced with having to launch the online con and had to decide how that was going to manifest. I made three lists: what I wanted and thought was possible; what I hoped was possible; and what I wanted but which realistically was unlikely to happen. This would be the biggest special feature I had ever done. So I decided not to worry about the second or third lists, and concentrate on the first list. I also decided that this had to be a year long celebration, or it would be technically impossible to post it all.

So I set a short deadline and the 30th OnCon was launched in January 2017. And I resolved to have the a smaller, unique celebration page just for September 25.

Naturally, we agreed that there had to be a conzine to coincide with September 25th. Since our celebration was online and free, the conzine had to be as well - and be downloadable as a digital file.

From the start, we also all agreed that there should be no attempt to raise money for a charity. The OnCon had to be completely free to anyone who wanted to visit, with no obligations implied.

[...]

The 30th OnCon and this conzine (and the retrozine), have morphed from a rather nebulous blob into a butterfly of stellar proportions, involving dozens of people, hundreds of submissions and thousands of emails. None of this would have been possible without the modern age of communication – and a team willing to do literally anything to help.

Fans near and far, old and new, have supported myself and my wonderful team since the very first week. As material has been posted, more has come forward. The OnCon would not have been possible without all of you, who still think fondly of our series.

Comments from the Zine Editor

The main editor was Barbara, and this is from her comments in the zine:

When the pilot episode of Beauty and the Beast, starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman, aired on September 25, 1987, no one, not even the creators and actors, had much hope that it would succeed. But succeed it did, with a capital S! For many it was love at first sight, or first episode, as in my case. Evidence of that was the fan fiction that began to appear almost immediately. It’s impossible to say how many people have fallen in love with the show over the last thirty years, but the love itself is undeniable. New fans, some of whom weren’t even born when the show originally aired, are still finding their way into the BATB fandom after all these years. Some are still writing fan fiction to satisfy our dream of a happy ending for the two beautiful, star-crossed lovers.

Even after the powers that be at CBS pulled the plug on our beloved show, the fans’ love affair with Vincent and Catherine continued. CBS didn’t realize at the time that Beauty and the Beast isn’t over until the fans say it’s over! And thirty years later, that beautiful dream originally conceived by Ron Koslow, is still going strong.

In the early days of fandom, despite the fact that the internet was still in its infancy and most people couldn’t even afford a computer, hardcopy zines and newsletters abounded. They were typed on typewriters and then xeroxed and collated by hand. They were sold via snail mail and at early conventions. Every zine was painstakingly made with love, and every BATB fan knew that “with love, all things are possible.”

Unfortunately, many of the thousands of stories that reside within those zines and newsletters have never found their way to the internet. Many wonderful stories that have been forgotten, are waiting to be rediscovered in the zines lovingly preserved by the caretakers of the Crystal Rose Lending Library. They are available to borrow for only the price of postage and a promise of timely return when finished.

The sampling of stories and poems in this volume have all appeared elsewhere online and in zines before. They are only a small part of the copious amount of fan fiction and other art that has been created over the years due to the love people have for Catherine and Vincent.

The purpose of this zine is not necessarily to compile the best stories of the last 30 years, that would difficult, because it’s too subjective. Our purpose is merely to recognize and honor all of the faithful fans who have kept, and continue to keep, the beautiful dream alive.

Contents

• Dedication Page (i)
• Title Page (iii)
• Acknowledgements (iv)
• Letter From the Con Chair (v)
• Letter From the Editor (vi)
• art by Olivia de Berardinis (1)
• Tale As Old As Time, art by Kevin Barnes (3)
• What My Heart Will Be, fiction by Barbara L.B. Storey (includes two artworks art by Pat Horowitz from Tunnels #1) (5)
• Tunnels Vol. I zine cover by Pat Horowitz (45)
• A State of Grace, fiction by Cindy Rae (includes a small portrait of Father by Lynn Wright) ("Author’s note: The story of Grace and Jacob is always one that tugged at me. We know so very little, yet we know a great deal. We know Jacob was in his first year (“the year I lost everything,” he tells Vincent,) and we know that Grace was a little older than Jacob was, and possessed of her own kind of wisdom. We know her sad end, and we know that the two of them are Devin’s parents. All that led me to wondering about Devin’s mother, the kind of woman she was, and what it was about her that drew Jacob to her. How she, as an early tunnel dweller, might have helped shape what they became, in her own way. As her story became clear to me, I realized that it was Grace who helped Jacob in his transformation from just “Jacob” into “Father.” Not just by making him one, but in other ways, as well. There aren’t very many stories that try to “meet Grace” in depth, as a fully realized person. This is mine, and I give thanks to the editors who helped with it, most of whom give of their talents freely, and labor tirelessly behind the scenes.") (from the 2015 conzine, “Somewhere I Have Never Traveled.”)(47)
• (48)
• Ragged Little Kingdom, poem by Mai Phan (70)
• Feast, poem by Jodie Boyle (72)
• Once Upon A Time ..., fiction by Judith Nolan (from the 2014 Winterfest Online celebration) (73)
• Study of Vincent, art by Jamie Murray (87)
• Study of Catherine, art by Jamie Murray (87)
• The Watchful Guardian, fiction by Vee Horning (includes a small portrait of Mary by Lynn Wright) (originally online) (89)
• Imagine, art by Judith Nolan (91)
• Unmasqued, fiction by Barbara L.B. Storey (includes art: Vincent and Catherine by Renate Haller, Father by Belinda Wojcik, art by Mary Stacy-Macdonald) (93)
• An Afternoon at Wollaton Park, art by Jamie Murray (117)
• Fair Answers, fiction by Zara Wilder (includes three small portraits by Lynn Wright: Vincent’s Face, Rebecca, Catherine) (story was originally online) (119)
• Digital Art by Judith Nolan (133)
• No Words, ficiton by Angie (includes art: Vincent by Barbara Gipson, Vincent by Kathy Fidge, Vincent and Catherine by Renate Haller) (originally online) (135)
• Unworthy Knight, fiction by Rhonda Collins (includes art: Catherine by Belinda Wojcik) (originally published in the 1993 convention zine, Great Expectations: A World of Dancing Lights. It was later reprinted in 1995 in Friends and Lovers) (143)
• Digital Art by Judith Nolan (155)
• No Heaven for Fallen Angels, fiction by Cindy Rae (embedded art: Echoes of the Heart zine cover by Kevin Barnes, The Outsiders by Barbara Gipson ) (157)
• My Beast, poem by Judith Nolan (170)
• Vincent and Catherine by Sonia Corral (171)
• The Facts of Life, fiction by Linda Mooney (includes art: Vincent and Catherine by Lynn Wright, Mouse by Lynn Wright) (originally in Eternity In An Hour) (173)

• Digital Art by Judith Nolan (179)
• Hearts of Fire, fiction by Avril Bowles (includes art: Peter by Lynn Wright, Vincent and Catherine by Kathy Fidge) (originally in Candlelight Collection #2) (181)

• Teach Me, poem by Judith Nolan (192)
• A Little Night Music, fiction by Judith Nolan (crossover/fusion with The Phantom of the Opera) (originally in The Possibility of Being, conzine) (193)
• Vincent and Catherine, art by Bev Chick (213)
• In A Heartbeat, fiction by Amber James (includes art: Vincent by Barbara Gipson, Catherine and Vincent by Barbara Gipson, Vincent and Catherine by Renate Haller) (from Sensual Dreamers) (215)

• The Fourth Wish, fiction by Barbara Handshy Anderson (first published online in October of 2015, it was inspired by a challenge on batbland.com.) (241)
• The Wishing Well, digital art by Judith Nolan (265)
• Happy Birthday Vincent, fiction by Judith Nolan (originally in Tunnel Tales in 2014 ) (267)
• Portraits of Diana, art by Kevin Barnes (289)
• The Gift of the Tattered Rags, fiction by Sharon Holtz (art by Sharon Holtz) (first published in 2005 as a part of WFOL (Winterfest Online) (291)

• The Beginning of Always, fiction by C.J. La Belle (art: Triangle Painting by Jamie Murray, Vincent and Catherine by Ralph Suny, Catherine and Vincent by Lynn Wright) (originally online, 2015) (295)

• Dear Catherine, poem by Lynette Combs (346)
• The Blessed Damozel, art by Kevin Barnes (347)
• Counterpoint (revised), fiction by Linda S. Barth (art: Vincent by Kathy Fidge, plus uncredited screen manips) ("“Counterpoint” was originally published in the September 1995 issue of Barbara Hill and Terrie Milliman’s CABB zine series “Soulmates – A Never-ending Dream.” The story won the Second Place award as “Fan Favorite Short Story” at the annual B&B convention in Norfolk, Virginia in July 1996. After that, I set it aside for a long time and then, following a great deal of revision, published it about ten years ago in “Remember Love,” a limited print collection of my short stories. This is the latest and final revision of “Counterpoint”, and I am honored to be able to submit it for publication in the retrospective section of the conzine for the on-line 30th anniversary celebration of our beloved show.") (349)

• Salute to the Dream Keepers, fiction by Cindy Rae (375)
• Dream Keeper by Langston Hughes (art: That Wonderful Place Between by Clare Seiffert) (378)
• Dream Keepers Index ("The following is an index of authors, poets, songwriters and artists who have lovingly kept the Beauty and the Beast dream alive for the last thirty years. If we have forgotten anyone, please let us know, so that we can include them on future lists.") (379)
  • 30 Years of Fanfiction Authors, Poets and Songwriters
  • 30 Years of BATB Artists
• Special Thanks (397)
• Unity, art by Kevin Barnes (399)

Sample Interior

• 

  Kevin Barnes: "Tale as Old As Time"

• 

  Pat Horowitz

• 

  Kevin Barnes: "Portraits of Diana"

• 

  Judith Nolan: "Imagine"

• 

  Renate Haller

• 

  Mary Stacy-Macdonald

• 

  Jamie Murray: "An Afternoon at Wollarton Park"

• 

  Barbara Gipson

• 

  Sonia Corral

• 

  Bev Chick

• 

  Jamie Murray: "Triangle"

• 

  Ralph Suny: "Vincent and Catherine"

• 

  Kevin Barnes: "Blessed Damozel"

• 

  Kevin Barnes: "Unity"