Bolero (Professionals zine)

Zine
Title:	Bolero
Publisher:	Avilla Trading Company
Editor:
Author(s):	Ophelia Jones
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Date(s):	1995
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	The Professionals
Language:	English
External Links:
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Bolero is an AU slash Professionals 140-page novel by Ophelia Jones.

1995 flyer

From the zine: "PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, DO NOT PHOTOCOPY THIS ZINE AND SELL IT. 'NUF SAID."

Summary

From an ad in On the Double:

An alternate universe B/D novel. Follow the adventures of pirate Ramon and his captive lover, Sir William Bodie, from the Court of Elizabeth I to the steamy jungles of Hispaniola and the climactic battle between the British Navy and the Spanish Armada. No graphic sex or violence, but plenty of angst, hurt/comfort, and romance on the high seas.

From a 1995 flyer in Late for Breakfast: "ROMANCE! INTRIGUE! HURRICANES! VOODOO! SWASHBUCKLING!! Follow the adventures of pirate Captain Ramon and his captive lover, Sir William Bodie, from the Court of Elizabeth I to the steamy jungles of Hispaniola and the climactic battle between the British Navy and the Spanish Armada!" [...] NO GRAPHIC SEX OR VIOLENCE BUT PLENTY OF ANGST, HURT/COMFORT AND ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS!"

From the Author's Forward

Welcome to BOLERO! I had planned a short story, honest! I hope you don't mind.

I'd very much like to thank all of my friends who encouraged me and read and re-read the drafts through all their various stages. There were many who had never seen nor heard of THE PROFESSIONALS and now they want to see the series! To all those history buffs out there: I apologize in advance. I did as much research on the period as I could. However, there were places and events that I 'tweaked1 for the sake of the story. Yes, I know that certain locales were not as civilised as I portrayed them in the years the story took place, but if you can ignore that and simply enjoy this as the fantasy it is, I'll be most grateful. I would also like to thank my family for putting up with my insanity for the past nine months. I hope it will be worth the effort.

Special acknowledgements go to my 'technical advisors'. (They know who they are.) And remember, this is a ROMANCE, and as such, does not contain explicit sex, rather some descriptive love scenes. I hope no one is disappointed....Will there be a sequel? Perhaps. I have some ideas, a title and a basic plot outline. The working title is CARNIVAL IN A GRAVEYARD but it will only see print if I can convince a certain writer to do it for me. Drop me a line in a few months and include a SASE and I'll let you know. Perhaps by VIRGULE III (October 1996) if I'm lucky.

Reactions and Reviews

I owned this zine several years ago, but disposed of it immediately after reading it, so details now escape me, but I recall it as poorly written, which accounts, I suspect, for its obscurity in the fandom. People don't talk much about this zine because there's little in it to talk about it.

This is a historical novel set in the Elizabethan era. It is clear that author has no concept of Elizabethan history, the chain of command on sailing vessels, the fact that there were no Jewish bankers in England at the time (Cromwell allowed the Jews to return after one of the Edwards (II?) expelled them), the time involved in completing sailing journeys, and a host of other similarly unimportant items. I caught at least five major anachronisms in as many pages.

I did persevere and finish the novel, more out of recognition of my obsessive-compulsive tendencies than out of any real desire.

Nevertheless, this is not the novel that I would make disappear. While the execution was laughable, there were several "slash moments" that almost made the struggle worthwhile. The author's intention is clearly pure; I would assign her to a course of remedial historical reading, starting with the Edward Costain Plantagenet books, continuing with the Lymond Chronicles, and finishing with any number of Elizabethan references or novels, none of which I can bring to mind at the moment.