Denying the Dark
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Denying the Dark |
| Publisher: | Debbie Ristick |
| Editor(s): | Lynne Wexler |
| Date(s): | May 1995 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Beauty and the Beast |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | online here |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Denying the Dark is a het 135-page Classic Beauty and the Beast (TV) anthology.
The art is by Rosemarie Hauer, Sandy C. Shelton, Anna Deavers-Kelley, Pam Tuck, and James Wappel.
Summary
From the online flyer posted to volume Of Love and Hope:
There are an infinite number of moments that make up a lifetime, or a story. Some of them are critical; after those moments, what follows is inevitable. But what if something, some relatively small thing, were different before one of those moments? Then everything after is changed..... Suppose for a moment that Joe Maxwell had worked with Diana Bennett before the moment when we saw them meet... Then the moment when Diana begins her search for Catherine Chandler is changed; Catherine is missing, and Joe wants Diana to help find her. Of course, Diana won't be the only one looking for Catherine... Before the Moment, written by Lynne Wexler, is an alternate universe novella featuring Diana and some third season elements. Denying the Dark is the latest in a series of classic zines brought to you by fan-writer Debbie Ristick. Along with the novella come vignettes, written to please all romantic hearts and illustrations by several noted fan artists. Rated PG-13.
From the Editorials
From Ristick:
Since discovering Beauty and the Beast in 1988,1 have found friends I would not trade for anything, rediscovered things that I had always loved but had forgotten, and have been romanced and given hope by a fair)' tale that I have always loved. For all of these things,I am grateful. That my imagination and writing has been accepted and by some even anticipated, I am humbled. My idea of this story may be quite different than some, but it certainly does make me happy, and it is wonderful that so many of you seem to agree.
Even if we never see these characters on the screen again, let us never forget who they were and what their love has meant to all of us. I certainly will not, for their love has given me life...
From Wexler:
I’ll wager you also had mixed feelings about third season — not about its basic direction; none of us wanted that But most people I know, however much they didn’t like third, did like Diana (for herself, not as a substitute for Catherine). In my novella, I explore one simple premise: what if, before the moment when we saw it, Joe and Diana had met? What if, before the moment when we saw it happen, she were brought into the case? From there, you may begin to imagine where this thought took me. My hope is that it will take you there as well.
Contents
- Love is Enough, poem by William Morris (5)
- Prelude part one by Debbie Ristick ("Vincent makes a lovely visit the night he finds Catherine in the park.") (7)
- Under the Rainbow, by Ann Cognito ("Vincent and Catherine attend a Halloween party.") (11)
- The Power of Love by Debbie Ristick ("Vincent comes to a decision about taking the next step in his relationship with Catherine.") (21)
- Trust in Dreams by Debbie Ristick ("A brief anecdote of a reality that turns out to be better than a dream for Catherine. The Prelude of part two has Catherine musing about the prospect of telling Vincent about her pregnancy.") (reprinted from Embrace the Night) (27)
- Prelude part two by Debbie Ristick (31)
- The novella, Before the Moment, by Lynne Wexler ("An alternate universe, she's not dead story that is interwoven with the episode "Though Lovers Be Lost." It jumps off from the idea that Diana was brought in on the case sooner, right after Catherine's abduction.") (37)
- Aftermath by Debbie Ristick ("Catherine is recovered, Father looks in on the loving pair and is relieved that they love one another.") (117)
- For Always by Debbie Ristick ("Vincent guides Catherine to a special, private place he's created for them behind the waterfall.) (reprinted from Embrace the Night) (121)
- A Little Surprise by Debbie Ristick ("Catherine reveals to Vincent that she's pregnant again.") (127)
- Rediscovery by Debbie Ristick ("The picture of a happy family after ten years of marriage.") (131)
Sample Interior
Rosemarie Hauer
James Wappel
Pam Tuck?
Rosemarie Hauer
Reactions and Reviews
This Classic anthology zine, mostly by Ristick, has one really first-rate, crackerjack story in it: novelette "Before the Moment" by Lynne Wexler, the best SND alternative "Though Lovers Be Lost...." scenario this reviewer has ever seen. It jumps off from the idea that Diana was brought in on the case sooner, right after Catherine's abduction, and that she and Vincent, with their shared paranormal sensitivities, combine as a team to locate Catherine. Wexler's Diana is crackling with energy, dead-on characterization, and a wicked sense of humor. And although she's not romantically attached to Vincent at all, they make a perfectly wonderful team: best friends, in the best sense of the word. Or, to put it another way, Vincent's as close to her as to Father, or Mouse, or anyone else Below he loves in a non-romantic context. This piece of intelligent, masterly storytelling credibly picks up loose threads from "Though Lovers" to weave a different storyline that's as compelling, in its own right, as anything in the series itself. This tale is worth the price of the zine, all by itself, and a must-have for Diana fans as well as devotees of well-written SND's.Though Ristick's stories, of which there are seven, are not so dramatically ambitious as Wexler's piece, they're nevertheless well told and true to the series' premises. In the Prelude to part one of the zine, Ristick sets the scene for Vincent's first discovery of Catherine in the park. In "The Power of Love," Vincent comes to a decision about taking the next step in his relationship with Catherine, triggered by Elliot's kiss in "A Kingdom by the Sea." "Trust in Dreams" is a brief anecdote of a reality that turns out to be better than a dream for Catherine. The Prelude of part two has Catherine musing about the prospect of telling Vincent about her pregnancy, while on her balcony he waits for her arrival. In the "Aftermath" of Catherine's being recovered, Father looks in on the loving pair and is relieved that they love one another. And in "For Always," love-hungry Vincent guides Catherine to a special, private place he's created for them behind the waterfall. And in "A Little Surprise," Catherine reveals to Vincent that she's pregnant again. In Ann Cognito's "Under the Rainbow," Vincent and Catherine attend a Halloween party, then ramble the streets, and Vincent gets warily acquainted with a carriage horse.
Very handsome art, scanned in, by Rosemarie Hauer, Sandy C. Shelton, Anna Deavers-Kelley, Pam Tuck, and James Wappel. Overall, well presented and scrupulously edited...with one terrific story in the middle of many pleasant ones. [1]