Emily Adams

Fan
Name:	Emily Adams/Janet Rose
Alias(es):
Type:
Fandoms:	Beauty and the Beast (TV), Simon & Simon, Star Trek: TNG, but her primary fandom was K/S
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Emily Adams was a writer, artist, and editor.

She won a Philon Award and a STIFfie in 1998.

Adams passed away in 1998. Most fans heard about her death on September 9.

Adam's final zine had been published only a few weeks before. Her story in that issue, Dying Words, was the winner of a Philon Award.

Zine Contributions

Adams was the editor of Counterpoint (1989-1993, with Marian Flanders aka Robin Hood) and KaleidoScope (1993-1998).

Fiction

• Along the Way
• Animal Magnetism
• Animal Passions
• ComeupPANce
• Counterpoint
• DiscrePANcy
• Dying Words
• Everyone Passes the Test
• Eye of the Beholder
• First Conflict
• Five Days
• He Was He And I Was I
• Lessons
• Loaded Dice
• Love Letters
• Our Separate Ways
• Pan
• Pan-Demonium
• Rainy Day
• Semantics
• Spur of the Moment
• The Summons
• Tail Chasing
• Terrible Threshold
• These Things I Would Do
• Thin Ice

• A View from the Tower

Fan Reaction

This name provokes a very positive feeling. Her stories are very warm, loving, and endearing. Her name on the byline guarantees a good read. I find it particularly encouraging that she's a fairly new author, and is due to improve her skill, and will most likely write even better stories in the future. My favorite of hers so far is "Thin Ice" in First Time #19.

The stories I have seen by Emily Adams are very tightly focused on the K/S relationship. There are no digressions and nothing in her stones is ever unnecessary. This is a strength, but it also can be a weakness. The characters have a context, and Bmily isn't showing enough of that. She should open up her stories to more of the universe surrounding Kirk and Spock.

Emily Adams is one of my most favorite authors, because she, perhaps more consistently than anyone else, writes the type of stories that appeal to me -- namely, those that emphasize the affection and caring between the characters, and she accomplishes this successfully whether or not a story emphasizes sex. With a couple of exceptions — "First Conflict" (AS I DO THEE 13), which wasn't enough of a story; and "Reflections" (COUNTERPOINT 4) and its sequel, which weren't very original - I have at least greatly liked everything by this author I have read. Whatever flaws she may have, I seem to be rather blind to, for I find myself, even upon thinking of various stories in retrospect, savoring the warmth and gentleness of the characters, to say nothing of their realistic portrayals. The mere thought of her writing makes me melt into a puddle of goo. In addition, while there has never been anything wrong with her characterization of Kirk, her depiction of Spock is the most perfect I have ever come across on a consistent basis. I could rave about Emily Adams merely for the reasons mentioned above, which is so important to my enjoyment of K/S. But this author's stories don't stop with tender feelings. Host of them have genuine plots. The best of these also happen to be my two most favorite of her stories, "Terrible Threshold" (COUNTERPOINT 1) and "Everyone Passes the Test" (COUNTERPOINT 3). The former, in particular, was an amazingly successful mixture of gentle, warm feelings and a solid plot. It also had the added ingredient of a well- developed, original Vulcan character. Another strong point of Emily Adams' writing is the originality of many of her themes: the 'gift' of the people in "Everyone Passes the Test", the movie in "Thin Ice" (FIRST TIME 19), the use of language in "Semantics" (FT 20), the questionnaire in "Loaded Dice" (FT 24). I also remember some of her stories merely from little touches of detail that bring her characters so vividly to life: Spock's thought that he'd never had a 'Best Friend' before in "Tail Chasing" (FT 22), Spock automatically counting the steps in "A View from the Tower" (FT 23), Spock's habit of warming his hands on teacups in "Loaded Dice". Last but not least, Emily Adams is the author of my most favorite vignette, "A View from the Tower". It said so much in so few pages, without losing any of her flair for detail or her heart-warning style. The only sweeping criticism I can give of Emily Adams is that her output has greatly decreased the past couple of years. I really must insist that she write more often.

Zines

• As I Do Thee #11, #13
• Counterpoint #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7
• First Time #14, #15, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #30, #32
• Kaleidoscope #1, #2, #3, #5, #8
• Love Unlimited
• T'hy'la
• Within the Mirror #1

Fan Memories

I was shocked and saddened that she had passed away so suddenly and so early in her life, I first knew her through her zines and later met her at a FrisCon convention, she was sitting calmly and quietly behind her dealer's table. Nothing that would give a hint that she was a publisher of K/S zines. until you walked up to her and look down at all those gorgeous zines that she put so much enthusiasm, time and effort into. Who knew that beneath that calm cool exterior lurked an energetic and enthusiastic K/S publisher from way back? She was a prolific writer who has given K/S fens many great stories over the years. Her beautiful zines. Kaleidoscope, were a great tribute to her love of K/S, Janet was the nicest, most generous person I have ever known. I will miss her greatly. A unique individual whose contribution to the KS fandom as a publisher and a contributor will be an enormous and sad loss.

Ten years worth of memories have been running through my head since then, and I thought it would be easy to write a memorial based on all those pleasant memories. It isn't I considered Janet a supportive friend, a talented and gentle editor and a gifted writer. All I can say is that all the ways Janet was special to me, those are all the ways in which I am going to miss her.

When I think of Janet, what comes to mind is what a lady she was, I know that's not a popular term to use to describe someone these days, but that's what she was. Always calm, she seemed sometimes to be the eye to our hurricane of activity at Shore Leave, We would bombard her with requests for the latest issue of Kaleidoscope, hardly letting her get settled in her room before we practically ripped the zines out of her hands. And she would oblige in her gentle, soft-spoken way. It became harder and harder for her to get those zines to the con these last few years as her health worsened, but I know she enjoyed being there among friends who shared her involvement with fandom. That's two great losses to our small community in as many years. Is it too sentimental of me to wish that even now she and Chris are busy writing stories that we'll get to read one day? I will carry the memory of her soft laughter, her wonderful stories, and her love of Star Trek and Kirk and Spock with me always.

Janet was always such a sweetheart. I remember a few years ago, right before I did my first Kaleidoscope cover for her, she sent me an animated Christmas card on disk. I was so amazed — I had never seen anything like it — and now those things are so commonplace.

Janet was always so appreciative of my artwork for her beautiful zines, I often told her how I felt so relaxed in giving her my artwork because I was confident of the care and attention she'd take in choosing and its reproduction. And she always told me how much it meant to her. I'd see her at Escapade and Shore Leave at her table always situated next to Robin's, She'd sit there so sweetly—so prim and proper looking—with these K/S zines spread out before her like handmade jams and jellies at a country craft sale! And next to Robin, with her wonderfully outrageous manner, they made quite the pair! Janet's passing is such a loss to our beloved K/S fandom. And I truly hope that her zines and her personal collection will be taken care of properly. After Chris Soto died, her entire zine and art collection was lost forever—very likely thrown out by her family. This made it even more of a tragedy. And it makes me aware of what plans I personally have for my collection—I certainly don't intend for it to be implemented any time soon—but now I'm even more aware of how important it is to know what would happen to my zines and artwork. These are my precious things and I'd want them to be with others who care.

I will miss Janet dearly.

So sad, about Janet Rose/Emily Adams. She was a unique and lovely woman, had a calm and gentle demeanor but with, of course, a delightful raunchy streak, and was a wonderful writer and zine editor/publisher. This is so sad, these losses to K/S...and of course it makes me feel how very precious everyone is, life is, while we are so fortunate to be living.

[...]

I'm sad because the story I'm almost finished writing right now was for her next KaleidoScope, and I had finally started a drawing for a cover for her, which we had been talking about for a while. Also, I had just started writing up an LOC on her beautiful story in KaleidoScope 8. (Its title and premise now seem eerie, don't they?) For a couple weeks I had a note to myself to e-mail her about my story and drawing, and about enjoying her story, and I hadn't gotten around to it yet, and then on September 9 heard about her death....

[...]

I've regretted that we, the "K/S community" didn't get to express to Chris Soto's family that there were lots and lots of people who really cared about her and mourn her passing. I hope we can express this to Janet's family. Also, we obviously need to be sure and make our arrangements for our K/S (and ST) stuff in the event of our passing, as our families might well not dispose of it properly.

Emily Adams was so many things to many people.

She was friend to me. She and I roomed together the past three years at Shore Leave, and a better roommate I don’t think I could have found. Those who knew her know how soft-spoken Janet was, but she was also the most unobtrusive, quiet, considerate roomie. It was a pleasure each year to spend time with her, marred only by my continual concerns for her health. We gave the other double-bed in the room to our third companion, but Janet and I shared a bed because we both slept the same way: on our backs, arms at our sides, stiff as boards. A bit like I imagine Spock must sleep.

[...]

Janet was a wonderful writer. Her list of stories is long and memorable. I especially like Everyone Passes the Test, First Conflict, Five Days, He Was He and I Was I, Pan, Semantics, Terrible Threshold, These Things Would I Do. You can depend on an Emily Adams story to entertain you in an intelligent way, often with a unique and wonderful idea embedded.

For example, I was so intrigued by Semantics, where Spock risks his life on a mission because the language of the people involved does not contain a word for a certain emotion. This is science in action.

And what an interesting idea is behind Everyone Passes the Test! In that story, settlers on a planet have all inherited a gene for teleportation, which it turns out comes from the folks of a tiny village in Ireland, and somebody on the Enterprise might possess that same DNA.

And I loved the scene from And He Was He and I Was I, where Kirk is lost in a series of tunnels and he finds his way out because the smell of his own urine guides him back to where he started! Not exactly elegant, but very clever. I review a few of Janet’s stories in this issue, but I recommend reading just about everything she wrote. Her stories are a legacy that will remain and be appreciated by many. But, we’ve all lost a great K/S writer.

Janet was a treasured K/S editor. How can you measure the happiness she brought to so many of us with the production of nine Counterpoint zines (along with co-editor Marion Flanders) and eight Kaleidoscope zines? Janet's zines always had a certain polished, attractive "look" and I often told her that hers were the most slickly produced zines in fandom. I know the attention she paid to her production values, and the excellent editing she provided writers. Janet printed three of my stories over the years, and each time I benefited greatly from a detailed and lovingly presented edit. I learned from her She was a whiz at grammar and punctuation. And I remember her saying to me once, right after one of the Kaleidoscope zines was printed, that she was so dismayed to find a typo on one page! She really tried her very best and commented that she really loved to edit. She produced zines because she found it fulfilling. And now we've lost a steady, talented K/S editor.

It is hard to believe that she is no longer with us, but I am at least comforted that she did not suffer great pain for very long, that her death was apparently quite sudden. Shelley and I sent flowers to her funeral, signed by us and “all Janet’s Star Trek friends.” We didn’t mention the letterzine or K/S, but our intention was that the bouquet was sent in the name of all our subscribers: those who knew Janet in person, those who knew her only through her zines or her stories, and those who have yet to discover her own unique and marvelous contribution to the fandom we all love.

I was extremely saddened to learn of the death of Emily Adams. I had the pleasure of meeting her at Shore Leave, and though we did not talk a great deal, she impressed me as a kind and gentle person. While she was very quiet and reserved, her love for K/S certainly came through loud and clear in both her writing and her beautiful Kaleidoscope series. On a personal level, I regret that I'll never have a chance to know Emily better; as a reader, I'm further saddened by the loss of one of our precious zine editors. Fandom will certainly miss her.

T'hy'la 20 is dedicated to Emily Adams and I find it to be a very worthy epitaph. Her fanzines and stories were some of the best and this story in particular, I am sure, she would have enjoyed as some of her stories were quite humorous. We will miss her.