Sue aka The Android
| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Sue aka The Android |
| Alias(es): | Fiona Pickles, Sue S., Sue J., SJ, Sue Stuart, Daisy Wheel, Evonne Keele, Katy Katana, Authos, Florence Sinclair, Kathleen Jay, Fedora, Danielette, Fortune Teller, A Myrmidon, Kim Baker, Lee Strachan, Shaw Thing, Eve Trevor, Stuartsky, Caroline and Kathleen, Siu-je, etc. etc. etc. |
| Type: | Author, zine publisher, convention organiser |
| Fandoms: | Star Trek, Blake's 7, Starsky & Hutch, The Professionals and others too numerous to list |
| Communities: | conventions: Dobeycon, A Weekend in the Country, Devacon, Santacon, Amerikon, Just William Con |
| Other: | Blue Jay Press, Crevichon Press |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Sue aka The Android (and many pseuds) is a writer, editor, con organizer and participant, and moderator.
This fan's website is The Android's Dungeon.
Media Fandom
In the late 1970s, Sue aka The Android began with writing Star Trek gen fiction, then Blake's 7 gen fiction.
Since the mid-1980s, Sue has exclusively participated in slash fandom. In 1980, Sue co-authored Forever Autumn, the first Starsky and Hutch slash zine. In The Professionals fandom, Sue wrote what is believed to be the first-ever Bodie/Doyle slash, Power Play. Copies of "Power Play" circulated in late 1980/early 1981.
Sue temporarily retired from fandom in the 1980s, then returned to media slash in 1986 with Undercover.
This was followed by a further break, after which Sue started the quarterly slash letterzine Late For Breakfast (April 1989 until April 1992), as well as the letterzine, Oxford Blue, Newcastle Brown (1991-1992). The latter kick-started Morse/Lewis fandom in the UK.
A 2002 Autobio
I have been involved in fandom in one way or another since the late 1970s, coming in via the usual 'Star Trek' gateway. However unlike most people I know, I was actively looking for slash even then; I had worked out that it must exist, and I knew that was where I wanted to be. I started off writing K/S fiction and graduated from there to 'Starsky and Hutch' and 'The Professionals' and various other slash fiction which was privately circulated rather than published. Then there was a long break during which I got divorced, lived for a while as a single mum, moved house several times and eventually got married again. I also took some courses and tried to get an education.
In the period before 1986 I also organised I don't know how many cons - mostly little slash cons for fifty people or so, but also a couple of much larger occasions, the first Christmas cons in British fandom. They were great fun to do but also incredibly hard work, and there were times when it felt I was running a one-woman-band. (Like the time the committee member responsible for programming resigned a week before the con having done absolutely nothing, and the whole video/film programme had to be thrown together at the last minute.) This may give you some idea of why in 1988 I ended up having a nervous breakdown.
Fortunately I had been completely honest with my new husband about slash, because as it turned out that was the road back from my illness. I started reading and writing it again, and eventually publishing it, and in an attempt to create a market for it I started a letterzine which ran for several years. I ended up publishing sixteen editions of UNCHARTED WATERS and several offshoot zines (LEAP IN THE DARK, THE FIRST DUTY, THE EIGHTFOLD FENCE etc.) Add these to the very many genzines I published during my first fandom career and you have an awful lot of innocent white paper sacrificed over the last two decades.
But eventually children grow up and their weddings have to be paid for. It was poverty that drove me out of fandom and back to work, and again I lapsed for a while until a kind friend dragged me kicking and screaming into the world of online fandom. Also at about this time I had a very close encounter with something known as a baritone - a rather large, gentle man with a wonderful voice - who turned out to be a major and very expensive obsession. So nowadays I earn a little money working part time for (mostly) arrogant bastards, and the rest of the time I indulge my fannish pursuits - watching videos, writing, playing 'The Sims' and pursuing the baritone.
[...]
My thoughts on the subject of slash fiction are to be found elsewhere. I change universes frequently - find I have said what I want to say and move on - and they are a pretty diverse bunch of universes too.
[...]
So here I am, twenty five years on (or so), veteran of innumerable universes and slash premises, author of goodness knows how much fiction, owner of three websites and two domain names, past-publisher of countless zines and past organiser of at least a dozen cons.
[...] [1]
A 2009 Autobio
From the first progress report for MediaWest*Con:
Found fandom in 1978-9 through Star Trek Welcommittee and started writing. 1979-80 produced first 9 issues of gen multi-media 'zine Enigma, first Starsky/Hutch slashzine Forever Autumn, & wrote the first Professionals slash story, “Power Play.” One of a group of authors responsible for Hatstand genre. Wrote in more than 32 universes (Listed 21 pseudonyms & press names Blue Jay Press, Titans West Press, Crevichon Press). Convention organizer of Dobeycons (S&H), Weekends in the Country (Professionals), Amerikon (Knight Rider, A Team, Remington Steele), Just William Con (Shatner), Santacon (1984) & Santacon 86.... Re-entered fandom 1988 with slashzine Undercover, becoming series of 'zines Uncharted Waters running through 1997. After a short break transferred activities to internet, with website Android's Dungeon (www.slashfic.co.uk) since 2001. [2]
The Android's Dungeon
From 2001, the author's fannish activity was transferred online with the first version of The Android's Dungeon and later to the blog The Android's Dungeon (now offline).
Zine Publisher
In 1981, Sue joined forces with Pamela Dale as Blue Jay Press to edit and produce fanzines. They produced, and distributed the first stories on what became The Circuit, otherwise The Professionals slash or Hatstand fandom.
Enigma
Between 1981 and 1985, Sue and Pamela Dale produced nine issues of the genzine Enigma, after which it continued under Pamela Dale and Marilyn W. who produced the last six issues.
"Enigma" was a multifandom genzine with standard 90 pages, allowing simple calculations of price, materials and postage; a similar formula was repeated with Uncharted Waters.
Uncharted Waters
The first Uncharted Waters slash zine was published in 1988 under the imprint Crevichon Press and ran until 1997.
The series showcased many new slash fandoms, with the first Jeeves/Wooster story My Man Jeeves in 1991 (Uncharted Waters #4) and the first Morse/Lewis, Oak and Mistletoe, in (Uncharted Waters #5) 1992. Also notable was the Lovejoy/Alexander Felsham series, collected as The Fake's Progress in 1994.
Early issues were duplicated, but later ones photocopied when equipment became available.
"Uncharted Waters" was considered a safe haven for rare fandoms and pairings not received sympathetically elsewhere, although stories were romantic rather than explicit.
One-off Zines
Sue also produced several one-off zines, including The Eightfold Fence, a slash novel based on James Clavell's Shogun (John Blackthorne/Martin Alvito), and The First Duty, a long slash novel originating in BBC's Colditz (Player/Carrington and Ulmann/Kommandant). The latter was co-written with fan author Sal, whose contribution was substantial.
Alongside these, Hysterical Historicals (1996) contained two stories. One of them, As Lucifer Fell, may have been the first Valjean/Javert Les Miserables slash story to see print.
Con Organiser
Ran several small conventions in York, for example Dobeycon, A Weekend in the Country, Amerikon and, as con-organiser-for-hire, Just William Con (for William Shatner fans). Later was instrumental in running Santacon, 1984 at the (then) Dragonara Hotel, Leeds, and Santacon '86, at the Viking Hotel, York. These were the first British media conventions to be held at Christmas.
Source:[1]
Became involved with Pamela D. and Marilyn W. in organising the Devacon slash conventions in Chester during the 1990s.
Notable Works
Fanfiction
Notable slash fiction by Sue aka The Android aka Fiona Pickles etc.:
- The First Duty (co-written with Sal) ("Between May 27th and June 4th, 1940, a flotilla of seven hundred vessels of all shapes and sizes evacuated almost 350,000 Allied officers and men from the beaches of Dunkirk. For those who were not able to get away - or who were already prisoners of the Germans - a long and tedious captivity was just beginning.") (Player/Carrington, Ulmann/Kommandant) (Colditz)
- Hearts'-ease (Henry/Montjoy novel) based on Branagh's 1989 Henry V (Henry V) (Henry/Montjoy)
- Oak and Mistletoe "A hostage situation and the murder of a gay bookseller bring revelations which cause Morse and Lewis to examine their working relationship - and their personal one.") (Inspector Morse) (Morse/Lewis)
- My Man, Jeeves ("The bunglings of an agency valet drive Bertie to flee to Jeeves' side - to continue a love affair that began over a typical domestic disaster.") (Jeeves and Wooster) (Jeeves/Bertie)
- Dark and Handsome ("That James could be familiar with that particular type of encounter had never entered [Robert's] head before. Indeed, if pressed, he would have said that but for a few youthful fumbles between farm boys - soon over and even sooner blushed about in recollection - there was no-one in the whole of Lark Rise who had any experience of intimate pleasure between men … with the notable exception of himself.") (Lark Rise to Candleford) (Robert Timmins/James Dowland)
- As Lucifer Fell ("Paris, Summer 1832. Jean Valjean is languishing close to death when the intervention of the supernatural brings to his side the one man with whom he has longed to make his peace. Javert's life, too, is in ruins; dragged back from the brink of suicide he is now faced with living in a world which seems increasingly to revolve around his feelings for his former enemy, and that knowledge terrifies even him. (Based on the stage version of 'Les Miserables' starring any tenor/baritone combination of your choice!)") (Les Miserables) (Valjean/Javert)
- The Fake's Progress series (Lovejoy) (Lovejoy/Alexander Felsham)
- The Real Captain Hastings ("An Argentinian visitor to London is found murdered, reminding detective Hercule Poirot and his assistant Captain Arthur Hastings that although life is short there is no reason that it must always be lonely.") (Poirot) (Poirot/Hastings)
- The Eightfold Fence ("Japan, 1605, John Blackthorne, English Samurai, crosses paths again with Father Martin Alvito, Jesuit priest, in an encounter arranged by Yoshi Toranaga, Regent of Japan. Needing their help, afraid to lose either of them, he has decided it will suit his purposes very well for these two natural enemies to become lovers. He has the power of life and death over his subjects, but arranging the disposition of their hearts is not, he learns, quite as easy as he had imagined.") (Shogun) (John Blackthorne/Martin Alvito)
- [The Five Musketeers: The Mark of Dishonour ("France, Winter 1650. Anticipating a quiet, rural Christmas, Athos, Porthos and Aramis are lured from their fireside by the return of Justine De Winter, daughter of two old enemies. Kidnapping d'Artagnan and Athos's adopted son, Raoul, Justine issues an ultimatum; one of them may be ransomed, the other will die. The decision falls to Athos, who knows full well the hate Justine bears him ... and his beloved Jean d'Artganan. Based on the 'Musketeers' movies starring Oliver Reed and Michael York - among others! ") (The Three Musketeers) (Athos/d'Artagnan)
- Railroad Ties ("After fifteen years of estrangement the Virginian's family suddenly asks for his help. When Trampas goes along to lend a hand, they find themselves fighting shoulder-to-shoulder against land-hungry neighbours - and painful recollections of the Virginian's past.") (The Virginian) (The Virginian/Trampas)
- Hierarchy of Needs (The West Wing) (Josh Lyman/Matt Santos)
- Coldwater Morning, The End of an Illusion, and Two Crazy Lovers, responses to Consequences
Meta
References
- ^ from This Android
- ^ Fan Fund