Gayle F

Fan
Name:	Gayle F
Alias(es):	Sylvia Knight [1], Yves Fey
Type:	fanwriter, zine editor, zine publisher, fan artist, vidder
Fandoms:	Star Trek, Blake's 7, Wiseguy, others
Communities:
Other:
URL:	on AO3 a 1979 self-portrait from Starborne
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Gayle F was hugely influential in early Kirk/Spock fandom. She wrote some of the classics of that time, such as Mirrors of Mind and Flesh and the Cosmic Fuck Series (a series of formative early Kirk/Spock stories). She also edited, illustrated and published The Price and The Prize.

Her illustration style was very stylized yet lush, and she moved easily between simple portraiture and elaborate and sometimes explicit story illustration. K/S stories of the time often posited unusual versions of Spock's alien genitalia, and her art often reflected them -- she even made a famous paperdoll set with different sets of Vulcan penises. See The Kirk Spock Erotic Paper Doll Set.

She continued doing cover art for zines long after she stopped writing or publishing zines of her own.

Most of Gayle's fanart focused on Star Trek: TOS. She moved onto Blake's 7 in the very late 1980s where most of her art consisted of Kerr Avon portraits. Her tenure in that fandom was much shorter than Trek. One reason was Gayle was writing her first for-profit book at the time. . Another reason, though never stated public ally, was perhaps The Blake's 7 Wars, something that had a cooling effect on many Blake's 7 fans.

Around 1993-94, her fannish focus became Wiseguy; this fanac was primarily discussion and writing, rather than art. In 1994, she wrote:

Although Vinnie is very beautiful, he isn't as visually fascinating as Avon. And while Sonny is attractive, what is erotic about him to me is his energy, which is pretty damn hard to draw. I've got a couple of illos that I've thought about doing, but I'm more likely to do vids for WG.

Gayle was an early slash vidder in Blake's 7 fandom. She started vidding, both with Tashery Shannon and alone. After a multiple year hiatus, she reappeared primarily as a Wiseguy vidder in the late 1990s, collaborating with Lynn C. and later Morgan Dawn.

She is still active as an invited guest at K/S cons.

Pro Books

Gayle also writes for-profit romances.

At least one of them has a slight fannish touch. In 1994, she wrote about that book:

It does have an Avonic hero (well, he turned out sort of like Avon's nicer, more emotional, less twisted Italian younger brother - but there is enough remaining to please truefen, I hope. The book isn't due out till next year, at which point I will tell you more and urge you to run to your book stores, but I don't want to carry on about it when it's not available. I also have an Avonic "villain" in the one I am currently writing, with a heroine inspired by Soolin. It is interesting to watch what changes and what remains the same in moving a character into another universe.

Popular at the Post Office

In 1994, Sandy Herrold wrote:

One of the many highlights of my lovely stay with [Gayle F] back in July, was seeing her pile of customs notes: i.e., the reports back from other countries customs telling her that they had destroyed her zine (don't remember which one, or even if they were always the same one) rather than let it is to defile their countries purity...

A 1994 Fan Bio

In April 1994, Gayle wrote:

I've been in fandom for almost twenty years, starting with K/S. I now read that only occasionally, but still have a strong fascination for Blake's 7, (A/B). I've got a minor interest in Miami Vice, C/C, and recently, a major interest in Wiseguy, S/V. I've been, variously writer, artist, editor, and vidmaker. For the past few years, since I've been working on breaking into the professional writing market, I've mostly just done music vids. However, my on and off watching of Wiseguy and Sonny Steelgrave bloomed into full grown obsession and I've been writing again.

I also love Sherlock Holmes, but as a show rather than a slash fandom, though I'll happily read the slash. And I am looking forward to the Fugitive slash that is stirring out there, as I really loved Tommy Lee Jones' Girard. I dip into other things to check them out, but nothing else has really caught my fancy.

Interviews

• Legacy Interview with Gayle F (2007)
• Media Fandom Oral History Project Interview with Gayle F and Caren P (2013)

Meta

• The Wave Theory of Slash Revisited (1993)
• In response to the current topic of erotic stories versus erotic art. (1994)
• Of all the media characters in the series that you watch, which one do you most identify with? (1994)

Her Debut in 1976

From Interphase #2:

cover of the Interphase calendar, Gayle F's debut in a fanzine

The extra chunk of paper that fell out of the envelope... is the Special Calendar Supplement... Let me mention right here that the calendar is only available as part of the zine; it is not available separately. [Gayle F], the artist whose illustrations make the calendar so special, has been on the periphery of fandom for a while, but this is, I believe, her debut in a fanzine. Gayle is a multi-talented and remarkably imaginative person (you will probably be seeing her excellent fiction in zines soon, as well as her dynamic artwork), and it is with wide-eyed, 'goshwow' gratitude that I'd like to publicly her welcome to fanzine fandom.

Fanworks

Fiction

As Gayle F in (Star Trek): Beloved Enemy (at AO3) | Between Friends | Beyond Setarcos | The Brothel | Cave of the Heart | Choices | Cosmic Fuck Series | Dancing on the Edge | | Desert Heat | Endings | Mirrors of Mind and Flesh | Night of the Dragon | Sorcerer | The Spell

As Gayle F in (Wiseguy): Starguys (at AO3)| Hard Truths (with Marie Blackpool) at AO3)| Playing with Fire (at AO3)

As Sylvia Knight in (Blake's 7): Descending Horizon | A Friend in Need | On the Edge | Shards (at AO3) | Uncertain Changes

Art

Star Trek: Accumulated Leave | Alien Brothers | Alternative: Continuing the Epilog to Orion | Archives #1 | As I Do Thee #1, #2, #4, #5, #6, #11 | Blakes Doubles #2 | Brave New Worlds | California K/S #1, #2, #3, #4 | The Captain's Woman #2, #3 | Charisma #3 | Cheap Thrills #2 | Choices | A Collection of Dreams | Companion #1, #2, #3 | The Cosmic Collected | Contact #5/6 | Cosmic Collected | Daring Attempt #3, #7 | Diverse Dimensions #3 | Duet #5 | Enterprise Log Entries #50 | Fantasia #2 | Fesarius #5 | Final Frontier #1, #2 | First Time (zine) #1, #4, #7, #9, #10, #18 | First Time Calendar | Galactic Discourse #2, #3, #4, #5 | Gayle F's K/S Quartet | Grup #5 | ...A Handful of Snowflakes and Other Trek Tales | IDIC #6 | Interphase #4 | Interphase Calendar | Intimate Details | Kirk Enslaved Poster | The Kirk Spock Erotic Paper Doll Set | Kiscon Art Cards | KSX #1, #2 | Kontinuing Saga | Legends #1 | Mahko Root #2 | Metamorphosis #2 | Mirrors of Mind and Flesh | More Trek Tales | Naked Times #2, #3, #8, #9, #10, #11, #14 | Neutral Zone Outpost #4 | Nightvisions | Nocturne | Nome #2, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #10 | Obsc'zine #1, #2, #3, #4 | Organia | The Other Side of Paradise #2, #3 | Out of Bounds #1, #2, #3, #4 | Paradise | The Price and the Prize | Prisoners of the Night #1, #3 | Progressions | R & R #2, #3, #6/7, #10 | Rigel #4/5/6 | The Sensuous Vulcan | Shades of Grey #1 | Sol Plus #5 | Star Canticle #3 | Starborne | Straight Trek | Sun and Shadow | T'zad'u | T'hy'la #1, #3, #4, #5, #7, #8, #9 | Thrust | The Time of Surak | Tongue in Cheek | The Trekker Cookbook | Trust, Like the Soul | Twin Destiny #1, #2 | Warped Space #20 | When Le'matyas Sleep | Within the Mirror #1

Blake's 7: A Companion for My Death | Fire and Ice #1, #2 | Powerplay #2, #4, #6 | Raising Hell #1, #2 | Resistance #1 | Something... Unfriendly #1 | Southern Comfort #5.5, #6.5 | Southern Seven #3 | Those Who Favor Fire

Beauty and the Beast: A Secret Place #1

Harry and Johnny: Double Play

Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek: The Holmesian Federation #1

Vids

Data's Dream, aka Flight Dreams, (to the song Orinoco Flow) -- absolutely exquisite multimedia vid of SF and F shows, framed by Data. Originally created on vcrs, but remastered in the early 2000s on computer. Most of the source wasn't strictly media fannish, but of course, there's enormous overlap between media fandom and SF&F fandom. Many fans have said this is the most beautiful vid they've ever seen. A streaming version can be viewed by contacting Morgan Dawn here.

Gayle also collaborated with other vidders: most often Tashery S. as part of the Shadow Songs vidding collective. But also:

• Jill
• Lynn C.
• Morgan Dawn

Fan Comments

1983

One - if not THE favorite of my K/S choice writers is [Gayle F]. To me, her K/S essence is alive and vigorously active, the sex is very real and the characters retain their virility. The characterization I can relate to and her imaginative writing ability evokes sensuality in such a gentle but masculine way, that I feel attuned to It on a very deep level. It is my own masculine side wanting out and it goes even beyond that. It is the raw, primitive urge layered with our outer skins. So vulnerable are we creatures. And love is the only answer to fuse those outer skins. [Gayle F] does it all.

I just loved reading Gayle's stories to [a fan] over the phone (after I was certain that she wasn't going to call the police and have me arrested on a morals charge.) It was great fun and certainly an ice breaker. She and I have been fast friends ever since that day.

1985

I have particularly liked the illustration of [Gayle F], but have no favorite stories. Some stories I have seen do seem to dwell on agony too much for my taste.

1986

For fans who are afraid that people might ask you to explain K/S: Don't you think K/S is kind of self-explanatory? I've found that with most mundanes, a single [Gayle F] picture is worth a thousand words.

1993

Before Suzie Lovett, Gayle was the most famous artist in slash. I still love her intricate backgrounds, but her stylized renditions became less and less like Kirk and Spock over time. She has some of Blake and Avon, but they don't quite make it for me.

1998

And may I just say, in no uncertain terms, that you have not *lived* until you've seen [Gayle F's] art. This woman was/is a fucking genius. Her drawings of Kirk and Spock are explicit, mythical, transcendent and completely mind-blowing.

2000

Gayle's zines are all among the most beautiful and most carefully-produced works ever to come out of fandom. She herself was probably the leading K/S artist of her day, often using a highly stylized Art Nouveau or Aubrey Beardsley style that is both flowing and extremely explicit.

2007

... the first time I ever saw GF, I looked across a room and saw a woman in a flowing patterned dress with a filmy overdress that was also patterned, so that as she moved the two patterns slipped over each other to make an ever-changing, intricate moire; and I said to myself, "That has got to be GF." And indeed it was! (None of the patterns involved delicate flowers with penis stamens, though.)

2009

When I started writing K/S, I used Gayle's drawings in my head as templates for the characters I was writing. I was very young and rather embarrassed to think of the actors during some of the scenes I wrote! Gayle's Kirk and Spock are very stylized but are also perfectly Kirk and Spock for me.

:-) I did exactly the same thing. When I first started reading and writing K/S, I would visualize artist's interpretations of the characters rather than imagining the actors. For some stories, I'd have more stylized versions in my head (Gayle, and Leslie Fish, for example). Sometimes I'd visualize them as The Southern Cross or Caren Parnes or Merle Decker or Pat Stall versions. It all depended on the style of the story. I later found, through fannish conversations, lots of other people were doing exactly the same thing.

In Her Own Words: 1982

In 1982, she was nominated for a FanQ award and submitted the following bio to The Annual Fan Q Awards Nominations Booklet:

"I've been involved in Star Trek Fandom since 1976, as artist, writer, and editor. I published THE PRICE AND THE PRICE (with Syn Ferguson), and MIRRORS OF MIND AND FLESH. My work has appeared in my own fanzines and numerous others, among which are NOME, INTERPHASE, SUN AND SHADOW, GALACTIC DISCOURSE, THE CAPTAIN'S WOMAN, THRUST, OUT OF BOUNDS, T'HY'LA, NAKED TIMES, COMPANION, CHEAP THRILLS, DUET, R & R, and THE OBSC'ZINE, among others. .. I live with a marvelous husband and two cats .... I have degrees in Art and Creative Writing. I love film, literature, Fantasy and Mysteries, Astrology and Tarot, costumes, gourmet cooking, and gardening. And cats."

In Her Own Words: 1994

Actors and Their Characters

Regarding Star Trek actors and their characters:

I saw DeForest Kelly once, when I was first getting into fandom - so this is almost twenty years ago, when he wasn't so grandfatherly. I also saw Shatner and Nimoy within the same year. Of the three, I thought Dee was by far the sexiest in person. Not, I grant you, sexy in a smoldering, intense way, but in a cuddly, sensual one. He was smashingly charming, without an iota of phoniness, and no perceptible "wall" between him and the audience. Not the kind of guy you want to carry off in your teeth, one that you want to take home in your pocket. Not being a Kirk fan, I found Shatner an ungodly ham in the same mode as the Captain, and Nimoy, while attractive, very reserved and cautious, without putting out much of Spock's inner intensity. It was reading Connie Faddis' fanfic that changed my view of McCoy, making him an interesting and complex character. But seeing Dee probably made McCoy sexier. Although I am always curious about the actors, I do try to keep my concepts of the actors and the characters separate. There's always the danger of hating the guts of an actor, and ruining the passion you have for a character.

Art

From In response to the current topic of erotic stories versus erotic art.:

I am, not surprisingly, a fan of both [erotic stories and erotic art], if both are well done. To me, a good slash drawing would capture an emotional mood, and not just be a depiction of body parts. While I often see erotic photos or paintings that are not slash that I find erotic because of the sculptural quality of the pose or the beauty of the skin tones, even though I can't see the faces of the people, I much prefer to see the faces, the expressions of the slash couples, and would find the same beautiful pose far less erotic in a slash context. There are a lot of poses from gay mags that I never used for my own slash art because of this. But as an artist, I've also learned that if you are working from a particular figure in a photo that it can only be altered a little from it's actual form to fit the character that you wish it to be, and it's hard to find both a pose you like combined with a body type that is believably the character that you want to draw!

On Being a Wiseguy Fan

From Of all the media characters in the series that you watch, which one do you most identify with?:

I was a Sonny fan before I was a fan of any other aspect of WG. I just love Ray Sharkey's performance. Then I got into the villains in general. I always thought Frank was a good character. I never disliked Vinnie, but he wasn't intellectual enough to interest me at first. Now he's a great favorite. And it is really fun to have the two characters appeal almost equally, since there were so many things I disliked, or found unerotic about Kirk and Blake. I liked both Crockett and Castillo, but never got hooked enough to write MV. Slashing Frank has no real interest for me - there could be a very powerful conflict in a triangle situation, but for once, I rather dodge that conflict, as I don't see a happy resolution for anybody in it. Unlike B7, I'd rather avert tragedy and unhappy endings in WG, granted I can't imagine any altogether happy ending for S/V. I do understand the emotional appeal of F/V, and I'd read it if it's as well-written as Melody's novels, but I still go Frank? Sexy? Every time he first comes on the screen. I can commiserate with those Frank fen fending flack, however. For a long time I adored Anthony Zerbe's Lt. Trench in Harry O, while Richard and [T] kept telling me he was NOT sexy. Finally I just said, okay, he's not sexy, but he sure turns me on. Which reminds me - are there any other Harry O fen out there? I could never slash Orwell and Trench beyond a one night stand with an embarrassed morning after, but they are absolutely one on of my all time favorite male bonding relationships. I wish they would rerun the show so that I could get good tapes.

Acafans and Visibility

I've read a number of the articles, but none really stuck in my mind. I usually found something I agreed with, and something that I didn't in all of them. Real enlightening, huh? Actually, my main comment is that although I don't like the idea of someone who has no real fannish interest trying to write about fandom, I am delighted to see those who are involved finding a way to bring their personal passion into academia. It feels charmingly subversive to me, when I think of a fan in academic drag presenting their paper on slash or whatever, and other academes sitting in on one of the few sessions at the convention that may provide some entertainment. I have no doubt a particular paper or person could manage to either bore me to tears, or totally enrage me, but the phenomenon as a whole really tickles me.

So, because of his book a few more people think we are weird. Big deal (having accepted my weirdness, this does not deeply disturb me). Maybe, because of his book, a few more people get turned on to the idea of slash. That would be nice. THose of us on the list with a more analytic turn of mind, whether we be academes or no, poke and prod and examine our feelings and thoughts, and those of you all anyhow. We share most of those thoughts and are agreed or disagreed with. Yes, a book does lend an air of validation that is often spurious, but the books have provided interesting controversy in and of themselves. I think the academic slant is just another aspect of fandom as a whole. THere seems to be a rising climate of Academophobia. Agreed I wouldn't want an academic on the list who was only there to poke and prod, and had no passion for slash. Personally, I couldn't care less if they want to write about it academically, as long as they get approval for direct quotes. Frankly, I am far more disapproving of those who write A/V, but I don't think my personal distaste should stop them, or prevent their presence on the list.

I think it's neat that slash has buggered academia.

Although the majority of us are acknowledged slash sluts, I'd like to point out that the expressed fear of having our secret fantasies peered at by beady uncaring eyes seems rather overblown, given that, for all our natter, we mostly talk around the subject of our salacious lusts... I mean, we barely achieve risque!

What is the big difference between some academe taking some idea you tossed out (let us presume you would actually give your permission for such a foul deed), and either doing a half-assed job or distorting it, and someone using some idea you suggested for a slash story for Pros and fucking it up? You can assume that either your name isn't mentioned in either case, or that you are given attribution for the idea in either case. I'm not saying that there is no difference, I just don't understand what the BIG difference is, as we slosh about in the tempests of our beloved Slash teapot. I'm not saying that I myself wouldn't get annoyed or angered myself, in either case, since slash is dear to my heart - but I'd also be pleased to see a good job done in either case.

Vidding

Regarding song choice and vids:

Often a song is explicit enough in content, even in a fandom that one doesn't know, to carry interest, if it's also strong visually. But what will suffer is songs that do depend on subtler elements of understanding that only the knowledgeable fan will see how really good the vid is. In the same way, a weaker vid may seem better than it is, just because the song that is used is compelling.

Writing Choices

Gen fiction:

The first thing I wrote was a Spock/Leila movie script thingee (Spock died). A couple of editors were interested in printing it if I redid it as fiction, but I was really into slash and didn't want to go back into it. I wrote an Ursala Le Guin sort of thing about Bones having wizardry lessons, and saving Kirk and Spock thereby. That was in response to a Leslie Fish illo contest in Galactic Discourse, if my seive-brain serves.

Regarding characterization, and POV

I remember well that in K/S, the Kirk fen tended to write weaker, more worshipful Spocks than I could stomach, whereas the Spock fen would work to make Kirk worthy of Spock and had a better balance. On the other hand, Avon fen, because they like his vulnerability, often write as lousy Avons as the Blake fen, not because they prefer the other character, but because they can't resist making Avon weaker than he is, so they can wallow in the vulnerability. So far, I've only read a very few Pros, and have asked for friend's favorites, so I presume I am getting the high end of the fan fic, and the characters have been dealt with equally.

[...]

... the needs of a particular story can well dictate the POV.

Personally, I wrote from Kirk's POV more often than Spock's even though it was Spock I loved, but it was hard to make Spock's POV seem sufficiently Vulcan. It was easier to do when I wrote about a Spock who was more successfully integrated. I took Blake's POV over Avon's, because Avon's self-deceptiveness was difficult to deal with, and I only wrote a tiny bit from his POV because of that, though it was Avon who fascinated me. Although Sonny is my favorite, I've come to like Vinnie almost as much. But although I feel I really understand Sonny better in some ways, I think he'd be the hardest of all these characters to write a close POV. His mind is a total whirligig, and I just can't imagine a proper writing style for it!

Regarding action and violence as portrayed in fanfic:

Action is damned hard to write. I can think of only a handful of fanfic writers who are particularly good at it. Connie Faddis, Suzi Lovett, Syn Ferguson come to mind. It is certainly possible to convey a atmosphere of violence, or the violence inherent in specific characters without doing a whole plot number about it. And in shows where it is obviously an influence on the characters, like Pros and Wiseguy, it should be there. But it can be there in the tension of a situation that is just about to errupt (sic), or the aftermath of something dreadful that has happened.

Certainly the characters can occasionally take a picnic away from it, as long as the writer can still convince the reader it is the same characters sharing their baguette in the countryside. I've never understood either the readers or the writers who want the characters to sound like two thirteen year old girls at a slumber party (pretending to me two grown men). I prefer dramatic confrontational stories, but the occasional picnic does make for a nice breather.

Regarding dialogue:

about getting characters to talk. I wish there was a trick. Either they do or they don't. I got my first K/S stories like an erotic episode. Not that I didn't rework and reconsider the fantasy that unfolded, but it felt like being an observer as much as a creator. The later stories, and the B7 stories I had to work for more. The fantasies were more like dreams. I'd envision them with great power, but when I went to the keyboard, they'd vanish. In essence, I'd have to write them to get them back again. When they were done, I'd have the fantasy back, but in a slightly altered form. I thought I'd never have a writing experience as fun as the Cosmic Fuck Series again, but Sonny and Vinnie appeared and took off in my brain, and I could barely keep up with them. I have no idea if the next stories I write about them will be like that, or more of a struggle. On the other hand, I've always known the shape of the story as a whole, and never had a character carry it off in a different direction, as you describe. I do remember some very strange moments writing Blake and Avon. They'd be of the authorial, okay, Blake just said xxx, so what would Avon say. For two such particular characters, who are difficult to write, it was amazing how often they would both be capable of picking either extreme of response. Well, Avon could say AAA and walk out, or ZZZ and dig his heels in deeper. I felt very free to pick what served the plot the best. Weird.

Regarding editing:

Since I got a word processor, I spend about the same amount of time on a story as I ever did, but I spent more time polishing. For the first time I've reached the point of adding stuff in and then taking it out and knowing I was just diddling because I didn't want the story to quite end (not that you don't always find something you'd do different if you look at it six months later). And certainly there were times when I just wasn't willing to retype something one more time to make the couple of one word changes I'd found to improve it.

However...that someone would do a single draft of something and not edit and rewrite makes me stare goggle eyed in appalled horror. And a single pass after a finished draft seems incredibly paltry. I'm supposed to not be too hard on the writer for bad grammar, typos, and probably plot holes, useless word repetitions, etc. because gee, who wants to reread their stuff and edit? I can think of any number of stories...[W R's] come to mind...where I thought, if only she'd done a couple more passes over this, it would REALLY good, instead of just ordinary good - not to mention the junk. Sorry, no sympathy from me.

Reading Choices

My general preference in stories has remained the same. I like intense, dramatic stories best of all. However, all along I've enjoyed other kinds of slash stuff. The Hustler remains one of my favorite sexy, humorous slash pieces, and I'd give it to anyone, no matter what their fandom, in expectation that they would enjoy it if they knew Kirk and Spock at all. I do find that I go through phases of enjoying h/c or "get" stories. And I enjoying tormenting certain characters, or reading about them being tormented more than others. It seems far more intriguing with the more controlled characters like Spock and Avon. I've certainly had stories that led me to appreciate a certain character more, but not less. I've read H/C, S/M, and "get" stories that disgusted me (also S/L's-Sweetness and Light), but didn't put me off the genre. For that matter, I sometimes feel like throwing MFlay's stuff against the wall, but she writes so well that I'm always looking forward to the next outrage.

My life has always seemed as intimately bound with fictional characters and worlds as real ones in some ways. Yes, I am a slash slut, and when in the throes will read garbage...but I won't reread it. I love or am at least fascinated by certain characters, and want to spend time with them. Therefore, good characterization is my biggest priority, although after twenty years I've finally accepted that not everyone is going to see my favorites exactly as I do, and I try to expand my parameters...but my favorite stories usually also have the best match to my view.

In Her Own Words: 1995

Photo References

... I'm guilty of using photos all the time. Although I usually get the poses just from Gay porn zines, I have used drawing of gay artists like Tom of Finland. And I've done things "in the style" of other people occasionally. I consider it an homage, and often a way to have something in the style of artists that I like, but can't afford. I didn't acknowledge the sources to everyone, but certainly to individuals, zine editors, people who bought them. As for photos - well, you're moving to a different medium, not taking a photo of a photo. I am not an artist who can draw all that well out of my head. I need a model or a photo, and I can't afford models. Few artists can. Believe me, it's a great hunt to find feasible body types. If you go too far afield from the builds of the characters, they will never look right. I'm not saying you don't have a point, but I don't think using a photograph as a model for a drawing is the same thing at all as stealing a novel and sticking the slash characters names in.

Characters, Slash, and Identification

When Spock was my favorite, I deeply resented Mary Sue stories, when some twerpy little ensign, obviously unworthy, captured his heart. I haven't idolized the other characters as much as Spock, but I really don't like putting myself into their worlds. I don't feel like I belong there. I'd be far more likely to fantasize about the actor. I much prefer to become one (or both) of the slash couple, or some other character from the show. I'm drawn to most of these shows because of the action/adventure element is so strong (there are exceptions, but most slashed shows seem to work this way). I'm not very brave, I'd much rather visit those worlds in fantasy than actually be involved in them. I don't see myself as compatible with most of these characters, but I see them as compatible with the people within their own world.

[...]

I find that my favorite female characters are loners. Say Ripley from Alien, or Sarah Connor from the second Terminator. These women seem to be in the same sort of category as my slash loves, without the erotic component. I've yet to see a female couple in media or film that has the same dynamic. I would love it if I did. Cagney and Lacey was a favorite show, but the characters didn't have that same hard edge. Thelma and Louise is a wonderful movie, but the women are not really in control.

I've loved the male buddy dynamic since I was a little girl, and I doubt that my tastes are going to change after all these decades. I certainly prefer the way women relate IRL to the way men do, but I see no reason to deny myself to conform to an ever-changing political dynamic. Insofar as I fight, I'm fighting for the individual's freedom of expression. I identify with artists, and probably with Libras, before I identify with being female. Slash is a beloved erotic fetish, but what I love, admire, identify with in fictional characters (and real people) is genderless.

In Her Own Words: 2013

Beginning in Fandom

Gayle F: How did I get into fandom, as fandom, as opposed to being a fan of Star Trek. I saw the first—maybe a year and a half of Star Trek when it first came out and I was a fan, but then I didn't have a television for a long time. And in the '70s, the ladies upstairs had a TV and were watching Star Trek, and I went up and watched all these re-runs of things I had never seen, and I fell in love with Spock all over again. And at the same I found a book called Star Trek Lives, and discovered there was such a thing as fandom, and wrote to Jacqueline Lichtenberg. And she gave me addresses, and I wrote to those people. And I started writing stories. I think I was writing stories before I wrote to the people, because I was in love with Spock! But—... Seventies sometime. Seventy-four or –five. 'Cause I went to a convention in '76.

Gallery

Gayle F has given blanket permission for her art to be used on Fanlore. (See the talk page before making changes to image size.)

Unknown Date

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  "Blue Diamond Spock." This is a 5x 6½ watercolor of Spock in blues, purples and silver. Custom matted in blue, turquoise and purple, 12x14.

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  The painting is part of a triptych series created for the ice cream shop. Fandom characters painted by Gayle. The 4 foot by 10 foot oil painting was hung in Olga's Ice Cream Shop in Corvallis, Oregon. Olga’s had a contest, with ice cream going to the person who named the greatest number of characters in the painting. Gayle's husband wrote on Facebook on Feb. 15, 2023: "Gayle remembers that no one got them all. A lot of contestants mistook Gandalf for Merlin. Menali’s Fire Lizards confounded almost all". During the Facebook exchange lamenting the loss of the painting, one commentator happily reported: "It's in a large shared office [for the IT Call Center] on Oregon State University's campus. My students absolutely love it!" The painting is part of a triptych series created for the ice cream chop

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  The second of the three oil paintings created by Gayle F for Olga's Ice Cream Shop in Corvallis, Oregon. It features Gayle and her husband as Beauty and the Beast as they head to a dining table with ice cream sundaes as dessert. The painting is now in Gayle's dining room.

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  3rd of the three paintings created by Gayle F for Olga's Ice Cream Shop in Corvallis, Oregon. It shows a boy holding up an ice cream cone to Puff The Magic dragon

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  [Unamed art] Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1976

• 

  from Metamorphosis #2

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  the original art from Metamorphosis #2

• 

  the original art, framed, from Metamorphosis #2

• 

  Grup #5, inside art

• 

  The Holmesian Federation #1, cover

• 

  The Holmesian Federation #1, back cover

• 

  Interphase calendar #1

• 

  Warped Space #20, A Lesson in Perspective

• 

  Warped Space #20, A Lesson in Perspective

• 

  Warped Space #20, A Lesson in Perspective

• 

  Warped Space #20, A Lesson in Perspective

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  R & R #2, inside art

1977

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  Interphase #4, cover

• 

  Interphase calendar, cover. Sep. 1976 - Mar. 1977 (below), May to Nov. 1977 (above)

• 

  Nome #7 and The Sensuous Vulcan (art from 1977)

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  R & R #3, inside art

• 

  R & R #3, inside art

• 

  R & R #3, inside art

• 

  R & R #3, inside art

• 

  Obsc'zine #1, inside art

• 

  Obsc'zine #1, inside art

• 

  Obsc'zine #1, inside art

• 

  The Sensuous Vulcan, inside art

• 

  The Sensuous Vulcan, inside art

• 

  back cover of The Trekker Cookbook

• 

  Obsc'zine #2

• 

  Obsc'zine #2

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  Obsc'zine #1, inside art. Also in in T'hy'la #3 and Warped Space #20

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  Obsc'zine #1, inside art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1978

• 

  from Naked Times #1

• 
• 

  from R & R #6/7

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  Fantasia (1978)

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  Galactic Discourse #2, inside art

• 

  The Other Side of Paradise #2

• 

  The Other Side of Paradise #3, front cover

• 

  IDIC #6, back cover

• 

  Mahko Root

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  Paradise, cover

• 

  Obsc'zine #3, inside art

• 

  inside art: "The Last Unicorn," printed in Sol Plus #5

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  inside art (framed): "The Last Unicorn," printed in Sol Plus #5

• 

  Companion #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Companion #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Companion #2. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Cover of Thrust (1978). Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Thrust, inside art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1979

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  Nightvisions, inside art

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  inside art from Naked Times #3

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  Contact #5/6, inside art

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  Contact #5/6, inside art

• 

  Mirrors of Mind and Flesh, cover art

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  from Alternative: Continuing the Epilog to Orion

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  Mirrors of Mind and Flesh, interior art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Mirrors of Mind and Flesh, interior art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  original art, printed in black and white in "Mirrors of Mind and Flesh"

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  Mirrors of Mind and Flesh, interior art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  inside art from Naked Times #3, "Bubbles." Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Nightvisions, interior art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  1979 fan art from spockslash's collection, unknown fanzine. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized. In 2017 tumblr fan's gushed over the drawing: " saroodles asked: Why is Spock in knee highs? Why are they on fire? What is happening? jimlikesgreendick replied: "I imagine the fire is symbolism for Mirror Spock’s blood fever, because this looks to me to be pon farr, judging by all the jizz on the ground under them. You’ll also notice that the background is full of penis imagery—Spock’s double ridged penis, to be precise. And the boots are probably because Spock was in such a frenzy to mate that he didn’t have time to get them off." saroodles:"Well thank you I didn’t even notice the ground jizz and penises everywhere "

1980

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  The Captain's Woman #2, back cover

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  Companion #3, cover

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  Galactic Discourse #3, inside art

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  Nome #2, inside art

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  Nome #2, inside art

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  from Accumulated Leave (Spock and Leila)

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  from Trexindex Supplement 2 v.1

1981

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  from The Captain's Woman #3, cover

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  from Lords of Light and Darkness Fantasy Cards (1982), also used as the cover of Nome #4

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  from Nome #4, cover (1981), also used for one of the Lords of Light and Darkness Fantasy Cards (1982)

• 

  from The Price and The Prize, cover 2nd ed

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  from The Price and The Prize

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  from The Price and The Prize

• 

  from The Price and The Prize

• 

  from The Price and the Prize, original art, the black and white version was in "The Price and the Prize"

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  from The Price and The Prize

• 

  from Out of Bounds, cover

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  from The Price and The Prize, cover 1st ed. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  original art, printed in black and white in "The Price and the Prize"

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  The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  original art, printed in black and white in "The Price and the Prize"

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  original art, printed in black and white in "The Price and the Prize"

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  from The Price and The Prize. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  from Nocturne, cover. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1982

• 

  from T'zad'u

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  Out of Bounds, Too, cover

• 

  inside page from Log Entries #50

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  inside page from Log Entries #50

• 

  Nome #5, cover

• 

  Straight Trek

• 

  Shades of Grey #1

• 

  from Nome #6

• 

  original color version of the art, the black and white version was in Nome #6

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  an original color version, the black and white version was in Nome #6

• 

  from Galactic Discourse #4

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  original color version of the art, the black and white version was in Galactic Discourse #4

• 

  T'Zad'U, interior art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Final Frontier, inside art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Final Frontier, original art (dated 1980). Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1983

• 

  Diverse Dimensions #3, inside art

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  Galactic Discourse #4, inside art

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  Out of Bounds Again, cover

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  Twin Destiny #1, cover

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  back cover of Obsc'zine #4 (1980). Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  cover of T'hy'la #3. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  T'hy'la #3. The art was previously published in Obsc'zine #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  T'hy'la #3. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Final Frontier, inside art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1984

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  the color version of the front cover of As I Do Thee #1, titled Shady Glade

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  As I Do Thee #1, cover

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  cover of Out of Bounds, Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves

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  Nome #7

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  T'hy'la #4, cover

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  As I Do Thee #2. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  California K/S, back cover of issue #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Cover of California K/S #4. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  First Time #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1985

• 

  California K/S #2, back cover

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  California K/S #2, front cover

• 

  from an unknown zine

• 

  framed original

• 

  Twin Destiny #2, cover. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized

• 

  Naked Times #8. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  back cover for First Time #7. Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  for First Time #4. Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1986

• 

  from Naked Times #11

• 

  "Royal Spock." A small custom-colored watercolor painting in reds, greens and purples. 5x7. Custom matte in purple, green and red, 11x14, dated 1986

• 

  from As I Do Thee #6, this is the black and white version of "Royal Spock." It was later printed in The K/S Art Project

• 

  As I Do Thee #4, cover. This artwork was also printed on lavender t-shirts and sold to fans.

• 

  from Naked Times #10

• 

  "Spock in Repose"

• 

  Choices, cover

• 

  Choices, interior art

• 

  Choices, interior art

• 

  Choices, interior art

• 

  Choices, interior art

• 

  Choices, back cover

• 

  Choices, unpublished art for the zine

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Desert Heat"

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Desert Heat"

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Desert Heat"

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Beyond Setarcos"

• 

  Daring Attempt #4. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  First Time #7. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  interior art in Choices. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  interior art in Choices. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  interior art in Choices. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  interior art in Choices. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

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  Choices, inside art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  Choices, inside art. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  front cover of "The Cosmic Collected". Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Beyond Setarcos". Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Night of the Dragon". Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Night of the Dragon". Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Night of the Dragon". Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Between Friends". Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  The Cosmic Collected, for "Between Friends". Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  front cover for First Time #10. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  back cover for First Time #10. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  from As I Do Thee #5, included in The K/S Art Project

• 

  from Naked Times #9

• 

  from Naked Times #8

• 

  from Naked Times #9

1987

• 

  from Resistance #1

• 

  Alien Brothers, inside art

• 

  Alien Brothers, inside art

• 

  from Naked Times #14

• 

  Galactic Discourse #5, inside art

• 

  KSX #1, front cover

• 

  KSX #1, frontispiece

• 

  KSX #1

• 

  KSX #1

• 

  KSX #1, Tellus: From the Memories of a Romulan Anthropologist

• 

  As I Do Thee #7, cover

• 

  KSX, back cover

• 

  Nome #10, interior page, art for "Faith"

• 

  Prisoners of the Night #1, cover

• 

  from Raising Hell #1

• 

  KSX #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  KSX #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  KSX #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  KSX #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  KSX #1. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  KSX #2, Leopard in the Snow. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  KSX #2, Bondage. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1988

• 

  from Blake's Doubles #2

• 

  Charisma #3

• 

  KSX #2, Out of Eden

• 

  KSX #2, Microcosm

• 

  KSX #2, A Human Thing to Do

• 

  KSX #2, Leopard in the Snow

• 

  Star Canticle

• 

  Southern Seven #3

• 

  Southern Seven #3

• 

  from Something... Unfriendly #1

• 

  from Something... Unfriendly #1

• 

  Within the Mirror #1, back cover

• 

  Within the Mirror #1, front cover

• 

  Within the Mirror #1, inside front mirror image

• 

  Within the Mirror #1, inside back mirror image

• 

  front cover for First Time #18. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  back cover for First Time #18. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

• 

  interior art from T'hy'la #7. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

1989

• 

  A Companion for My Death, interior art featuring Avon from Blake's 7

• 

  A Companion for My Death, interior art

• 

  A Companion for My Death, interior art

• 

  from Those Who Favor Fire

• 

  Powerplay #6, back cover

• 

  T'hy'la #8, cover art

1990

• 

  T'hy'la #9, cover

• 

  Fesarius #5, cover

• 

  Fire and Ice #1, back cover

• 

  Fire and Ice #1, front cover

• 

  Fire and Ice #1, inside art

• 

  Fire and Ice #2, inside art

• 

  from Southern Comfort #5.5

1991

• 

  inside page from Southern Comfort #6.5

1992

• 

  from Southern Seven #6

2001

• 

  Legends, cover