Ghyste Mortua
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Ghyste Mortua |
| Publisher: | was to have been Pursuit Press |
| Editor(s): | Deb Walsh |
| Date(s): | 1988 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Genre: | gen, possible het |
| Fandom: | Kill the Dead |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Ghyste Mortua was a Kill the Dead zine planned by Deb Walsh and Pursuit Press.
The zine was never published due to communication with Tanith Lee, the author of "Kill the Dead."
Kill the Dead
Some of the interest in Kill the Dead was due Lee's involvement with Blake's 7. Lee had written two episodes of the show, and later based "Parl Dro" and "Myal Lemyal." These two characters were avatars of Paul Darrow, the actor who portrayed Kerr Avon and Michael Keating, the actor who portrayed Vila Restal.
Avatar was a term used to describe the professional author practice of modeling their original characters after characters or actors. It was a form of fan casting was a term that was popular in the late 1980s. For more on this, see Blake's 7 Avatars in Pro Books, specifically Tanith Lee.
Zine Description
The black-mantled King of Swords, the dark harbringer of Death, limps resolutely down the tortuous road, the moonlit road to Tulotef, the road to fabled "Ghyste Mortua."
Ghyste Mortua
Ghyste Mortua is a new planned zine from Pursuit Press (publishers of the Blake's 7 zine, B7 Complex). Submissions of art, story, poem and song are eagerly sought for this zine dedicated to Tanith Lee's Kill the Dead, the adventures of Ghostkiller Parl Dro, minstrel Myal Lemyal, the tenacious undead, and legendary Ghyste Mortua.
Legal-sized SASEs are being accepted now for anyone interested in further information on Ghyste Mortua as it becomes available. The publication date has not yet been set, and will be announced when we have a more definite idea as to contents, size, etc. The zine will more than likely be published sometime in 1988, possibly for MediaWestCon VIII. The press run will be based on interest shown.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Published contributors will receive a complimentary copy of the zine.
Manuscripts must be submitted complete (rather than outlines or partially-completed stories), typed double-spaced, with legal-sized SASE for notification of acceptance/rejection. (Please allow 4-6 weeks for reply.) Material using adult themes will definitely be considered, although the editor's personal preference is to avoid overt or explicit "slash." Content should relate in some way to the characters, events or themes of Kill the Dead. Humor, drama, poetry and filksongs will all be considered (and welcomed!).
Art should be pen and ink, preferably 8½" x 11" with 3/4" blank border on all four sides (larger pieces can be reduced). Please submit good quality copies rather than originals. Pencil, charcoal or ink wash work will be considered on an individual basis. If interested in illustrating, please send a sample of your work (if you have not previously submitted art to B7 Complex), legal-sized SASE, and a letter detailing your availability for illustrating, how many illustrations you could do in what period of time, all that good stuff. Unsolicited art may or may not be used. Please enclose a legal-sized SASE with any art submissions.
Why This Zine Was Never Published
From Deb Walsh many years later:
Oh, this one was painful. Based on Tanith Lee's Kill the Dead novel, which Blake's 7 actor Paul Darrow declared was based on the characters of Avon and Vila, this zine was going to be my masterpiece. I had amazing stories - oh, fabulous stuff. Gorgeous art. It was going to be massive. I was exploring special black mailing envelopes, and I was designing a special insignia to use for wax seals on the envelopes. And I got involved in a very pleasant letter correspondence with the publisher of Daw Books, Donald A. Wolheim. Lovely man. I think I may have written originally to find out if there was any chance that Kill the Dead might be reprinted, because at the time it was becoming very hard to find. I mentioned the zine, he was thrilled. He mentioned the zine to Ms. Lee, she was appalled. She was very concerned at that moment in time that any hint that her novel - which was currently out of print - might be construed as stepping on BBC copyright. The zine died a sudden and definitive death. Much of the work I'd accepted found its way into other zines, but I could not publish it. -- My Life in Fandom - Deb Walsh's Zines - Planned Titles That Didn't Happen, Archived version, see more about similar zines at TPTB's Involvement and Interference)