Legacy Interview with Dovya Blacque

Interviews by Fans
Title:	Legacy Interview with Dovya Blacque
Interviewer:	Legacy
Interviewee:	Dovya Blacque
Date(s):	2007
Medium:	print, CD
Fandom(s):	Star Trek TOS, slash
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

In 2007, Dovya Blacque was interviewed for the zine Legacy.

See List of Star Trek Fan Interviews.

Some Excerpts

Well, actually, I'd written an entire (huge) K/S novel before I'd ever heard of K/S. I couldn't get the possibility out of my head. It was, truly, a saving grace during a very difficult time in my life. I honestly believe that had I not been writing that novel, I never would have survived the situation as well as I did. I'm very serious when I say that Star Trek—K/S in particular—saved my life. But...I didn't tell anyone what I was writing, I thought that, if I did, I'd be lynched. Or locked up. I just quietly wrote away on my little Smith Corona portable typewriter.

In those days (way back when!), I remember K/S being a sisterhood with arms almost completely wide open. There was also a sense of the sisterhood being very tight; at first it seemed difficult to breach the sense of exclusivity. But, given time, I melted right into the “club” and the few negative experiences I had, though disappointing, were very few, definitely outweighed by the positive.

Zines were everywhere. Though it took months, sometimes years, to get an issue, it was like receiving manna from heaven when a zine arrived in the mailbox. What excitement to open a new zine and dive into this amazing world that was floating out there like a shining possibility. It really was a joyous time. I felt like I belonged, like I was one of the gang, like I had this huge support system of friends, even though I’d never met most of them in person.

I’m a first time gal. I love that moment when Kirk and Spock click, when that spark ignites. I’ve written over 100 K/S stories—some of which will never see the light of day—and I’ve only written three stories that aren’t first times. Stuck rut but it’s my rut and I like it here. Having written so many K/S stories, I’m fairly burned out on ideas. But, when I do write now, I like to explore new atmospheres, different settings, gently curving AUs where Kirk and Spock are slightly different from canon, different takes on each character. And I like to throw McCoy into the mix!

The whole reason I started AIDT was that I hated the death stories that were abundant at the time. This was immediately following ST II: TWOK so that was the prevalent theme of the day. As has almost become a joke, AIDT accepted no death stories. Ever. It was “the nice zine”! I don’t apologize for that; TWOK traumatized me! No, really. I was appalled by it and refused to accept it into my world. So, as far as AIDT was concerned, it never happened. I think many of my authors liked writing for a zine that had very set parameters, that required them to write within a broad yet specific field. Readers liked the idea of a zine that held no surprise death stories, no hidden bombs that would explode in their faces, so to speak. I had more than my share of contributors, all of whom seemed to welcome the guidelines I had: no death, mayhem, mutilation, rape or death.

As each movie came out, I think that sense of thrill diminished more and more. But...each movie was a storehouse of inspiration for stories. The cracks and crevices in the story of each movie were fertile ground for K/S. Every movie, well, at least the first four, seemed to infuse K/S with new life and all these wonderful takes on the movie would appear in my mailbox, new visions, new opportunities for Kirk and Spock. It certainly, and obviously, was a more vital time than it is now as far as new inspiration goes. I’m not sure how to say this but here goes: K/S was a different world in the ‘80s than it is now. Communication was drastically different before the internet. We relied on letters and on seeing each other occasionally and had no other means of connecting. Aside from writing stories, producing zines and letterzines. I think the writers—even the readers because they kept (and keep) writers going—more than anyone, were responsible for creating the sense of community that was and is K/S. I’m not saying that because I write K/S; I write K/S because of that sense that writers created that communal connection. I wanted to be part of the momentum behind K/S, I wanted to contribute to that sense of creating something amazing. Now, the K/S community is less intense because of this change in communication. There's no suspense, no terrible longing to hear from someone or that desperate need to read new K/S, for a new K/S zine to arrive. Communication between friends is now immediate, as is access to K/S. I don't think that on-line archives are replacing K/S zines as they seem to be doing in other fandoms but they've definitely slowed down the production of zines. But maybe that's a different subject.

And if one more so-called “newbie” refers to those of us who've been in K/S for twenty years or so as “old timers” or anything of the sort, I'm going to kick some serious butt! Can't tell you how lovely it feels to be called “old timer” or “old school” at 40-freakin-6!