Miami Spice

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Zine
Title: Miami Spice
Publisher: The Presses (Lime 'n' deCoconut Press for issue #1 & 2, Bodacious Press for issue #3)
Editor(s): Sunny Bernaise and Stancio del Norte Truly Scrumptious
Date(s): 1991-1993
Series?:
Medium: print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom: Miami Vice
Language: English
External Links:
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Miami Spice is a slash Miami Vice anthology of Crockett/Castillo fiction. The covers are all by KOZ.

Issue 1

cover of issue #1, KOZ

Miami Spice 1 was published in May 1991 and contains 170 pages.

The art is by KOZ (front cover and interior), Susan K. Dundas, Nola Frame-Gray, Jung, and Himane.

[editorial by Sunny]:

Hi, this is Sunny Bernaise, one-half of Lime 'n deCoconut Press and co-editor of Miami Spice (Stancio del Norte being the other half). I just wanted to thank everybody that helped bring this issue together; KOZ for the great cover and pieces inside; Angi Towski, Susan K Dundas, Jung, Himane, and Adrian Morgan [1](who took an award for his Vice art last year) for their great illustrations; and Nola Frame-Gray for some of the funniest little cartoons I've ever seen.

I also want to thank Dovya Blacque of MKASHEF Enterprises for sending so many of her regulars to us and for being instrumental in getting our first issue off the ground. We sure have been treated great by the established folks in this fandom, and as a newcomer, I just wanted to mention how much I appreciated it.

Personally, I want to offer a special thanks to MerLyn, who convinced me I should write a story for this 'zine set in a D&D universe I created, and Tosya for helping me write it. My appreciation also goes to my partner, Stani, for picking up that whip on this side of the ocean and cracking it over my head. I couldn't have finished it without his input and support. Thank you very much to Flamingo who, as well as Stani and Tos, put in some serious editing to make Dark Times, Light Fingers what it is. I really couldn't have done this without any of them. Even Miss Susan K got in on the act by convincing me to commit to a second installment with the promise of a piece of her fantastic art. Hope I did all of you proud and that my very first attempt at fan writing can live up to the KOZ illos that go with it.

I also want to express my appreciation to Robyn LaSalle and Tosya Stohn of Bodacious Press for letting us use their computer (Dale MacCooper) and their ink-jet printer (the Packard-thing), which resulted in the high-quality masters that make this zine look so good.

I'm going to turn the keyboard over to Stancio, now, and go have a nervous breakdown.

[editorial by Stancio]:

iPasion en el Paradise!

Buenos dias, mis amigos. As the Latin half of the cooperative team known as Lime 'n deCoconut (yes, I am deCoconut ~ thank you. Sunny, for the christening), it is my great pleasure to present this first issue of Miami Spice. I must state here that I did not perform as an editor as much as I had hoped when this project was born; due to an extensive school schedule, my free time has been almost non-existent. The scant days I managed to escape brought me racing to Traverse City to see my friends, particularly mi querido dulce, Sunny.

I must beg forgiveness for a brief spot of boastful pride, but I believe this 'zine looks fantastic. If not for Sunny's diligence, I doubt it would have made it. He deserves a great deal of applause for this, and I am the first one to make the standing ovation. Producing Miami Spice has given me more happiness than I have ever known, and I attribute this to him. Te amo, mi amante.

There are others who put a lot of work into this publication. Without them, Spice wouldn't look half as beautiful as it does! Truly Scrumptious, official data-entry for Bodacious Press, made certain every steamy word reached our pages. Muchas gracias also goes to Denetia Arellanes of The Copy Center, Pasedena, CA, for printing the monster and thus breathing the final essence of life into our fantasy.

I am very honored to be among the many wonderful writers represented in this 'zine. These stories were not only imaginative, they were erotic and sensitive. I believe the spirits of Martin and Sonny were perfectly captured by each author. It was fun reading each one; I am sure others will agree! In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sue Jenkins (editor, Late for Breakfast) of England, for volunteering to distribute this for us among UK fans. It is good to know that our views of a certain Lieutenant and a former football hero are shared across the Atlantic! Also, thanks to Otter Limits Press, for allowing us to tap into its long-running success as a fannish publisher and for handling all financial matters.

And now, on behalf of Sr. Bernaise and myself—it's time to put a little Spice in your afternoon.

Vaya con afecion....

  • from issue #1, Jung

  • from issue #1, Jung

  • from issue #1, Angi Towski for "In Deep Water"

  • from issue #1, Angi Towski for "On Your Shore

  • from issue #1, KOZ for "In Your Eyes"

  • from issue #1, KOZ for "Summer Nights"

  • from issue #1, Jung, portrait of this zine's editors?

  • from issue #1, KOZ for "Cold Courage, Southern Comfort"

  • from issue #1, KOZ for "Cold Courage, Southern Comfort"

  • from issue #1, Angi Towski for "The Tao of Love"

  • from issue #1, KOZ for "Dark Times, Light Fingers"

  • from issue #1, KOZ for "Dark Times, Light Fingers"

  • from issue #1, Susan K. Dundas

Issue 2

cover of issue #2, KOZ

Miami Spice 2 was published in October 1991 and is 167 pages long.

The art is by KOZ (front cover, interior), Susan K. Dundas, Nola Frame-Gray, Seraph, Towski, and Alayne.

From the submission request for this issue:

flyer for the second issue

We are already looking for submissions for Miami Spice 2. So far we have two pieces from MerLyn, one standard and one the second installment in the BLAZE O' GLORY Western. We have a story by Atira Kye, one by Dusti Roehz, one by Stancio, and one by Stancio and Robyn LaSalle.

Artwise, KOZ and Angi will be back, as well as Susan K and Nola. Who'll make it more?!

Of course, we invite everyone who wrote and did art for Miami Spice 1 to come back again. We had some fine work in our first issue, and now we feel like these people are family!

We hope, though, that some new writers and artists will give us a try. If you'd like to take part in our second issue but you're unsure of our requirements, send a SASH to us and we'll send a copy of our guidelines right away.

Basically, all we ask is that you send us stories with Crockett and Castillo as the involved pair; that you do NOT have these two men doing violence to one another; and that you be willing to be edited and work on the piece if it needs it. We do want more fantasy-type pieces, as well.

We also welcome vignettes and hot shorts. One writer told us those can be called PWP's ("Plot? What Plot?"). While we prefer full stories with a plot in addition to some sexy stuff, we won't turn our noses or anything else up at a good, smarmy, PWP submission.

  • The Polarity of Light and Dark by Dusti Roehz
  • Heart of Stone by MerLyn, illustrated by Angi Towski
  • Sensei by Jane Mailander, illustrated by Jung (poem)
  • The Last Sound Love Makes by Flamingo, illustrated by KOZ
  • Communion by Mikki Cruz, illustrated by Jung (poem)
  • God's Peace by Atira Kei, illustrated by Angi Towski
  • Burned By Burnett by Robyn LaSalle, illustrated by Jung (poem)
  • The How and Why of Things by Dusti Roehz, illustrated by Jung (poem)
  • The Heat of the Night by Dusti Roehz, illustrated by KOZ
  • A Day at the Races by R.J. Burnette, illustrated by Seraph (poem)
  • Prelude by Mikki Cruz, illustrated by Angi Towski
  • Third Wheels by Jane Mailander, illustrated by Jung (poem)
  • Closer to Heaven by Stancio del Norte, illustrated by KOZ
  • Reflections in Contrast by Alisa Long [3], illustrated by Jung (poem)
  • Light of the World by Stancio del Norte, illustrated by Angi Towski
  • Two Souls by R.J. Burnett, illustrated by Seraph (poem)
  • Break on Through to the Other Side by Stancio del Norte and Robyn LaSalle,illustrated by Angi Towski
  • Old Ties and Tequila by MerLyn, illustrated by Angi Towski (also in MerLyn's Tales)
  • Thief of Hearts by R.J. Burnett

Issue 3

Miami Spice 3 was published in May 1993 and contains 178 pages.

cover of issue #3, KOZ

The art is by KOZ, R.J. Burnett, Jung, Angi Towski, Seraph, and Nola Frame-Gray.

From a flyer:

Having completely adopted MS from Lime 'n deCoconut (who we helped on production of 1&2), we've taken our time to do a slight reformatting and gather stories we think everyone will enjoy. Policies remain the same, but layout has changed a wee bit. MS3 is slated for early '93, with a tentative publishing date of February or March. Members of our writing family have prior commitments they wish to get out of the way, but also have stories they want to complete for us; we feel that anything good is worth waiting for. This issue will feature a novelette by Flamingo, and fiction by such regulars as Atira Kei, Dusti Roehz, SK Dundas & co-author Mikki Cruz, Stancio del Norte, and many more. Also featured will be a full comic book-style graphic of the on-going Sahne & Mardeen fantasy series. Artists will include KOZ, Angi Towski, AC Morgan, Nola Frame-Gray, Seraph, Jung & more.

  • Vice Vice by Editors (2)
  • Port in a Storm by Stancio del Norte (5)
  • Storm Watch by Mikki Cruz and Susan K. Dundas (Marty/Sonny. "On the run in the Everglades and injured, they wind up holed up in a an abandoned cabin.") (19)
  • Desperately Seeking Sonny by Stancio del Norte (29)
  • A Boy and His Dad by Robyn LaSalle (47)
  • The Pillow Book by Robyn LaSalle (67)
  • A Fairy's Tail by K.K. Boodie (75)
  • Late Nights and Rainy Mornings by TLC (77)
  • Mirror in My Soul by R.J. Burnett (82)
  • Five Years by R.J. Burnett (83)
  • Sensei by Flamingo (Sonny is blinded in a bust.) (85)
  • Jasmine by Robyn LaSalle (165)
  • Un Leon y Mi Corazon by Jane Mailander (168)
  • One More Time and Aftermath by Khylara (170)
  • Black on Gold by Robyn LaSalle (173)
  • Possession Obsession by R.J. Burnett (175)
  • Warrior or Trickster? by Tosya Stohn (177)

Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3

I don't know how many of you are Miami Vice fen, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on MIAMI SPICE 3, mainly to illustrate how, for me, a story can really ruined by one bad sentence.

There three stories ("Port in a Storm", "The Pillow Book", "Late Nights and Rainy Mornings") that are mainly guilty of being only so-so stories. The last one I don't like that well mainly because it is a "Castillo comes over to visit Sonny on the boat and one thing leads to another..." story, which is fine except for the fact that they seem to have at least one or two of these stories in every issue. I get it all ready.

"Desperately Seeking Sonny"--Major *Spoilers* ahead. Okay, it's a take on "Desperately Seeking Susan", but it also happens to be a pretty asinine idea. (Having never seen the movie, I have no idea whether the same could be said for it.) It starts with Martin finding a note on his desk that reads, "Sonny Crockett is a fag." A week later, he finds a personals ad clipped from a gay magazine with a vague description of someone who could be Sonny and the contact name of James in Miami. With the ad is a "slightly out of focus" photo of a man from the neck down that leaves no doubt that he's a natural blond. Marty decides to talk to Sonny to see who would want to get Sonny in trouble, whether the whole thing was true or not. It turns out that Sonny is gay, has a thing for Martin and decided to do this as a way of coming out to Martin. Subtle, huh? Now, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief pretty darn high if the story is written well enough otherwise. Unfortunately, this wasn't.

"Storm Watch"--This is the one I was talking about. There I was, up on the tightrope with my disbelief and along comes the author behind me and pushes me off. Or more to the point, makes me want to jump. It's a pwp, sketchily set-up around the scenario that Marty and Sonny were in the swamp (the Everglades, I assume) for a drug bust. Somehow the people made them, led them on a chase and ended up stealing the Scarab (Sonny's speed boat). During the chase, Marty jumps into a bog and sprains BOTH his ankles. The two of them manage to find an abandoned, run-down shack and take shelter in it from the on-coming severe storm. Now, Marty is immobile on the bed with his two ankles wrapped up (potential for a bondage scene?), Sonny's soaking wet since he tried to go out and find them again and got caught out in the rain, they're stuck in a shack that seems about ready to collapse, there's a potentially life-threatening storm coming they're way, and no one will be coming after them since no boats will be allowed to leave the harbor until the storm clears. (Where's their back-up? You got me.) Of course, this is a perfect time to have sex! I know, I know, in slash-fandom there is no WRONG time to have sex, and I was even willing to stay up there on that tightrope because the sex scene was pretty good. Until I came across this line: "Squatting over the dark form, Crockett rode the gallop of his Spanish stallion, blond hair swishing with each jounce." Pardon me while a throw-up into the safety net below me. (Lovely image, isn't it? :))

The main saving grace of the zine is a story/novella (I'd appreciate it if someone would explain to me the exact difference of when it's a short story, a novella, and a novel) called "Sensei". It's easily the best story in the zine which is fortunate since it's the longest, nearly half the length of it (81 pages). It's got good characterization and a semi-plausible story line and absolutely NO galloping Spanish stallions and nobody's hair swishes anywhere. The basic storyline is that Sonny is blinded during a bust gone wrong and Martin helps "train" him to protect himself blind. Okay, this is a staple of fannish writing, but I hadn't seen it done in MIAMI VICE before. And there is also an added measure of logical guilt since this story takes place after the "Home Invaders" episode (one of the times preceding "Burnett" where Sonny's cheese was far from firmly placed on his cracker) and Marty had once again indulged Sonny, allowing himself to be talked into letting Crockett back out on the streets. At one point in the story, my suspension is threatened, I have to admit, by simple logistics. Marty helps Sonny drive the Testarosa in the police parking garage at night, by sitting in the driver's seat behind him, Sonny working the gas and Martin steering and working the brake. Now aside from the fact that I'm almost positive that this car is a stick shift and therefore the engine would more than likely be left behind on the ground before they tried to make the first turn, I don't think that it's possible for two full grown men to be able to sit behind the wheel, no matter how close they got. And if they could set the seat back that far, could they reach the pedals, especially Martin who is shorter than Sonny to begin with and is sitting behind him?

All in all I do recommend this zine....

[In a later email, Michelle added her comments on a few items she had forgotten to include.]

I didn't mention the one last story, "A Boy and His Dad". It's the second longest story in the zine and despite the fact that it's about Billy coming for his vacation and ends up out on St. Vitus Dance with both Crockett and Castillo for a trip, the sacchrine level is, I feel, surprisingly low. On my scale of Sugary sweetness (one comatose diabetic to ten) I give it six. :)

There is quite a bit of poetry in here, but despite the fact that I write poetry (both fannish and otherwise), I very rarely read fan poetry. Mainly because most of it sucks. Most of the artwork is pretty good, but as usual most of the best stuff in the zine are the portraits, not the explicit ones. [4]

References

  1. ^ Adrian Morgan is mentioned in the editorial as an artist, but not in the table of contents.
  2. ^ Atira Kei, Clifton Evans, Calvin Miller, and Alisha Long are all the same person.
  3. ^ Atira Kei, Clifton Evans, Calvin Miller, and Alisha Long are all the same person.
  4. ^ In 1994, Michelle Christian posted the following review of issue #3 to the Virgule-L mailing list. It is reposted here with permission.
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