O Sweetest Song (Beauty and the Beast anthology)
See also O Sweetest Song (disambiguation).
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | O Sweetest Song |
| Publisher: | Sosumi Press |
| Editor(s): | Lynette Combs (the first three) & Teri P (the last issue) |
| Date(s): | 1991-1995 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | print zine |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Beauty and the Beast (TV) |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
O Sweetest Song is an explicit het Beauty and the Beast (TV) anthology.
It required an age statement to purchase.
A Disclaimer
From the second issue:
"O Sweetest Song" is an amateur publication and as such does not intend to infringe upon rights held by Republic Pictures. Ron Koslow Films, Witt-Thomas Productions, or any other holder of -Beauty and the Beast- copyrights or licenses. (But if they were doing all they could, then maybe we wouldn't feel the need to do this. Right?)
Issue 1
O Sweetest Song 1 was published in June 1991. It was edited by Lynette Combs and contains 52 pages.
It contains a single illo by Janie.
From the editorial:
"O Sweetest Song" is an amateur publication and is not intended to infringe on existing copyrights. As an ADULT fiction fanzine it will not knowingly be sold to anyone under eighteen years of age.
This past, post-third- season year has given rise to an incredible wave of Vincent-and-Catherine "consummation stories" -- the result of an understandable compulsion. as we fans rush in where Networks feared to tread; uniting the lovers in a way the Writers didn't or couldn't.
Even so, producing this kind of "adult" 'zine ourselves wasn't something we ever really envisioned. After all, we were having so much fun reading everyone else's!
It seems to be an irresistible concept. Hope and ingenuity combine to bring Vincent and Catherine together under every circumstance imaginable. We've seen it done swiftly. and slowly; seriously and in fun; Above, Below and in dream worlds Beyond; athletically and aquatically, culinary and, in some cases, even automotively. We've seen it done badly, and well.
But it is a Romance, after all, not a tryst... and it isn't always written with all the magic and tenderness, humor and reverence which we feel these two people deserve.
Hence, this offering.
Because they deserve EVERYTHING.
- Chamber Music Revisited by Sally Wright (1)
- Love Has Come of Age by Lynette Combs (song title from "Jekyll and Hyde") (13)
- The Best of Times by Laurie Whittenberg (song title from "Styx") (39)
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 1
Three adult stories, well done; only one piece of adult artwork. The most substantial story is “Love Has Come of Age” by Combs, detailing the erotic aftermath of Dead of Winter. In Sally Wright's brief, “Chamber Music-Revisited,” there's some heavy petting ...and hope of more...during the concert V/C attend after the one dramatized in Chamber Music. And in “The Best of Times,” Laurie Wittenburg gives us a glimpse of V/C's lovemaking styles after they've become parents. [1]
Issue 2
O Sweetest Song 2 (Verse 2) was published in June 1991 and contains 35 pages.
It was edited by Lynette Combs and contains two pieces of art.
- Dream Lover by Kathy Mills (1)
- Mistletoe by Sally Wright (15)
- Love's Longing by Lynette Combs (25)
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 2
Three adult stories, 2 pieces of Combs' artwork. Betty Mills' “Dream Lover” has a blunt conversation between Vincent and Father embolden Vincent to seek out Catherine as he wants to-as a lover. In Sally Wright's “Mistletoe,” Catherine's Christmas gift and Catherine's vivid imagination unite her and Vincent when they're apart. In Combs' “Love's Longing,” Catherine reveals her pregnancy to Vincent and they celebrate how she got that way. Pleasant, explicit writing, good editing here. [2]
Issue 3
O Sweetest Song 3 (Verse 3) was published in 1992 and contains 74 pages. It was edited by Lynette Combs.
It contains one full-page illo and one tiny illo by Lynette Combs.
- Shameless by Betty Mills (1)
- Follow Your Dreams by Lynette Combs (29)
- Love With All the Trimmings by Trisha Kehoe (49)
- Happy Ending, poem by Lynette Combs (71)
flyer for issue #3
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 3
Three adult stories, 2 pieces of Combs' artwork. Betty Mills' “Shameless” reveals that to Vincent, mushrooms-the ordinary kind-are a powerful aphrodisiac. Lynette Combs' “Follow Your Dreams,” is a dream-within-a-dream-within-a...in which C goes to confront V, Below, about her unsatisfied longings. In Trish Kehoe's “Love with All the Trimmings,” set in the married, Continued Classic present, V recalls visiting Narcissa in despair and being given, by her, a (magic?) potion to take at bedtime, with surprising, erotic results. Overall, pleasant, explicit writing, good editing here. The photo-reduced type is a bit hard to read in places. [3]
Issue 4
O Sweetest Song 4 is subtitled, "Special Edition: The Quickening."
It was published in July 1995 and contains 101 pages.
This issue is a single novel written by Teri Peppe.
The zine's foreword (which may not be in all issues):
This is the first 'zine I've put together which, you will find, is written in its entirety by someone else. However, I feel that the quality of the writing warranted the effort; and I offer my sincerest thanks to Teri Peppe for the opportunity to make it available to the fandom. Working with material of such quality is a real pleasure; and publishing a writer of this caliber is a privilege I do not take lightly. I hope that you, dear reader, enjoy "The Quickening" as much as I have.
Reactions and Reviews: Issue 4
In this competent, literate adult zine, Vincent and Catherine have sex, virtually nonstop, for over a hundred pages, in most imaginable positions, separately and together, both Above and Below, all pertinent body parts fully discussed (usually with one or two or three erotic adjectives appended), with surprisingly little repetition, considering, although certain phrases (the bond "burgeoning," for instance, and particular flesh does tend to "yearn," and lips are frequently "luscious") do tend to recur, as is probably both natural and inevitable. Occasionally the participants speak, but not often, and seldom coherently. Occasionally they get up and do something else, like eat, but not often and not for long. Essentially this is a sexual marathon, and those who enjoy these, relatively unencumbered by plot or dialogue, will find this a headlong exploration of all the ways two people can fit together and stimulate one another. There are occasional pieces of Combs' non-explicit, non-erotic art. [4]