The Temple Jewel
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Temple Jewel |
| Publisher: | The Glass Floor Productions |
| Editor(s): | Janis C. |
| Date(s): | Fall 1995 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | fanzine, print |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: DS9, Star Trek: Voyager |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Temple Jewel is a het and slash 97-page Star Trek anthology. Four of the nine stories are slash. Five of the stories star Julian Bashir.
The art is by Maryann Jorgensen, TACS, and Janis C.
Chief Editor: Janis C., artists: Janis C. -- "Jewel," Maryann Jorgensen -- "Uniform," "Dreams," "Prick Of The Needle," and "Getting Away From It All," TACS - "Trial And Error".
"Helpful Insanity and Emotional Support Provided By: Brenda Antrim, Pam Buickel, and Jenny Shipp."
A sister zine by this editor was The Glass Floor.
From the Editorial and Submission Guidelines
Welcome to The Temple Jewel!
You probably know Cindy and me from our other publication, The Glass Floor. Well, when we began to solicit submissions, we realized two things rather quickly - that we wanted to keep the zine at an R rating or less, and that this unfortunately meant that we had to turn away some wonderful explicit work!
After the premiere issue of TGF, we published (ordering information can be found inside the back cover of this issue of TTJ as well), I decided that I'd like to provide a forum for the erotic works that we had encountered. And so you now hold that forum in your two hands!
If you are familiar with The Glass Floor, you know that we took a rather unusual approach to publication -- not only was fan fiction welcomed, but probing and political nonfiction was also heartily encouraged and solicited. So far. The Temple Jewel has accepted fiction only, but that may change in the future. After reading some excellent work on the social and psychological appeal of explicit fiction, specifically slash fiction, I am quite open to accepting such treatments in the future, should we receive any! So if you have any opinions as to the appeal of erotic fiction or how it relates to controversial issues of modern culture, then pull out your keyboards, because I want to hear from you!
A fanzine always reflects the tastes of its editors, and The Temple Jewel is no different. Many editors prefer straight pairings only, or lighter stories. Others will accept stories with minimal plot past the explicit action. The Temple Jewel takes a middle-of-the-road approach to some of these issues. While I do prefer stories that have plots past explicit sex, I lean more heavily toward character-centered plots, which seem to involve very explicit action. As well, I tend to prefer moodier stories with a somewhat dark atmosphere (although for lighter stories, check out "Dreams," a charming work by the pseudonymous "Marquee" included in this issue, and "Musical Interlude," by Jennifer Peters), something you'll doubtless notice as you read.
Many editors do not accept slash pairings (same-sex couples, most often male-male although not exclusively); at The Jewel, I have a firm policy that judges all couples (or triples, or quadruples, or ... ) strictly on the basis of character plausibility only. The sex of the participants is not a stumbling block for me, as I am very much in favor of gay and lesbian rights, and do not feel that the 24th century should be heterosexist! (Besides, they're some of the hottest stories we've seen.) As a result, I will probably be more disposed towards a Bashir/Garak or Dax/Kira story than a Kira/Garak one, even though many editors might feel the other way! (In this issue, I've accepted two marvelous B/G stories, in fact - one by Karen Colohan and one by Mary Eichbauer. If you are at all familiar with the Internet ~ specifically Usenet - you may recognize both of these names.) So if you have a story centering on a male-male or female-female couple of any kind that you believe in, let me know! If I don't accept it, you can rest easy knowing that it wasn't for heterosexist reasons.
I am also fairly firmly feminist although obviously pro-some forms of sex entertain ment-forwantofabetterword~inmy political leanings as well, so unless that story about Gul Dukat and the two bouncy slave girls is really really well-written, you just might want to submit it to another zine. (Not that I'll start spouting left-wing rhetoric at you; I'll just stick my finger in my throat and make rude noises.) And token refusals ~ where "no" means "maybe" ~ on the part of the female characters are strongly discouraged.
Other storylines to avoid are those that attempt to portray rape as pleasurable in any way for the victim, or those that involve children or animals, neither of which are really able to offer consent of a sexual nature. BDSM is absolutely fine, but graphic mutilation or horrific rape is most definitely not. For an excellent example of this, see Mary Eichbauer's delicious B/G story "Trial And Error" in this issue. Hurt/comfort is also fine, but try to extend yourself beyond recuperation from the " flu, or simply beating the snot out of the hero before the heroine saves him. Think creative!
Basically, I reject the idea that there is such a thing as a politically acceptable set of guidelines for erotic work - but that doesn't mean that I don't have preferences of my own, or that I won't get annoyed or roll my eyes at a story that I feel is cliched, misogynist, or just plain hackneyed. Instead of the typical overdone Penthouse Forum type of story, try something refreshing and different! You'll be surprised how exciting it will be! (Or perhaps, if you're reading this zine, you wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.)
And there are always many other zines to which you can submit your work if it doesn't fit our needs, so don't be discouraged.
Contents
Summaries are from the zine flyer:
- Getting Away From It All by Yavanna - Julian and Garak take a break on Risa to spend some time together away from the curious eyes on DS9, but Gul Dukat's desire to bring Garak back to Cardassia for trial interferes with their plans. Artwork by Maryann Jorgensen. (ST: Deep Space Nine) (5)
- Musical Interlude by Jennifer Peters. An evening in the life of a young couple, as told in tandem with some popular songs. (23)
- Uniform, by Your Cruise Director. After the destruction of the Array, Janeway must convince Chakotay to wear a Starfleet Uniform. Artwork by Maryann Jorgensen. (ST: Voyager) (23)
- Jewel by Janis C. While in the mirror universe, Bashir and his double share caring and passion. Artwork by Janis C. (ST: Deep Space Nine) (35)
- Neapolitan Slash/Birthright Mix, by Kate Orman. After Data's dreaming program is found, he and Bashir explore one another. (ST: Deep Space Nine) (49)
- Dreams, by "Marquee." On a first contact mission with an unusual race, Kira and Bashir experience some very erotic dreams. Artwork by Maryann Jorgensen. (ST: Deep Space Nine) (55)
- Trial and Error, by Mary E. When Bashir is arrested on Cardassia, Garak must administer his punishment to save his life. Artwork by TACS. (ST: Deep Space Nine) (63)
- First Lore, by Kate Orman. A very unusual story, told from the point of view of a person who once purchased Lore as a toy from a Ferengi trader. (ST: Deep Space Nine) (85)
- Prick of the Needle by Your Cruise Director. Ancient history. In the wake of "Eye of the Needle," Chakotay tries to put Janeway into a better mood. When an avenue of return to home fails, Janeway and Chakotay find solace in one another. Artwork by Maryann Jorgensen (ST: Voyager) (89)
- About the Authors and Artists (97)
Sample Interior
art by Maryann Jorgensen
art by Maryann Jorgensen
art by Maryann Jorgensen
art by Janis C.
art by Janis C.
art by TACS
art by TACS
Reactions and Reviews
- [Jewel]: "Ah Trek, where A/U's and/or holodecks mean you can go fuck yourself. Lovely h/c story about "our" Julian's encounter with his other self. This is a story that is *not* available in the archive. Plug the author's name into Yahoo, go to her web page and maybe if you write her a nice letter, she'll send you a copy. Or you can buy the 'zine."TrekSmut 101 -- Fanfic posted to alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated on November 3, 1997.