Unfinished Symphony (Beauty and the Beast story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Unfinished Symphony
Author(s):	Kate Sheridan
Date(s):	1990
Length:
Genre:
Fandom:	Beauty and the Beast (TV)
External Links:
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Unfinished Symphony is a Beauty and the Beast 4-page romantic but not sexually explicit story by Kate Sheridan.

The pairing was Vincent and Diana , something that made it very controversial.

It was printed in A Secret Place #6 in 1990.

Story Summary

"The beginnings of a friendship for which both Vincent and Diana doubt either is quite yet prepared..."

It Incited Strong Emotions and the Hiatus of a Major Editor

In the following issue of A Secret Place, the editor wrote:

I received 12 copies of Kate Sheridan's story back, some without comment, some torn to pieces. I received a lot of letters telling me these pages would be torn from the zine. Most of these letters also stated that any such comment ' -- in fact any part of the letter -- was not for publication. Some of these letters didn't say anything about my printing them in this column. However, I have taken the liberty of not printing these letters. Please see my editorial on the following pages for further discussion of this topic.

Gelfand followed this statement with a strongly worded editorial, one which informed fans that the zine series, A Secret Place, was going on a hiatus, and therefore pushing back its production schedule until the following year. See I am not immune to grief over the death of a fictional character..

Undated

[This zine] does contain one 3-page Diana and Vincent (non-sexual) romance story that is clearly labeled for those who wish to skip it.

1990

As an enthusiastic reader of ASP #1-#5, I would like to express my appreciation for your consideration of fans' tastes. When purchasing fanzines, the inclusion of "Diana" and/or the exclusion of "Catherine" in the stories is an important criterion for many of your readers. It was both helpful and thoughtful of you to include the extra information regarding "Unfinished Symphony" (ie, "a 3-page Vincent/Diana story") so that those purchasing this book were not unduly surprised - whether pleasantly or unhappily!

Personally, I do not care to read anything based on the 3rd season. However, since ASP #6 is almost entirely based on Vincent/Catherine, I don't have a problem wiIth the one very short story. Please understand that I am in no way trying to dictate what you do or do not include in your books. I simply wanted to express my appreciation for your professionalism and also provide some individual "customer feedback".

[the editor of "A Secret Place" adds]: I am extremely grateful for your kind, civilized mature comments and continued support.

I thought the story with Diana not to my personal taste as I think you know, but I did think it well written and rather sweet. I do realize that there are many people who prefer V&C and I do who, howl at anything V&D. But I believe everyone is entitled to their own views -- I can't remember who said viv'la difference.

I am very happy to see a story about Diana. It sounds excellent. On one hand I want the fantasy to continue with Vincent and Catherine. On the other hand I go with the theme of the television and feel Vincent has to go on with his life.

I was pleased to see a Diana story; I have one on the drawing board, so maybe there will be a home for it after all. Thank you, Kate Sheridan.

1991

This brings me to the flap about the 3-page story in A Secret Place. I was discussing this with a friend of mine, and generally saying that I think it's terrible for anyone to tear a story up and send it back like that "Yes," she agreed. "But I wanted to do the same thing when I read it." I then asked her why she bought it. "Well," she said. "I bought it at Tunnel Con and not from a flyer, and when I asked if it had any 3rd season in it, they told me NO." Obviously, you can imagine why she was upset. I agree that people have a right to write the kind of stories that they want to, just as people have a right to buy them or not buy them according to their preference. I think that the zine writers have generally tried to be truthful in their zine flyers. I just think that often it was/isa case of them not realizing that something might be controversial. For instance, another friend pointed out that a Diana/Vincent story was advertised as them not having a "relationship." This is a very fine line here. My friend felt that it was still a "relationship," as they were moving toward one in a future zine. Evidently the author felt that as long as there was no sexual involvement, it constituted them as not "having a relationship." I bring this up because it shows how specific an individual's taste can be.