Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 09:24:48 -0800
From: slash4me
Subject: D.O.B.L.B.*

Hello!

It's introduction time!

D.O.B.L.B. stands for Dirty Old Black Lesbian Broad - and proud 
of it!

Anyway, onward and upward.  My name is Jatona P (for Patricia); I 
was born in St. Louis, Missouri at 1:15am on November 
2, 1948.  My mother still lives there; my father is deceased; and 
my sister, Fredi, lives in New York (and was in the 
Broadway musical RENT - she left on my birthday, this year!).  
She is 14 years younger than I am. I have family all over.

I have lived in Los Angeles, California for 23 years.  My first 
introduction to fandom was when I cleaned out a friend's closet 
and found this box of zines.  They were the old Star Trek zines 
that 'allured' to 'slash'.  I was hooked and began to write - 
only my first story was straight.  With the help of a very dear, 
now deceased, writer of K/S, it was turned around.  I was in 
heaven.

Then I rented a room with another friend of mine.  She opened her 
closet, literally, and shoved me in.  There, from the floor to 
the ceiling, were stories, stories and more stories - and zines.  
All categorized between 'straight' and 'slash'.  Then, I went to 
my first slash convention in Texas ( the one that is now 
RevelCon).  There I was introduced to "The Professionals".  After 
I finally figured out who was Bodie and Doyle, and I have read 
all of my friend's stories - plus ordered my own) - well.  The 
rest is history!

I have been published in several fandoms:  K/S, B/D, S/H; I have 
written two crossovers and one past live - I love doing these 
type of stories; also "what ifs".  I am venturing into Man From 
U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, Highlander: The Series, Forever Knight; I am 
working on Highlander/Bonanza and Highlander/Sherlock Holmes 
crossovers.

In my earlier works I published under "KIRK"; now I publish under 
my own name.

Some favorites of my works (no bragging intended) are:  "Family 
Traits" in a past issue of "Chalk and Cheese"; "Paid In Full" a 
past live K/S story; "A Canterbury Halloween" - my first 
crossover between Bodie/Doyle and Starsky/Hutch; "Those Who 
Believe" - S/H; "That Men Should Fear" - also in Chalk and 
Cheese, this was a sequel; "To Sir, With Love!" - in "The Halls 
of CI5", first issue.  These are to name a few.

I do have my own webpage.  The address is:

<www.datadepot.com/~slash4me/
(Listmom note: I believe this has changed!)

Well, that is all for now.  I am very honored to be a part of 
these great lists.  It is about time we writers of 'slash' had a 
safe haven to indulge. 

BTW:  I am an incurable romantic!

I remain,

Professionally, Immortally yours in SLASH,

Jatona


From: slash4me
Subject: [VP] How Do You Get Into Slash?
Sender: owner-veniceplace@jbx.com

Hi!

1.	How did I get into slash?

I got into 'slash' through K/S.  

It was my turn to clean the apartment one Sunday and I, no pun 
intended, in the walk-in closet.  As I was straightening one of 
the storage boxes it, being rotten on the bottom, fell apart.  
There before me, in a heap, lay a number of publications.

Now, you have to understand, I had never seen nor heard of a 
fanzine before.  Curious, I picked up one, it had a picture of 
Kirk and Spock on the front.  Being a Star Trek fan I opened it 
and, WHOA, right onto a lovely picture of Kirk and Spock in a 
romantic cuddle in Kirk's quarters!!

Well, needless to say, I abandoned the cleaning, sat down on the 
floor (which I had already vacuumed) and began to read.

It was 'slash' fandom at first sight!!  When my roommate got home 
I asked if I could borrow the entire lot to read.  To my utter 
amazement she gave them to me saying she was very upset that they 
had done that to 'my Kirk and Spock'.

The rest is history!  I began to read anything I could get my 
hands on; when I attended local conventions, I looked for anyone 
who sold these zines; and so on.

When I had to move, a friend of mine invited me to rent a room in 
her house.  Once again, I was cleaning up her closet and really 
hit the jackpot- the entire closet was neatly organized into 
sections that read:  Starsky/Hutch, Kirk/Spock, Bodie/Doyle, etc.

Once again, cleaning was abandoned and, once again, I inherited 
the entire lot after she passed away from cancer (her brother 
wanting to get rid 'unnecessary trash' before selling the house).

2.	How did it appeal to you?

Very well.  It was partly due to 'slash' that I discovered my own 
sexual orientation and accept it.

3.	How do you deal with it?

Just fine.  In fact, my sister took one of my 'slash' plots and 
is turning it into a screen play. 

4.	Are you in the closet about it?

Not on your life!  One of my dear local friends is a well-known 
lady in fandom.  She has written a few K/S but, mostly, 
Starksy/Hutch.  When we first met, I walked up to her and 
introduced myself by stating:  "Hi, I'm Jatona Walker, I'm new to 
fandom, and I'm a lesbian!"  I have had many comments about my 
stories from co-workers at my present job as well as my pasts 
ones.

5.	What compels you to write it and read it?

Writing it - I have discovered not only can I write, but here was 
a chance to use my imagination and learn something about this 
lifestyle I have chosen (after all, as I have discovered, I am 
not the only 'gay woman' in these fandoms).

Reading it - is a lot of fun!  I learn about different styles of 
writing and, depending on the story, you can get into the head of 
the author (death stories, I have found, help deal with a past, 
or recent, grief; rape stories might help a person deal with such 
a trauma, etc.)  

My favorite stories to write, and read, or those that deal with: 
crossovers, A/Us, past lives, first times, and, yes - death 
stories.

Well, I hope this answered these questions.  If there are any 
others, just drop me a line on the list or privately.

Jatona

