Kristin Brown
Marjorie Joyce
April 29, 1999
Believe it or not, I've just learned that the most difficult part of putting together this zine is the composing of this message... Well, no, I lied, but here at the end I do find myself at a loss. Perhaps it's because I've been maintaining a running commentary of the progress of this zine on the Kiss website and I've run out of adjectives to accurately describe the past 1-1/2 years since this zine's inception. As the song goes, "what a long strange trip it's been."
In any case, I'm quite proud of this first effort. We've gained a new respect for those editors that came before us (particularly before the days of "cheap" computers); the time, money, and sheer energy that was necessary to produce this zine was frightening. We've learned some hard lessons; had more than our share of thrills and disappointments; managed to attain--we hope!--the rather lofty goals we'd originally set; and we've still kept a majority of our sanity and preserved our friendship. That's quite a feat!
It still amazes me that it's taken a mere twenty-two years (since the initial release of Star Wars: A New Hope) for someone to produce an SW zine dedicated solely to Han andLeia. Considering the literally hundreds of fanzines that have been published over those years, this seems such an obvious oversight. Just ask any female SW fan what they want most and the vast majority will tell you "More Han and Leia!" I'll admit that in a way I'm glad we're the first to fill this gap. We hope to set a trend not only for quality in printing but also for content. We allwant more Han and Leia!
Our number of preprint sales (more than half of our original print run) seems a testament to this desperate and until now unanswered need for romantic SW fiction. I want to offer a special thanks to those who had the
We put a lot of time and consideration into how we wanted this to look--what effect we wanted to achieve. Both of us are huge fans of the old B movies of the 1930s and '40s, and in particular the Thin Man series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. We love the smart, sassy, sophisticated, and sexy interplay; the crisp art deco atmosphere; and the sense that love, romance, and just having fun aren't dead yet. Ultimately we decided that simpler was better. We liked the art deco feel to the title font, as well as the more rounded feel of the main body text font. I hope this effort and forethought shows.
Finally, I'm going to take this opportunity to mention thanks to those who contributed in some way to this zine. Thanks to fellow zine editors Cheree Cargill, Judy Yuenger, Samia Martz, and Paula Truelove; they allowed us to pick their brains and likewise warned us of our approaching insanity. (But did we listen? Nooooo!Thanks also to my co-worker, Raeda Zietoon, for catching my not-so-subtle hints and volunteering to proofread in her spare time; you helped make this a quality product. Thanks to Marie, Dianora, and Monique Robertson for their moral (and immoral!) support and the moments of needed levity. Thanks also to artists Laura Sherman and Liz; both of them stepped up to the plate as pinch hitters when we suddenly found ourselves short by one illustrator. Not only did they make up the difference in quantity, but they did it so quickly that I'm still in awe. A special thanks to Tony R. Boies for being there for me when I needed support on the home front, particularly during the darker moments when I wanted to chuck it all in the trash. Thanks for your patience and understanding of my determination to finish this--I owe you a few weekends, babe. A big thanks to my Evil Twin, Kristin Brown (I love you...but not that way!) for coming up with this idea in the first place, and for willingly taking on some of the "dirtiest" work; your sacrifice was not in vain, sister. And last but not least, my thanks to George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Irvin Kirshner, and Leigh Brackett for their inspiration. We wouldn't have anything to work with without you!
Whew! I think I'm done here. Time for a beer!
Susan Zahn
I t all started one summer in 1977. I was seven; my brother was six, and our parents had taken us to our first drive-in movie...
Oh, wait--that's something else entirely. I'm supposed to be introducing the zine. THAT started in the winter of 1998...
I smiled at the waitress, waving my empty bottle in the air.
"Could we have more beer?" I requested.
It was January. I had arrived on the east coast a few days earlier, both for a job interview and a visit with my friend, Sue. We were seated in a booth at the Rockville Hard Times Cafe, anxiously awaiting our orders of some of the best chili this side of the Texarkana line. To pass the time, we were catching up on our lives over a couple of Hard Times lagers.
That was my first mistake.
The conversation turned to Media West, the Lansing fandom conference I'd attended for the first time in May (after a long Internet friendship, the con was also where I met Sue, face-to-face).
"So, what did you think of the fanzines this year?" I asked, taking another swig of beer.
Sue grabbed for an onion ring. "Great, although I have to throw in my usual complaint: not enough Han and Leia stories."
I nodded, draining my second bottle of beer. Damn, that tasted good. "You know," I said casually, "we should put out a Han/Leia zine."
That was my second mistake.
Sue's response was a cross between a laugh and a snort. "You're nuts, right?"
I shook my head, a little more vigorously than was necessary. "No, really. How hard could it be?"
Sue, caught mid-draught, almost spewed beer all over the table. To her credit, she recovered quickly.
"Watch who you say that around or you'll get yourself in trouble," she warned.
"Come on," I said, glancing around. I caught the waitress' eye and waved my empty bottle at her; she nodded in response. "I already have a title. 'You Could Use a Good Kiss.'"
The waitress appeared, tray balanced on one hand. She placed our order on the table.
I made a grab for the bread basket. "Ooo, I love their corn bread!" I exclaimed. "Don't you?"
Sue didn't say anything.
I looked up; there was an evil glint in her eye. I suddenly felt distinctly uncomfortable.
"Okay," she said, grinning, "let's do it."
I frowned, confused. "Do what?" I asked, cautiously.
Sue leaned over the table. "We're going into the zine publishing business. Partner..."
That was over a year ago, and in that time I've learned exactly how much work, and how enjoyable, working on a fanzine can be. "You Could Use a Good Kiss" has turned out to be exactly what Sue and I talked about: a collection of high-quality Han-and-Leia stories that we ourselves are delighted to read, illustrated by some of the best artists in Star Wars fandom. I would like to say "thank you!" to the talented people who have allowed us to publish their stories, artwork, vignettes, and filks. Additionally, I thank each of you for your patience with a couple of novice editors, and your understanding of the relationship between editor and writer. I am proud of each work in this publication, as well should be our contributors. I would also like to express my gratitude to my partner. Since we began this project, Sue has continuously amazed me with her editing abilities, her organization, and her persistence, and I am not exaggerating when I state that Kiss would not have seen the light of day if not for Sue. I sincerely hope you enjoy our efforts.
Oh--and a word of advice. If you're a lightweight drinker, watch what you say. You may get more than you bargain for :^)
Kristin Brown
July 2000
I've harbored a love for Leia and Han-and-Leia since I first discovered them on a movie screen outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one day in 1977. Besides the raging pre-"Return of the Jedi" debate in "Star-Words" in the backs of Marvel "Star Wars" comics about whom Leia should end up with, though, I'd never been aware of group Leia or Han-and-Leia fandom. Until I typed those fatal words "Han and Leia" in a Lycos search box one night last year.
I'd just seen "Phantom Menace," and my Han-and-Leia fandom had been roused from its 15-year nap. Every other special interest that had ever gripped me had been satisfied on the Internet; surely Han and Leia would be out there, too. Surely I was not disappointed.
I stayed up all night reading Linda Bindner's Han-and-Leia fan fiction, and via her response to a fan e-mail I'd sent her, I discovered the "Star Wars" Fanfix, Corellian Embassy, Organa-zation, and You Could Use a Good Kiss web sites. Thanks to these wonderful online resources and the people who create them, I've been thrilled to find that I am not alone in my love for Leia and Han-and-Leia. And I've been more than thrilled to help create this online version of the first "You Could Use a Good Kiss" Han-and-Leia zine. I wish you all the joy I've experienced in discovering this resource through the Internet.
Special thanks to Susan Zahn for letting me help her in creating this. We all thank George Lucas, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher for just being. And I thank God for making this all possible. Thanks, too, to Marillion, whose album "Misplaced Childhood" I played into the ground while working on this e-zine. Appropriate title. Through "Star Wars" I've found where I'd placed my childhood, and as the song goes, there is no childhood's end. Lead me on...
Marjorie Joyce, e-zine editor and designer
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