(Taken unchanged from the printed zine.)
The Gift
of
an
Enemy
by Sylvia
Cover by Jo B.
Age statement required.
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Celeste Hotaling-Lyons,
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Everett, MA 02149
Fourth Printing 2000
"Kiss the top of my head!"
The
Gift of an Enemy
is
a Teeny Gozer Production.
The Gift of an Enemy is a not-for-profit, strictly amateur publication. The story and artwork are the property of the author and artist and may not be reproduced without their permission. This fanzine does not intend to infringe upon the copyrights held by Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, or Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. The original material herein is copyrighted 1998.
Author’s Notes
The Gift of an Enemy was originally going to be a story of medium length at most, and I am still not certain how it turned into a novel. However, I am certain that it would not exist in this form if it hadn't been for the support of my excellent, dedicated, and patient beta readers.
When I sent out a call for help with my first attempt at M/K slash, phyre, Ellen Smithee, and Laurie volunteered to have a look at the first bit; they not only encouraged me to finish the story, but offered constructive and insightful criticism during the entire writing process (the number of weird phrasings, strange plot elements, and outright mistakes they caught me in is best passed over in silence.) Laurie passed the unfinished novel on to her friend Celeste, who was not only willing to publish my story, but also came up with the perfect title. Cynthia and Shoshanna then joined the team and put an enormous amount of work into improving the novel, hunting down an embarrassing number of remaining blunders and giving excellent advice on how to fix them.
This novel would be very much worse if not for the hard work of all of the people I've mentioned. Thank you again!
Sylvia
Editor’s Notes
About a year ago, a request for beta readers was posted to the M/K mailing list. The author's name was unfamiliar and the post originated in Germany, so I’d no idea what to expect when I volunteered to read it.
I have rarely been so delightfully surprised. The story was far from complete, but it already had a riveting plot concept, beautiful characterizations, and an elegance of style that had me shaking my head in wonder at Sylvia's extraordinary talent—in a language that is not even her own.
My admiration for this story eventually led to the inclusion of my friends Celeste Hotaling-Lyons, Cynthia Hoffman, and Shoshanna Green in the beta-reading team.
Working with Gift has been a labor of love. Watching the story gradually unfold before my eyes; working with Celeste, and Cynthia, and Shoshanna to improve it still further, has been a profound joy for me. I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to Celeste, Cynthia, and Shoshanna for their hard work in improving Gift and helping to bring it to publication. I'd also like to thank Jo for her terrific cover.
But most of all, I'd like to thank Sylvia for writing The Gift of an Enemy; for enabling me to share it with her as it developed; and for now sharing her wonderful creation with the rest of fandom.
Laurie Cohen Fenster
Publisher’s Notes
I was blown away by the snippet of Gift e-mailed to me that was my intro to Sylvia’s novel. It had a plot that I desperately wanted to read more of, dead-on characterization, great dialogue—and it had the virtue of style. The author had something to say, and said it with amazing grace. "Teeny Gozer is publishing the ’zine," I said. It was not a question, it was a statement. Thank you, Sylvia, for allowing me to publish it.
We needed an enticing cover. I knew that all it would take was someone picking the ’zine up and reading just a paragraph—they’d have to buy it. I’d read Torch’s amazing novel Ghosts and saw a cover for it on-line. It struck just the right note of creepy normality that runs through the X-Files universe—a tone that would suit Gift perfectly. Torch very kindly put me in touch with the artist, who did a spot-on job after having read a mere dozen pages or so of the novel. Thank you, Jo B., for the fabulous cover. You captured Weimar, Pennsylvania, perfectly.
Blessings upon the amazing (nay, jaw-dropping) beta-reading talents of Cynthia and Shoshanna, and Laurie’s outstanding job as editor.
The novel diverges from canon after Tunguska/ Terma. Now, go read it. Enjoy. There may be a sequel if you like it, so drop a line.
Celeste Hotaling-Lyons