Contes di Cottman IV

Contes di Cottman IV is a Darkover fanzine edited by Lynne Holdom. She had other co-editors: Roberta Rogow (#1-5) and Ingrid Maack (#6).
The editor describes "Contes de Cottman IV" as "a Darkover fanzine with the Terran accent."
==Permission from Bradley==
From the title page of the first issue: "This is an amateur publication produced with the written permission of Marion Zimmer Bradley."
In the editorial, it is noted that this zine series had a "blanket go-ahead" from Bradley.
==Issue 1==
Contes di Cottman IV 1 was published in November 1981 and contains 75 pages. 
The art is by Lynne Eldridge, Amy Harlib, Michelle Petersson, Melody Rondeau, Fa Shimbo, Michael B. Smith, Rob Miller III, and Bob Eggleton.
From the editorial: Lynne: 
The editorial: Roberta: 
* Editorial (1)
* Communique by Roberta Rogow (2)
* Recontact by Lynne Holdom ("A young man of Aldaran meets strangers from farther than he could know.") (also in Kierestelli #2) (3)
* N'ha Ysabet by Pat Mathews ("Magda Lorne's parents come to Cottman IV.") (19)
* Ole by Roberta Rogow and Lynne Holdom ("Cultural exchange takes on a whole new meaning.") (28)
* Judas by Roberta Rogow ("A City Guardsman has a mid-life crisis with surprising results.") (40)
* Thendara Mailbag by Pat Mathews (73)
File:Contes1art1.jpg|from issue #1, Amy Harlib
File:Contes1art2.jpg|from issue #1, Lynne Eldridge
File:Contes1art3.jpg|from issue #1, Melody Rondeau
File:Contes1art4.jpg|from issue #1, Amy Harlib
==Issue 2==
Contes di Cottman IV 2 was published in May 1982 and contains 88 pages. 
The art is by Nancy Gervais, Fa Shimbo, Rikk, Linda Leach, Michelle Petersson, Melody Rondeau, Mike Smith, Hannah Shapero, and Rob Miller III.
From the editorial by Lynne: 
From the editorial by Roberta:
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Communique by Roberta Rogow (2)
* Whither Thou Goest by Mary Frey, art by Nancy Gervais (3)
* Rule Nineteen by Patricia Mathews, art by Linda Leach (16)
* Prologue by William West, art by Michelle Petersson (28)
* The Reluctant Amazon by Lynne Holdom and Roberta Rogow, art by Melody Rondeau (35)
* Thendara Mailbag, Again by Patricia Mathews (48)
* The Dope from Thendara by Gregory A. Baker, art by Mike Smith (49)
* The Kerwin File by Roberta Rogow and Lynne Holdom, art by Hannah Shapero (65)
* The Great Fire of Shainsa by Patricia Mathews, art by Rob Miller III (88)
File:Contes2art1.jpg|from issue #2, Nancy Gervais
File:Contes2art3.jpg|from issue #2, Mike Smith
File:Contes2art4.jpg|from issue #2, Hannah Shapero
File:Contes2 interior by Melody Ronduea.jpg|from issue #2, Melody Rondeau
File:Contes2art5.jpg|from issue #2, Hannah Shapero: "Back in Bradleystan, the re-colonization of Darkover continues. Terrans now circulate among the "natives" (who are themselves earlier colonists). In this story, a sophisticated Terran woman envoy must mediate a dispute among members of the "Free Amazons," a society of women who defy the usual customs and live unmarried as a sisterhood. The Terran is a chic Frenchwoman who wears her Terran uniform like a fashion plate, while the country-dwelling Amazons wear rustic garb suitable for their work in wilderness and countryside. Black ink on illustration board, about 8" x 10, November 1986." -- pyracanthasketch
File:Darkovernoir.jpg|from issue #2, Hannah Shapero: "As I said some time ago, Darkover fan writers used to place their stories into other genres, just for the fun of it. There were romance, Western, horror, and detective fan stories, including the one with this illustration. The author wrote it in a "noir" detective style, though the main detective character is an Orthodox Jew. I adopted a style for this story as well, the heavily inked scratchy pen work typical of fiction illustration in the early 20th century. Here the villainous character, the hybrid alien/human Kadarin, appears as if by magic in a familiar noir scene, a dark warehouse. Lots of black ink on illustration board, 7" x 10", spring 1982." - pyracanthasketch
==Issue 3==
Contes di Cottman IV 3 was published in November 1982 and contains 92 pages. 
The art is by Michelle Petersson, Jean Ellenbach, Melody Rondeau, Shona Jackson, and Steve Fabian.
The stories include another in the Levich/Lawton series, the exploration of the Montray divorce, and a couple of examples of Terran/Darkovan co-operation.
From Lynne's editorial: 
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Communique by Roberta Rogow (2)
* The Parting of the Ways by Mary Frey, art by Michelle Petersson (2)
* Woof by William West, art by Melody Rondeau (19)
* Cabin Fever by Lynne Holdom, art by Jean Ellenbach (30)
* Darkover Landfill by Patricia Shaw, art by Jean Ellenbach (43)
* Infinite Diversity by Katherine St. John, art by Steve Fabian (56)
* Vengeance is Mine by Roberta Rogow and Lynne Holdom, art by Shona Jackson (66)
* Ylanna's Revenge, a filk by Roberta Rogow, Devra Langsam, and Lynne Holdom (last two pages, not listed in the table of contents)
File:Contes3-1.jpg|from issue #3, Melody Rondeau
File:Contes3-2.jpg|from issue #3, Melody Rondeau
File:Contes3-3.jpg|from issue #3, Jean Ellenbach
File:Contes3-4.jpg|from issue #3, Steve Fabian
File:Contes3-5.jpg|from issue #3, Shona Jackson
File:Contes3-6.jpg|from issue #3, sample text
==Issue 4==
Contes di Cottman IV 4 was published in May 1983 and contains 88 pages. 
The art is by Steve Fabian, Sara Stoel, Hannah Shapero, Linda Leach, Melody Rondeau, Jean Ellenbach, Jane Fancher, Pat Munson-Siter, and Michelle Petersson.
From the editorial by Lynne Holdom: 
From the editorial by Roberta Rogow: 
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Communique by Roberta Rogow (2)
* Matrix by Patricia Buard and Michael Rabbitt, art by Sara Stoel ("A computer versus a Keeper.") (3)
* The Road to Nevarsin by William West, art by Hannah Shapero ("The Terran church versus the cristoforos.") (11)
* In the Drytowns by Patricia Shaw, art by Melody Rondeau (20)
* Summer Frost by Cynthia McQuillin, art by Jean Ellenbach (27)
* The Choice by Lynne Holdom, art by Linda Leach (34)
* The Hastur File by Lynne Holdom and Roberta Rogow, art by Jane Fancher ("another story in the Levich/Lawton series") (40)
* Terranan Steel by Valerie Smith, art by Pat Munson-Siter (72)
* Legends from the Past by Jonathan Shipley, art by Michelle Petersson (84)
* Nedestros by Dom Kyril, filk to the tune of "Three Prominent Bastards, by Roberta Rogow, art by Melody Rondeau (also in Rec Room Rhymes #3) (89)
File:Contes4-1.jpg|from issue #4, Sara Stoel
File:Contes4-2.jpg|from issue #4, Melody Rondeau
File:Contes4-3.jpg|from issue #4, Jean Ellenbach
File:Contes4-4.jpg|from issue #4, Jane Fancher
File:Contes4-5.jpg|from issue #4, Pat Munson-Siter
File:Contes4-6.jpg|from issue #4, Michelle Petersson
==Issue 5==
Contes di Cottman IV 5 was published in November 1983 and contains 92 pages. 
The front cover is by Bob Eggleton, the backover by Sheila Barrera. The interior art is by Gennie Summers, Susan Southwick, Jean Ellenbacher, Sara Stole, Jane Fancher, Melody Rondeau, and Hannah Shapero.
The editorial by Lynne: 
The editorial by Roberta: 
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Communique by Roberta Rogow (2)
* To Pay the Piper by William West, art by Gennie Summers (30)
* Demon Tower by Jonathan Shipley, art by Mary Bohdanowicz (11)
* Lonely Threshold by Susan Southwich, art by Jean Ellenbacher (15)
* And Justice for All by Lynne Holdom and Roberta Rogow, art by Sara Stoel ("A look at Dan Lawton's first (and only?) visit to Castle Ardais.") (27)
* Devil's Advocate by Patricia Anne Buard, art by Hannah Shapero (reprinted in the DAW Books anthology Red Sun of Darkover) (64)
* Cat's Paw by Paula Crunk, art by Melody Rondeau (74)
* Soul of the Chieri by Patricia Mathews Shaw, art by Jane Fancher (86)
* Haven, poem by Robin Hood (95)
File:Contes5art1.jpg|from issue #5, Gennie Summers
File:Contes5art2.jpg|from issue #5, Mary Bohdanowicz
File:Contes5art3.jpg|from issue #5, Jean Ellenbacher
File:Contes5art4.jpg|from issue #5, Sara Stoel
File:Contes5art5.jpg|from issue #5, Hannah Shapero
File:Contes5art6.jpg|from issue #5, Melody Rondeau
File:Contes5art7.jpg|from issue #5, Jane Francher
File:Contes5art8.jpg|from issue #5, Gennie Summers
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 5==
==Issue 6==
Contes di Cottman IV 6 was published in June 1984 and contains 92 pages. This is the first issue edited by Lynne Holdom and Ingrid Maack.
The editorial: Lynne Holdom: 
The editorial: Ingrid Maack:
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Dispatch by Ingrid Maack (2)
* A Fox in Shainsa by William West, illos by Sara Stoel Mason ("A tale about a renegade Comyn and members of the Sisterhood of the Sword out to rescue two young boys kidnapped by a Drytowner.") (3)
* With a Small Step by Jean Lamb, illos by Linda Leach ("A story about a conqueror during the Ages of Chaos and a cristoforo monk who shows him the future he is brutally designing.") (14)
* Winter Wine by Raul Reyes, illos by Sophia Kelly ("A Free Amazon falsely accused of murdering a young Comyn Lady and the Amazon investigator who seeks out the truth.") (18)
* Strike Three—You're Out by Lynne Holdom and Roberta Rogow, illos by Melody Rondeau (38)
* In Her Own Time and Season by Emily Alward, illos by Christine Soto ("The story of a Comyn Lady, Lorela, whose arranged marriage frightens her, even to the point of approaching the Free Amazons.") (winner of a Starstone contest) (57)
* A Matter of Protocol by Roberta Rogow, illos by Gennie Summers ("The Terran Legate, Dan Lawton, confronting the childish Regis Hastur about his neglect of Lawton in Hastur's Project Telepath.") (70)
* The White Oudrakhi by Deborah Wheeler, illos by Hannah Shapero ("A simple Drytowner searches for a white Oudrakhi (a horse-like creature), strangely drawn to it as if the beast is part of his soul.") (84)
* The Do-It-Yourself Darkover Story by Jeffrey Kasten, illos by Melody Rondeau (90)
File:cottman6-1.jpg| from issue #6
File:cottman6-2.jpg| from issue #6
File:cottman6-3.jpg| from issue #6
File:cottman6-4.jpg| from issue #6
File:cottman6-5.jpg| from issue #6
File:cottman6-6.jpg| from issue #6, Chris Soto
File:cottman6-7.jpg| from issue #6
File:cameloid.jpg| from issue #6, from the artist, Hannah Shapero: "Last month I posted a bit about the "cameloids" in the small desert region of Darkover known as the "Dry Towns." Here's an illustration from another fan story set in the desert, starring a cameloid known as an "oudrakhi." In the story, an all-white oudrakhi is born in the flocks of a tribal herdsman. The white oudrakhi is thought to be a magical creature of destiny so the non-tribal Darkovans try to kidnap it using their techno-magic. The herdsman is trying to fight their magic off with only his curved scimitar. OK, I have no idea whether that story I recall has anything to do with the "real" story I illustrated which was published in the fan magazine. But I do remember that the herdsman gets to keep his white cameloid oudrakhi, winning somehow against his magical opponents. I do recall that this story treated the tribal Dry-towner sympathetically, rather than portraying him and his people as violent "primitives." Original art is black ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 10", May 1984." - pyracanthasketch
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 6==
==Issue 7==
Contes di Cottman IV 7 was published in January 1985 and contains 96 pages.
It contains art by Chris Soto, Mary Bohdanowicz, Sara Stoel, Melody Rondeau, Shona Jackson, Hannah Shapero, and Sophia Kelley.
From the editorial: 
 
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Sea Fever by Mary Frey, illos by Chris Soto (2)
* The Princess and the Pea by Patricia Mathews Shaw, illos by Mary Bohdanowicz (29)
* Vengeance on the Amazons by Jeffrey Kasten and Linda Frankel, illos by Sara Stoel Mason (35)
* A Little Learning by Jean Lamb, illos by Melody Rondeau (47)
* Ten Minutes or So by Marion Zimmer Bradley, illos by Shona Jackson (previously published, see article)
* The Sharra File by Roberta Rogow and Lynne Holdom, illos by Hannah Shapero (57)
* Return to Caer Donn by William West, illos by Sophia Kelly (85)
File:Dicottman7-1.jpg|from issue #7
File:Dicottman7-2.jpg|from issue #7
File:Dicottman7-3.jpg|from issue #7
File:Dicottman7-4.jpg|from issue #7
File:Dicottman7-9.jpg|from issue #7
File:Dicottman7-5.jpg|from issue #7, (One of two illos by Hannah Shapero for "Ten Minutes or So," a story by MZB that originally appeared in the Programme Book of the Darkover Grand Council Meeting." Note: One of the illos for this story by Hannah Shapero also appeared in Definitive Definitive Issue 8 in August 1985 for "Bride Price" a story that was also in a program book for Darkover Grand Council Meeting. The two fics, however, different stories. The illos for both stories did not appear in the program book.) In 2016, the artist wrote: "In a fan story, a Darkovan colonial girl nurses a stranded spaceman back to health. This episode appears in almost every fantasy story, a "trope" to use the current word for it. It's also called a "hurt-comfort scene" and was especially popular among the writers of Star Trek fan fiction. Nowadays the fan writers are still producing such scenes in their writing about male British TV adventure characters like Sherlock and Watson. It's much more common to find this scene played between a girl or woman and the male hero, who is often a soldier or a spy. It is always the precursor to a sexual liaison between the recovered man and his caring nurse. In this case there is also the usual corollary, that she gets pregnant by him. The child turns out to be the Liberator of the Colonialists, or the Hero of the Future, given that he has the ancestry from both sides of the conflict. It's Darkovan fan fiction, but as usual I have little or no memory of the original story. I do like that I put garlic in the picture. Black ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 11", summer 1984." - pyracanthasketch
File:Dicottman7-6.jpg|from issue #7
File:Dicottman7-7.jpg|from issue #7
File:Dicottman7-1soto.jpg|from Issue #7, Chris Soto
==Reactions and Reviews: Issue 7==
==Issue 8==
Contes di Cottman IV 8 was published in January 1986 and is 97 pages long.
The flyer says: "Now containing Ages of Chaos stories as well." Artwork by Christine Soto, Hannah Shapero, Melody Rondeau, Linda Leach, Sara Stoel Mason, Ken Helfrich and Julie Cesari.
From the editorial: 
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Journey to New Skye by Mary Frey ("It was fourteen-year old Harryl's first visit to Newskye with Grandfather and he was excited. What was it that made Grandfather so special, so different from other men?") (first appeared in Starstone #3 where it had the title "Journey to Newskye") (2)
* Animal Eyes by Jean Lamb ("Could a former riyachiya ever be rid of her origins and her past, even under the new king, Allart Hastur?") (15)
* The Silken Cord by Nina Boal ("Lewis-Gabriel Ridenow had returned home after five years of captivity in the Dry-towns. Would his family and friends ever accept the fact that he had chosen to live rather than suicide?") (19)
* Bredin by Lynne Holdom ("Rakhal Darriel had always felt like an outsider in Aldaran, the Domains and even at Nevarsin. Could the strangers from the stars help him find his place?") (36)
* A Black Knight In Thendara by William West ("Armand and his friends had come to Cottman IV to find a genuine Medieval atmosphere. Was it what they had hoped for or were they due for a disappointment?") (56)
* The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword by Phyllis Fishbein (64)
* Why Not Me? by Michelle Hallett ("Kennard Alton had brought the Terran Elaine Montray to Darkover to be his wife. Could he count on the support of his bredu Dyan Ardais in gaining her acceptance before the Council?) (74)
* The Records At Nevarsin by Diann Partridge (Sethany was going to Nevarsin to discover the truth about Darkover's origins. Was Darkover really settled by Terrans, and thus a part of the Empire automatically?") (82)
File:Penismightierthan.jpg|from issue #8, by Hannah Shapero: "I enjoyed making Darkover fan story title pages because I could use different kinds of type and experiment with styles. In this story, the plot is kind of weak: a Darkover-human wilderness dweller or "mountain man" discovers a super-weapon lost by the high-tech Terrans. It looks like a simple writing pen but can deliver blasts of power. In this scene chosen for the title page, I have the shaggy woodsman sneaking up on a bunch of bandits who are torturing a youth, to save him with the unusual device. Since most of the action takes place at night, I had to image scenes done in darkness in the deep woods. There is a little campfire for light around the action area but for the woodsman I created a dark forest with ink and brushwork. I often wonder what happened to my Darkover friends, fans, and creative clients. Faded into a darkness mightier than the pen. Black ink on illustration board, 8" x 10", summer 1985." -- pyracanthasketch
File:Bredin.jpg|from issue #8, Hannah Shapero: "When I did an illustration for a piece of Darkover or other fan art, I took the text seriously and illustrated it with respect. This piece was about a young man who didn't know that he was an alien-human hybrid. I don't remember the story after that but I wanted to really do well by the illustration. If I could I usually did a title page complete with decorative typeface for the title. The architecture is borrowed from an Italian hill town. "Bredin" means "brothers" in the Darkovan language, a tongue derived from various Western European languages. Believe it or not, someone in fannish history has reconstructed these fantasy mixes of Darkovan languages. Fans can be amazing. Original drawing is black ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 11", January 1986." -- pyracanthasketch
File:Journeytonewskye.jpg|from issue #8, "Journey to New Skye", Hannah Shapero: "As he sits grieving over his grandfather's body, not knowing what to do next, the young man sees strange lights in the forest which manifest in the darkness as a group of attenuated, very tall glowing humanoids, clad only in translucent silk. They are the Chieri, perhaps even the ones which intermingled with the humans of New Skye, as Chieri, like Elves, are very long-lived. They levitate Grandfather's body and wrap him in one of their silk swaths. They explain that they will take care of his remains among his kin. As for the young man, the Chieri designate one of their number to accompany him to the town to see more of his kin. As the journey continues, the Chieri companion is already turning into a beautiful girl who will partner the young man and continue the hybridization. I recently met Mary Frey, the author of this tale or rather its original. Mary and I shared old-time memories as fan artist and fan author. I have no idea whether I've told the original story, but this makes sense of my illustrations. The original story, as with so many others, is buried in my dusty closet. Black ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 11", May 1987." -- Journey to New Skye conclusion by Pyracantha (February 15, 2018)
File:Journeytonewskyetitlepage.jpg|from issue #8, "Journey to New Skye", Hannah Shapero: "The original Earth settlers of Darkover were mostly from Celtic lands and were characterized by their red hair (of course), warlike tendencies, and psychic powers. Their original settlement town was called "New Skye," after Scotland's Isle of Skye. It was there that they re-made their original Earthling ways into mystical neo-Celtic tribalism. It was also in New Skye that they encountered the main alien race still living on Darkover. These were the "chieri," elf-like eerie humanoids who were much taller than ordinary humans (more than 7 feet tall) and who wore only delicate flowing spider-silk wraps even in freezing weather. The chieri were also highly endowed with psychic abilities, and what's more, they were hermaphroditic. They had organs for both sexes and could morph into whatever gender their partner desired. This sounds like a good reproductive strategy, but on Darkover they were dying out - till they found that the chieri could interbreed with humans. New Skye was the first place where hybridization occurred. In the story, which I don't remember much of, a young man travels with his grandfather to the original settlement of New Skye. Grandpa is unusually tall, has a lot of psychic gift, and has other hybrid characteristics. He wants to find his alien relatives. Unfortunately, the grandfather dies on his way to the town, and the young man is left alone not knowing what to do.... Original title page art is black ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 11", spring 1987." -- Journey to New Skye (February 14, 2018)
==Issue 9==
Contes di Cottman IV 9 was published in 1986 and is 99 pages long.
The art is by Hannah Shapero, Ken Helfrich, Melody Rondeau, Allan Gillespie, and Chris Soto.
* Editorial (1)
* Chaos In MacArandale by Linna Reusmann (2)
* To Her Own Conscience by Joan Marie Verba (10)
* The Catman’s Tail by Paula Crunk (22)
* Man of the Kadarin by Ernest Fitzwilliam (40)
* The Reluctant Amazon by Lynne Holdom and Roberta Rogow (first printed in Contes Di Cottman IV #2) (54)
* A Time to Grieve by Jude M. Jackson (68)
* The Awakening by Phyllis Fishbein (84)
File:Contes9art1.jpg|from issue #9, Hannah Shapero
File:Contes9art2.jpg|from issue #9, Melody Rondeau
File:Contes9art3.jpg|from issue #9, Chris Soto
File:Contes9art5.jpg|from issue #9, Chris Soto
File:Contes9art6.jpg|from issue #9, Hannah Shapero
File:Contes9art7.jpg|from issue #9
File:Contes9art4.jpg|from issue #9, Hannah Shapero: "In the old days, the 1980s, DarkoverCon was like an indoor Renaissance Faire, with two rooms of lively merchants, music and dancing and parties way into the night, public performances and book-reading and storytelling recitals, a costume show, and an art show filled with professional as well as amateur art. Thirty years later, the hall is the same, but it was empty except for a few wandering stragglers, aged relics of the earlier days, and the notes of a single instrument echoing in the cavernous hangar. I could go on with this but it will make you and me sad. This is one of my title pages for "Chaos in MacArandale," a fan-written story about a Darkovan boy, disabled by a hunchback and other deformities and who must use a wheelchair, and his brother, a well-built, able-bodied warrior. The disabled boy is studying to be an herbalist, but he will never do deeds of valor like his brother. In the story the brothers find that they have a telepathic link so that the homebound one can share the adventures of the other one out in the world. At least that's what I think the story is about. It was published thirty years ago and I haven't read it since. Original art is black ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 10",October 1986." - pyracanthasketch
File:Contes9art8.jpg|from issue #9, Hannah Shapero: "Here we are again with one of my title pages for a Darkover zine. As I have pointed out, Darkover planet had a number of indigenous humanoid species which human colonizers had to contend with. The "cat-men" were one of them, a felinoid species which was intent on retaining its territory despite being well-outnumbered and out-weaponed by the human colonists. I used 17th-century Renaissance engravings as an inspiration for this story which I have mostly forgotten. Ink on illustration board, 8" x 10", October 1986." -- The Catman's Tail
File:Darkoverawakening.jpg|from issue #9, Hannah Shapero: "Here we have yet another dramatic episode between the friends (and later, lovers) Regis (light haired one) and Danilo. Regis gets a psychic vision where he freaks out until Danilo comforts him. Fan writing is full of scenes where one character comforts another for pages of dialogue. I have read an excessive amount of fan writing and there is something about men showing weakness and talking at length about their emotions that just makes the fan writers squirm with joy. This is probably because the real men in their lives would rather poke themselves in the eye socket with a screwdriver before talking about their emotions. I have attempted to read long-form fan fic about TV characters and it had the effect of allergy medicine on me: Caution do not operate heavy machinery while using this medication. May cause drowsiness. I guess that's why you need an "Awakening." Black ink on illustration board, 8" x 10", August 1986." - pyracanthasketch
File:Contes9art3soto.jpg|Issue #9, Chris Soto
==Issue 10==
Contes di Cottman IV 10 was published in May 1987 and contains 110 pages. 
The front cover is by Leigh Matooka, the back cover is mistakenly attributed in the zine to Chris Soto; it was actually done by Anji Valenza, the frontispieces are by Hannah Shapero. Other art by Mary Frey, Megan MacDonald, Erin McKee, Melody Rondeau, and Linda Leach.
The editorial: 
* Editorial (1)
* In the Mists of Halie by Megan MacDonald (2)
* The Ways of Avanna by Patricia Cirone (22)
* Castles in the Air by Jean Lamb (35)
* Intrigues and Tableclothes by Phyllis Fishbein (50)
* Wild Flower by Joan Marie Verba (57)
* A Step Beyond by W. Marshall Kyle (64)
* Journey by Lynne Holdom and Nina Boal (73)
File:Contes10art2.jpg|from issue #10, Hannah Shapero
File:Contes10art5.jpg|from issue #10, Melody Rondeau
File:Contes10art6.jpg|from issue #10, Hannah Shapero
File:Contes10art3.jpg|from issue #10, unknown
File:Contes10art8.jpg|from issue #10, Pete Drucker
File:Contes10art4.jpg|from issue #10, Hannah Shapero: "Here's another fan art title page from one of the Darkover zines. The story wasn't very Darkovan; it was more myth and fable than action adventure. A king has to play chess with a Mephistophelean evil character, to save his kingdom. The text, as all of them, is packed away in my closet awaiting liberation as an archival object. I wonder if there is an archive of Darkover fan material. I was thinking of compiling the best of my Darkover art into an archivable and possibly art book publication but it would be a huge amount of work. I don't even remember whether the Devil or the King won the chess game. From the board it looks like the King prevailed. Black ink on illustration board, 8" x 10", April 1987." - pyracanthasketch
File:Contes10art7.jpg|from issue #10, Hannah Shapero: "Darkover was a planet mainly covered by snow and icy glaciers, uninhabitable by humans except for a band around the equator. There was a variety of climates and terrains on that band. That included a small but significant area of desert, the warmest place on Darkover, which was nicknamed the "Dry Towns." In that area, desert animals thrived, and human cultures lived lives similar to Bedouins, nomads, or oasis dwellers. The people of the Dry Towns rode imported horses but also used native creatures similar to camels, you might call them "cameloids." Another reason why Marion Zimmer Bradley invented the Dry Towns was so that she, and later her fan fiction writers, could write tragic stories about the mistreatment of women in tribal cultures. This illustration, which I rescued from a fan site since I had no copy of it for myself, shows the main character, a young boy, riding on a cameloid as part of a caravan. He's looking back at us readers and seems to be having a good time. Black ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 11", October 1986." - pyracanthasketch
File:Stepbeyond.jpg|from issue #10, Hannah Shapero: "I enjoyed making the fan art title pages because I could use decorative typefaces. In those days before easy computer type selection and printing, I had to copy the title by hand onto the page. This worked surprisingly well as long as I planned it out carefully. According to Marion Zimmer Bradley, Darkover had numerous sentient species well before humans arrived. They were all basically humanoid but some had characteristics of animal species as well. The oldest and most elusive were the "chieri," a tall, delicate-looking species of humanoid reminiscent of elves. They were all endowed with psychic powers, and even in the frozen winters of Darkover they were immune to the cold and went naked or wore just a thin wrap. Most interestingly, chieri were physically androgynous. They could turn into either male or female, depending on the desires of their partners. (Bradley borrowed this idea from Ursula Le Guin, who in turn borrowed it from Balzac's "Seraphita.") Chieri could interbreed with humans, which happened a lot, so the human Darkovans were actually psychically powered hybrids. This story, in my dim recollection, involved a youth who had the psychic talent of communicating with animals. Living in a primitive medieval society, he was constantly assaulted by the pain and distress of brutalized animals. He ran away into the forest intending to kill himself but instead the wandering chieri found him and took him in among them, where he learned to control his powers. Then, instead of sending him back to the village, they set him in a place where he could be a protector for the animals of forest, farm, and road. If this wasn't the way the story went, I apologize to W. Marshall Kyle the author, it was rather a while ago on planet Darkover let alone here on Earth. The magazine with the story is somewhere in my collection but I'm not getting it out. Black ink on heavy illustration board, 8" x 11", April 1987." - pyracanthasketch
File:Mistsofhali.jpg|art from issue #10, Hannah Shapero. "Here's another illustration from the Darkover fan story I posted a few days ago, "In the Mists of Hali." I don't remember the details but in the story a young man has to protect his little brother, who is disabled, from kidnappers who want his psychic powers. At one point the boy falls into the water and can't swim, so his brother must dive in to rescue him.... Black ink on illustration board, 8" x 10", April 1987." -- pyracanthasketch
File:Mistshalititle.jpg|from issue #10, Hannah Shapero, for "The Mists of Hali" - "I did many title pages for Darkover fanzines, as well as interior illustrations. The title page had the title in a decorative font and a scene from the story. Marion Zimmer Bradley, whatever her faults may have been, started many a fantasy writer on their career. Their first "published" but non-professional work appeared in Darkover fan magazines and sometimes in anthologies curated by Bradley and her fellow professionals. Most, if not all of the writers were women. It was a womens' community and the members often approached difficult topics through this fan fiction. That would include gender, sexuality of all kinds, mental and physical illness, disability, race, religion, and size issues. In this story a young man from a fisherman's family must protect his little brother, who is mentally disabled but psychically powerful, from the authorities who want to capture him and put his powers to work. Original drawing black ink on illustration board, about 7" x 11", April 1987." - pyracanthasketch
File:Tableclothes.jpg|art from issue #10, Hannah Shapero - "Here's another of my Darkover fan story title pages. This time I tried setting the story not in the faux-Renaissance of the Red Sun but in an equally faux late 19th century. It gave me the chance to render an 1880s-style big dress, and I also had fun with caricature faces such as the two gentlemen at right. I forget what this story was about but from my records this piece was done when I was about to quit doing fan art for pennies and try to make myself a "real" career, which had, looking back, mixed outcomes at best. Original art is ink on illustration board, 8 1/2" x 11", April 1987." -- Nineteenth Century Fan Concept Art (March 16, 2018)
==Issue 11==
Contes di Cottman IV 11 was published in 1987 and contains 100 pages. 
The art is by Leigh Matooka, Linda Leach, Erin McKee, Melody Rondeau, Catherine Mintz, and Chris Soto.
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Kyria's Story by Mary Frey (2)
* A Meeting in the Hellers by Nina Boal (49)
* A Dish Best Eaten Cold by Jean Lamb (57)
* Dom Kyril Takes the Pledge by Perennelle Doublehanded (64)
* The Gift "The title was a very common one among beginners (My first Darkover fanzine story carried that title, despite Marion Zimmer Bradley's wise advice to me to change it; had I known such a title was a cliché, I would have"). -- from Verba in Boldly Writing by Joan Marie Verba (reprinted from Starstone #2) (65)
* Fetters by Jill Curtin (77) (reprinted from Kierestelli #1)
* Chances by Loies McDowelll (87)
* Journey's End by Paula Crunk (reprinted from Starstone #5) (96)
File:Contes11art1.jpg|from issue #11, Erin McKee
File:Contes11art2.jpg|from issue #11, Catherine Mintz
File:Contes11art3.jpg|from issue #11, Randym
File:Contes11art4.jpg|from issue #11, Erin McKee
==Issue 12==
Contes di Cottman IV 12 was published in 1988 and is 104 pages long.
* The War Is Over (66 pages)
* Every Pie In Thendara (Alternate Universe) (30 pages)
==Issue 13==
Contes di Cottman IV 13 was published in November 1988 and contains 100 pages.
The art is by Christine Soto, Catherine Mintz, Mary Frey, Melody Rondeau, Linda Leach, and Leigh Matooka.
Editorial: 
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Seeds by Elaine Bergstrom (2)
* A Fox in the Valley by William West (11)
* Selective Memory by Mary K. Frey (25)
* The Ties that Bind by Colleen Farrell (57)
* The Alton File by Lynne Holdom and Jean Lamb (63)
* Where No Keeper Has Gone Before by W. Marshall Kyle (99)
File:contes13-1.jpg| from issue #13
File:contes13-2.jpg| from issue #13
File:contes13-3.jpg| from issue #13
File:contes13-4.jpg| from issue #13
File:contes13-5.jpg| from issue #13
File:contes13-6.jpg| from issue #13
==Issue 14==
Contes di Cottman IV 14 was published in December, 1989 and contains 114 pages. 
The art is by David Heath Jr., Melody Rondeau, Theresa Buffaloe, Catherine Mintz, and Leigh Matooka.
Editorial: 
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* Hot Chocolate by William West (2)
* Betrayer and Betrayed by Linda Frankel (11)
* For Danilo by Mary K. Frey (18)
* The Alton File, Part II by Lynne Holdom and Jean Lamb (64)
* A Message from Marius by Paula Crunk (107)
"Betrayer and Betrayed" first appeared in Starstone #2.
==Issue 15==
Contes di Cottman IV 15 was published in December 1990 and contains 102 pages.
The art is by Leigh Motooka, Mary K. Frey, Kiri Namtvedt, Theresa Buffaloe, Catherine Mintz, Hannah Shapero, and Linda Leach-Hardy.
The editorial: 
* Editorial by Lynne Holdom (1)
* The Ridenow Gift by William West (2)
* This Much at Least by Joan Marie Verba (reprinted from Starstone #5 (14)
* Secret Sisters by Roxana Pierson (25)
* Domain Son by Colleen Farrell (44)
* Who I Am Now by Mary K. Frey (51)
* Turnabout by Roberta Rogow (71)
* At Her Own Time and Choice by Emily Alward (87)
File:contes15-1.jpg| from issue #15
File:contes15-2.jpg| from issue #15
File:contes15-3.jpg| from issue #15
File:darkovernotknown.jpg|from issue #15 by Hannah Shapero, reprinted from Jumeaux Definitive Issue #2: "Back on Darkover, Robert Kadarin continues his adventures. He meets a young boy, named "Valentine," and takes a liking to him. After all, as a mostly-alien that mates with both sexes, anyone young and pretty is fair game to him. The youth even has the same tall, thin figure, suggesting a similar "mixed" ancestry. What Kadarin doesn't know (even though he is supposed to have telepathic powers) is that the boy "Valentine" is really a girl in disguise named "Thyra." This is covered in some of Bradley's material and the fan author continues it. In the end, her gender is revealed and Kadarin falls in love with her as a heterosexual, which ultimately leads to them getting married. Ain't fantasy fiction great! Black ink on illustration board, 6 1/2" x 9 1/2", 1983." -- pyracanthasketch
File:contes15-6.jpg| from issue #15
File:contes15-5.jpg|inside back cover from issue #15
==Issue 16==
Contes di Cottman IV 16 was published in December 1991 and contain 104 pages.
The art is by Catherine Mintz, Kiri Namtveldt, Leigh Motooka, Linda Leach-Hardy, and Mary K. Frey.
The editorial: 
* Editorial (1)
* Tower in the Wild by Mary K. Frey (2)
* The Ladies Aldaran by Kathleen M. Massie-Ferch (82)
* Childhood Dreams by Jacquie Groom (99)
File:contes16-1.jpg|inside back cover from issue #16
File:contes16-2.jpg| from issue #16
File:contes16-3.jpg| from issue #16
File:contes16-4.jpg| from issue #16
File:contes16-5.jpg| from issue #16
File:contes16-6.jpg| from issue #16
==References==
Category:Darkover Zines
Category:1981 Zines
Category:1980s Zines
Category:1990s Zines