Category Archives: Fan Fiction

January 7, 2018 · 7:00 am

Book Review: “Once There Was A Way: What if The Beatles stayed together?” by Bryce Zabel

Where to start with Once There Was a Way: What If The Beatles Stayed Together? by Bryce Zabel? I think maybe first I need to write the definitions of “historical fiction” and “alternative history” since it is the later category that Mr. Zabel uses for this novel.

From Wikipedia:

An essential element of historical fiction is that it is set in the past and pays attention to the manners, social conditions and other details of the period depicted. Authors also frequently choose to explore notable historical figures in these settings, allowing readers to better understand how these individuals might have responded to their environments. Some subgenres such as alternate history and historical fantasy insert speculative or ahistorical elements into a novel.

Alternate history or alternative history sometimes abbreviated as AH, is a genre of fiction consisting of stories in which one or more historical events occur differently. These stories usually contain “what if” scenarios at crucial points in history and present outcomes other than those in the historical record. The stories are conjectural, but are sometimes based on fact.

There is also fan fiction which I define as complete works of fiction using real life people as characters.

I know these categories are very similar, but the best way for me to describe the difference is on a personal level. I love historical fiction novels about Edgar Allan Poe. The authors of these books (click to see the Poe books I’m talking about) use real life events in Poe’s life and build a story around it with minimal, if any, changes to Poe’s history. Fan fiction would take Poe and put him into situations that he would have never been in, altering the outcome of his life completely. Another example of historical fiction would be Can’t Buy Me Love by Dan McNeil in which he wrote a great mystery novel around the night that the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show without changing their story.

So, given the definitions above, I would put this book in the Fan Fiction category because the author doesn’t start the story at the end of the Beatles story when the band officially broke up. Mr. Zabel went back to the year 1968 and changed the history of the Fab Four including the title and song list of several of their albums. Imagine, if you will, if songs that were released on each of the their solo albums were part a group album. Imagine #9 Dream without May Pang saying “John….John…” Imagine Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney as friends, and Allen Klein and Lee Eastman all working together to keep the Beatles together. The Beatles win Oscars for their work in Stanley Kubrick’s The Lord of the Rings. They star in a remake of Murder on the Orient Express. John is kidnapped by the politically far-left group the Weather Underground and eventually pardoned by Gerald Ford. A nineteen year old Steve Jobs befriends George Harrison and becomes the head of Apple Computers…a division of Apple Corp. Could this things have happened if the Beatles broke up in 1975? Can you dig it?

The fans of fan fiction are going to love this book. The writing is exceptional and despite my dislike for fan fiction, there was a point where I found myself caught up in the kidnapping of Lennon. But I believe that the true Beatles fans who are purists are going to roll their eyes and toss this book aside before finishing the first chapter. This makes my job as a reviewer very tough since I need to figure out if I’m reviewing this book for Beatles fan fiction lovers or Beatles purists (and I hope the three winners of this book will comment after reading it)…so for that reason, I went middle of the road…

I rate this book, 2 out of 4 Beetles!

 

 

 

 

 

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December 17, 2017 · 7:00 am

Book Giveaway: “Once There Was a Way: What if The Beatles Stayed Together?” by Bryce Zabel

Once There Was A Way Bryce ZabelHappy holidays readers! While surfing my way through Facebook this week, I came across a post about this book – Once There Was a Way: What If The Beatles Stayed Together?  by Bryce Zabel. Since it was just released on December 5, 2017, I decided request a review copy from the publisher, Diversion Books. After offering to send me a review copy, they wrote back to me and asked if I would like to have a contest on my site and give away three copies. “Absolutely!”, I replied.

The book is a 308 page, fictional tale of what might have happened had the Beatles remained friends and never broke up their band.  I can’t wait to read and review it for everyone, but in the meantime, here is an excerpt from the book. I choose this one because it includes one of my favorite Beatles ladies…May Pang!

 

ONCE THERE WAS A WAY – EXCERPT

Lennon Kidnapping (1974)

Once Julian was safely back to the care of his mother, Cynthia, John returned to his party life in Malibu. The Weathermen followed him constantly. Ironically, even though Lennon spotted them several times, he dismissed them as junior FBI agents and ignored them.

The nightclubs they followed him into included the famed Troubadour in Hollywood. Wearing disguises, the Weathermen observed Lennon and Nilsson throwing back Brandy Alexanders like men who had been lost in the desert for a week. One night, an inebriated Lennon came from the restrooms wearing a sanitary napkin attached to his forehead. Dohrn and Ayers watched as a waitress questioned him as to whether he was leaving a tip on the way out.

“Do you know who I am?” Lennon asked.

“Yes,” the waitress shot back. “You’re the asshole with a Kotex on your head.”

The plan had been for Dohrn and Ayers to pick up Lennon after he left the Troubadour, but now there were too many people around, from bouncers to club owners to fans gathered to watch the stumbling Lennon. If anything, the scene convinced Dohrn and Ayers that Lennon was a worthy target who would benefit from some re-education—they’d just have to wait a little longer to implement their plans.

As it turned out, they didn’t have to wait as long as they thought. The evening of March 12, 1974, had been a dark one for John Lennon, now almost a year into his banishment by Yoko Ono. Lennon and Nilsson began throwing down more cocktails and decided to heckle the Smothers Brothers, the controversial political satirists.

“The comments got so ugly and personal that we were about to get pulled off the stage,” Tommy Smothers said. “We loved the Beatles and it blew our minds that one of them would try to ruin our show.”

As the situation escalated, club security attempted to remove the drunken and enraged rock stars in the audience. The struggle turned physical, and Lennon lost his memorable glasses in the scuffle.

All of this, of course, attracted just as much attention as the Kotex incident, but this time, the Weather Underground was prepared—they had a spotter in the crowd who used a nearby payphone to call Bernardine Dohrn, stationed at another payphone near Lennon’s rental house on the beach.

As a taxi dropped off Lennon, Nilsson, and Pang at Lennon’s, a coordinated team of five members of the Weather Underground made their move to grab Lennon. Nilsson tried to hold on to his friend but was punched out cold for his bravery, suffering a concussion when his head hit the stone driveway. A car appeared, driven by Ayers, with Dohrn in the passenger seat.

Pang screamed, terrified she might be raped, and was gagged, blindfolded, and thrown into the back seat. The Weather Underground radicals overpowered Lennon as well, tied his hands with duct tape, and threw him in the trunk of the vehicle. Within less than a minute of exiting the taxi, John Lennon, inebriated and vomiting, found himself locked in a dark car trunk without his eyeglasses.

The car sped off, going north on Pacific Coast Highway. Twenty miles away, on a dark, deserted stretch of beach highway outside of Trancas, a member of the rebel group threw May Pang from the car.

It took her over two hours to find her way to an all-night liquor store with a phone. The manager, a volunteer member of the Malibu Sheriff’s Department, took care of the frantic Pang and helped her remember the physical descriptions of the assailants as best as possible.

With Pang’s assistance, deputies found Harry Nilsson shortly before daylight, still unconscious, in the driveway of the beach house. Within another hour, AP had broken the story.

***

Breaking News

APB107

-BULLETIN- (AP)

(LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA)—THE RADICAL WEATHER UNDERGROUND TERRORIST ORGANIZATION SAYS THAT MUSICIAN JOHN LENNON IS IN ITS CUSTODY. LENNON, A MEMBER OF THE POPULAR MUSICAL GROUP THE BEATLES, HAS BEEN MISSING SINCE TUESDAY.

05:18gAPD  03-15-74

APB108

LENNON-BULLETIN-TAKE 2

FBI DIRECTOR CLARENCE M. KELLEY CONFIRMS THAT BUREAU AGENTS BELIEVE THE COMMUNICATION FROM WEATHER UNDERGROUND LEADER BERNARDINE DOHRN IS AUTHENTIC.

 

Thrilling…huh?

To enter the contest to win one of three copies of Once There Was A Way, just leave a comment below and tell me what you believe may have happened (or wished had happened) if the Beatles had stayed together. One entry per person. Contest ends and winners will be announce at 9 a.m. on Sunday, December 24, 2017.

Good luck and happy holidays….and thank you to Christine at Diversion Books for giving my readers a spectacular holiday!

 

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June 5, 2016 · 7:00 am

Book review: “Get Back: Imagine…saving John Lennon” by Donovan Day

Guest reviewer David Thomas takes on the new novel Get Back: Imagine…Saving John Lennon by Donovan Day.

This is the author’s first novel, and it shows in many ways. For starters, consider the title. This is a time-travel fantasy about the possibility of “saving John Lennon”, so the 2nd half of the title is clear and purposeful. I could understand “Get Back: Saving John Lennon” or “Imagine: Saving John Lennon”. Juxtaposing 2 song titles as an opening seems like he’s trying too hard or just couldn’t make up his mind. Not an auspicious start.

The author also says that he “wrote it for young adults”, but thinks “everyone — baby boomers, their kids and grandkids — will enjoy this trip back in time.” That’s true to a point.

It is certainly written on a level for young adults, but playing fast and loose with facts does not make for a good introduction to history. One of the main characters is a girl named Yoko (no, not that one) who is the granddaughter of someone named Lily Chang who supposedly was a close friend of The Beatles and even sang back-up on some of their records. The problem is, Lily Chang never existed, nor was she apparently modeled after any actual historical person. Furthermore, the main character time travels several times over the course of the story, with no more than a passing nod toward the consequences that his trips have on other events. It would not give too much away to tell you that for instance, Jim Morrison (The Doors) is now still alive and is living as a Shaman in the desert of Arizona.

The actual portion of the book that deals with what happens if John had lived, (which, given the title, one would think is the focus of the book) is not only quite short, but quite ludicrous. That was a major disappointment. The rest of the story was mainly about the main character, Lenny Funk, and his relationship with the aforementioned Yoko. All of that is pleasant enough, and somewhat entertaining, even for the adult reader.

My main problem with the book is this: If you’re going to write a time-travel fantasy about John Lennon, and would like to speculate on what happens to him beyond December 8, 1980, let your imagination run wild; this author failed pretty miserably at that, in my opinion. However, if you are trying to write a book as an introduction to The Beatles for a new generation, or to educate younger Beatles fans, I think it’s important to stick to the facts regarding events prior to that date, unless you explain (via time travel interference) how they were changed.

I rate it 2 out of 4 Beetles.

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May 1, 2016 · 12:34 pm

Book Review: “The Quirky Quiz Show Caper: A Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mystery” by Sally Carpenter

QQSCFour and a half years ago, I reviewed Sally Carpenter‘s first book in her Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mystery series.  The book was called, The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper and you can read my review of it here.  A couple weeks ago, Sally announced that her fourth book in the series,  The Quirky Quiz Show Caper, had been released and she told me that there were a couple Beatles references in it!  Yay!

This book is another brilliant mystery written by Sally Carpenter.  I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I haven’t been able to figure out who the culprit is in her stories until her hero, former child star and teen idol Sandy Fairfax, solves the mystery and announces the bad guy!  And though this is the fourth book in the series, Sally does a great job of making sure that she reintroduces her returning characters from the previous stories so the reader doesn’t feel lost or left out.

These books are a nice easy, quick (under 250 pages), adult read or they would be great for older kids or young adults.  Much like a modern day Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mysteries, these books could easily become a hit among the younger sect…and still in style for we Beatles fans!  And for that reason…

 

I rate this book, 3 out of 4 Beetles!

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For more information about the books or author, go to the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Fan Page.

This book is also available on Kindle  for just $2.99.  Or, you can buy the entire series in paperback here.

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April 24, 2016 · 6:55 am

Book Review: “The One After 909: A Mystery with a Backbeat” by Tony Broadbent

I’d like to thank author Tony Broadbent for sending me a copy of his latest book, The One After 9:09: A Mystery With A Backbeat.  Tony is a Brit, born and raised, who now lives in North Carolina, USA.

This book is incredibly well written.  Even with over 400 pages, a reader can easily read through it without feeling like it’s never going to end.  The book contains, what I believe, to be three stories revolving around the early days of the Beatles career in the Liverpool and Hamburg days.

The first story is that of Raymond “Spike” Jones, the young man who apparently was the first Beatles fan to walk into NEMS record store and request a copy of “My Bonnie” with the Beatles singing back-up.  This particular storyline is fictitious, even though Raymond is said to have been a real person.  The second story is that of the mysterious private life of Brian Epstein and his (illegal) gay lifestyle.  The third story is that of the Beatles in their early days of getting to the toppermost of the poppermost.  Included in the all of the stories are Sam Leach, Mal Evans, Bob Wooler and many other well known Liverpool personalities.

All these tales and characters’ lives intertwine and overlap throughout the book, but at the same time, each holds it own.  The problem comes, though, when the reader isn’t sure which story is the main focus of the book.  And in the end, the storyline I had thought would figure prominently and close out the book wasn’t the one.  It was as if there was one train of thought that never came to the dramatic conclusion that I was looking for in the end.

Still, this book was a nice light read and the author says that except for the Raymond Jones story, the book is factual and he even provides sources at the end.  And for that reason…

I rate this book, 3 out of 4 Beetles!

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April 3, 2016 · 7:00 am

Book Review: “From Me to You” by Kelly Marie Thompson and Garry Berman

The book that I had originally planned to review this week was late showing up in my mail.  In the meantime, I had finished reading a book that a friend of mine wrote.  I make it a point not to review friend’s works because it’s not fair to them or to my readers if I feel I can’t be honest.  So, in this case, I’m going to tell you about the story behind this book and a quick synopsis, but I’m not going to rate it.

From Me To You by Garry Berman and Kelly Marie Thompson is the second published work by these writers.  This book is listed as a coming-of-age story, but I believe it would be of more interest to the Young Adult sector.

The story is about two penpals, one in New Jersey and one in Liverpool, UK, who begin writing to each other as part of a high school project.   Maggie, living in Liverpool, introduces Ricky, in New Jersey, to the music of the Beatles by sending him 45 rpms before anyone in the U.S. has even heard of the band.  As Beatlemania grows, so does their friendship.   The book takes you through their ever growing friendship up until the day it’s announced that the Beatles are splitting up in 1970.  But will their friendship last?  That’s the big question!

What makes this story even more interesting is that the two authors, Garry Berman and Kelly Thompson, met on the internet in a writer’s group.  They both like each other’s style of writing so much that they soon started co-writing projects via email, including their original hilarious six episode sitcom Barkers Upon Tyne (currently available as an ebook).

As I said, I think this would be a great book for a young teen girl, but for adults I would recommend getting the $2.99 Kindle version.

 

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December 4, 2015 · 1:23 pm

Book Review: “Beatlebone” by Kevin Barry


I started seeing mentions of Beatlebone by Kevin Barry on social media about 2 weeks ago. Couldn’t help but notice that major newspapers such at the New York Times were reviewing this book, so I decided to take a quick look see to find out what it was about. I don’t read other reviews of books before I review them…I don’t want to go into it tainted. But once I found out that it was a novel with John Lennon as it’s central character, I decided I needed to read it.

Within three days I was ranting to my husband about how wonderful this book is. The writing is in a style that I’ve never read before now. Conversations are without quotation marks, yet you feel as if you’re there with John and Cornelius as they try to get John to his island in Ireland. There’s darkness, then light. Darkness, then light.

Then…Part Six happens! What the f*ck, Kevin Barry and Doubleday?! Just when I was loving the story, Barry’s writing style, the cave, the hotel, the birds, the rabbits, the elf and the wolf…they dump Part Six in there. Seriously, folks? Why? I wanted so bad to give this book my best rating.

Go out and get this book, but when you get to Part Six, skip over it and then go back and read it at the end. Either that, or read it before you start the book. And for that reason…

I rate this book, 3 out of 4 Beetles!

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October 21, 2015 · 10:35 am

Just Published: ‘From Me To You’ – a novel set to the hysteria of Beatlemania! | PRLog

Just Published: ‘From Me To You’ – a novel set to the hysteria of Beatlemania!. Garry Berman and Kelly Marie Thompson are excited to announce the release of their first novel written via email about 1960’s pen pals during the British invasion. – PR12504099

Source: Just Published: ‘From Me To You’ – a novel set to the hysteria of Beatlemania! | PRLog

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June 5, 2015 · 8:27 am

Book Review: “Can’t Buy Me Love” by Dan McNeil

I discovered this book after the author Dan McNeil followed me on Twitter.  There is a picture of the book-cover in his Twitter banner.  After looking up the synopsis on Amazon, I thought it sounded interesting enough to download the eBook and give it a read.

This story is based in early 1964, just as the Beatles were about to invade America.  It follows the premise that there were no crimes committed in New York City the night the Beatles appeared for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show on February 7, 1964.

The main characters in this book are four adorable, lovable and awkward ex-bank robbers that will keep you entertained throughout this book.  McNeil takes you step by step through their plans to pull off one more bank robbery, while injecting humor, sex and touching moments into his story.  And though this is one more Fab Four fan fiction book, he stays pretty damn true to the story of John, Paul, George and Ringo’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan show while still mixing them into the antics.

You will laugh.  You will have a tears in your eyes.  You will enjoy this light read.

Available for $2.99 as an ebook at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

 

I rate this book: 3 out of 4 Beetles!

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January 1, 2012 · 1:05 pm

Short Story (ebook) Review: ‘Paul McCartney’s Coat and Other Stories’ by Michael White

Paul McCartney's CoatThis holiday, I got myself a Kindle Touch…thanks to the generosity of a friend who gave me an Amazon gift card.  Wanting to put this new device to use immediately, I did a search for ‘Free books beatles’ under Kindle books.  The ebook, ‘Paul McCartney’s Coat and Other Stories’ came up first on a very short list of only 3 books.

Let me first inform my readers that only the Forward is free.  You can get a Sampler for 99 cents, but the entire book is $4.50.  So…I ended up spending $5.49, but I have now learned a valuable lesson on what not to download to my Kindle.

Now for my review of just the first short story in this ebook:

If you’re a fan of short stories and/or fan fiction, you’ll enjoy reading this tall tale about a Beatles fan having a close encounter with the Fab Four at a pub in 1967 and his short ownership of Paul McCartney’s coat that was left behind in the pub and the discovery of Julian Lennon’s drawing  of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!

The author, Michael White, gives a footnote at the end of the his story saying that on the original drawing by Julian, the words “Lucy with diamond eyes” were crossed out and the words, “Lucy in the sky with diamonds” were written underneath.  After doing a search on the interent, I couldn’t come up with any confirmation of this…even though it plays a huge part in telling of this story and I found it quite amusing how the author may have taken this fact and turned it into his own story!  (Note: I’d appreciate it if anyone can confirm the story about the original picture.)

The story does contain quite a lot of typos, but I’ve been told this can happen when books are converted to Kindle editions.  The reader may become impatient with several missing quote marks, run-on sentences and other small publishing errors.

Also, I guess one way to get attention for your new book is to put one of the Beatles names in the title or ‘Beatles’ itself.  It got my attention and no, I didn’t read any of the other Mr. White’s other short stories, but I now have them handy in case I find myself waiting at a dentist office or such.

This book is available in it’s full Kindle editon at Amazon.com, but is only available in it’s free edition of the Forward from Barnes and Noble.

Because this story is fan fiction (and I’m not a fan of that genre) and because I felt that the author gets sidetracked on other topics to the point of feeling like he was just adding ‘filler’ to his story:

I rate this story in this book: 2 out of 4 Beetles

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