ONCE THERE WAS A WAY
What if The Beatles Stayed Together?
Award-Winning Novel
by
Bryce Zabel
Winner!
Sidewise Award for Alternate History
What if They Worked It Out?
Imagine another reality -- it's easy if you try. What if John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr had taken a sad song and made it better, continuing to play as The Beatles?
Once There Was a Way: What if The Beatles Stayed Together?
From Diversion Books, Audible.com and Stellar Productions, this is a compelling and surprising account of what might actually have happened. Award-winning Hollywood writer/producer Bryce Zabel has written the novel in the style of a Rolling Stone-style piece of rock journalism. Bryce has created five hour drama series, served as CEO of the TV Academy, taught screenwriting at USC and been an on-air CNN correspondent.
Once There Was a Way WON the Sidewise Award for Alternate History! Facing tough competition, the book took first place among a panel of six judges, announced at sci-fi's Worldcon!
Once There Was a Way is about another world, the one where the Beatles worked it out instead of let it be.
"Every Fan's Fantasy"
Chris Carter is the host of "Breakfast with the Beatles" on Sirius/XM Radio.
“We know The Beatles let it be, but what if they worked it out instead? Once There Was a Way gives life to every fan’s fantasy. Bryce Zabel has created a great adventure full of twists and turns that never were, but might have been."
"No one's more surprised than I am that The Beatles made it. Maybe Yoko."
John Lennon in Time, "Rock's Angry Men," 1971
"Play, quit, repeat. That's been the secret."
Paul McCartney in Rockstar, "Are The Beatles Dead?, 1973
Imagine...
-- that The Beatles never broke up but instead worked out their differences, continuing to make history as the greatest rock-and-roll band ever, living new adventures and creating a soundtrack for even more generations of fans to come. In this alternate history, despite their differences in the late 60s and early 70s, the four Beatles try to work it out rather than let it be, only to create new and completely unforeseen problems and opportunities.
This Sidewise Award winning novel brings The Beatles back to vibrant life as grown men entering their thirties, brothers who decide to fight a little harder to keep the band they built and the company they'd just started. The narrative's authentic tone ranges from gritty to light-hearted, the way The Beatles themselves were.
The novel's artistic concept takes readers into a world where The Beatles story incorporates other people and places from the time, like Woodstock, the Hell's Angels, Nixon's FBI, the Weather Underground, and even The Lord of the Rings. The book's cast of characters includes Hunter Thompson, Steve Jobs, Johnny Carson, Muhammad Ali, Richard Nixon, Teddy Kennedy, Linda Ronstadt, Bernardine Dohrn, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord Beeching, Ken Kesey, J. Edgar Hoover, and Stanley Kubrick. And, of course, John, Paul, George and Ringo, plus their hugely significant others; Linda, Yoko, Pattie and Maureen and, of course, all the chaotic crew at Apple Records from Magic Alex and Mal Evans to Allen Klein and George Martin.
Full of meticulous detail, the book is no mere fairy tale, but one that has been heavily researched and extrapolated from the real people and actual events, then bent and shaped to create an entirely plausible new story where John, Paul, George and Ringo find a way to stay friends and save the band from themselves.
"The Beatles were not destined to break apart or stay together. They made a choice to look beyond the slights, the disagreements, and their individual desires. They chose to remain The Beatles. This is how they did it."
— Booth Hill, editor Rockstar Magazine, 1979
Three Ways to Experience the Story
Paperback
Paperback
Paperback
The design is fun like a vintage poster, the cover is tactile, the print is easy to read, and it's just the right size. Get it here.
eBook
Paperback
Paperback
The price is right whether you get it from Amazon to Barnes & Noble, Kindle to iBook. Usually for $5.00 or less. Get it here.
Audiobook
Paperback
Audiobook
Read by award-winning narrator Gerard Doyle doing authentic voices for the Beatles and the other characters. Get it here.
Favorite 1970s Beatles Albums
Last Words (1974)
"I've actually owned two copies of Last Words. My girlfriend took my first copy when we split, so I bought it again and practically wore the grooves off that one, too. I remember what a big deal it was that they recorded this after what almost happened to Lennon and the whole thing in Seattle.
I bought it again on CD in the 80s, and now I've got it uploaded to the Cloud. And, get this, I bought the 40th anniversary edition on vinyl when it came out. So, how much do I like it? Like that."
~~ Patrick K. Baldwin, New York, New York
Art by Pablo Lobato, Album by Lynda Karr, Effect by Nate Gualtieri
And the Band Plays On (1970)
"I remember that Band Plays On was the first of the Beatles albums I bought at college. It was insane, really, because these guys talked like they hated each other, then they made this phenomenal vintage records style album that blew me away. My friends all thought Everest was better but, for me, it was always Band Plays On. Period."
~~ Gail Honeycutt, El Paso, Texas
Art by Lynda Karr, Effect by Nate Gualtieri
Imagine Another Day (1972)
"Imagine Another Day is absolutely the best use of vinyl since Rubber Soul even if it's just as jarring sometimes as A Doll's House. It's like no other album anyone has ever made. It's that good. I don't know how they pulled it off with Nixon's FBI doing what it did to them all. Maybe they got inspired when Hunter Thompson showed up, but I don't question magic."
~~ Peter Washington, Los Angeles, California
Art by Lynda Karr, Effect by Nate Gualtieri
Taking a Sad Song and Making It Better
What if The Beatles Stayed Together?
Even now, when most fans hear a solo song from one of the ex-Beatles, there's a wince of regret. What if?
This novel brings The Beatles back to vibrant life as grown men entering their thirties, brothers who decide to fight a little harder to keep the band they built and the company they'd just started.
The book's cast of characters includes Hunter Thompson, Steve Jobs, Johnny Carson, Muhammad Ali, Richard Nixon, Teddy Kennedy, Linda Ronstadt, Bernardine Dohrn, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord Beeching, Ken Kesey, J. Edgar Hoover, and Stanley Kubrick. And, of course, John, Paul, George and Ringo, plus their hugely significant others; Linda, Yoko, Pattie and Maureen.
The story will surprise you. What else would you expect in a book about new Beatles adventures?
2022 Will Be Another Big Year for Beatles Fans
In 2021, we got to look at the break-up of The Beatles as never before when Peter Jackson's "The Beatles: Get Back" documentary aired six-plus hours over three nights on Disney+.
Because of that incredible new interest in The Beatles, Once There Was a Way continues to win new fans for its compelling story. Since winning the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 2018, the book's paperback, ebook and audiobook versions have caught on with readers and listeners. They all respond to the book's grounded narrative and the chance to see and hear John, Paul, George and Ringo in stories that never were but could easily have happened.
Stellar Productions retains the option to Once There Was a Way for film and TV. It has currently been developed as a ten-part limited series as part of the Breakpoint franchise.
From the Breakpoint Series
Award Winning
Once There Was a Way just WON the Sidewise Award for Alternate History! The first BREAKPOINT novel -- Surrounded by Enemies: What If Kennedy Survived Dallas? — actually aslo WON the Sidewise Award, an award previously won by Michael Chabon, Philip Roth and Harry Turtledove.
About the Author
Bryce Zabel is a Hollywood writer/producer who's created five primetime TV series, written produced feature films, worked as a CNN correspondent, and served as the CEO of the Television Academy that gives out the Emmys. He's a winner himself of the Writers Guild screenwriting award for his miniseries work.
"Spiritual wisdom means not wasting the gifts of the Universe, even if it's the three of them."
— George Harrison in Rockstar, "Angry Young Men," 1972
#BEATLESTOGO BOOK TOUR & MORE
"We all quit. We just never all quit for good at the same time."
— Ringo Starr interviewed in "Woodstock" documentary, 1969
Find Your Nearest Bookstore
There are thousands of great independent bookstores that could use your support to stay in business. Please consider ordering your copy of Once There Was a Way from one of your local stores!
Books-A-Million
Thank you for also leaving a rating and/or a comment when you buy from Books-A-Million.
Barnes & Noble
Thank you for also leaving a rating and/or a comment when you buy from Barnes & Noble.
Amazon Books
BREAKING NEWS: #1 New Release in the "Beatles" Category on Amazon!
Thank you for also leaving a rating and/or a comment when you buy from Amazon.