The Vampire John Lennon

Zine
Title:	The Vampire John Lennon
Publisher:	Agent With Style
Editor:
Author(s):	Chanson de la Lune
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Date(s):	January 2005
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	The Beatles
Language:	English
External Links:
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The Vampire John Lennon is a slash Beatles 194-page digest-sized novel by Chanson de la Lune, a pseud used by Melody Clark.

An August 22, 2002 ad: "The Vampire John Lennon - Novel by by E.R. Fandom: Help/Hard Days Night/Make-Believe Beatles Universe. Type: Slash (J/P/G/R). Brief Description: John Lennon, Vampire, decides it's time for the ultimate Beatles reunion. This is a somewhat dark, very edgy, fairly bdsm-ish novel, but it's emotionally and eroticly intense versus being violent or grim. Available: 5/1/03."

According to an ad by Agent With Style, it was originally to have been published in 2003 by a fan with the pseud, "Jello Pez."

Summary from a Distributor

Agent With Style:

Some people know that love is eternal...some people must be taught. Paul McCartney has much to learn from the three men who wait for him at the end of his life. And he has even more to teach them. A magical, lyrical, sweet, loving, thrilling, hugely funny and deeply erotic love story between four men with mythical dimensions. At the heart of it is the profoundly compelling love between John and Paul who must find make peace with each other before the four of them can be one. Some B&D elements, multiple partner lovemaking, romance, humor, and, oh, some pirates, too. By a well-known fan writer working behind the name of Chanson de la Lune. This is not RPS, but based on the movie-verses of "Help!", "A Hard Day's Night" and "Let It Be".

Summary from the Zine's Preface

This is a work of fiction. This is a fan novel set in the “Hard Day’s Night”, “Help” and the assumed-fiction “Let it Be” universes, with nods to some other basic Beatles historical facts (some of it is, indeed, true). I am no more saying that the Beatles are/were gay than I’m saying they are/were vampires— one should not infer literal reality in this novel any more than one should assume Picasso’s women had three eyes or that Robert Burns’ wife literally looked like a rose. It’s a metaphor — a myth — a story phrased in the mythological gods of the modern era and the homoerotic vampire tradition. It’s also a slash novel, meant for a specific community of readers (and we all understand the game rules of the art form) and not for the reading public. I’ve also removed the names of the innocent (wives and families), since they are not gods of the common mythology and just regular old folks like you and me. The only real person’s name employed is Timothy Leary’s, and I figured Doc Tim would understand... In writing this, I wanted to create a story to satisfy all the lost ends of Beatlemania for those fans still haunted by it. It is what I think may have happened based upon my assessment of known events—it is not presented as a fact-based representation of what did happen. I should also point out how this whole story came about: In a very Anne Rice-like setting, I dreamt I was the interviewer of the vampire John Lennon. John then went on to relate this story… most of the major events (in terms of Paul and him) came from that dream (yes, including the fucking). This includes his own commentary on Paul’s later work (some of which I agree with and some of which I don’t). Most of the rest is my creative confabulation. Just in case there was any actual external input made, I’d like to give credit where credit is due.

Comments by the Author

2007

As for GAFF and [my] poor little novel, having had email exchanges with two of the participants all yesterday, it became clear that you're very right. They didn't "get" where I was going thematically. I felt a little like the Coen Brothers trying to explain "Raising Arizona" to people who don't get that kind of humor. I laugh hysterically at their stuff, but I know people that are just left cold by it. They think it's weird and strange because they don't "get it".

2009

I write fan fiction and my own worlds. Most fan writers do. And in many ways, my translation of that fan world is my own world. I bring to it my sensibilities, my perspectives, etc. My Blake is different than [Bryn Lantry's] "Blake" which is different from EPS' "Blake" (gosh, whatever happened to old EPS ;) ... etc. The constraints are only those of something we love in the first place so they aren't really limits but guidelines.

I suspect the experience of fandom is something uniquely individual. It's kind of like a love of a certain type of music. If you don't get it, you don't get it. Musicians love playing their own stuff but they also love playing songs they have a special feeling for. That's all fan writing is.

That said, I don't write lit fic with the one exception of "Sherlock Holmes" and everybody writes Holmes ... even the pro writers kvetching about fan fic write pastiches. The Vampire John Lennon was mistaken as Anne Rice fan fic by the puritan enclave that took over GAFF, primarily because they were not sophisticated enough readers to get that "The Vampire so-and-so" is a common title for any vampire. As to the question of Real People Fic, it's only Beatles fan fic in the abstract sense(based in a holographic world spun out of their movies). Even so, the Beatles have been used in fictional form in over thirty professional novels and short stories. In the words of Sir Paul, at least the Beatles slash writers have the decency to call it fiction ... unlike various supposed "biographies". lol

I have no trouble with other people writing lit fan fic. People will always muse about scenarios in their own minds ... why not share them? To try to limit expressions seems on the edge of becoming thought police. I've had people write in my own universes. It doesn't bother me. I have pro writer friends who actually are touched when they read fan fiction (I haven't talked to her in a good while, but at one time L.J. Smith used to amiably correspond with her fan writers). I certainly think we should respect the wishes of writers who don't want people playing in their universes, though.

I also think the writer of Brokeback Mountain needs to realize that the fan fic isn't written in her universe. The people are ficcing the film, not her novella. Her caterwauling comes off a bit like ignorant drama queening to me.

Media fans are encouraged by most intelligent media producers. The smart producers realize that we're creating viral advertising that will only push their product. The producers of "Monk", for instance, actually created a graphics site to help fans build their own web sites. The producers had a directory of fan fiction, too.

I would point out that some of us "have gone on" and yet still write fan fiction. I've written pro novels and non-fiction books. I still write fan fiction. I consider my fan fiction as important and serious as my pro work ... in fact, in many instances, more so. I certainly have more readers overall for my fan work than I did for some of my novels. lol (Remaindered is my middle name).

2020

There isn't anything approaching the amount of flak I've gotten for the "Vampire John Lennon." And yes, I am Chanson de la Lune, which is going to be the most pretentious pen name anybody ever came up with.

[...]

...my first pen name I use in fandom was the Fifth Amendment.

I probably should have stuck with it. If I had just not used my real name. Oh my God. The trouble I'd have avoided. But anyway, I wrote the "Vampire John Lennon," because I've always thought it was absurdly obvious that John and Paul were more than friends. All you have to do is read the breakup interviews and the war that supposedly went on between them. And now, according to an entertainment lawyer, who is the same fellow who told everybody not only about Howard Weinstein but Kevin Spacey and also told all of us about six months ago that Prince Harry and Meghan were going to leave the royal family. And everybody just pooh poohed and went, “Oh, that's ridiculous, that'll never happen.” Well, guess what? The same man who told us all this told us that John and Paul were in a relationship and that they faked the breakup. And that they were seeing each other with Linda's consent, but apparently Yoko didn't know. So anyway, I've always thought it was obvious that their music has certainly been heavily slanted to each other.

[...]

But so naturally, because fandom is as backward as every other little corner of society, the homophobic backlash against all Beatles is just insane. And I don't know if you know this, but in my opinion, aside from Holmes and Watson, I think Lennon and McCartney was the first slash fan fiction pairing because they were writing what amounted to slash. Back in the 60s about them. So the.... I always thought that was fascinating, and here we are all these years later and still arguing about it. But, you know, if a little shabby straight girl in Southern California can tune in to it, you'd think the rest of humanity would have.

[...]

...we're always in a more progressive place than we have been before. So true. But you know, one would hope that would that would hit fan fiction. But I think there's just something very intrinsic about the Beatles that people are feel very possessive of them. And, you know, if we're of a mind that certain things are bad versus good or whatever, then we're going to respond as if that's an insult. And that's what happens and what happened to me and the fan groups for Beatles' life. We had one woman who was on the list who referred to herself as a psychiatrist. I suspect not, mainly because she was telling everybody, Well, I'll only allow of certain types of slash fiction on this list. And she wasn't even an admin. She wasn't a moderator even. And I said to her, "What makes you think you have the right to do that?" She said, "Well, it's just what's acceptable and acceptable to whom." And she really did, she was, she became one of my trolls because. And she's a fairly well known fan writer. But, you know, she writes slash. But she only writes, you know, good [slash].

[...]

...she thought mine was just too over the transom. I had just gone all out. And of course I did, but I always do so. You know, if you write, read my stuff, not that I write anymore. I don't. But although, you know, once we get past Trump, who knows the stuff I have written in the past has gone from very vanilla to, you know, over the top, and that's just who I am. So, you know, if you know that, then... And that's a problem, then don't read it, you know? But I keep finding these people who who know that the novel is out there and who read it anyway. And are offended. I had somebody on I don't know if you remember, God Awful Fanfiction. ...it was a website. They would in the beginning, it was actually had a good purpose. They would find people who had some ability and would, you know, help along. And occasionally they'd find somebody with a huge ego who was horrible. And, you know, take them to task. Well, the guy who owned it originally sold it and the people who took it over were these little moralistic save fandom. So, you know, the the demon sexuelles and drive out all of the heretics and all of that, and they latched on to the "Vampire John."

...I took it down. I took the novel down because I was tired of it and they uploaded it. And... kept on their comments on it. And I talked to the main guy who said, "If it's so bad, why are you reading it?" And he said, "Well, I don't know, I'm just, I'm obsessed or something. And it's like, OK."

But he, you know, clearly had problems, but the amazing thing is there is a just an avalanche of Beatle slash. It's by far the biggest group of banned slash... And I, there are tons of other bands and even ones I've never heard of. But the Beatles seems to always draw them in, and some of the fan fiction is quite good. Most of it is abominable, and I don't mean that in terms of, you know, whether it's erotic, very erotic or that. I mean, it's just written like, at least to me, as somebody else may read it and think it's just wonderful, but it's nothing I'm going to go back and read again.

[...]

...you know, in my case, I was a coward and I cloaked ["The Vampire John Lennon"] a bit in the "Hard Day's Night" universe. And before anybody says, but wasn't that based on their life? No, it wasn't. Paul does not have a grandfather named John. That man is not related to him. And he's never shrunk down to the size of an Oreo.

Reactions and Reviews

Unknown Date

The Vampire John Lennon by Chanson de la Lune (194 pages!!) which is khmm a really… interesting fanfiction it practically disappeared from the internet because the author was not really happy about the negative comments, but who are we kidding - of course you can still find it ;) here you can find the awfully funny and amazing commentary of the story enjoy it! - I guess :)

I’m sorry I don’t have any other vampire fics, but the ones I’ve found either don’t feature McLennon or just simply bad…  :(

2009

A little history: The Vampire John Lennon was first posted on GAFF years and years ago. I can't for the life of me remember whether it was on green or orange, but what I do remember quite vividly is the author completely flipping their shit at us. They deleted the story which, unfortunately for them, she had originally posted in a downloadable .pdf format. Of course this meant that we had a copy uploaded pretty quickly, half to spite her and half out of a genuine desire to rip it to shreds.

Fastforward to now. GAFF is gone, our upload links vanished into the aether, and I remember this story. I say to myself “Jeez, that was a bad one. I'd like to read it again.” Thus begins my quest to find it. The author is still totally paranoid because of us. She had taken all sorts of mad precautions to keep people from finding it. You could request the story, otherwise there was no way to get it. However, her efforts were undone by something moronically simple: Google. That's right: I got a copy of it off of Google's cache. Now, this copy was missing all the beautiful images the original was endowed with, so I decided that it would be pretty damn easy to just ask for the story. Which I did. She gave it to me happily. Here's a link.

So there ends an epic saga of pure stupidity and I have a copy of a valuable artifact on my hands. I swear that I will treat this with responsibility and careful – oh my god.

2005

I just saw that "The Vampire John Lennon" , Chanson la Lune's The Beatles "vampire" story, is now available from Agent With Style.

I was lucky enough -- through a friend of a friend of a friend -- to read this already. It's excellent; can't recommend it enough. If you're at all familiar with The Beatles, if you have any nostalgic investment and/or musical appreciation for the group, this is really a must read.

Chanson la Lune is obviously steeped in Beatles' mythos as well as fact but makes it very clear that this is a work of fiction, not RPS at all. I'm very uncomfortable with RPS but was never uncomfortable, not for a minute, with this story.

Everything about the writing is excellent; plot, imagery, word usage, atmosphere. la Lune captured the essence and the personality of each individual member of The Beatles without being intrusive, basing the characters on the outward persona each man allowed the public to see. At no time did I feel like I was "peeping" into private lives. Yet, at the same time, this is a very intimate story that blends who the public knew with speculation on how these people might respond given this particular situation.

This is a vampire story but none like I've ever encountered before. I'm saturated in vampire! I published a professional vampire anthology, "Prisoners of the Night", for 14 years. Part of my job as editor of POTN was to be familiar with as much vampire literature as I could be. I've never run into vampires like the ones in "The Vampire John Lennon". It is not a gory kind of vampire but more of an ethereal kind of vampire! In other words, if the very word "vampire" is scaring you away from this story, don't let it!

The author is not new to me; I've read her fiction for years (under different names) and have always held her among my favorite fan authors. She does not disappoint with this story, not at all. Reading her writing is a delight and highly rewarding.

Oh, yeah. And there are pirates!

Go. Read this!