Jude Southerland Kessler's second volume in her series of books on John Lennon, "Shivering Inside," debuts this month. The book continues Lennon's story from where the first one, ""Shoulda Been There"," left off in December, 1961. We put some questions to Kessler by email about the new book and what's coming in the future.

Q:    How long did it take to put "Shivering Inside" together?
Jude Southerland Kessler: Actually, much of the research for "Shivering Inside" was done simultaneously with the research for the first book in the Lennon series, "Shoulda Been There." From 1986-1998, I collected well over 300 books on John and the Beatles, and I jealously horded audio taped interviews, DVD’s on The Beatles, CD interviews, journals, periodicals…any form of information that I could get my hands on.

Then from 1993-2000, I trekked to Liverpool seven times to conduct personal interviews with many of the people who are “characters” in "Shivering Inside"’s pages.  I talked to Roag Best, for example, who generously (thanks to Ray Johnson of Cavern City Tours) arranged for my husband and me to see the Casbah long before it was open to the public.

Rande and I spent a day with Joe Flannery (who was kind enough to take us to The Sudley Art Gallery and to lunch at the Penny Lane Pub). Sitting in his home in Aigburth, we talked about The Beatles, Lee Curtis and The All-Stars (Pete Best’s band after he left the Beatles) and Brian Epstein. And Bob Wooler graciously donated hours of his time to give my husband and me a long and extremely informative interview in Lark Lane. (After the interview, we met Allan Williams and the four of us adjourned to Keith’s Wine Bar for a more, ahem, “informal” session!)

But the “intensive” work on "Shivering Inside" alone was done from November 2007 up to last month. From late 2007-Sept. 2010, I communicated with Sam Leach who was very candid about his working relationship with Brian Epstein and about the devastating loss of The New Brighton Tower Ballroom for Sam’s Operation Big Beat shows. I worked hand-in-hand with Bill Harry (but that’s another question you’re asking later, so I’ll save that answer) and was in communication with Richard Langham regarding the recording session details. Research for one book in this nine-book series overlaps anaother volume’s life. For example, months ago, when I met with Larry Kane in Philly, I began my research for the next book, "She Loves You."

I haven’t started giving the third volume my full attention yet (that will begin next week)….but already Larry has agreed to write the foreword for the upcoming book, and we’ve chatted about events that took place during that time frame. I’m constantly researching and learning about John. Wherever I go, I have a book or books about him with me so that in waiting rooms, in doctor’s offices, in car repair shops, or anywhere…I can keep right on researching. There are no boundaries defining when one books ends and another begins. I’m always “at it.”

Q:    What challenges did the second book bring over the first?
Jude Southerland Kessler: This is THE QUESTION!!! "Shoulda Been There" was researched; there’s no doubt about it. I wrote no “imagined” events. But there were/are a limited amount of books on John’s early life. Most of the recorded material available to the researcher centers on his life after 1961. Every single move that The Beatles made from-1961-on is highly documented. (So much so that I’m reminded of that scene in "Help!," "I’m moving my right foot; I’m moving my left foot.")

In "Shoulda Been There", I might have had five or 10 sources giving me factual background material for a chapter. But in "Shivering Inside", it is common to have 30 sources for one chapter alone! I had a deep well of information from which to draw. My process was to take notes from all sources on one event and then to begin writing a particular chapter. Many times, with "Shivering Inside" I would have 20 to 30 pages of notes for a single chapter! Really.

In other words, the scholarship involved was a greater challenge. Research has been my watchword. And at the end of each chapter in "Shoulda Been There", a reader would find three or four paragraphs of additional “Author’s Notes” with data about that chapter. In "Shivering Inside", however, I offer the reader three or four pages of such data. (Those who want to read the book strictly as “a good read” can simply skip over this additional storehouse of info. Those who want to know more than the chapter provides can read these tidbits to their hearts’ content.)

The challenge with "Shivering Inside" was:
1)    To read and collect all the information offered
2)    To discern which reports were true by doing careful detective work and in doing so, to discover which reports were false.
3)    To keep the book an interesting “read” while providing thorough documentation.

Q:    What was the most surprising thing you found out?
Jude Southerland Kessler: Well, I’m no Bruce Spizer. I didn’t come to this project with a working knowledge of recording room technicalities or musical expertise. Bruce has that nailed! And Andy Babiuk has the instrument knowledge. I have always been much more interested in John Lennon the man, rather than John Lennon the musician. His music is peripheral for me. So, I had to get help in that arena. I had to learn how a recording session was conducted and what terminology applied. I had to sit and listen to “Love Me Do” and “Please Please Me” (and all the others) with a musical expert who taught me to recognize the drum patterns and hear John playing on the two and four instead of on the one and three. I was surprised to discover things that “record fans” (as opposed to Lennon fans) knew, I’m sure.

For example, I had no idea that John was originally slated to sing “Love Me Do,” but was pulled from the project because he was also playing the harmonica in that song, and George Martin wanted to avoid a “cross-over.” Martin didn’t want John to sing, “Love, love me…” and then put the harmonica to his mouth and play “Waaah.” He told John that if he did that, he’d have the fans calling the song, “Love Me Wah.” Paul, therefore, was recruited to sing the song in John’s stead…and Paul was horrified; it wasn’t his song! “It’s not even written in a key I can manage easily!” Paul resisted. (See "The Anthology")

Stories like these were new to me. I hope that because they were new that I reported them with “a freshness”…with a vitality that I felt in “exploring them” knowledgeably for the first time.

Q:    Where will the premiere party for the book be?
Jude Southerland Kessler: HOME…Pennyslvania. Rande and I only lived in Pennsylvania for five years (2000-2005), but they were the happiest years of our lives. To us, Morrisville, PA is home. (And BTW, my husband’s company closed last week, and we are job hunting. He’s a Naval Academy graduate with a BS in engineering and a master’s in personnel management and 20 years as a plant manager for Michelin Tires …and five years experience as a logistics manager. We want to return to Philly. Anyone?)

The book release party will be held about a half-hour from our former home. It will be held at the Doylestown Book Store in downtown Doylestown, PA. on Saturday, October 16 from 7-9 p.m. In my opinion, it’s the perfect place! And to add to that joy, Richard Langham, the second engineer for the Abbey Road recording sessions of the "Please Please Me" LP and the “From Me to You” single (and many more), will be there with me. He worked so hard to furnish recording session details for the book that I’m on Cloud 9 (what else?) to have him sit beside me, available to sign the book as well. 

And my friend, Dara Roberts, the Stanford college student and aspiring young writer who wanted to contribute to a chapter in the book and did research as part of a college class will be there with me as well. Dara and I have been friends for three years, and I am delighted that she will be at the party. I wish that the many others who helped with the book and did research to assist (such as Steven Jewell, Pattie Noah, Shelley Germeaux and Peggy Barry) could be there with me as well. My heartfelt thanks.

I have to give kudos for this event to my agent, Jenn Vanderslice of Moonglow PR. She worked overtime to get me “home where I belong” to Philly and its environs. I’m really grateful. Everyone, by the way, is invited to the shindig! We’ll be serving birthday cake and coffee! John will be duly feted. It will be the closing event of his birthday week. Please, come celebrate with us!

Q:    How did Bill Harry help with the new book?
Jude Southerland Kessler: How didn’t he? First and foremost, Bill agreed to write the foreword for this book, just as he did for "Shoulda Been There". That was a great gift; a very kind, generous gesture. That’s the way Bill is.  He also gave me some wonderful photos for the book that I know the readers will love! I asked him for a couple of shots, and he quickly sent six. Again…that’s the way he is. Many, many times I would write to Bill and ask him a question about a person or an event, and immediately he would respond with not only an answer, but a photo as well.

For example, when writing about October 1962, (when the Beatles played the New Brighton Tower Ballroom with Little Richard, Billy Kramer, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, Lee Curtis and The All-Stars and others), I wrote about the photographer who showed up unexpectedly to take a photo of The Beatles and Little Richard for MerseyBeat. That photographer’s name was Les Chadwick. I wanted to describe Les for the reader, but I couldn’t find a photo of him in any book or on the internet. One quick e-mail to Bill Harry, and I had a photo of Les Chadwick and all of the information I needed about Peter Kaye’s photography studio (who employed him) to document the event accurately. 

This act was repeated over and over. Bill Harry was never slow or reticent to respond. To me, he’s the epitome of “the bigger they are, the nicer they are.” Great man.

Q:    Has there been any contact or assistance from the Lennon family?
Jude Southerland Kessler: No, and really, why should they help? Trust has to be earned, and they don’t know me from Adam…or Eve. If I continue to do careful, painstaking research, if I tell the truth, and if I represent John, Cynthia and Julian accurately and respectfully, I will hopefully demonstrate that I can be trusted to tell their story with integrity.  Cynthia was clearly the heroine of "Shoulda Been There", because so many people “shoulda been there” for John, and were not. Cynthia was there for him, unfailingly.

Even more so in "Shivering Inside," Cynthia shines. I try to remain historically objective, but it’s fairly easy to see that I’m a huge Cynthia fan. I’m a Julian fan as well. Not just Julian the singer, but Julian the man. And both Cynthia and Julian have earned that respect by the sort of lives they have led. That’s what I hope to do: live so that I earn trust.

Q:    What do you think John Lennon would have thought of the media flurry over his 70th birthday?
Jude Southerland Kessler: Really, who can begin to guess what John would have thought? I mean, on any given day John’s opinion could vary widely, depending on his mood. In one mood, he might think, “If there’s such a thing as a genius, I am one. I deserve the recognition. Good on yer!” But in another mood, he might respond, “This is so much shite. Get on with yer lives, peasants.” The most unpredictable person in the world was John Lennon. That’s why I never spend a moment speculating about “what might have been.” I could never accurately guess what John might have done; that’s the realm of “fan fiction.” I only deal in historical facts. And with John, that’s best.

Q:    Where will the next book take us and when can we expect it?
Jude Southerland Kessler: "She Loves You" will be out in October 2013, God willing. It will open in Barcelona: John and Brian on holiday. It will end in London: with the filming of "A Hard Day’s Night." And as the title indicates, it will focus on the many women who loved John…on Mimi, whose esteem for her “once errant nephew” finally emerged; on the fans in America and all over the world who loved John by smothering him and type casting him, and on Cynthia, whose love was faithful and enduring, even when it was not the kind of love John was seeking.

The Beatlemania years will be central to "She Loves You."  Of all of the books in the Lennon series, it will be perhaps the one whose events first generation fans remember most clearly.

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