Detroit News Article

Susan Whithall came to my house on Friday to interview me for a story she is writing with the Detroit News. A photographer is due next week to obtain photos for the story. A lot of the questions she asked were about my impressions of the movie Dreamgirls. I have already shred that opinion here, and told Susan much of the same. I have an alert for blogs on Flo Ballard, and I'm amazed at the number of people that are linking my sister to the movie. I think it's great publicity in keeping Flo's memory alive, but the point of the story has been missed a bit. Flo's career didn't die because of the way her sisters in the group treated her; her career ended, in part, because of the people in positions of influence that refused to help her when she needed it most.

Detroit going wild!

It looks like my city is going crazy over the Dreamgirls movie! I'm glad that so much excitement has been generated about the movie, but it is unfortunate that so many people think that the character of Effie is my sister. I suppose that everyone is entitled to their opinions. I am thankful that all the buzz is keeping my sister's memory alive. For that I am grateful. I would love to hear what other people think of the movie. I'm trying to reserve full judgement - for now. ;-)

Book publishing news

I'm in the process of trying to get this book available for purchase in its digital form, but I may have hit a snag. The company who will digitally produce the book wants to retain rights to ownership for one year. I can't agree to that! I am so excited about this book, that I have envisioned unlimited possibilities for it, so I can't make any mistakes in terms of getting it distributed to Flo's fans. Back to the drawing board for now on the digital book, but it is full steam ahead for the print version...I'll keep you posted...

More work on the book

I am inspired, now more than ever, to finish the work necessary to complete this book project! I met with my webmaster today, and the maxineballard.com site should be up and running by the weekend. Unfortunately, the floballard.com site was taken by another party, but I was able to claim additional domain names, including supremefloballard.com and maxineballard.com. I am allowing, on a limited basis, interested parties to gain access to the book in a digital format prior to its release in early 2007. The digital book may be purchased via maxineballard.com and will be available soon. Others will be able to buy hard copies of the book in early 2007.

I hope readers like what they see. I have poured countless hours into the writing of this book, and the true story is there for all to read. I created a voice message for fans to listen to my thoughts on the book. To access the message, dial (641) 985-5999, extension 18714 and press the # key.

Dreamgirls - The Movie - My Two Cents

Everything I read about this movie seems to deny that the movie is based on the story of the Supremes. But, most critics and those who have seen the movie say that the character of Effie is the same as my sister, Blondie. I haven't seen the movie, but I am sure that the real story of my sister's life cannot be found in this film. Everyone portrays her as this down and out, broken, once-famous singer, when, in fact, she was quite the opposite. I wish you could have known her. I guess that's why they say art does NOT imitate life - there is no comparison between what's on the screen and the real thing. And Blondie was the real thing.