Author Steve Dennis speaks without interruption ‘Britney: Inside the Dream’

Steve Dennis speaks via an email interview about his book, “Britney: Inside the Dream.” Dennis takes both Fair News Spears questions and to those of a bona fide Britney Spears fan who wishes anonymity.

Dennis is the recognized ghostwriter for Paul Burrell who published two books from his life of service to the Queen of England and to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

You have a number of unnamed sources in your book. What was the most common reason people didn’t want to use their name?

Some sources are named, some not. Some people cannot be seen to be co-operating but they wanted to assist a compassionate and true portrait of Britney. I think there is a perception that if one co-operates with a biographer, it amounts to betrayal. Within that perception, people seek anonymity. Besides, it’s the information that counts, not the names. The phrase “a source said” has been devalued, I think, in journalism over the years but the authenticity of a source’s contribution can be found within the detail and insight.

Based on your description and research of Kentwood it would seem you visited there. I’ve never seen Kentwood and wondered why you didn’t include a picture or two so ‘fess please.

Well, words can paint a picture – and it could be argued that I’ve done Kentwood a favor by not including photos! There was, ultimately, only room for two photo templates and it’s photos of Britney that matter, not Kentwood. I wasn’t even planning to write a chapter on Kentwood until I spent time there. Then, it all became an essential part of the story but, by then, the book’s design had been planned and laid out.

How long did you spend in Kentwood? Where did you stay? Best thing you had to eat?

I spent about ten days there and stayed in the nearby town of Amite. They are friendly, friendly, hospitable people. What did I eat? A fried feast! Even tried cheese grits (Britney’s staple breakfast) and they were bloody horrible. Best meal was made for me by a family friend of the Spears when I was invited over for dinner. It was a special kind of broth.

How easy or hard was it to obtain the petition for divorce in Kentwood and marriage record in New York? (Steve, this is my suspicious mind of ‘the brand’ at work.)

Research requires tenacity. So it was only as hard as hard work should be. I went to the courthouse, spent hours researching – and hey presto! The information was always there but journalists clearly hadn’t bothered to look. I was aided by a superb operator called Suzie Jack, a freelance reporter/producer over here. The truth is always out there. It just needs locating.

What did you know about Britney when you started out? Why did your publisher want you to write this book? Why you in particular?

I knew only what an ill-informed perception told me; a knowledge built by the media jigsaw. My canvas was blank going into this project. The publisher felt it was time to nail the real story to coincide with her comeback. I was approached, I think, mainly due to my works on Princess Diana (with royal butler Paul Burrell). They wanted an equally compassionate and tender approach and I hope that is what I’ve delivered.

Why/how did people in Kentwood talk to you? If they were hesitant, why? What has been their experience with writers, journalist, tabloid or other?

Bottom line is that outsiders are not welcome in Kentwood, and especially journalists/writers poking around for Britney stories. It’s like that scene in the movie ‘American Werewolf in London’where the Americans walk into a rural England bar – and everyone stops talking! More than once, I was reminded of my place! But I knew someone who knew someone in Kentwood and this is what opened doors. I was treated with a lot of suspicion at first but my intentions were always good, and I know I’d be welcomed back because I kept my word in the book. Trust is hard to build when so many have trampled across it before you. Maybe it was my English charm, who knows?!

What do you think of the conservatorship? Do you see it ending any time soon and if so, how or why?

I think the conservatorship has truly saved Britney’s life. It was the required medicine, even if she perhaps didn’t appreciate it at the time. For me, the conservatorship must stay in place for another six months because it is now – when Britney is away from performance, the tour and the spotlight – that her true test begins. If it ends after the tour, then it sends out the misleading message that it was only ever about getting the Britney road-show up and running again. If it’s about her welfare, then it must remain in place to ensure she’s supported as a person away from the performance. Then, and only then, can Britney’s recovery be truly measured. She’s proved she’s back as a performer. But how will she cope now? It would be too premature to remove the stabilizes at this point.

We’ve seen little of Lynne Spears in Los Angeles. Do you know if she has been restricted from being alone with Britney? I believe she was alone with Britney when Sam’s sister gave Britney a cell phone.

I think it’s interesting to see Jamie more on the scene than Lynne these days. I know he felt sidelined and powerless in Britney’s early years. I think Britney and Lynne are rebuilding a true mother-daughter relationship. She’s around but, perhaps, not so much in the spotlight anymore which is a good thing.

Also, we’ve seen little of Jamie Lynne. Thoughts?

I believe Jamie Lynne is happy with the normal life as a young mother in Kentwood. My personal opinion is that she witnessed what stardom did to her sister, and wanted none of that life for her. I think she’s as content as she’s ever been away from the spotlight, from what I’ve heard.

Where are Britney’s dogs? Where’s London?

I only know that London is the capital of England. As for the dog, I’ve no idea. Sorry! The dog didn’t really get much of a starring role in the book.

You indicated in your book an initial reluctance but there seems to be a passion and almost a sense of urgency to tell her side of the story. Where does that passion come from?

My passion comes from telling story, and examining character. It’s the passion of a writer, not a Britney fan. I think her life story is incredible – one of dreams, adversity and survival; an ordinary girl plucked from obscurity and parachuted into the most extraordinary situation and expectation. The urgency came from within the timing of her comeback. So she’s ‘comeback’, they said. But what about the private person? I don’t think we’ve ever truly appreciated who she is as a person and yet many blindly applaud the performer, the entertainer, the brand, the product – without a thought for the person caught up in it all.

Tell me a little about your ‘social’ life as you researched and wrote the book up to now. Anyone raise eyebrows or askance to please shut up about Britney?

I had zero social life because this project was isolating. I wrote from 11am to almost midnight most days, for weeks on end. Britney all-consumed my life. No-one asked me to shut up coz I hardly saw anyone. But the phone-calls from friends were peppered with my Britney obsession. Hazard of the job, I’m afraid. I’ve not stopped speaking about her because of all the promotional work. But come 2010, I can’t speak of Britney again or listen to another song. Otherwise, I’ll go mad!

Many people I have talked to seem to have an opinion about Britney. What has been your experience?

Those that don’t know her tend to have a mocking, derogatory opinion. But – and I think this is telling – everyone who has ever known or worked with her has never had a bad word to say. I heard the same thing over and over: big heart, so sweet, so innocent, great fun, complete goof-ball. This is what’s fascinating about this woman – nearly everyone has an opinion, and thinks they know the story. But do they? I’ve had countless Britney fans telling me that they’ve all learned something new, and understood the situation better, because of the book.

What were thoughts when news materialized that Britney had allegedly tried to hire an attorney last January and an alleged conspiracy between Sam, Jon Eardley, and Adnan Ghalib?

I think Britney reached out at a time of utter confusion, when she didn’t understand what was best for her. This is why the conservatorship had to intervene…to save her from herself. She was wayward and making bad decisions. Britney kicked and screamed because she loathed being controlled once more. But this was about saving her life – and the evidence since then speaks for itself. Look at her life and career with Sam Lutfi. Look at her life and career with Jamie Spears. The argument ends there I think!

Did you know Steve, she also tried to sway Blair Berk to represent her and not her dad? I have Berk’s testimony from Apr.1, 2009. If you have a comment I would love to hear it, on the record or off.

Didn’t know this so have no comment.

In your description of the head-shaving incident there is no mention of Antigua or purported reports by paparazzi I believe that Kevin would not allow Britney to see her children. Had you heard similar reports? Your choice to omit or include?

There were many conversations, and rows, between Britney and Kevin at this time. I feel Britney’s actions, including the head-shaving, were impulsive over-reactions to some of those conversations. But I’ve said what I need to say about this in the book. Save to say that I don’t think she was mad or going mad when she shaved her head. I think it was made to look that way by the media – and this strengthened Kevin’s case in the custody battle.

I recently saw you in an interview and was a little disappointed by where the interviewers went with their commentary. What questions do you wish interviewers would ask you that would tell more of the story and the book?

I don’t think the media quite gets the serious attempts to understand Britney via the input of psychotherapy throughout the narrative. That said, interviews are only ever a platform for promotion, to get the book on the radar. Its truths, insights and purpose will, I hope, come through when it is read in full.

Questions from a fan:

What is the reason (the real reason) behind the c-ship going permanent back in Oct. 2008/Jan. 2009?

I honestly think the real reason was Britney’s welfare. Also, I don’t think she’d have obtained insurance for her tour had the conser- vatorship not been in place. So it was a combination of both welfare and practical reasons, as deemed by a judge. But this permanence is flexible, and not set in stone. As we’ll soon see, I think, within the next few months.

Why is Britney seemingly so attached to Jayden? Always carrying him? Holding him in the bathroom in Jan. 2008?

I think she’s fiercely attached to both her boys. Jayden was in the bathroom in Jan 2008 because Sean Preston was picked up by a bodyguard, and so she swept Jayden into her arms and ran.

Why so much studio trickery when it comes to altering B’s voice?

I think it depends on what sound the studios want. I’m not sure Britney’s voice is as strong as it was, but such studio trickery happens all the time with every artiste. This is not unusual.

What was the reaction of fellow Brits when Britney and Adnan Ghalib became involved?

I think any right-minded individual thought ‘Oh lord, Britney – what are you doing!!’For the pop princess to start dating a paparazzo is an indication of how far she had fallen. Here was a married photographer taking his chance when Britney was at her lowest ebb. I know Adnan would like us to believe that this is some modern day Casablanca but hardly…

Who are Britney’s friends now? (That’s really a question from someone on the threads)

I think Britney struggles to know who she can truly trust in her world but her true ballasts right now are Brett and Fe – and she has her Kentwood clan back home, including Laura Lynne and Courtney.

Whatever happened to Reg Jones? Britney’s teenage boyfriend from back home?

Last time I saw Reg was when he beat me three games to zero at pool in Kentwood. He’s working hard and enjoying a contented life. He’s happy enough, and wishes Britney all the best and only has good memories of his first love. Nice guy. Very earnest. Far too good at playing pool.

If Jive loved what they saw and heard when Britney auditioned for them in the 90′s why have they changed her so much?

I think all labels see and judge someone’s potential. Here was a girl with a great voice who could be trained better and then packaged. In terms of commercial judgment, they weren’t wrong either.

What’s Steve’s take on Britney trying to get help from Sam, Jon, and Adnan? The audiotapes. Has he heard them?

Answered this one earlier. See above.

When will he watch vids of B on the Circus tour?

I’ve watched countless clips and feel sad that she doesn’t have the same rapport or repertoire with the audience. I think she’s lost some of her fizz in what she went through – and hope it returns one day soon.

Has he read Lynne’s book and what does he think of her, her declaration and the other five declarations?

Read Lynne’s book and felt it was a convenient edit of an historic story that avoided the crux of crucial issues. It felt more like a long, self-serving justification than a story of emotional depth and insight. I felt she was happy to open the doors on the impact of Jamie’s alcoholism without perhaps being accountable for her own role in matters. Lynne has a great heart but acts very unconsciously in many respects. I think she needs to understand what’s happened just as much as Britney does.

Does Steve think that the conservatorship was planned before 2008?

I think the conservatorship was orchestrated in late 2007, and Jamie was looking for his moment to rescue his daughter. Can you imagine how helpless he and Jamie must have felt? The conservatorship was Britney’s saviour and was planned and properly executed – in her long term interests. She’s moaned about being corrected, instructed and controlled. Or ‘over-protected’. But this protection was necessary at this time in her life because the mistakes she was making were, many felt, endangering her life and her career.

Last. Why does it seem that so many people want to keep Britney under control or have her be what they want?

Britney’s life, from the age of 11, has been moulded, steered, directed, instructed and controlled. So it’s easy to understand why she’d feel like she has the destiny of a robot. But the truth is that this conditioning influence has meant that Britney struggles to know how to live away from this framework. The moment she made a bolt for freedom to go it alone in 2006, her life fell apart. The moment she’s back under a constraint, she’s returned to the straight and narrow. This is an unavoidable truth about the person. She’s lost as a person. She’s found as a performer – and therein lies the very challenge that Britney continues to face.

From Steve Dennis in response to the Los Angeles Times interview with him and review of his book published last weekend:

ONE THING TO ADD POST-LA TIMES INTERVIEW:
I was attached as a ghost-writer to Harper Collins’proposal to publish Britney’s autobiography. The publisher was one of a few around the negotiating table. But Britney’s camp ultimately walked away without ever proceeding with a deal. It was then that Harper Collins UK approached and commissioned me to write a biography that was supportive and compassionate. I then decided that I wanted to understand the human not the brand, and incorporate the expertise of a psychotherapy. The surface of the Britney saga had been well-skimmed over the years, but I wanted to go deeper. Only the reader can decide whether I’ve achieved that but that was certainly the mission in mind.