new "FLO" book

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I saw a notice on Facebook yesterday for a new book "SUPREME EXIT: Florence Ballard After Motown" by Shawniqua Williamson and Nicole Chapman, Flo's daughter. The notice said that they started taking pre-orders on April 21st, and the book is scheduled to ship in mid-May. The publisher is Kom Poo Pie / Uno220. The hardcover book sells for $34.95, postage paid.

I looked this book up online and found a link from last year. The book was supposed to have come out in July 2020, but apparently it did not. Now, it is scheduled again.

https://books.google.com/books/about...d=UNuWzQEACAAJ

Has anyone ordered yet???

Here's what the Facebook post said:

"Florence Ballard Life After The Supremes - SUPREME EXIT.Fame Upmagazine
& Nicole Chapman teamed up to tell the untold story of Florence Ballard’s life after she left The Supremes & Motown.

Book Pre Sale April 22, 2021 - Official Release Date May 9, 2021

go to uno220.com to preorder"

Be careful...

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Originally Posted by BobbyC

Be careful...

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Indeed. A quick search on the interweb yields -0- [zero) results for the publisher, and the title does not appear on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million or Bookazine which leads me to believe it will be [at best) self-published. Additionally I find that 2 separate web security services assess the link as a security risk.

Exactly. Well said.

I don't think this book is passing the smell test.

I have a copy of nearly every book on the supremes ..one I don't is maxine's book on flo..can anybody tell me if it's worth hunting down ? I'm facinated by flos life in the 1970s..

Thank you for starting this thread. I saw the same thing and was going to post, but alas.

It sounds like everyone has the same reservations that I do. I believe Flo's daughter is on FB, as well as her grandson. Have either of them been promoting it? That at least would give me some comfort.

Doesn't the website feature a Flo audio clip, which was the basis of Peter Benjamin's book? Is this just a rehash of that interview, I wonder?

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Originally Posted by nomis

I have a copy of nearly every book on the supremes ..one I don't is maxine's book on flo..can anybody tell me if it's worth hunting down ? I'm facinated by flos life in the 1970s..

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I bought the book, as I do most things on the Supremes. As with many self-published books, it could use a good editor. It can be quite rambling, jumping time periods, what have you. If you can find a cheap copy, I'd say why not? But it certainly wasn't worth the $50 that I paid for it.

Just as an aside: I will say that my experience ordering it from Maxine was pleasant. My original package arrived opened and with nothing inside except some promo material. I wrote Maxine and she immediately sent another copy out to me.

I've chosen to wipe out my original post because of Carlo's information that the book seems to be big-hearted and the real deal. I'll look forward to hearing Flo-Fans' take on the book.

According to The Supremes Fan Page on Facebook, tonight [4/30/21] at 6pm est, there is going to be an Instagram live interview with Nicole where she will discuss the book. It says "Follow @the_supremes_fanpage2 on Instagram to tune in!"

As long as it's legit ill be buying it. Hopefully Nicole can confirm this release.

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Originally Posted by reese

I bought the book, as I do most things on the Supremes. As with many self-published books, it could use a good editor. It can be quite rambling, jumping time periods, what have you. If you can find a cheap copy, I'd say why not? But it certainly wasn't worth the $50 that I paid for it.

Just as an aside: I will say that my experience ordering it from Maxine was pleasant. My original package arrived opened and with nothing inside except some promo material. I wrote Maxine and she immediately sent another copy out to me.

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The book is selling for $34.95 postage paid.

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Originally Posted by mistercarter2u

The book is selling for $34.95 postage paid.

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Reese is referring to having paid $50 for Maxine Ballard's book, which came out many years ago. I don't have it but had heard at the time that it mostly focused on Maxine's life and not so much Flo's. The only 'new' [[and perhaps sad) antidote that I heard she had divulged in her book was that Flo had once thrown a telephone against the wall, in a fit of rage. Well, gotta say that a lot of people have thrown telephones across the room, even myself. I got the sense from people who had read and reviewed her book that she was not extremely close with her sister and/or her memory had faded quite a bit and she did not share a whole lot of insight or memories.

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Originally Posted by nomis

I have a copy of nearly every book on the supremes ..one I don't is maxine's book on flo..can anybody tell me if it's worth hunting down ? I'm facinated by flos life in the 1970s..

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If you're a fan of Florence's, the book is a must have. A disappointing must have, but a must have just the same.;) Maxine could've used a ghostwriter or good editor, someone with knowledge of formatting a book of this kind. She jumps all over the place regarding time periods. It can get really confusing. But it's a great source for Flo pre-Primettes and some family info that gives a clearer understanding of Flo's upbringing than any other book, except maybe The Lost Supreme. Also a little more information about Flo post-Supremes. There isn't much in regards to Flo during the Supremes years.

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Originally Posted by reese

Just as an aside: I will say that my experience ordering it from Maxine was pleasant. My original package arrived opened and with nothing inside except some promo material. I wrote Maxine and she immediately sent another copy out to me.

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I contacted Maxine a couple times via email regarding the book. She was very professional. I also reached out to her a couple times with questions about Florence and she had no problem answering. Unfortunately the only question and answer I can remember is when I asked her about Tony Turner and his book. She said it was greatly exaggerated. She seemed like a really nice lady. I was so sorry to learn of her passing.

It appears it's legit. Some dude named Nicholas runs the Supremes fanpage. On his IG he has a photo of himself and Nicole and it says the book is due for release. I guess we'll know more with the IG live. I'll tune in. Fingers crossed.

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Originally Posted by carlo

Reese is referring to having paid $50 for Maxine Ballard's book, which came out many years ago. I don't have it but had heard at the time that it mostly focused on Maxine's life and not so much Flo's. The only 'new' [[and perhaps sad) antidote that I heard she had divulged in her book was that Flo had once thrown a telephone against the wall, in a fit of rage. Well, gotta say that a lot of people have thrown telephones across the room, even myself. I got the sense from people who had read and reviewed her book that she was not extremely close with her sister and/or her memory had faded quite a bit and she did not share a whole lot of insight or memories.

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I had a bit of a different take. Maxine does shed light on Flo growing up and I take it that while at home they were very close, especially considering that they're only 10 or so months apart in age. Maxine does talk about Flo living with her when things went bad in the 70s and shed light on how stressful it was to sometimes deal with Florence when she was having her mental battles. What there isn't much of is Flo during the Supremes years. I got the impression that Flo and Maxine were close when growing up and then again when Flo was no longer performing, but when Flo was a Supreme Maxine was probably wrapped up in her own life and responsibilities, having married as a teenager and started a family with Milton Jenkins. If she had much information to share on Flo during the Supremes' success, Maxine kept that to herself. But I think she just didn't have much to say on that time because she really didn't know much. Flo's siblings who still lived at home when Flo was riding high might have been privy to more information than the ones who had their own homes and families.

I've been tuning into the Instagram live interview with Nicole and the author, Uno. I now have much more faith in this book. Hearing all of the love that Nicole has for everyone, and hearing how detailed the book is, has swayed me into purchasing the book and supporting her. It was so nice to hear how much love she has for both of her 'aunties', Diana and Mary. She calls Diana her Auntie Boss and went on to say that she never forgot to send her and her sisters gifts on their birthdays or for Christmas. It sounds like Berry Gordy also greenlighted the book [[they mentioned that they were required to get his approval) and Nicole has nothing but love for him as well.

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Originally Posted by carlo

I've been tuning into the Instagram live interview with Nicole and the author, Uno. I now have much more faith in this book. Hearing all of the love that Nicole has for everyone, and hearing how detailed the book is, has swayed me into purchasing the book and supporting her. It was so nice to hear how much love she has for both of her 'aunties', Diana and Mary. She calls Diana her Auntie Boss and went on to say that she never forgot to send her and her sisters gifts on their birthdays or for Christmas. It sounds like Berry Gordy also greenlighted the book [[they mentioned that they were required to get his approval) and Nicole has nothing but love for him as well.

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That's great to hear, Carlo, and I always trust your views. So it will be a good thing for the Flo-Fans.

Thank you, Peace. I still would have liked to have heard an excerpt of some sort but I got the sense that they didn't want to leak any spoilers. They did acknowledge that this book does not cover Flo's Supremes years, since Nicole only wanted to discuss the years in which she lived through and therefore focus on the experiences that she herself can attest to first-hand, instead of offering opinions and second-hand speculation. It focuses on Flo and their family in the 70's and moves onward from there. They said it took two and a half years to write and initially started as a movie script, but when the movie project fell through, they continued writing it as a book.

I had the pleasure of meeting Nicole and her sister Michelle once, after Mary's show in Detroit in 2012. They were both extremely gracious and loving. They are all so appreciative of their mother's fans.

I ordered the book a few weeks back; got an email on Friday saying it has been shipped. Awaiting delivery now....

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Originally Posted by mistercarter2u

I ordered the book a few weeks back; got an email on Friday saying it has been shipped. Awaiting delivery now....

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mistercarter: When you receive the book, please let other forum members know. I would be very curious to know if there are any worthwhile previously unpublished pictures in it. Thanks in advance.

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Originally Posted by woodward

mistercarter: When you receive the book, please let other forum members know. I would be very curious to know if there are any worthwhile previously unpublished pictures in it. Thanks in advance.

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Yes, mistercarter, please do share your opinions and info about the book. It would be greatly appreciated by your fellow fans!

Mine also shipped. Looking forward to reading it! The author had reached out to me to confirm some details for my order and she has been very professional and lovely to deal with. Based on the interview that Uno and Nicole did on Instagram a few weeks back, it does sound like there are not very many photos in the book. They explained that any photos that belong to Nicole and her sisters are ones we would have already seen and/or would require licensing. Nicole also explained there may be other unseen photos out there that belonged to them but other family members may have them in their possession. It was sad to hear that they do not own any of their mother's possessions, since they were so young she passed and other family members took everything.

That being said, they did say that since they could not include unseen photos, that they did indeed purposely focus on the story itself. I will say that this book does seem promising, from what I've seen and heard thus far.

I know three people have already received t book all report glowing reports im waiting f my copy t arrive

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Originally Posted by franjoy56

I know three people have already received t book all report glowing reports im waiting f my copy t arrive

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Thanks for the update great to hear good things about it..will add it to my shopping list

I have been waiting to hear more info, but will look forward to reading this.

I bit the bullet and ordered my copy this morning. Based on what's been recently posted, I think we can trust that it should be a sincere attempt at the least and an insightful telling at best. I can't help but think about this the way I do rare releases: get them when they're available and reasonably priced because, if you don't, you'll pay through the nose later--if you can find them at all.

I'm going to stay hopeful with this one! After I receive and read it, I'll post an opinion here if anyone wants to know.

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Originally Posted by danman869

I'm going to stay hopeful with this one! After I receive and read it, I'll post an opinion here if anyone wants to know.

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That would be nice danman.

My dumb ass meant to preorder and just realized I didn't. Thanks for the reminder y'all. Just ordered mine.

Just thought I'd share: I ordered this morning and it has already shipped out this afternoon. Good customer service!

Enjoy Dan! I pre-ordered mine at the end of April, but because mine is stuck in Canadian customs, you'll still probably receive your copy before I do :)

I plan on buying this in another few weeks or so once I have some extra spending money. Can't wait.

so has anyone actually gotten he book yet ?

I just ordered the book and hoping it will arrive. There is also a Florence Ballard obituary for sale on the site for either $10 or $15 depending on whether you click “single” or “book.” Does anyone know what that is? Thanks

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Originally Posted by Roromo

I just ordered the book and hoping it will arrive. There is also a Florence Ballard obituary for sale on the site for either $10 or $15 depending on whether you click “single” or “book.” Does anyone know what that is? Thanks

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I bought the book with the printed obituary. I believe it was $10 for the obituary, if you buy it along with the book. Otherwise if you just want to buy the obituary by itself, without the book, it's $15 [[single option). I'm not sure if it's an original, but if it isn't, they printed it on lovely thick paper and it looks like the real thing. It's a little folded paper with her obituary on the front and the details for the funeral service on the inside and at the back.

OMG. What?????