BABIESOK! Exclusive: Inside Britney's Mom's Secret Memoir
Oct. 28 2007, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
After being the first to break the news earlier this week that Britney Spears mom, Lynne Spears, had inked a deal to talk about her family in an upcoming autobiography, OK! can now confirm that Lynne's collaborator on the project, tentatively titled Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World, isn't some big-shot Big Apple ghost-writer, but 39-year-old mother-of-three Lorilee Craker of Grand Rapids, Mich.
Digging a little further into what readers should expect from the 200-page book, which is still being written, but is currently set for release on Mother's Day 2008 (May 11) through Thomas Nelson, a Nashville-based Christian publisher, OK! has learned that while Craker has already met with Lynne and Brit's 16-year-old kid sister, Jamie Lynn, the beleaguered pop star has so far shunned the project. “Brit hasn’t been involved at all,” a source close to the book reveals to OK!. “It's possible that Lorilee may end up speaking with Britney in the future but it’s not certain.”
As for whether or not the roller-coaster relationship between mom and daughter has anything to do with Britney's lack of involvement, the source would only say, “It’s complicated... I think they are okay.”
Regarding the content of the book itself, contrary to reports, Pop Culture Mom is not intended to be an advice book. “It’s not a parenting book,” says the source, who also reveals that Lorilee will receive a co-author credit for the book. “It’s not a tell-all. It’s a mother’s memoir. It’s a very loving book.”
Lorilee and Lynne teamed up shortly after Britney’s release from rehab in the first half of 2007 after they were put in touch by their respective agents. The pair met up in Nashville and immediately hit it off. They have a “perfect’ working relationship, says the source.
When reached by OK!, Craker, who is under a gag order not to discuss the project, declined to comment. However, that same order didn't stop her from talking to her local paper, the Grand Rapids Press.
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“One thing I do want to make clear is that she's not a stage mom," Craker, who is an established freelance entertainment writer, explained about Lynne. "People are so accusatory toward her and so judgmental of her, and it just drives me crazy because I know the real her.
"It's the truth, but it's based in love. (Lynne is) a mother and a grandmother to her core. She loves her children and her grandchildren with just enormous devotion."
"Lynne, first of all, is a wonderful person. She is one of the kindest, most decent people and very down-to-earth. People would be amazed at how normal she is, but she's living in this sort of surreal life at the same time."
Meanwhile, Britney shrugged off the stress of her Oct. 26 child-custody court hearing by partying at Hollywood hotspot Les Deux (one of her favorites) with pal Avril Lavigne until 2 a.m. Just eight hours later, at 10 a.m. the following day, Saturday, her two boys by ex, Kevin Federline, Sean Preston, 25 months, and Jayden, 13 months, were dropped off at her Hollywood Hills home.
Later, she was seen driving out of the property with the two boys and a female court-appointed monitor. She drove for 10 miles north up the 101 freeway before turning the car around without stopping and heading home again.
