Exclusive interview with Jenna Glatzer

[Celine Fan 77]

I recently had the privilege of chatting with the wonderful Jenna Glatzer, author of "Celine Dion: For Keeps". Honestly, she was extremely generous in all her answers. Enjoy our chat!

 

Jenna, thank you very much for taking the time to talk with Celine's fans. It's a pleasure to chat with you.

 

Thanks! Pleasure to chat with you. I've loved being part of Celine's fan community. I've had so much support from fans, and it means a lot to me.

 

 

 

Let's start by talking about your wonderful book For Keeps. The fans consider it the greatest Celine book since it was released back in 2005. What inspired you to create such a complete work?

 

 

Thank you so much! The book wasn't my idea –the publisher already had a deal in place with Celine and they were looking for a writer. I was thrilled that they chose me. They said they were looking for a writer who could convey Celine's warmth, and they felt like my work fit the right tone.

 

It was very exciting to be part of something so special. Many of the photos and memorabilia were her idea or her team's idea to include, but there were little pieces I asked for –like the picture of her with René-Charles' face paint. That was in her dressing room and I asked "Can we use this in the book? It's perfect for the first story I want to tell!"

 

That's how many pieces came about... we wrote the story and then decided which pictures and memorabilia would go best with it.

 

 

The book includes rare documents and one of the most complete looks at Celine's career. What was it like for you to see her opening up so much and sharing so many previously unknown details of her career?

Stunning, to be honest. She was the first major celebrity I worked for, and a friend of mine who has done celebrity books before had warned me that celebrities are usually very cold and uncaring.

"They'll show up late, they won't remember your name, they'll limit everything you want to ask..."

None of that was true of Celine. She was so open and honest from the start, and never showed up late. One time she asked if I would mind if she took a quick shower after the show because she was overheated. Would I mind? It cracked me up... of course I didn't mind. She's Celine Dion. She could have kept me waiting all night if she'd wanted to, but she took ten minutes and came out with a towel on her head and a bathrobe because she didn't want to make me wait.

Another nice part is that I'm normally a ghostwriter, which means I write in my clients' voices. This time, I was her authorized biographer, so it was fun for me to be able to include my own impressions of her. With ghostwriting, you keep your opinions to yourself!

How was the process of creating the book? What do you remember about the conversations with Celine?

Honestly one of the best experiences of my life, and it would be hard to top. We were supposed to meet only for a few days... I had one trip scheduled, but she asked me to come back several more times. We just got along so beautifully, and I knew I could ask her anything and she would try to give me an honest answer. Except one thing: She didn't want to say what LV meant between her and René (but she said it was not "Las Vegas"). Aside from that, she was a complete open book.

Celine and I were often the last people out of the Colosseum, except a bodyguard or two who stayed around to walk her out. We sat on the floor of her dressing room having snacks and talking about everything from her youth to present day.

She broke out into song a LOT –Queen songs, mostly – and various members of her team would pop in and say hi and joke around with us. When I watched her on Carpool Karaoke, it brought me right back to our time together –that's what she was like the vast majority of the time. Sarcastic, silly, high energy, so much fun.

It was so clear that everyone around her admired her very much, not just for her talent, but because she's a genuinely wonderful person who has managed not to get hardened by the idea that everyone wants her attention.

I learned a lot from her about fame, and about myself and my own goals. I wanted to be a professional actress, and became a writer only because I got a terrible panic disorder right after college and had to stop. Being around her taught me that I would never have been cut out for fame... there are so many limits and so many people waiting for you to do something wrong so they can photograph it and stick it in a tabloid.

That's my only wish for her –I wish that she had been able to "turn fame off" sometimes and just go to the grocery store or have a birthday party for her kids without constantly feeling like she's on display. Fame is a lot of fun sometimes and I know she enjoys the spotlight, but I know it's also hard for her family not to be able to just do regular family things without an entourage.

Now, the question that fans have been wondering for years: Will there be a For Keeps 2?

Boy, I sure hope so! I have spoken with her management about it and we had hopes it would be done this year, but she wanted a break from everything during Covid so she could just have time with her family. I'm very hopeful that we'll work together again soon. There is so much more to tell now.

A lot of things have happened in Celine's life since 2005. Which personal and which musical Celine moment from these last fifteen years would you like most to write about?

Wow, tough question! Of course I'd want to ask her about how she's doing dealing with René's death, but I don't want to dwell on the sadness of it all... I'd like to hear her reflections on what it's like now to be fully in charge and to make decisions about songs and tour and staff without him, when he was such a major part of all of that before. I'm interested in hearing who she turns to now, and who's been there for her, and whether her closest friends then are still her closest friends now (I know she has some new friends from her team who I hadn't met back then, like Pepe Muñoz. The Page Six story about him "controlling" her upset me because I didn't think it was like her team to go to gossip columnists, and I'd like to hear about that from her perspective).

I'd want to hear about her choice to stay around after the funeral to shake hands with all the fans who showed up, and to keep performing even when her grief was very raw. But at some point, she did turn a corner –she wasn't crying on stage all the time anymore, and she acknowledges that she found courage and strength and made the decision to move forward... I'd love to know what tools and people helped her turn that corner.

Basically, I'm interested in hearing her insights about. how she has changed as a result of this, and what helps her keep going.

Professionally, I loved the Courage album so much, and would love to hear more about how all these new collaborations came about. Who did she love working with? Who was different from what she expected? Who does she want to work with again? Who did she have to turn down? –things like that. And what it was like going on a world tour again in a different stage of her life... so much energy needed to turn like that!

(By the way, I got to see her show in New York last March two days before everything closed down because of Covid. She was amazing. And I was thrilled that my 13-year-old daughter could now appreciate her music, too... she hadn't been to a Celine concert with me since she was a toddler.)

A second book would definitely be a unique and unforgettable one, but what title do you think you would give to it?

I'd like a title that has to do with finding strength –like a flower blooming after the rain. Maybe something like Celine Dion: Blossoming.

Finally, what projects are you currently working on?

Three books, and unfortunately I can't talk about any of them right now! I can say that one is a memoir I'm ghostwriting and two are health books (also ghostwriting). The last book I worked on that I CAN talk about is Waiting in the Wings with Tiffany Haas, who played Glinda in Wicked for many years on Broadway and tours.

Once again, thank you so very much for your generosity, Jenna. It's been a pleasure to talk to you.

So happy to do it. Thanks for asking! I love thinking about and talking about that part of my life. Celine is the best and I still love her dearly.

[Shamrock_1982]

Thanks for this!

 

 

[Dancing_Queen]

What a nice interview.

Hope she does get the chance to write a second one.

[ryba]

Wow, thank you! interesting that her team hoped for another collaboration, but she refused. Looks like she decides about everything now snd they just give her suggestions without pushing her to do anything

[Shamrock_1982]

She didn’t “refuse” she simply said not right now.

[scielle]

Thank you! Best thing I’ve read on this site in a long time.

[chocolatechip15]

Thank you!! Great interview, and it would be so amazing to have another Jenna-Celine book!

[DionFanAlways]

Wow thanks Carlos! Great interview. I loved your question about the personal and musical Celine and I loved her answer.

[ehild]

Wow!! I love the part about her taking time to enjoy being with family. Times like this don't come around often and I'm glad she did what she felt was best for her and her family.

 

I'm also curious about a lot of the things she hopes to explore with Celine! I wonder if there might be a release alongside going back to Vegas??

[flutefreak]

Thanks! What a great interview! I am hoping for that 2nd book.

[actofcontrition]

Next time she’s gonna talk with Celine’s team, can she told them fans are waiting for a dvd?

 

Or the book should come with a dvd from vegas, 2016-2017

 

😂

Edited April 29, 2021 at 02:56 AM by actofcontrition

[Chantemoi]

Yeah, a DVD would be better

[rhapsodion]

Thanks for the interview, I enjoyed reading this a lot, I would love to have Jenna working with Celine again, I hope there will really be a For Keeps #2. What Jenna mentioned about hoping to ask and write about for the next book, is also what I am interested to learn. Celine had briefly mentioned in interviews that after Rene's death, there were moments that she felt the boat was shaking (running the business), would love to have her elaborate more on that.

[Peppercorn1991]

Great interview!! Thank you!

 

Kev x

[Alex_Incognito]

It would be wonderful to get a part 2 ! That itself is exciting news. Excellent interview. Thanks so much for sharing.

[ryba]

I would prefer a nice long Netflix documentary with Celine talking rather than another book, but Ill take anything she gives us lol

[manolo19]

Thank you Carlos you are one amazing fan !♡

[ajguerras]

Celine is a great person and not just a talented one... That's why I love her !

[scielle]

Yeah, a DVD would be better

 

I'd take a biography over a concert DVD any day! (What does one even do with a DVD these days? I don't think I've had anything to play one on for a decade + )

In all seriousness though, even if it were a streaming release, I'd have little interest in straight concert footage. Now, if we're talking a behind-the-scenes, or better yet, a documentary done at arms length (read: not like Through the Eyes of the World), that's a different story.

 

But what I'd really love most of all is a true autobiography. A For Keeps part II would be great, but that's too fawning (and I' get it, I'd fawn over her too if I were the writer!).

What I mean is an autobiography that's actually written in her voice. Not necessarily fully written by her - I get it, most of these books are ghost-written, that's to be expected. But My Story My Dream was so obviously GH Germain's voice that it just didn't feel authentic at all.

Mind you, I don't think we'll get one any time soon, nor should we. Give it another 10 years or so. (MSMD was written waaay too early.)

[Celine Fan 77]

Thank you Carlos you are one amazing fan !♡

 

Thanks! The pleasure is all mine

[stevo]

That is lovely. Jenna obviously had a real connection with her and still does. Thank you for this!

[Xpresso]

Muchas gracias, Carlitos. Me encanta!

[PuraVida]

Has Jenna also been interviewed for TV documentaries about Celine? She looks very familiar, and I would look up some of the TV documentaries but there have been so many

[Céline RO]

Has Jenna also been interviewed for TV documentaries about Celine? She looks very familiar, and I would look up some of the TV documentaries but there have been so many

 

Yes

[PuraVida]

Yes

 

It must have been after she published the book, because otherwise that would be quite confusing (unless she has a background in music)

[Celine Fan 77]

It must have been after she published the book, because otherwise that would be quite confusing (unless she has a background in music)

 

Yes, I think she appears in a late 2005 documentary shown on Biography Channel. If I'm not mistaken, some footage from that documentary was used in late 2007 for "E! True Hollywood Story".

[isabel leite]

Celine is a great person and not just a talented one... That's why I love her !

 

I totally agree. I am always suprised at how humble and grounded Celine is. She is so 'normal' in a way , and not this stuck up diva. Everyone that comes in close contact to her says the same thing. She is sweet and caring of other people. I love the talented singer but I admire the woman as well. I always smile when her relationship with Rene is brought up. How sweet, the only thing she won't talk about is LV. They truly had a once in a lifetime love!

[comingback]

LV = L'amour de ma vie //Love of my Life

Sorry Celine 😁

 

 

[isabel leite]

LV = L'amour de ma vie //Love of my Life

Sorry Celine

 

I always thought thats what it meant, but I guess we will never know

[PuraVida]

LV = L'amour de ma vie //Love of my Life

Sorry Celine

 

I wonder if it comes directly from the Queen song