Wonderful video here Carol made.

Kendra and Matilda introduce the recording like this:

If you missed our informative conversation with Janet Grace Riehl, author of the memoir CD called Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry & Music, you can listen to the recording below. Here are a few of my favorite parts of the interview:

- Janet, as a special treat, sing the 1863 song Dear Evelina, Sweet Evelina, a song that she and her father frequently sang to her mother (Ruth Evelyn Johnston Thompson) in her last years. Then, Janet concludes by reading one of her story poems, Appetite, the final poem in the section of the memoir featuring memories of her mother.

Title: Driving and First Talk Part 1

Description: Getting started. Janet drives toward Scott Kidd’s home and studio in Nolensville, Tennessee. As usual, she gets lost. We meet Scott’s dog Tucker and tour Scott’s audio studio. Introduction to Janet and Scott’s working process, personal bond, and how the project began.
Length: 9:52 minutes
Videographer: Scott Kidd

Title: Sightlines Audio Book

Description: Ready to go. Janet gets ready for Sightlines audio book launch party in Nashville, Tennessee with Suzy Bogguss—Nashville music star—as special guest.

Length: 2:33 minutes.

Videographer: Ria Sharon

This video log is now posted on You Tube and more will be coming, too.

The last step in producing an audio book is to celebrate! That's what my Nashville Production team did with me at the Sportsman Bar and Grille this week. It looks like a theme park version of those grand old WPA (Works Progress Administration) lodges in the great parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite. The food was pretty good. Best of all, it was just across the street from the place I was staying.

Our surprise guest was Suzy Bogguss, one of the country-western stars in the music city firmanment As a veteran of so many albumns and singles, I'm sure she's been to launch parties full of sparkle over the years. This was was homey. Suzy and I sat together and got to know each other. We'd never met before. We also got caught up about family relationships and stories. She was born in Aledo, Illinois, with her birthdate just a day after mine in December 30. Her mother Barbara Bogguss is a marvelous musician and played with my father at a 1938 family reunion that Daddy still recalls as a highlight in his life. Suzy is married to songwriter Doug Crider. Their son Ben is soon to be one of those young Eagle Scouts, as my brother Gary was.

Scott Kidd, my sound engineer and project manager came with his wife Sareya. Yvonne Perry, is Sareya's mother. She had introduced me to Scott last year.

I'd never met Greg McNey before. He took care of all our licensing and copyrighting requirements. I'd known he was a consummate professional and learned here that he was also a consummate gentleman. Greg introduced us to his friend Laura Neutzling who is chief visionary at Four Eyes Media. Sounds like a wonderful job, no? They spoke afterward how nice it is to watch someone pursue a dream or desire and see it to completion and were glad to have been a part of that.

Earlier in the day Scott Kidd and I started working on our newest project of making video logs as part of our launch. Hal Manogue, who couldn't be with us that night met me earlier in the day at the Whole Foods Deli where we taped an audio interview. He read the introduction for "Sightlines" audio book.

After dinner we did more interviews as part of the video logs for the launch.

You'll be hearing more about the videologs soon!

A year later, it's still a long drive in the country (albeit on freeways) and a pretty one, to boot. The drive from St. Louis to Nashville (routes 64/57/24) takes around 5.5 hours and crosses three rivers (Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee) and passes by many gorgeous large lakes (Rend/Egypt/Barkley) where I wanted to just stop and camp. The routes down are so aesthetically constructed without billboards and with so much foliage embracing the roadway, that it feels like a highspeed Sunday afternoon drive in the country...which is what it was.

I knew I'd reached Southland in S. Illinois when I saw fried gizzards, fried bologni, and b-b-q ribs advertised.

Last year I stayed at the trendy Hotel Indigo. This year at the more budget-conscious Red Roof Inn, getting the senior rate through AARP. I chose this location because it's right across from the Sportman Grill and Lodge where we'll celebrate Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry and Music tomorrow night.

Yvonne Perry, one of my blogging buddies I'd come to visit then, led me to Scott Kidd who became my sound engineer. Here's Yvonne's post on Writers in the Sky on my May Nashville visit..

Read my version of the visit and working with dream collaborator Scott Kidd here.