next week i’ll be hosting a guest post by janet riehl as part of her blog book tour for her new audio book “sightlines: a family love story in poetry and music”. it is a companion to the already existing book of the same title, which has already won her quite a bit of acclaim. in the words of one reviewer –
the poetry collection “sightlines: a poet’s diary” by janet riehl is a soaring, poignant homage to family, sorrow, and the rebirth that comes with pain and loss. written after the death of her sister in a tragic automobile accident, riehl cobbled together her father’s mournful poems as well as her own and set out to document the ties that bind and the things that matter most.
interwoven with collections of family photographs are meditations on the importance of family and the comfort of kin. using memories and recollections as her foundation, riehl’s poems are heartwrenching and triumphant. many of the poems read as journal entries, and diary submissions. there’s no belletristic prose or coruscate syntax, it’s simple, it’s original and straight from the heart.
though the book obviously caters to those who have experienced a similar loss, there is a resounding conviction in her writing that allow her words to enter into the hearts of the reader.
janet has put an incredibly amount of work into this tour, contributing thoughtful and audience-specific content to each and every blog on her tour – that’s almost a book in itself, janet!
here is the whole schedule – please go and visit, i know you’ll find all kinds of delightful surprises!
june
week one
1 velda brotherton includes janet riehl as part of her stories woven in time. see “on being a writer” at http://vbrotherton.blogspot.com. velda and jaent are both members of women writing the west.
3 kendra bonnett & matilda butler welcome janet to http://www.womensmemoirs.com where everyone has a story to tell. a guest post on the theme of using story poems as an approach to writing your memoir. kendra and matilda are both members of story circle network and we all blog on SCN’s telling her stories.
4 susan tweit interviews janet on the themes relating to place that reaches out to include the metaphor of quilting and the writing process at http://susanjtweit.typepad.com/walkingnaturehome. susan’s blog is named after her newly released memoir “walking nature home.” her blog presents thoughts and conversations on living a green and generous life, rooted in place wherever we find ourselves. susan and janet both belong to women writing the west and story circle network. susan and janet have often carried on “blog duets.”
week two
9 claire applewhite interviews janet on the st. louis post-dispatch book blog where she is a contributing writer. claire’s most recent and fifth release is the wrong side of memphis, a noir mystery novel. claire and janet are both members of the st. louis writers guild.
11 kendra bonnet & matilda butler welcome janet for a conversation on memoir with this special “memoir moment” at http://www.womensmemoirs.com where everyone has a story to tell. both live and recorded.
week three
17 sharman apt russell interviews janet on the theme of love, place, and meaning at http://loveofplace.blogspot.com, a group blog celebrating place and a greater relationship and intimacy with the natural world. she lives in silver city, new mexico.
mary ruth donnely reviews sharman’s beautiful memoir “standing in the light” on www.riehlife.com the same day. learn more about sharman and her work on www.sharmanaptrussell.com
17 kendra bonnett and matilda butler’s book raves, their book reviews for women’s memoir.
18 isabella mori hosts janet’s guest post in dialogue with sarah luczaj: who owns the poem? (here on this blog).
week four
23 eden maxwell interviews janet at www.edensart.com where he wisely proclaims, “you can’t outsource your soul work.” eden has appeared several times on www.riehlife.com on dharma and artful living. his handbook an artist empowered: define and establish your value as an artist-now is available at http://www.lulu.com/content/928739
week five
june 30 antona smith interviews janet on pink latte publishing…a wonderful little space for a writing journey. pink latte publishing is antona’s creative writing muse. check out antona’s main blog the musings of a latte queen: narratives of everyday life.
july 3 yvonne perry interviews janet with a blog post, podcast, and book review. yvonne is a freelance writer, editor, award-winning author, speaker, and owner of writers in the sky creative writing services nashville. check her main blog here: www.writersinthesky.com. yvonne is a long-time supporter of janet’s work and blogging buddy. her son-in-law, scott kidd was the audio engineer for “sightlines: a family love story in poetry and music.”
july
week six
4 molly lundquist welcomes janet for a guest post, review, book club suggestions, and midwestern recipes at lit lovers (http://www.litlovers.com), a well-read community dedicated to books and book clubs
8 janet muirhead hill interviews her sister-janet (there is a club of us janets!) at http://janetmuirheadhill.blogspot.com. janet muirhead hill is the author of the miranda and starlight series of books for children as well as the founder of raven publishing. check out her two websites at: www.janetmuirheadhill.com and www.ravenpublishing.net. both janets are members of women writing the west.
10 susan gallacher-turner interviews janet on susan’s art & words at http://sculpturepdx.blogspot.com where susan shares insights on living the creative life with essays, interviews, book reviews and articles. her main website is http://www.susangt.com where you’ll see images of her beautiful work.
week seven
15 mary cunningham woof! (women only over 50) hosts janet’s guest post on achieving your dream after 50 through collaboration at http://www.woofersclub.blogspot.com simultaneously, mary will feature the audio book at http://www.booklandheights.blogspot.com, reaching new heights in the land of books.
mary is the author of a fantasy/time-travel series, co-author of the soon-to-be-released book, woof: women only over 50, an uplifting collection of personal anecdotes and poems about how it feels and what it means to be a woman in her fifties. she lives in the beautiful mountains of west georgia and is a member of the society of children’s book writers and illustrators. she is a frequent commenter on www.riehlife.com.
17 janet elaine smith hosts janet riehl on her internet radio show “marketing for fun and profit” on pivt (passionate internet voices) at http://www.internetvoicesuadio.com/arch-janetesmith.htm. see her main website at http://www.janetelainesmith.com where you can learn more about her fun faith-based fiction for the whole family.
week eight
21 damaria senne (pronounced da-maria sen-nay) interviews janet on “story pot: a writer’s online journal” http://damariasenne.blogspot.com. story pot cooks the complexities of modern african life with traditional spice. damaria is an award-winning writer based in johannesburg where i visited her in august 2008. she kindly arranged for janet to visit her family in her home village. damaria’s current focus includes relationships, HIV and aids, and career development. damaria’s first children’s book the doll that grew was published by macmillan SA in 1993. her second reader, boitshoko was listed by heinemann SA in 1996 and translated into 4 languages.
22 hal manogue interviews janet at http://halmanogue.blogspot.com where he shares insightful thoughts for the 21st century and considers that the now is waiting. hal’s main website http://www.shortlseeves.net invites us to live an ordinary life in a non-ordinary way. hal is a poet and essayist who authored the books: short sleeves insights, short sleeves spirit songs, and short sleeves: a book for friend. hal is a long-time blogging buddy. he read the introduction to janet’s audio book. he lunched with janet and yvonne at the yellow porch on her first trip to nashville when she recorded the studio portion of sightlines and met scott kidd, her audio engineer. he met with janet again when janet returned to nashville this year for her celebration launch dinner with the team that made the project possible.
week nine
27 irene watson hosts janet’s guest post on “how to make and produce an audio book” on blogging authors www.bloggingauthors.com,a gathering place for writers and readers. this site is a brain-child of reader views, which irene founded. book reviews and interviews of “sightlines: a poet’s diary” plus janet’s father’s novel “cattle country and back trails: two tales from the thompson western series” are located here. irene is author of the sitting swing. she is the manging editor for reader views and lives with her husband in austin, texas.
30 carol cole lewis hosts janet on the final stop of the internet tour as they chat about the tour as a case study in internet marketing http://c-cole-lewis.com. carol provides authentic, sustainable internet and media marketing for small business as she considers the question: so, you gotta have a website…now what?
image by mezzoblue