“That’s kind of you.”
“You’ve been spending time out of Nashville. Was there a specific reason for that?”
“My marriage ended. I needed some time away from the noise. So I headed out to stay with some good friends. Try to find myself again.”
“Is it true that you’ve been working as a bartender?”
I smiled, shrugging with one shoulder. “I’ve had a writing slump. Thought it might help me find something to write about.”
“And has it?”
“In a way, yes. But mostly it’s kept me busy while I sort through personal stuff. Nobody here knew who I was. I was just the guy behind the bar at the local watering hole, instead of a guy hustling songs.”
“Is that how you think of Nashville? As a hustle?”
“It’s other things too, but yes. You’re only as relevant as your latest song. I was pretty tired when I left.”
“Have you found what you were looking for?”
I hesitated, unsure how to answer. But I remembered what Madeleine had advised. Talk about Seraphina. “It’s been good for me, yes. Reminded me that not everything is about music.”
“What do you mean?”
“I grew up in Nashville. My dad was a studio session guitarist.”
“Ray Sloan. Famous in Nashville circles, right?”
“Yeah. He played on a lot of albums back in the eighties and nineties. If you wanted the best, you asked for Ray.”
“What about your mother? Was she a musician as well?”
“No. The Nashville life wasn’t for her. She left my dad when I was ten. I rarely saw her after that.”
“As someone who’s studied your songs, I’ve found themes of abandonment in many of them. Is that because of your mother?”
“I’d say so, yeah. And my dad worked more than he was home. I was kind of a lonely kid. In a lot of ways, I still feel like that lost boy.”
“Do you think songwriters often have a central theme in their work?”
“Maybe. Depends on the songwriter, I guess.”
“When you first started out, did you want to be a performer as well as a writer?”
I shook my head. “No, that never interested me. I’m a behind-the-scenes kind of guy.”
“Ivy James speaks highly of you. In fact, she credits your songs for her career. Can you tell us about your collaboration?”
I reiterated the same story Ivy had told in her interview. How we met. The spilled drink. My song that impressed her. “We’ve just always had a vibe together. When we work together, it’s almost like magic. We’ve written some good songs together, and I’m sure they’ll be more. She’s made some of my songs big hits.”
“She’s been a big part of your life.”
“That’s right.”
“You’re not someone who gives interviews. I’ve tried to get you on here for years, but you’ve never agreed to it. Why now?”
“There have been things said in the press about Ivy and me, which I wanted to refute. Ivy James is not a woman who would ever do something outside of her moral code.”
“Which means?” Claire asked.
