About

About Me


My name is Cheryl - "Chery" for short (you can call me either one) - Eichar Jett and I love travel, history, books, architecture, museums, music, old musical instruments, maps, road trips, theatre, genealogy, Mid-Century Modern furniture and design, flower gardening, word games, antique and second-hand shops, writing, and reading. 

At SIUE I did two degrees in history (perfect GPA on my masters, thank you very much) plus I did some coursework in arts management from UMass (online) and made two trips to the Santa Fe Screenwriting Conference (in person). 

Arcadia Publishing has been my publisher for six books. Joe Sonderman and I collaborated on two of them, Route 66 in Illinois and then Route 66 in Kansas, my sixth and his bazillionth, for Arcadia Publishing. My next book project is different from the Arcadia pictorial format. It's not under contract yet, but it tells the stories of the amazing women during the historic Route 66 era who contributed to what we think of as Route 66 culture.

 I'm super excited about freelancing for over a year now for ROUTE Magazine! Please check out this great, fun, beautiful magazine about Route 66 and Americana at https://www.routemagazine.us

I'm also a regular contributor for  The 66 News (Route 66 Association of Illinois quarterly newsletter) and Show Me Route 66 (Route 66 Association of Missouri quarterly magazine). I'm in my ninth year writing a monthly column, "Along Route 66," for The Prairie Land Buzz, an Illinois publication (available online at http://www.thebuzzmonthly.com). I also write fiction.

In 2015, I established the first Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference in Edwardsville, Illinois, and served as Conference Director; it is now an annual Illinois event! (The second MOP conference was held in Bloomington-Normal in 2016, the third in Joliet in 2017, the fourth in Carlinville in 2018, and the fifth in Normal in 2019.) The 2021 SIXTH ANNUAL Miles Of Possibility Conference (MOPCON) - "A Worldwide Celebration of Route 66" - will be held virtually October 21-24, 2021! (The 2020 MOPCON was cancelled due to the pandemic.) The 2022 SEVENTH ANNUAL Miles of Possibility will return to a live, in-person event at PONTIAC, ILLINOIS in October 2022! https://route66milesofpossibility.com
Awards

From the Lincoln School Alumni Foundation, Edwardsville, Illinois, for Commitment, Dedication, and Continued Support, April 13, 2013.

 WOW! Women on Writing Winter 2015 Flash Fiction Contest - Placed in Top Ten
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/64-FE1-Winter15Contest.html

 WOW! Women on Writing Spring 2015 Flash Fiction Contest - Placed in Top Ten 
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/65-FE1-Spring15Contest.html

Las Cruces magazine's First Annual Fiction Contest (2016) - First Place Winner
http://lascrucesmagazine.com/fiction-contest-submissions/






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June 2017 Route 66 events and adventures with the new van

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