November | 2015 | Sisterhood of the Traveling Pen

Meg_headshot_Kindle

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Meg Dendler has considered herself a writer since she won a picture book contest in fifth grade and entertained her classmates with ongoing sequels for the rest of the year. Beginning serious work as a freelancer in the ’90s while teaching elementary and middle school, Meg has over one hundred articles in print, including interviews with Kirk Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She has won contests with her short stories and poetry, along with multiple international awards for her best-selling Cats in the Mirror alien rescue cat children’s book series.

At the Corner of Magnetic and Main is her first adult novel, but it won’t be her last. Meg and her family (including four cats and her dog, Max) live at 1,400 feet in the Ozark Mountains on what they call Serenity Mountain, just outside of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

AT THE CORNER OF MAGNETIC AND MAIN

SYNOPSIS: It’s hard to get on with your life when you’re already dead. Penny had been stuck in the same diner for decades—ever since she died in 1952. Her diner was comfortable and safe. Serving ice cream to those who dropped in on their way to the next level of existence, she helped to ease their transition into The Light, the one place she can’t go. Her afterlife was perfect.

But when the ridiculously handsome, bad-boy biker Jake Thatcher shows up and becomes stuck as well, Penny rediscovers feelings that she thought had been buried with her body.

Life is still life, and love is still love. But was her existence really perfect, or was it something else entirely?

The SISTERHOOD is excited for fellow writer, Meg Welch Dendler, on the debute of her new novel. And as you can see, she has a pretty darned good premise. So what kind of writer comes up with such ideas? We thought you’d like to know, so we asked a few questions!

Meg, what was your inspiration for this book?

It started with the actual diner that sits at the corner of Magnetic and Main. We had lunch there, and it was just so kitschy and delightful. Then a friend mentioned that “at the corner of Magnetic and Main” sounded like a good book title, so I started pondering what that book would be about. After that, I was off and running.

Hook us with your first line!

“Life never ceases to be life, just as love never ceases to be love, and love is eternally at the heart of what every immortal soul years for.”

What actors would you choose to play the leading roles in your book?

There has been a lot of controversy at my house about this because my husband sees Penny very differently from how I see her. I hate to put faces with my characters for that very reason. I’d rather let the reader develop his/her own way of seeing her. But I will admit that a young Ian Somerhalder was definitely what I had in mind when I wrote Jake. When I do a Facebook party in December, one of the games will be to cast the movie version, so I’m really curious to see how others would cast it.

What message did you want the reader to come away with, if any?

From the opening line, it is obvious the book is about love. It’s also about learning how to get unstuck. The characters, as ghosts, are stuck here in a semi-earthly life, but it is just as easy to get stuck and dormant and lost in normal life. I’ve been there many times. Penny’s challenge is to take her life into her own hands and find a way to keep seeking a joyful life full of love. I truly believe that life continues past what we can see, and I can only imagine that we keep wanting the same things. Like love. Everyone wants to be loved.

Tell us something quirky about yourself.

I also write children’s books about animals, so I’m forever coming up with names and stories for the creatures we see around our property. One time we spotted a massive black snake, probably seven feet long, heading up the steps of our outdoor pavilion. Instead of freaking out, I just decided that we would call him Dwight. It’s easier to calmly imagine a huge snake somewhere in our yard if his name is Dwight. Much less threatening.

Hurry and purchase your copy of:

At the Corner of Magnetic and Main by Meg Dendler

Trade paper: 180 pp | ISBN 978-1-942428-50-3 | Price: $13.97 eBook: ISBN 978-1-942428-51-0 | $4.97

Availability: via Ingram, Amazon.com, BN.com, Pen-L.com and local booksellers

MORE INFORMATION, please visit:

www.Pen-L.com/MagneticAndMain.html

Links for Meg Welch Dendler:

Web site:

http://megdendler.com

Blog:

http://megdendler.blogspot.com

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