Blog Tour: Week 4

Well, the blog tour for "At the Corner of Magnetic and Main" sort of went out with a whimper. One person didn't post as planned. One didn't do a review like I'd expected. But I did get the extra bonus of being featured at Southern Authors and having the new book featured this week as well. That was excellent!

You can find the posts here:

Southern Authors Interview

Linda Apple at Sisterhood of the Traveling Pen

Paris at Paris Baker's Book Nook

Paris said, "'At the Corner of Magnetic and Main' is a really lovely, light-hearted read with a refreshing take on the eternal question of 'what happens to us after we die?'"

And that's the conclusion of the official blog tour.

I may well hold a Facebook party with prizes in December, but the jury is still out on that. Maybe I just need to recover from a few very busy months. Let me get past Thanksgiving, which will actually be celebrated here on Monday due to our daughter's work schedule. No, she does not work retail, so you don't have to jump on that. A lot of people work on the holidays. Smile at them kindly if you encounter them.

Saturday is the Ozark Writers League meeting in Branson, so Sunday I can post about that and my school visits in Eureka Springs last week. Let's hope there are dozens of people at the meeting who just can't wait to get their hands on "At the Corner of Magnetic and Main." A writer can always dream.

Blog Tour: Week 3

This week was a bit quieter, especially since one blogger failed to post as promised. Ah well. It's part of the process. I am super-grateful to the two ladies who did post:

Holly at Bookaholic Confessions

Debbie at The Styling Librarian

Holly wrote, "Meg's writing is really special. She has made this gorgeous tale believable and brought her ghostly characters to life in a way that will capture readers' attention and melt your heart at the same time."

I also received this review at amazon from talented author Lori Ericson.

5.0 out of 5 starsEnchanting Tale of Afterlife and Love

ByLori Ericsonon November 15, 2015

Format: Paperback

The writer uses the tale of ghosts stuck between heaven and earth for a charming look at balancing
the giving of ourselves for others and taking care of our own needs. It's told from several voices with 
perfectly timed dialogue and intricately woven description of a lovely small Arkansas town and its 
inhabitants, both living and dead. We learn the power of love and giving from Penny, a ghost who 
has spent decades watching over a small diner and helping the just died into "The Light" of eternity. 
When Jake, a rough and tumble biker, comes into the picture and refuses to move on just yet,
Penny's there to help him better interact with the living. However, Jake ends up teaching her a few 
things as well. The author presents an absolutely charming story that offers up plenty of thoughts 
about being good to ourselves and others, and the possibility of afterlife without any preachy overtones. 
A good read!

Thanks, Lori! I'll be picking up her new book, "A Lovely Country," at the Ozark Creative Writer's Conference on the 21st.

Next week will wrap up the tour before the holidays with a flourish of support from Heather Davis, Southern Authors, Paris Baker's Book Nook, and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pen (Linda Apple, to be specific).

If you don't already follow Heather Davis on Facebook, well, you should. The Queen of TMI has wonderful books and will be sharing her thoughts on "At the Corner of Magnetic and Main" on Monday. Click here to follow her.

On November 17th, 18th, and 19th, I will be meeting with the kindergarten through third grade classes at the Eureka Springs Elementary School Library to talk about being an author and my middle grade books. From the 17th - 20th, "Why Kimba Saved The World" will be free on kindle so each of the kids can download it at no cost. But there's no law saying that you can't get a copy as well!

And if you haven't already, you can get your own copy of "At the Corner of Magnetic and Main" and see what all the ghostly fuss is about.

Blog Tour: Week 2

As the blog tour for At the Corner of Magnetic and Main continues, we added four new posts:

Moxxley at Platypire Reviews

Diane Coto at Fiction Zeal

Blanche Day Manos at her author blog

and

Tara at Absolutely Tara

I really appreciate their lovely reviews and observations about what the book meant to them. Tara joked that at first she was a little suspicious that she was getting into some kind of "ghost porn" situation, but she quickly realized that I wasn't going to go there. No thanks. As she concluded, it's really not about the Penny/Jake relationship at all. That's just one of the friendships in Penny's world.

"It's an innocent telling of a relationship with the self. It mirrors the struggle living women have all the time. Forgetting our own needs so we can care for others. Carrying the burden of those around us while not even realizing we've forgotten to take care of ourselves."

Yes, that's exactly what I intended, Tara.

Moxxley said in her amazon review, "I think that this story was amazing from start to finish. It kinda gives you that kick in the pants that you desperately need but you don't know that you need it."

A kick-in-the-pants ghost story. I'll take it!

This coming week we continue with posts at Bookaholic, Crafty Cauldron, and The Styling Librarian!!

Blog Tour: Week 1

The first week of the blog tour is complete! Thank you so much to the ladies who took the time to post and review and share At the Corner of Magnetic and Main with their followers. You can find their posts at the links below.

Blame it on the Books

That's What Mo Read

Jan Morrill Writes

Rusty's Reading

Write on Purpose

Spoonful of Happy Endings

Adventures in Publishing

And there were two other posts this week that were not officially part of the blog tour, but I'll share them anyway because I'm always grateful when someone wants to help promote my work.

Tome Tender

Catherine Bennett

Not every blogger was ga-ga over the book, we had one no-show, and some of them are such prolific posters I am already buried under a dozen other books, but overall, it was a successful week. I'm especially grateful to Diane at Tome Tender for this line in her amazon review:

"Meg Welch Dendler has written a beautiful and gentle tale, far from the usual ghost fare we have come to expect. This is a tale of love, for life, for others and for doing the right thing, even if it is by unconventional methods. It is a tale of moving on to the next chapter and leaving the comfort zones behind for a chance at a better future. Delightful women’s fiction to savor and enjoy!"

And for this from MC at Blame it on the Books:

"I was actually disappointed when I reached the end of this book, because I wanted to spend more time with the characters in their cozy little world. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Meg’s next book, because I have found a new author whose storytelling I absolutely love!"

We are taking the Halloween weekend off the tour because it's not that kind of ghost book. Enjoy your spooky and scary. We will be back on Tuesday, November 3 with Platypire Reviews. At least 8 more stops to go!

Blog Tour Begins!

Today is the start of my blog tour for 

At the Corner of Magnetic and Main! 

First stop: That's What Mo Read. Click on the link to read her comments and review. The amazon version hasn't shown up yet, so I'll have to share that later.

The rest of the tour is lined up from now until Thanksgiving vacation, with a fast and furious pace for the next week. Thank you so much to each of these ladies for taking part and supporting my book release!

Oct. 23  MC at Blame it on the Books

Oct. 24  Jan at Jan Morrill Writes

Oct. 25  Lorrain Masterson at Rusty’s Reading

Oct. 26  Jen at The Crafty Cauldron

Oct. 27  Ronda DelBoccio at Write on Purpose

Oct. 28  Jody at Spoonful of Happy Endings

Oct. 29  Marianne Sciucco at Adventures in Publishing

Nov. 3  Moxxley at Platypire Reviews

Nov. 4  Diane Coto at Fiction Zeal

Nov. 5  Blanche Day Manos at Blanche’s Blog

Nov. 7  Tara Schiller at Absolutely Tara

Nov. 10  Holly Kilminster at Bookaholic Confessions 

Nov. 13  Debbie Alvarez at The Styling Librarian

Nov. 18  Paris Baker at Paris Baker’s Book Nook

Nov. 19  Linda Apple at The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pen

Heather Davis and Karen Nelson are still figuring out their best dates.

War Eagle Fair Update

Early morning photo, when it was still chilly.

As with last year, the War Eagle Fall Craft Fair was our best event of the year. The mornings were chilly, but every day warmed up and was sunny and beautiful. Perfect fall days for kids and parents and grandparents to head home with copies of my books and smiles on their faces. We saw license plates from Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, and Nebraska in the parking lot. The whole fair is a real party.

This is the view outside my tent. Throngs of shoppers!

I'd like to thank Jarrett, Rachel, Emily, Ben, Ava, Leah, Reagan, Barb, Claire, Chasin, Isabel, Melissa, Elliot, Adelaide, Myleshia, Laney, Adelynn, Erin, Jadyn, Benjamin, Nicholas, Peyton, Laney, Kate, Mackenzie, Chole, Kinlee, Elijah, Abby, Amanda, Jacque, Legend, Harmon, Sandy, Danijo, Caitlin, Elise, Abs, and baby Olivia (along with all the names I didn't get) for becoming new readers.

What was also thrilling beyond belief was to connect with fans who already have the Cats in the Mirror books, love them, and came by to get the new ones or just say hi because they already have them all. One grandma yelled, "There she is!" across the crowded aisle and grabbed up a Miss Fatty Cat toy to go with the book, along with Max's Wild Night and his toy. A pair of grandmas, who were vendors near us at the spring fair, stopped by to say how much the grandkids love the books and carry their Kimba and Hiro toys around with them. My writer-heart could not be prouder.

This was our view for the four days of the fair. Awesome neighbors with cool, handpainted stuff.
Can you find Kimba and Hiro? 

We also found out that the owners of the booth that moved across the aisle from us this fall are fans, and we even got to meet the kid readers briefly before packing-up time on Sunday afternoon.

Can you find Kimba and Hiro now?

Our older daughter and her roommate came up from Fayetteville for the afternoon and enjoyed shopping and a giant smoked turkey leg, as one must at the fair. Yes, "Mindy" has pink in her hair. It matches my new book, doesn't it?

Dottie wasn't allowed over on the mill side of the fair, so she hung out with us for a bit. Booth neighbors came looking for her later. Such a sweet dog. I should write a book about her. Soon!

You never know who will stop by to visit. Miller the dog from the Saddlebock Brewery Beer Garden booth across the way came by to show off his new outfit from the fair. Yes, there is a bit of everything.

I would kind of like to sleep for a week now, but it was well worth every minute of it. One of the most interesting moments came near the end of the fair. A woman stopped and asked if At the Corner of Magnetic and Main was set in Eureka Springs. We chatted a bit and she picked up a copy. When I asked if she had ever been to Eureka Springs, she smiled and admitted that she owns the Crescent Hotel (featured in the book and home of Katie, the Irish maid). If that wasn't fun enough, she came back a while later, after thumbing through the book some, to ask if it was set at the diner on that corner of town. She knows the owners and promptly bought a copy for them. That's outstanding! I hope they like it.

We have a break from in-person events for a couple of weeks, but the blog tour for At the Corner of Magnetic and Main starts on Thursday. You'll be seeing all kinds of posts about that. Early reviews have been fantastic, so I hope it will be a great tour with new bloggers and readers to meet.

I'll leave you with one of the reviews that's not a part of the official tour, from Diane at Tome Tender:

A Gentle Tale of Ghosts and Moving on...

By Dii TOP 500 REVIEWER on October 18, 2015

It’s the time of year for ghost stories, want to read along with the crowd but aren’t too crazy about scary tales? Pick up Meg Welch Dendler’s At the Corner of Magnetic and Main and settle in to discover the real story of what goes on when ghosts haunt a town, because there can be life after death.

Penny is the friendly waitress, serving up ice cream in the old diner at Magnetic and Main. Although she looks seventeen, she’s been doing her job with a smile and a kind word for sixty years. Penny is a ghost, safely ensconced in her small town in a place that gave her comfort in life. For decades she has helped others go on into the light and eternal joy.

In struts Jake, the hot, biker bad boy with a devilish streak and zest for living life on the edge. Can she guide him into the light or has Jake got a few adventures left on his bucket list to take care of first? Life as a ghost will never be the same for Penny and the other resident ghosts once Jake cuts loose, but one thing happens she could never see coming…

Meg Welch Dendler has written a beautiful and gentle tale, far from the usual ghost fare we have come to expect. This is a tale of love, for life, for others and for doing the right thing, even if it is by unconventional methods. It is a tale of moving on to the next chapter and leaving the comfort zones behind for a chance at a better future. Delightful women’s fiction to savor and enjoy!

Tome Tender: At the Corner of Magnetic and Main by Meg Welch De...

Tome Tender: At the Corner of Magnetic and Main by Meg Welch De...: At the Corner of Magnetic and Main by Meg Welch Dendler My rating: 5 stars Publication Date: September 29, 2015 Publisher: Pe...