Meredith Ritchie and Poster Girls
Author Meredith Ritchie with her novel Poster Girls and a bottle of Rose
About the Book: After an unwanted southern migration, an upside-down world in 1943 offers military wife and mother, Maggie Slone, a job at Charlotte's largest wartime employer-the massive and dangerous Shell Assembly Plant. Meanwhile, military wife and Alabama native, Kora Bell's steadfast determination enables her to navigate the challenges she faces as a Black woman seeking employment under Jim Crow. A shared love of literature begins an unlikely friendship between Kora and Maggie, and the two work together to unify the plant's workforce. Stringent rules are necessary when the air is charged with gun powder and polite society, until Maggie and Kora must break them in order to support their families, end the war, and bring their husbands home. Told from two perspectives, Poster Girls is driven by the true but forgotten events and accomplishments of a diverse group of American women, both relevant and necessary to stop modern cycles of misunderstanding.
About the Beverage: Meredith recommends pairing her book with “Rose wine, any brand, but there is a fun bottle from Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards called Rosie the Riveter Rose because maybe as a reflection of my own experience, but definitely as a reflection of the trials of war time, my characters consequentially drink a fair share of wine. There are several wine toasts given to mark special occasions and social rituals. My characters reflect the true Rosie the Riveter spirit and represent the forgotten HERstory of many in this country.”
About the Author: Meredith Ritchie is the debut author of Poster Girls. Her historical fiction novel takes place during WWII in North Carolina, and is based on the true but forgotten events that happened in her hometown. When her triplets left for college, she wrote Poster Girls as a cure for acute empty nest syndrome. She lives with her husband, two cats, six backyard chickens and three grown adults that occasionally return to her cozy coop. Poster Girls was named 2022 "Best of the Nest" for fiction by QC Nerve magazine and was recently named as part of the 2024 North Carolina Reads program sponsored by NC Humanities, a division of the Library of Congress. A lifelong learner, Meredith believes history told in the form of stories can never be forgotten, especially history that happened in our own backyard.
POSTER GIRLS is available for purchase on sites like Amazon, B&N, and Indiebound.org. It is also available to listen to on Audible and to read through Kindle.
FOLLOW MEREDITH RITCHIE
www.meredithritchie.com
*Learn about Poster Girls becoming a potential movie!
