In STRANGERS HAVE THE BEST CANDY, full-time adventurer Margaret Meps Schulte casts caution to the wind, striking up conversations with laughing, crying, boozing, and topless strangers all over the USA and beyond. Their stories, and the resulting hijinks and friendships, are her candy, her rewards for breaking the rules about talking to strangers. Schulte's powerful narrative brings unlikely real people into the light, from Betty, the vivacious mayor of a small town in Newfoundland, to Boopsie, a skinny-dipping breast cancer survivor. The book features over 100 pen-and-ink illustrations of chance encounters, elusive and fleeting scenes that could never have been photographed. These humorous, heartwarming tales will inspire readers of all ages to talk to strangers and meet new people. Schulte shows us how to set aside fear and judgment to look for connection and serendipity in our own lives.

Margaret Meps Schulte is the U.S. expert on how to talk to strangers and make the most from spontaneous encounters. She is best-known for her lively presentations on "How to Talk to Strangers," which are accompanied by original -- and unforgettable -- giant cartoons. A full-time adventurer and former bluewater sailor, she has a million crazy, creative ideas every day. She has lived aboard a 33-foot junk-rigged sailboat, Flutterby, and in a lumbering van known as "The Squid Wagon." She is currently based in Vero Beach, Florida, but she falls in love with every place where she stays at least two weeks.