Per Southern Magic’s VP Debbie McDonald: Not Another Swipe is her book that was published in 2025. It’s romantic suspense. She may talk about her other historical and contemporary works but I asked her to talk about her Truepair series which is romantic suspense.

Speaker: Paula Webb is a writer, historian, and librarian whose work bridges fact and fiction with Southern charm and emotional depth.  She is the author of both historical biographies and contemporary novels, including the TruePair Series. When she’s not writing, Paula champions the arts and literacy through her work at the University of South Alabama and community initiatives. Not Another Swipe is the first novel in her romantic suspense series exploring love, identity, and the power of unexpected connections.

Presentation: Author Wellness by Carita Holman.

Per our vice president, Debbie McDonald,

1)Collect for toy drive–Police Chaplain will collect toy donations and speak for a few minutes.

2)General meeting.

3)Guest speaker, Cynthia Eden, will speak about how to write a holiday romance. Here is her bio:

Cynthia Eden is a New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, and IndieReader bestselling author of romantic suspense, contemporary romance, and paranormal romance. She’s a prolific author who lives along the Alabama Gulf Coast.  Each year, Cynthia has a tradition of releasing one new holiday romance for her readers.  She loves the magic of the Christmas season and can’t wait to share tips on crafting both holiday novellas and full-length books. In addition to an analysis of writing holiday romances, she will discuss ways to market these tales not just during November and December, but throughout the year.  

4)Literary Santa  (Southern Magic’s version of Dirty/Naughty Santa. Gifts with literary themes, no more than $15).

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North Shelby Library address is 5521 Cahaba Valley Rd, Birmingham, AL 35242

August 2 – More info to follow soon.

September 6 – Bob McGough, Organic Marketing video. (Online)

October 4 – Discussion About Paranormal Romance. More info to follow.

October 24 – 26 For members only writers retreat. Join SM and come to free weekend retreat.

November 1 – No meeting (Retreat took its place)

December 6 – Discussion About Holiday Romances

January 3 – Field Trip to Books, Beans, Candle shop in downtown Birmingham, AL USA

Presentation to be advise.

Presentation:

We will be practicing and going over the October Fiction Writing Workshop (10/19) scheduled for the North Shelby Library. Please attend. You will certainly learn a lot about writing and one of the subjects may be of special interest to you. And we are certainly open for suggestions. For more information about the Library’s program that will be on October 19, click here: https://northshelby.librarycalendar.com/event/nanowrimo-event-11944

Presentation:

Group chat about the importance of First Lines in books, including examples of current members and well-known authors and/or favorite lines.