Sandy Springs Crier - March 7, 2024

Mixed-use development unveils expansion plans

Library hosts Southern fiction writers

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — During a stop on “The Magic & Karma Tour” at the Sandy Springs Library Feb. 27, Southern fiction writers Love Hudson-Maggio and Jennifer Moorman shared their stories, processes and inspirations.

Both say the genre has exploded in popularity since the pandemic.

Several themes tie together both

books, including magic and karma, community, cultural cuisine and destiny.

“If you’ve read a lot of other Southern authors, everyone writes about the South differently,” Moorman said, “because every perspective about the South is different.”

Moorman’s “The Magic All Around,” published in January by Harper Muse, details a series of tasks that Mattie Russell must complete after the death of her mother.

In the genre of magical realism, which allows fantastical elements to slip into contemporary life, readers follow Russell as she discovers the secrets her mother left behind.

The 11th stop on their tour of the Atlantic Coast brought Tifton-native Moorman and Sandy Springs-native HudsonMaggio to the Fulton County Library branch on Mount Vernon Highway.

Sandy Springs Society sets March fundraiser

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The “Tossed Out Treasures” fundraiser kicks off a St. Patrick’s Day weekend of sales with the “Spring Fling Launch Party” March 14.

The annual shopping for a cause, hosted by The Sandy Springs Society, benefits nonprofits throughout the community.

The sale runs from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 15-16, and from noon-3 p.m. Sunday, March 17.

First held in 1992, the event showcases the reuse of antiques, fine china, silver, glassware, designer clothing, highend accessories, jewelry, books, upscale home decor, electronics, children’s items and more.

See

SANDY SPRINGS SOCIETY/PROVIDED

The Sandy Springs Society is accepting donations for its “Tossed Out Treasures” fundraiser March 14-17. The nonprofit is accepting donations until March 9 for the annual shopping for a cause event.

REBECCA LEVER/PROVIDED

Love Hudson-Maggio , left, author of “Karma Under Fire,” discusses her motivations and writing process with her friend, Jennifer Moorman , author of “The Magic All Around” and the three-part “Mystic Water” series, Feb. 27 at the Sandy Springs Library on Mount Vernon Highway.

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Each week, Appen Media requests police incident reports to inform residents about the safety of their community. Sandy Springs continues to withhold what it calls the “narrative reports.” It is the only city Appen Media covers that follows this practice, which goes against guidance from the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Attorney General’s Office, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Sheriff’s Association, Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia and Georgia Press Association.

The City of Sandy Springs concedes that initial incident reports must be made available to the public.

Guidance from the state Attorney

General’s Office is that, “a common-sense interpretation of ‘initial incident report’ is that anything written at the same time as the first part of the report is part of the initial incident report.”

Above at left is a report given to Appen Media by the City of Sandy Springs. The provided document, which is supposed to be an account of what took place when an officer responds to a scene, features just one sentence:

“On 02/21/2024 I, Officer 400 did contact a suspicious person at this location.”

The newspaper contends that officers made additional observations at the scene, and that those details are filed in a separate

report which the city then withholds from the public.

Above at right is a report from the Dunwoody Police Department, describing a driver cited for having invalid insurance.

Appen Media will continue pursuing the release of more detailed documents that belong to the public in order to inform residents how safe – or unsafe – their city is.

It has spent roughly $35,000 in legal fees, while Sandy Springs spends taxpayer dollars to fight the newspaper in court. Readers can help the newspaper by writing their city representatives or contributing to the Sandy Springs Open Records Fund at appenmedia.com/openrecords.

Metro area school districts log top rankings in SAT, ACT

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

METRO ATLANTA — Metro Atlanta school districts ranked among the best in the state for SAT and ACT scores based on the performance of the class of 2023.

Colleges across the United States use the SAT and the ACT to assess college readiness and determine acceptance and placement. A perfect score is 1600.

Among the 165 public school districts that recorded scores, Forsyth County Schools’ total mean ranked highest at 1177.

Three Forsyth County high schools, Lambert (1254), Alliance Academy for Innovation (1239) and South Forsyth (1218) ranked among the top 10 for average scores. Denmark High School ranked 18th highest with a mean of 1168.

The Georgia Department of Education placed the statewide average SAT score at 1045.

“It takes talented students, dedicated teachers and support staff, engaged parents and guardians, and a supportive community for this to happen,” Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Jeff Bearden said. “We are fortunate to have all of this in our community to provide a safe, connected and thriving educational experience.”

Fulton County Schools, the state’s fourth largest district by enrollment, came in 19th place with a system-wide average score of 1085.

Students at Northview High School in Johns Creek earned the second highest average (1263) among all individual schools in Georgia.

The DeKalb County School District ranked 92nd with a mean score of 993 for 2,721 test-takers.

Forsyth County Schools also ranked second for the highest composite ACT score in Georgia at 24.4 with 1,663 students tested.

The ACT measures math, reading, science and English proficiency. Students can also take an optional writing section. A perfect score is 36.

Lambert High School ranked third (26.5), Alliance Academy for Innovation ranked fourth (26.3) and South Forsyth ranked seventh (25.3) overall for average composite scores.

Fulton County Schools came in seventh place with an average systemwide score of 22.8 with 3,282 students tested. Northview (second) and Alpharetta (sixth) high schools also placed in the top 10 for individual per -

2023 SAT Results for North Fulton high schools

2023 ACT Results for North Fulton high schools

formance.

DeKalb County recorded 20.6 as its average composite score for 1,129 testtakers. Chamblee Charter High School ranked fifth among individual school scores at 25.8.

The statewide ACT average was 21.3, and the national average was 19.5.

Campus 244 highlights growth and Phase Two rollout

DUNWOODY, Ga. — The developers of Campus 244 have announced updates Feb. 26 on welcoming tenants and expanding into the second phase of the mixed-use development.

With leasing success during the first phase, developers The Georgetown Company and RocaPoint Partners are announcing Phase Two – The Stacks building – designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which will feature 300,000-square-feet of Class-AA office space, with an outdoor space on each of its six floors.

The 1.3 million-square-foot campus at Perimeter Center is adjacent to the Dunwoody MARTA station, State Farm’s Perimeter campus, I-285 and Ga. 400.

The location at 244 Perimeter Center Parkway is a 3-minute walk to the MARTA rail network and a 5-minute walk to Perimeter Mall.

This spring, the first phase of the office campus – the Palladium building – will welcome Insight Global, Beon and their employees. So far, the first four floors are fully leased, with 64,085 square feet of rentable office space available on the fifth floor.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Aileen Almassy, Will Porter, and Rob Kuppersmith spearhead office leasing efforts. Steve Yenser manages retail leasing, all

A rendering of Campus 244 shows the planned buildout of Phase One and Two of the mixed-use development at 244 Perimeter Center Parkway in Dunwoody. Developers Georgetown Company and RocaPoint Partners announced Phase Two Feb. 26 which includes a six-story building, The Stacks, to complement the completed, five-story Palladium building.

on behalf of The Georgetown Company.

The first phase features the reimagining of the former Gold Kist office building into five stories of Class A space with 15-foot ceilings and a timber overbuild.

A 145-key hotel, Element by Westin, topped out in February 2024 and is expected to open this fall along with The Spruce Social House, a new food-and-

plenty of options to work, dine, stay, and have fun around the campus,” Georgetown Managing Principal Jonathan Schmerin said. “With the creative office space, hotel and accompanying dining options on-site, we’re bringing a new community gathering spot for the area to reenergize a previously overlooked pocket of the submarket.”

The Spruce Social House, located at the base of the Element Hotel, co-developed by Vision Hospitality Group and Georgetown, will offer a selection of craft beers and non-alcoholic options, alongside a shareable menu of small plates, flatbreads, charcuterie and cheeseboards.

The beverage-focused venue will feature a four-sided indoor and outdoor bar.

RocaPoint Principal Phil Mays said the addition of another office building brings energy to the next phase of the mixed-use development.

beverage concept, and Stäge Kitchen & Bar, a new-to-market restaurant.

The buildout of CT Cantina & Taqueria is underway, with an opening planned for this summer.

“We’re not even talking about the office of the future; we’re talking about the office that employees want today, and that’s a walkable environment with

“Campus 244 is a testament to the demand still out there for high-quality, well-located office space that energizes employees,” Mays said. “We’ve taken the existing building with an interesting history and beautiful, natural-light-filled floorplates that allow for collaboration and created a home for innovative companies to continue to do what they do best.”

— Hayden Sumlin

THE WILBERT GROUP/PROVIDED

City sponsors open forum on key corridor upgrades

By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs city staff and Lowe Engineers personnel hosted an open house Feb. 27 to highlight improvements planned for Peachtree Dunwoody Road and Lake Hearn Drive.

The forum, held at the Palisades Office Park, drew a handful of people, including two commercial real estate brokers.

Because of the concentration of office and medical within the Peachtree Dunwoody corridor, the project will affect few residents directly, City Communications Director Dan Coffer said.

The Peachtree Dunwoody Road corridor, which includes a portion running under I-285, is a major thoroughfare connecting Sandy Springs and Perimeter Center to Buckhead. It accommodates some 23,000 vehicles daily.

The project, with preliminary engineering underway, will construct bicycle and pedestrian improvements along Lake Hearn Drive from Alterra Avenue to Peachtree Dunwoody Road for about a quarter of a mile.

The work includes widening and repaving Lake Hearn Drive to include a left-turn lane, through-left lane and right-turn lane at the intersection.

A 10-foot-wide multi-use path with buffers is slated for the north side of Lake Hearn Drive. On the south side, a 6-foot-wide sidewalk is planned.

The project also covers a little more than a quarter-mile on Peachtree Dunwoody Road between I-285 and Hammond Drive.

A 12-foot-wide multi-use path is proposed along the west side of Peachtree Dunwoody Road, that will tie into the path constructed for the Transform I-285 and Ga. 400 project. The path ends at Hammond Drive.

The Transform project is nearly wrapped up, with the three I-285 bridges complete and final paving in progress.

Relatedly, the Sandy Springs City Council voted Feb. 20 to apply for $14.2 million in federal funds for its PATH 400, a pedestrian mobility project that will run along Ga. 400.

The PATH 400 project will extend the multi-use trail north from the southern city limits to Johnson Ferry Road, where the Transform I-285 and Ga. 400 multi-use path picks up.

City officials estimate the intersection improvements project will cost $4.76 million, including design, rightof-way acquisition, utility relocation and construction.

In May 2022, the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts announced $960,000 in funds for intersection improvements at Peachtree Dunwoody Road at Lake Hearn Drive.

The City Council followed by awarding a $912,000 contract to Lowe Engineers in March 2023 for design services for the project.

The Federal Transportation Administration funds the remaining balance, $3.6 million.

Richard Meehan, chief engineer at Lowe Engineers, said right-of-way acquisition is slated to begin sometime this fall, with bids out for construction anticipated for September 2025.

Officials estimated construction will take one year.

Meehan said his firm has been intermittently working on the project since 2016, and he anticipates it to be completed in winter 2026.

Meehan said there is a possibility the multi-use path and sidewalk along Lake Hearn Drive will be extended across the Fulton and DeKalb counties border to Perimeter Center Parkway. So far, the segment does not have funding or approval, he said.

The only attendees of the open house Feb. 28 were two representatives from SK Commercial Realty, the leasing and management team for The Commons at Lake Hearn, adjacent to the Palisades Office Park.

Furman Wood, senior vice president and broker at SKCR, said construction of the Transform I-285 and Ga. 400 project affected the property on Lake Hearn Drive significantly. He said he does not expect the intersection improvements project to do the same.

The owners of The Commons at Lake Hearn lost a parking garage to the Georgia Department of Transportation’s project, he said.

A new parking structure, streetscape improvements and a revamp of the building’s interior has made the property more attractive, he said. The streetscape improvements from the developers also lessens the project cost for the city.

“About 50 percent of [the project] looked like it was going to impact us, but it looks like it’s not,” Wood said.

The commercial real estate brokers were skeptical about the walkability the project provides in the Perimeter Center, citing hilly terrain and distance from MARTA stations at Medical Center and Dunwoody.

“We would love to have people walk down from the hospitals and stuff like that, you just don’t see a lot of it,” Wood said.

Summer Camps

Where the magic of summer begins

Brought to you by – MJCCA Summer Day Camps

At MJCCA Day Camps, campers make lifelong friendships, try new activities, and have the best summer ever! The possibilities for an amazing summer are endless with our theme, sports, performing arts, teen, and traditional camps for kids in rising Pre-K through 9th grade. Exciting outdoor adventures happen every day at Camp Isidore Alterman, the MJCCA’s traditional camp. In addition to a daily swim in our brandnew aquatic center, campers take aim at our archery range, climb to the top of our rock wall, fly on our exhilarating high-ropes course, and canoe on our lake or zip line across it.

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We also offer a multi-week discount, before-camp and after-camp care, and bus transportation. See all our incredible camp options and regis

Read Local, Shop Local

Reserve your child’s place at Marist School Summer Camps

Brought to you by – Marist School

Your child is invited to spend the summer at Marist School learning new skills, developing passions, and playing with friends in a wide range of summer camp offerings for children ages 5 to 17. With two dozen fun options, there is something for everyone!

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Marist’s sports-themed camps help children improve athletic skills and stay active in a fun environment. Sports camps include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, diving, football, lacrosse, running, soccer, softball, speed training, sports, swim, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling. At fun camp, children enjoy a broad scope of active play on campus and in the pool.

For those seeking educational enrichment, delve into hands-on learning experiences with introduction to critical thinking for middle school students, entertainment tonight broadcasting, music and technology production, sports center broadcasting, sports medicine, science, and theater camp. Our SAT/ACT boot camp and

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Choose from full- and half-day weekly sessions from June 3 – August 2. Need extra care? After-camp options are available until 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Spaces fill up fast, so secure your child's spot at Marist School summer camps today! Visit marist.com/summercamps for detailed information and registration.

Super-sized tile has come to Atlanta

Brought to you by - Bath and Kitchen Galleria

For more than 50 years we’ve been scrubbing grout in our showers, and wondering why they don’t make large tiles equal to the size of entire shower walls? It will look better, be cleaner and certainly more hygienic. In the past, the only full wall solutions were either incredibly expensive, or included putting some sort of acrylic or plastic on the shower walls; a sure pathway to decrease the value of your home!

“We’ve been working on deploying a full wall shower solution for 8 years and its finally here”, says John Hogan president of Bath and Kitchen Galleria in Alpharetta. Working hand-in-hand with Cosentino, a 1$ billion global solid surfaces manufacturer (the maker of Silestone), we can now offer gorgeous patterns of porcelain or quartz-like stone material that covers all of the shower walls, with little or no grout. We can even use the same material for the floors and countertops, says Bobbie Kohm, Vice President of

Design at Bath and Kitchen Galleria.

Manufacturing innovation and cuttingedge technology have come together to create a solution that’s gorgeous, durable, hygienic and easy to clean. This product’s trade name is Dekton, is manufactured in Spain and has been tested globally. It has finally arrived in Atlanta and is being made available to homeowners through Bath and Kitchen Galleria in Alpharetta, a turnkey designremodel company.

North Atlanta was significantly builtout in the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s and there are many homeowners seeking innovative solutions to update their homes. Now homeowners have one more reason to remodel bathrooms. “We remodel over 240 homes each year and for the past few months the grout-free bathrooms have been selling incredibly well”, says Bobbie Kohm.

To learn more about full-wall tile solutions and Dekton you can visit Bath and Kitchen Galleria’s showroom at 10591 Old Alabama Rd Connector in Alpharetta or call them at 678-459-2292.

Remarrying and Wills

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If you remarry, you’ll often want to adopt your partner’s children, or you may have children from previous relationships. When that’s the case, you want to make sure you review your estate plan, so your new family isn’t shut out of an inheritance and that your assets are ultimately distributed according to your wishes.

Some people neglect these updatesthey keep the will from their first marriage that still has their ex-spouse as the beneficiary or Executor, or they may leave all their assets to their new spouse, which could result in them unintentionally shutting the children from a prior marriage out of an inheritance. Here are some costly mistakes that some people make after they remarry:

They do not change beneficiaries. Some people forget to remove their previous spouse as the beneficiary of their retirement accounts, life insurance, and bank accounts. Make sure you avoid this mistake by updating all the beneficiaries to your accounts in the event of a remarriage.

They do not update their Will. Update your will to reflect your current family situation so your ex-spouse does not end

up inheriting your home and assets.

They do not consider the change in heirs. Who your heirs are will change upon a remarriage. If you want your children, rather than your new spouse or their children, to receive your assets, you’ll want to make sure you specify this in your estate planning documents and accounts. Alternatively, if you want your assets to be distributed among your children and your spouse’s children equally, you’ll also want to clarify this so your assets do not end up going to just one party or all to your new spouse, who may not distribute the assets according to your wishes.

With a new family comes a new responsibility to make sure everyone inherits exactly what you want them to inherit. Avoid conflict by appointing the right family member to make decisions in the case you become incapacitated and do careful advance planning to make sure no one is accidentally disinherited creating conflict and possible litigation. Update your estate plan to match your new family situation. Remember - advance planning and clear communication set forth in your estate planning documents is always key to minimizing the risk of conflict and accidental disinheritance after you pass away.

Dunwoody teens sit around Elsie Barrow in the Tilly Mill Road home she and husband H.B shared in the late 1950s.

Home Demonstration Clubs were vital to past farm life

Home Demonstration Clubs for Georgia women began in 1918 and continued through the 1950s. They were important to the farming family, especially during the Great Depression and World War II.

Many counties in Georgia, including DeKalb and Fulton counties, had a Home Demonstration agent, as part of the County Extension Service. The agents traveled around demonstrating methods of preserving food, such as canning or freezing. They sometimes shared other skills including sewing.

In early years, Home Demonstration agents often traveled by horse and buggy. If the visit involved a lesson in canning and the group had no canning equipment, the agent brought a canner. (Atlanta Journal, May 10, 1959, “Canning was main topic in buggy days, she recalls”)

After Ethel Warren came to Dunwoody and married Stephen Spruill in 1933, she became involved with the Dunwoody Home Demonstration Club. She recalled Katherine Strong Rudeseal was the agent for DeKalb County. (“Story of Dunwoody,” by Elizabeth L. Davis and Ethel W. Spruill)

Spruill participated in contests at the annual Harvest Festival, a DeKalb County fair held in Panthersville. Ethel Spruill won contests for cooking with chicken, eggs and for her canning skills. She won the Sears Roebuck’s canning contest and a baking contest sponsored by Fleishman Yeast in 1949.

Young people participating in 4-H were able to learn the same skills. At the time, the focus was farming for boys and food preservation and other home skills for girls. Opal Ward was the Fulton County Home Demonstration agent and Rubye Nance was assistant agent in 1936. The two women gave a demonstration to the Roswell 4-H Club girls. (Atlanta Constitution, June 4,

1936, “Roswell 4-H Club”)

Lois Coogle recalls the Sandy Springs Home Demonstration Club in her book, “Sandy Springs Past Tense.” Coogle says Nell Glass shared her knowledge of cooking and canning, much of which she learned from the Home Demonstration Club. Glass managed her vegetable garden and fruit trees on her own after her husband died. She also kept a cow and chickens, sharing the eggs with her neighbors.

Octie Nance was president of the Sandy Springs Home Demonstration Club in 1935. The March meeting included a program called, “Personality as applied to clothing,” and a committee was formed to beautify the corner of Dunwoody Road and Roswell Road. County agent Opal Ward also attended the meeting. (Atlanta Constitution, April 1, 1935, “Sandy Springs Club”)

The Brookhaven September 1953 Home Demonstration Club meeting featured the topic of storage space. The meeting was held at the home of Mary Robinson on Osborne Road and featured a demonstration on storage space solutions. (Atlanta Constitution, Sep. 23, 1953, “Storage is topic”)

Elsie Barrow’s story demonstrates how the Home Demonstration Club was a place not only to learn but for women to visit with neighbors and become part of a community. When H.B. and Elsie Barrow moved to a home on Tilly Mill Road in Dunwoody in 1947, Elsie felt like “it was the end of the world.” However, soon the Methodist minister rode over on his bike. Then, Ethel Spruill and Arva Floyd came to visit and soon Elsie “… began to love the people and loved the Home Demonstration Club.” (City of Dunwoody Remembers, 1994 oral history, DeKalb History Center archives, available on YouTube)

Award-winning author Valerie Biggerstaff is a longtime columnist for Appen Media and the Dunwoody Crier. She lives in Atlanta. You can email Valerie at pasttensega@gmail.com or visit her website at pasttensega.com.

Front row, from left: Larry Jones, Jim Warnes, Billy Barrow. Back row, from left: Ann Austin, Elsie Barrow, Lynn Bourn.

VALERIE BIGGERSTAFF Columnist

Writers:

Continued from Page 1

“Talking to one of us is like talking to both of us,” Hudson-Maggio said. “It has worked out beautifully, because we have used our networks and our contacts, and we keep each other uplifted and love each other’s work.”

Her first book, “Karma Under Fire,” follows two star-crossed lovers from different corners of the globe.

The chapters alternate narration between Harlow Kennedy, an aspiring jewelry maker from Atlanta, and Tej Mayur, the son of a wealthy East Indian family and prominent chef at an Indian restaurant in Atlanta.

The journey from Atlanta to India and back again compares contemporary Indian and American culture, Hudson-Maggio said.

“I discovered parallels between caste systems and color systems, which can happen in the United States and globally,” Hudson-Maggio said. “At the end of the day, it’s a rom-com, fun and fiction, but there are elements of history in there.”

She said the embrace of her book by Indian and American readers is largely due to research into the similar, yet distinct cultures.

“I like these difficult situations, where they’re almost extremes…how can I find

Sale:

Continued from Page 1

The event has become a must-attend for many antique and consignment retailers for items for their own retail outlets, based on the quality of goods.

The remaining merchandise is donated to area charities.

In partnership with Jamestown, an international and Atlanta-based real estate investment firm, the sale will be at

DEATH NOTICES

William Arrington, 67, of Alpharetta, passed away on February 19, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Georgene Beelitz, 78, of Alpharetta, passed away on February 20, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Bonnie Cagle, 80, of Milton, passed away on February 18, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

people that are so different but similar at the same time,” Hudson-Maggio said. “How can I bring them into a situation where they have to be together and see how it plays out?”

Nonprofit hosts authors

The Friends of the Sandy Springs Library collaborates with Marietta-based Bookmiser, an independent bookstore, to bring in authors to speak.

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Reay will discuss her latest book at the library March 20, “The Berlin Letter,” which follows women in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Venona Project during the 1980s.

The Sandy Springs branch of the Fulton County Library is at 395 Mount Vernon Highway.

Rebecca Lever, member of the Friends of the Sandy Springs Library Board, introduced the authors and their books to about 20 book lovers at the author talk. Lever was awarded the 2023 Mitzi O’Connell Care & Compassion Award by the Community Assistance Center, operating in Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.

“I’m very happy to say that I have had the opportunity to read both,” Lever said.

After the authors discussed their writ-

5920 Roswell Road, Suite C203 in Sandy Springs, the former Tuesday Morning location in the Parkside Shopping Center, above the Sandy Springs Cinema & Taphouse.

New or gently used items can be donated at the venue from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 29-March 9.

Last year, record-breaking sales raised more than $100,000.

Since it began in 1992, the event has raised funds annually, helping more than 30 nonprofits in the community through the Society's grants program, which sup-

Pauline Kephart, 96, of Roswell, passed away on February 22, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Richard Korteling, 87, of Roswell, passed away on February 11, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Jacqueline Lyons, 96, of Roswell, passed away on February 9, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

ing, relationship and thought process, they took questions from readers.

Many wanted to know when they could get their hands on new books.

While “Karma Under Fire” was planned as the first installment in a three-part series, Hudson-Maggio said the lone sequel in the “Karma” series, “Bombay Baby,” comes out this fall.

Moorman plans to unveil the latest in the “Mystic Water” series April 2.

Other questions surrounded recipes from characters, their favorite books and their individual writing processes.

The tour, returning for the Atlanta Writers Conference at the Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel May 4, wraps up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, June 16.

How the authors met

The two Southern fiction writers traced their journeys from growing up in Georgia to traveling up and down the Atlantic Coast for their authors talk.

Moorman is a senior editor at HarperCollins Publishers in Nashville and the bestselling author of the “Mystic Water” series — “The Baker’s Man,” “The Necessity of Lavender Tea” and “A Slice of Courage Quiche.”

“We have similar threads of destiny, faith and karma,” Moorman said. “I think we have that commonality in our stories, where our characters reach that fork in the road or crossroads, and they need to take

ports various nonprofits that promote arts, education, heritage, environment and social services in the city.

In 2023, the Society awarded $300,000 in grants to 32 nonprofits. To date, it has awarded more than $4.8 million in grants to support the community in the past 35 years.

Admission to “Tossed Out Treasures” is free on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For those wanting to be first to discover this year’s finds, a “Spring Fling Preview Party,” including a festive dinner buffet and silent auction, will be held from 6-9 p.m.

Thi Si Nguyen, 92, of Alpharetta, passed away on February 19,2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Antonio Ricci, 90, of Roswell, passed away on February 24, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Rebecca Stiles, 82, of Alpharetta, passed away on February 7, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

control of the next steps.”

Hudson-Maggio is the founder and CEO of a marketing technology firm and former screenwriting fellow at Columbia University in New York.

Moorman and Hudson-Maggio met in the Hamptons, an affluent community on eastern Long Island’s South Fork in New York.

“Basically, we met at a party in the Hamptons back in July, which is so [bourgeois],” Hudson-Maggio said.

The library meeting room erupted in laughter at the joke.

“We connected with other authors who were going to be at this event,” HudsonMaggio said. “We decided to share a house because the Hamptons are ridiculous, right?”

The two authors, who had never met, decided to stay in a cottage away from the main house at the property.

After one phone call, the women decided to hop on the same flight and carpool to Long Island, New York.

After the four-day event in the Hamptons, the duo became best friends, they said.

A six-month process, including work with a publicist, concluded with “The Magic & Karma Tour,” drawing from the titles of their Southern fiction books.

“When we came back, we literally talked every day,” Hudson-Maggio said. “And in one of those conversations, [Moorman] said ‘why don’t we do a book tour?’”

on Thursday, March 14. Tickets are available for $40 through March 10 and can be purchased at the door for $50.

"Inflation is continuing to have an impact on pricing on all nature of products, [and] this is a fantastic opportunity to purchase high quality ‘new-to-you’ items at exceptional prices, while knowing those proceeds are going to benefit the community versus a large retailer," Tossed Out Treasures Chair Kim McAfee said. "Our ‘Spring Fling Preview Party’ is the perfect way to launch this wonderful weekend of shopping and St. Patrick’s Day festivities.”

Dennis Turner, 77, of Alpharetta, passed away on February 21, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

George Venti, 89, of Alpharetta, passed away on February 24, 2024. Arrangements by Northside Chapel Funeral Directors & Crematory.

Hey y’all, I’m Hayden Sumlin and I report on all things in Dunwoody, Milton and Sandy Springs. If you have any story tips or ideas please contact me at hayden@appenmedia.com

2 adjacent plots $7,500/both. $5500/value each. Peaceful, desirable area. 404-402-5602.

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