Geralyn Dawson: The Pink Magnolia Club

Pocket Books (Paperback), ISBN 0-7434-4265-2

An unlikely trio of Southern women meet in the women’s restroom at a charity auction of donated wedding gowns. Strangers of widely differing ages with virtually nothing in common, they become friends when the youngest of the three engages in a rousing fight with her boyfriend in the restroom.

Holly Weeks, the instigator of the fight, didn’t want to attend the sale, a benefit for an organization that grants the wishes of women with terminal cancer. Holly’s boyfriend lured her there under false pretenses. Holly lacks any desire to marry. The state of wedded bliss never made it to her “Life List.” “Doing Something Naughty,” on the other hand, ranks right next to the top.

Maggie Prescott, middle-aged empty-nester, married to a man who forgot their 25th wedding anniversary, believes donating her wedding gown to the charity will show the world just how little her own marriage means to her. Maggie doubts her matrimonial union will make it through another year.

Grace Hardeman, a volunteer at the sale, wants a party with loved ones to mark her 50 years of marriage. But, soon — far too soon — she faces the fight of her life.

Their individual tales unfold, entwine, become more than they were as the plot delves deeper and deeper into each woman’s life, exposing her fears and hopes.

Billed as a romance but so much more, The Pink Magnolia Club — written with Dawson’s special brand of charm, wit, and wisdom — deserves a special place on every woman’s keeper shelf. It addresses friendship and trust, love and caring, and a charity that is very real. The three women, all at turning points in their lives, learn friendship crosses all barriers and endures.

You can find the charity, Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, on the Web at www.makingmemories.org. Making Memories accepts wedding gowns, wedding rings, and cash donations. The organization uses the cash and proceeds from the gowns and jewelry to grant wishes.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White’s latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I’ve Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.