In 2020, Cherith Glover Fluker started blogging about her travels across Alabama.
There was Gulf Shores, Muscle Shoals and Huntsville.
But as her travels expanded across the South, so did her vision for storytelling. Fluker realized that she was missing out on writing about Birmingham, which is where she did public service through her sorority, the Birmingham Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; and she served on the board of directors for the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club. She pitched an idea to a publisher and settled on the concept of writing about the hidden gems in Birmingham. What would she call it? "Secret Birmingham: A Guide to The Weird, Wonderful and Obscure.''
In it, she explored the familiar and not-so-familiar locations in Birmingham. For example, Oak Hill Cemetery, which was created when Birmingham was founded in 1871, is the final resting place for more than 11,000 people, including civil rights trailblazer, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. The cemetery is also known to have been unsegregated during the height of segregation in Birmingham. Fluker wrote that veterans of the Civil War, World War I and World War II are buried at Oak Hill, which is located at 1120 19 St. North. It is diagonally across from the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
"I didn't know they did tours there until I started doing my research,'' said Fluker, 46. "Who knew?''
It took Fluker a year to write and research the book, which was released on Aug. 1. Already, it's turning heads.
Last week, Fluker inboxed entrepreneur, actress and author Tabitha Brown, sharing that she met Brown while attending Brown's book signings in Birmingham and Opelika in 2024, and today, she's an author. This week, Brown shared Fluker's message to Brown's Instagram account, which has more than 4 million followers. In more than a day, the post generated hundreds of likes and thousands of views.
"One lady said, 'I live in Chicago, but I will be going to Barnes and Noble to get your book,' '' Fluker said. "Another person said, 'I don't even live there, but I'm getting a book and planning a drive down.' ''
Fluker is excited that the book has touched people beyond the bounds of Birmingham.
"I want people to be proud to the tell the stories of Birmingham,'' she said. "I want locals to love this city, but I want other people love it, too.''
Throughout the fall, Fluker will host a series of book signings at several places mentioned in the book to increase awareness about their existence. Her first book signing will be Saturday, Aug. 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the House Plant Collective, a brick-and-mortar store and a greenery shop on wheels, 3621 Fifth Ave. South, for "Pages and Plants.'' There, attendees will be able to learn more about the book and do a plant-themed craft.
"I felt like a history buff writing this book,'' she said. "I really had to dig and read other books, talk to people, make sure that the information was correct, as opposed to just going around taking pictures and relying on word of mouth,'' she said.
Researching is hungry business, so, during her writing and reflection, Fluker visited several popular food and beverage destinations such as Gus' Hotdogs, Dread River Distilling Co., the Market at Pepper Place and Niki's West. They are all in the book, as is the General, a quaint sandwich and coffee shop in Forest Park, which is where Fluker ordered a cup of black coffee and a blueberry scone as she sought reassurance from a friend to write the book. The next day, Fluker signed her book contract.
Fluker started out with a list of 150 places to include in the book. But her publisher at Reedy Press encouraged her to cut it to 84. So, within 169 pages, she touched on a variety of locations, including Vulcan Park and Museum, Sloss Furnaces, the Japanese Garden at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Frank's Table Sculpture on the Rotary Trail and Joe Minter's African Village in America near Elmwood Cemetery. The city's civil rights history is also highlighted, including Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which is where four little girls were killed after segregationists planted a bomb under a set of steps in 1963; and the Historic Masonic Temple Building, which was built in 1922 and served as a meeting place during the civil rights movement.
Even though Fluker grew up in Talladega, she has strong ties to the Birmingham area. She worked for the Jefferson County Board of Education for six years; and her father, the late Willie C. Glover, sold cars at Edwards Chevrolet on Third Avenue North. On pages 36 and 37, she wrote about how the dealership, which opened in 1916, is a testament to resilience and tradition.
"That was a way for me to have a part of him in the book. I don't mention his name, but I say my father worked there,'' she said. "Even when I drive by there today, I look back at his corner office to see if someone is in there. He didn't spend a lot of time in his office because he was always out on the lot, selling cars.''
"I think he would just be proud that I'm creating a legacy in that book,'' said Fluker, who is a travel writer with an undergraduate degree from Auburn University and a doctorate from Samford University.
"He would be happy that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone because I had talked about writing a book for years. I wished I had done this sooner.''
For more information about Fluker's book tour, visit www.cherithfluker.com.