Special to The Leader

The Friends of the Bridge City Public Library will host the semi-annual Author Forum on Friday, March 11 at the Bridge City Community Center beginning at 6 p.m. The Friends hope to raise enough funds this year to finally be able to open the partition between the older portion and new portion of the library. The four authors to speak at the forum are all Orange County natives or now live in the county; Sylvia Dickey Smith, Glenda Dickey Parr and her husband, Bob Parr, and Arlon Davis.  Tickets for the event are $20 per person and are available from any Friends of the Bridge City Public Library member or at the public library Monday through Friday. A meal will be served along with the forum and a silent auction. All proceeds will be used for the library expansion project.
Sylvia Dickey Smith believed in the power of story-telling since she attended Tilley Elementary School in Riverside Addition during the 1940s and 1950s. To Sylvia, story-telling connects one to the other, and often gives us something to hang onto while we find our way. Sylvia also believes that “stories help us identify who we are, what we stand for, and often what we absolutely will not stand for.”

Many people have ideas for a story only to discover that the idea just doesn’t translate into a story. That’s because an idea isn’t the same thing as a story. At the forum, Sylvia will compare the difference between the two and offer five fantastic questions she asks herself during the process of creating her stories, whether they be mystery, historical or contemporary fiction. By the end of her presentation she hopes those in attendance leave with a clearer direction in how to take their ideas and turn them into stories. Some of the books Sylvia has written are Dance On His Grave, Deadly Sins Deadly Secrets, Dead Wreckoning, The Swamp Whisperer, A War Of Her Own, Sassy Southern Classy Cajun cookbook and Original Cyn.

Arlon Davis published his books with Texas Man Productions which is dedicated to producing high quality western fiction fit for the entertainment of the entire family.  All his books feature high action adventures you’ve come to expect from the turn of the century storytellers, without the vulgarity modern storytelling too often brings.  With an open heart, the reader can explore the true meaning of hope, love, family and redemption within the pages of each book.  Many challenges of the old were the same as in our modern era, but his characters get to be confronted from the back of their favorite horse.  Saddle up and ride the high country as Arlon takes the reader for the rough and tumble ride of their life.  It promises to be as much fun as it is instructive. The books Davis has written include The Texas Man, The Legend of One-Eyed Jack, Dr. Hobs Journey and Emilee’s Secret. Davis’ next book is The Gunfighter’s Gospel.
Glenda Parr is a native of Orange and lived there almost her entire lifetime. She is a graduate of Lutcher Stark High School and also attended Lamar State College-Orange. Glenda retired from Texas Employment-Texas Workforce Commission after twenty-three years. She worked as placement interviewer for six years and the remainder of time in unemployment insurance. When Glenda left the commission she was the Supervisor of the Unemployment Insurance Department. Glenda has three grown children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She enjoys her great grandchildren, cooking and counted cross stitch.

 

Bob Parr is a native of Texas but primarily lived in Oklahoma over fifty years. He and Glenda now reside near Bridge City. Bob holds a doctorate in ministry and has pastored several churches for over thirty years. After his retirement from the ministry, Bob laughs and says that “he got his real education as a car salesman for about ten years”. Bob is a gifted singer and song writer and his daughter, Rebecca, recorded an album of ten of his gospel songs. He has three grown children, a son and two daughters, one grandson and two great-grandchildren.

 

Bob and Glenda Parr met and became sweethearts when they were teenagers. Due to hurtful circumstances they parted without any contact for fifty-four years. Painful memories haunted them both until one fateful day Bob summoned the courage to try to find his lost love. The powerful emotions of that first contact grips one’s heart. Written as a fictionalized memoir, Momma God is their story. They describe it as a powerful story of love, deception and justice.

 

If anyone would like more information about The Author’s Forum or about joining The Friends of the Bridge City Public Library, they may contact the library at 735-4242.