The Fannie Brown Booth Memorial Library inaugural Shelby County Author’s Day is this Saturday, Feb. 18 at the John D. Windham Civic Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plans call for making it an annual event.
Many local authors are scheduled to be in attendance. A list and brief information on each follows.
At noon, Center Mayor David Chadwick and County Judge Allison Harbison will officially proclaim the first Shelby County Author’s Day dedicated to honor the memory of, long-time Shelby County resident, Mrs. Portia Gaines. Gaines taught English in the Center School district and at Panola College.
She was an avid reader, and generous supporter of the Fannie Brown Booth Memorial Library. Authors attending will include:
LARRY ENMON
Shelby County native and retired U.S. Secret Service agent, Larry Enmon, acted as liaison between the USSS and the FBI in the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He was also trained by the CIA in the investigation and production of weapons of mass destruction. In addition to his political thrillers, Enmon is the author of the Rob and Frank mystery series. He lives in North Texas with his wife, and they enjoy getting away at their East Texas ranch and North Carolina mountain cabin.
LAMAR DENBY, JR.
Pastor, singer, and writer Lamar Denby, Jr. grew up in the small community of Patroon, just south of Shelbyville. His ancestors were among Shelby County settlers. His recently published Blood and Courage is the story of Col. Moses F. Roberts, his third great-grandfather, a soldier and congressman in the Republic of Texas and a state representative after annexation. Though Denby has been an Angelina County resident where is a pastor since 1984, his compassion for Shelby county has not waned. “My roots are planted deep in that Shelby County soil. It is home and will always be my home,” he said.
JOANN BUSH
After Joann Bush’s son, Jon, was born in 1976, she heard voices saying he would not live past age 18. She ignored the messages, telling herself she was being ridiculous. Bush believed in God, but at the same time, wasn’t sure about life after death. She now believes she has her answer. She shares in My Borrowed Angel, how 23-year-old Jon, his wife, and 10-month-old daughter were killed in a car accident in 1999. Numb with grief, Bush narrates how she and other family members began receiving messages from Jon asking that she help children. Reflecting on her experiences, Bush believes God loaned her Jon for a purpose. She’s since started a foundation in honor of Jon, Macy, and Misty to help children who have major medical conditions. Bush has worked as a medical laboratory technologist for 50 years.
DAN FLEMING
Dan Fleming has been involved in teaching the word of God for more than 30 years. Active in Bible studies, Sunday school classes, and the pulpit for most of those years, his simple and easy to understand style has been one of the reasons people are drawn to his teaching about how the gospel of John teaches that Jesus used the time of the feasts to teach about the feasts. All the New Testament writers were Jews, and they attended the feasts throughout their lives. When those men were born again, the Holy Spirit taught them the importance of the feasts which they subtly included in their writings.
BETTY WOOD OGLESBEE
“Nobody really wanted to leave here, but there was no work here,” San Augustine native Betty Oglesbee said. Co-author of four books of regional history with her late husband John, Oglesbee loves the town and has been involved in historic preservation and economic development efforts for years. She takes pride in the gracious, old homes shaded by towering pines and venerable pecan trees, and the historic downtown buildings including an old jail she helped transform into a law-enforcement museum. She’s excited about a $1.5 million grant from the state to reconstruct the Mission Dolores site on the edge of town.
TIFFANY BRYANT
Tiffany Bryant, a retired special education teacher and Arizona State University alumni, has completed her new book Teddy the Chef: Adoption Day: a cute and captivating story about a dog with a special talent. “Teddy is a puppy that loves to cook,” says Bryant, “and he helps his foster parents prepare meals. This story is about how Teddy found his forever home.” Published by Page Publishing, the delightful tale begins on Teddy’s littermate Sammy’s adoption day.
VANESSA DAVIS
Vanessa L. Davis is a wife, mother and grandmother. She is an inspirational speaker and an advocate for mental health and wellness. Her passion is working with victims of child abuse, domestic abuse, and drug addiction. She desires to see all people live abundant lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Her motto is “Just Live Safe” created from the first letters of her son Justin L. Slaughter’s name (killed by a drunk driver in 2010). She is called by her husband’s side, Pastor Alvin J. Davis to the Open-Door Baptist Worship Center in Center. She speaks and shares her love for Jesus Christ through ministering at local churches, retreats, women’s conferences, and other special events. “I believe in the power of resilience, that we can bounce back to bounce forward and REBOUND.”
CARMEN WHITAKER
“You wanna make God laugh? Tell Him about your plans!” When everything Eddie Crawford planned for her life began to crumble around her, she had no choice but to seek shelter in the tiny East Texas town she’d worked so hard to escape. Back in the arms of the friends and family she had turned her back on for so long, Eddie must learn to listen to the messages God is sending her, allow Him to guide her steps on the on the road back to herself. Because sometimes God whispers and sometimes He raises His voice.” Carmen Whitaker lives with her husband and children in a small town deep in the East Texas Piney Woods.
NEAL MURPHY
Neal Murphy resides in his birthplace of San Augustine with his wife, Clara. He has two children, Kay Fatheree, a pastor’s wife now living in Freer, and Douglas Murphy, a retired police officer in Burlington, North Carolina. They have five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Murphy earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches and his master’s degree in General Insurance from the Insurance Institute of America. He also attended Baylor University in Waco where he studied religion. He is a deacon at a Baptist church, has taught Sunday school classes and directed church choirs for many years.
DAVID SWANZY
“David Swanzy, Dean Emeritus of the College of Music of Loyola University, New Orleans, enjoyed a successful career as musician, teacher, and writer. While “Living and Fighting with the French Underground” is his first historical narrative, several of his textbooks have been distributed to the higher education market. In addition, his interest in history is also being expressed through his local history and genealogical writings.
Swanzy and his wife, Maelinda, live in their “hometown in Texas.” Following his return to Shelby County, David and Maelinda have been active in the community. David is the author/publisher of “We the People of Shelby County,” an online magazine featuring Shelby County and San Augustine history. Maelinda will be representing David at the Author’s Day with his book, “Living and Fighting with the French Underground.”
CHARLOTTE CORBELL INGLE
Charlotte Corbell Ingle published a book of family stories and photos based in Deep East Texas and the cities of Huxley, Nacogdoches, and Lufkin. She currently lives in Lufkin and has four children and three grandchildren who live in California, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. She studied art before moving into the field of psychology. She worked as a Licensed Professional Counselor and as a Licensed Psychological Associate before retiring to write full time at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. She is currently writing a novel and a book of Christmas stories and devotionals.
REGINA BRAZZEL
Regina Brazzel is a wife of 27 years, mother to three boys, teacher, photographer and author. She wrote her first book while battling depression in 2018. A Taste for Tears was named in the Top 10 Thriller category in the 2019 Author Elite Awards in Ohio. Since then, she has written a sequel and began a series of four books called Storyville, for her honorary granddaughter.
ROSE DESKIN
The author, writing as Annabelle Blythe, is happy to be settled in Northeast Texas. Her kids and grandkids are still spread out. But God has given a promise to reunite them all. He’s also promised to heal them, body, mind, and soul. She finally found out what God meant when she read her Bible, pen in hand, and would ask him, “What am I supposed to be when I ever grow up?” He would respond, “What is in your hand?”
LAURA MURPHY
Laura Murphy says she is first a believer in God and the hereafter. A person who tries to be fair in her observations and opinions. A person who believes that if you treat people as if they were what they ought to be, you help them become what they are capable of being. A person that believes that hate is not a family value, and no one should teach it. A person who believes that you should pull while you climb, make this world better, one person at a time. She concludes saying she is “a retired law enforcement officer with three daughters and four grandchildren, happy with the world I’m living in.”
ROSEMARY FISHER
Rosemary Fisher is an author, national conference and event speaker whose passion is to sound a “wake up” call to the Bride of Christ to be found transformed, ready and prepared for Christ’s glorious return. Rosemary has a bold and humorous style sharing how God turned her mess into a powerful message that woke her up from a deep slumber of living like the world to an awakened and purposeful Christian woman whose desire is to help others be prepared and ready for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Fisher has written two books, “Recycled Women” and “The Smokin’ Hot Bride of Christ,” available on Amazon. She has appeared on CBN 700 Club, CTN (Christian Television Network), Freedom Today and numerous press and magazines.
TERRI LACHER
Terri is a freelance author/illustrator, and speaker, originally from the Southwest. She transplanted to the Pineywoods in 1990, making Shelby County her home. In addition to writing features articles for Around the Town, her column, Cobwebs in the Attic, is published in the Center Light and Champion newspaper.
Terri is also a multiple contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul, as well as Becoming Women of Worth books. She has written multiple articles about the East Texas area for We the People of Shelby County and The Natural Texan. Terri’s love for children has prompted her to author and illustrate children’s books, including The Queen of Pink, and Snips and Snails.
She lives in Center with her husband, Bob, and a few odd squirrels. They stay busy with church and community activities, including working with preschoolers during Storytime at the Fannie Brown Booth Memorial Library and sharing their love of music and God’s word in local nursing homes.