Authors to Discuss Writers’ Guides, Mysteries and Children’s Books

There are 22 events featuring 18 local and touring authors who will perform, read and sign in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties this week. Following is the schedule.

*

TODAY: Vicki Leon signs “Uppity Women of Medieval Times” at 7 p.m., Ventura Bookstore, 522 E. Main St. Don Miguel Ruiz discusses “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Roni, author of “Sensuous Cinema of My Mind,” performs at 7:30 p.m. at Cafe Voltaire, 34 N. Palm St., Ventura.

*

FRIDAY: John Erickson will present a new, hilarious “Hank the Cowdog” adventure at 9:30 a.m. at Adventures for Kids, 3457 Telegraph Road, Ventura.

*

SATURDAY: From 9 a.m. to noon Joan Jones will present a seminar on “The Cost of Writing Effectively,” for Small Publishers, Artists & Writers Network (SPAWN), at Ventura TowneHouse, 4900 Telegraph Road, Ventura. Call 644-9843.

Author-LAPD detective Paul Bishop will teach his “Police Procedures for Writers” class from 9 a.m. to noon at Learning Tree University, Thousand Oaks campus. Call 497-2292.

Carol Lea Benjamin will sign “The Dog Who Knew Too Much” at 10 a.m. and Jo Soares signs “A Samba for Sherlock” at noon at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Wendelin Van Draanen will discuss her book, “How I Survived Being a Girl,” at 2 p.m. at Borders Books, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

*

SUNDAY: Entertainment journalist Skip Press presents “The Writer’s Guide to Hollywood Producers, Directors & Screenwriters’ Agents” at 2:30 p.m. in Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., Ventura. Jari Chevalier inspires the creative process at 7 p.m. at SPAWN’s Ventura Chapter meeting at Ventura TowneHouse. Call 644-9843.

*

MONDAY: Mel Ash, author of “The Zen of Recovery,” talks about his new book, “Beat Spirit: The Way of the Beat Writers as a Living Experience,” at 7 p.m. at Ventura Bookstore. And this columnist will discuss the publishing business at 7 p.m. for the Conejo Valley chapter of SPAWN, 29376 Mulholland Highway, near Agoura Hills. Call (818) 707-0589.

*

TUESDAY: Best-selling author Robert Crais visits the Mystery Book Group to discuss two of his titles: “The Monkey’s Raincoat” and “Sunset Express” at 7 p.m. at the Thousand Oaks Borders Books, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

*

WEDNESDAY: Nancy Smiler Levinson will discuss and sign “She’s Been Working on the Railroad” at 10 a.m. at Adventures for Kids in Ventura. And Paul Bishop will sign “Tequila Mockingbird” at 7 p.m. at Borders Books in Thousand Oaks.

In Santa Barbara

SATURDAY: The prolific author-artist and founder of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Barnaby Conrad, will sign his latest title, “The World of Herb Caen,” at 2 p.m. at Tecolote Book Shop, 1470 E. Valley Road, Montecito.

*

SUNDAY: Local photojournalist Jeff Brouws will sign “Highway, America’s Endless Dream” at 2 p.m. at Chaucer’s Books. And Barnaby Conrad visits Earthling Bookshop, 1137 State St., at 3 p.m. to sign “The World of Herb Caen.”

*

MONDAY: David Borofka, whose short-story collections have won numerous awards, will read from his novel, “The Island” at 7:30 p.m., at the Earthling.

* Frances Halpern and Jon O’Brien are co-hosts of “Beyond Words” at 10 a.m. Sundays on KCLU-FM (88.3), Ventura County’s National Public Radio station.