Ojai Authors Cover the Gamut of Covering Up : Leah Feldon offers wardrobe strategies, and George E. Meinig says root canals are a greater risk than they are made out to be.

Self-help books, if well-made and clever, always capture our attention. We seek inner peace and health. At the same time desiring the trappings of outer beauty--good figures, great clothes. A couple of Ojai authors have appealed to these needs in two diverse books. A dentist warns about root canal cover-up and a fashion expert tells us how to cover up.

“Dress Like a Million,” Leah Feldon’s latest book, is a trend-proof guide that focuses on acquiring a great wardrobe without breaking the bank. The book offers illuminating information and contains drawings showing how to make the best of a less-than-perfect figure by smart planning and smart shopping. The Ojai author has also written “Dressing Rich, Womanstyle” and “Traveling Light.” She is a consultant to fashion and cosmetic companies and a special correspondent for People magazine.

In his controversial book “Root Canal Cover-Up Exposed,” the former 20th Century Fox studio dentist George E. Meinig, who practiced in Ojai for 45 years, is devoting his retirement to writing and lecturing about the dangers of root canal. He states that “of the 24 million root canal patients treated last year in the United States, one third will develop a chronic disease due to hidden infections in their teeth.” Dr. Meinig has supporters and detractors within the dental community.

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Ventura County editor John Krist will show slides and sign his “50 Best Short Hikes in Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon” published by Wilderness Press at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Ventura Bookstore, 522 E. Main St. Krist’s articles have been honored by United Press International and the California Intercollegiate Press Assn. And one of his essays won best in the nation in the 1993 Sierra Club nature writing contest. Ed Elrod, owner of the 43-year-old bookstore, invites everyone to see the slides, share refreshments and meet the author.

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Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, the former Ventura County court investigator whose first novel, “Mitigating Circumstances,” has been optioned for director Jonathan Demme, will sign her new mystery adventure, “Interest of Justice,” at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

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Noah benShea, Santa Barbara poet/philosopher and author of the bestsellers “Jacob the Baker” and “Jacob’s Journey” will spin tales at a free lecture at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Givertz Theater, UC Santa Barbara. The event is sponsored by the university’s Hillel Foundation. Call Rabbi Cohen at 968-1280.

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Ventura clinical psychologist Reanne Singer’s first novel, “The Storm’s Crossing,” a novel for very young adults published by Deaconess, is about a 12-year-old girl who learns how to stop her father’s sexual advances. Singer will lecture on the subject and how she got the novel published at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at Adventures for Kids Bookstore, 3457 Telegraph Road, Ventura.

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If you are searching for the key to writing and illustrating children’s and young adult books and getting them published, pencil in the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Ventura/Santa Barbara chapter conference, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Preus Brandt Auditorium, Cal Lutheran University, 60 West Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. Louise Howton, marketing director of the children’s book division at Harcourt Brace, will join the authors of dozens of children’s books to discuss the process. Call 493-3130 to pre-register. The conference costs $37.50 and includes lunch.

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The quarterly magazine Light, which seeks humorous, occasional and ephemeral verse as well as puzzles, published a pithy four-line poem written by Joyce La Mers of Oxnard. Contact Editor John Mella for guidelines at Box 7500, Chicago, Ill. 60680.