Greg Louganis to Join Authors Visiting County : The Olympic diver will be among several appearing at various bookstores this week.

Ventura County continues to attract respected authors whose publishers have discovered that we are receptive to literary events.

In his autobiography “Breaking the Surface,” written with Eric Marcus, Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis describes his angst as an adopted child and talks about being an HIV-positive gay man.

He will be at the Ventura Bookstore, 522 E. Main St., from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday to autograph books purchased at the bookstore. He cannot sign memorabilia or photos due to time constraints and has also asked that no cameras be allowed. A priority number guaranteeing a position toward the front of the anticipated line will be given to those purchasing books in advance.

*

Dick Lochte, author of “Blue Bayou,” will sign his new private eye mystery, “The Neon Smile,” at 6 p.m. Friday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. And Richard Barre will be in the bookstore at noon Saturday to sign his debut novel “The Innocents.”

*

How did Mexico get its name? Why should we remember the Alamo? The answers are in “Everything You Need to Know About Latino History” by Himilce Novas, who will be at the Ventura Bookstore at 7 p.m. Friday. Novas has a radio talk show from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays on KQSB, 990 AM.

*

Pathfinder publisher Eugene Wheeler, whose book “Violence in Our Schools, Hospitals & Public Places” deals with how to cope with this escalating horror, will share his expertise on crime and the courts at 2 p.m. Saturday at an open meeting of the Oxnard Friends of the Library, 251 S. A St. Call Pat Camp at 485-8262 for details.

*

Linda McGinnis will introduce her illustrated “The Art of Hairdressing Success” from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday at Contempo Hair Salon, 206 N. Signal St., Ojai.