Authors Will Appeal to Variety of Passions

What is your passion? Browsing used book fairs? Playing poker? Hearing ghost stories? Reading and/or writing mysteries? It’s all available this week. Famous folk are leading seminars, authors are autographing in abundance and tellers of spooky tales are abroad in the land. Go for it.

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The poker playing philosopher J. Jaye Gold will talk about the world of tournament poker, play the flute and sign his book “Another Heart in His Hand” at 7 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., Ventura. At 2 p.m. Saturday, he may be seen in the Santa Barbara Barnes & Noble at 829 State St.

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William Link, co-creator of “Colombo” and “Murder, She Wrote,” will join a group of prestigious mystery authors, agents, publicists and screenwriters at the Mystery Writers of America all-day seminar, “Making a Killing in Mysteries.” The event is at 9 a.m. Saturday at Sportsmen’s Lodge, 12833 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. The $75 fee includes breakfast and lunch. Call (818) 709-3760.

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Cosmetic surgeon Adrianna Scheibner, a pioneer in laser dermatology, will sign her latest book “The Essence of Beauty” at 1 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Ventura.

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Novelist Gary Gottesfeld will focus on “Writing the Psychological Thriller” in a one-day workshop, which begins at 1 p.m. Saturday at Learning Tree University’s Thousand Oaks campus. The fee is $49. Call 497-2292.

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Hart Sprager suggests in his book “The Sound of the Earth” that “before one tries to save the Earth, one must try to save oneself.” He will sign his journal of discovery at 2 p.m. Saturday at Heart of Light, 451 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai.

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Friends of the Oxnard Library invite everyone to share Halloween refreshments and hear Richard Senate tell “creepy” stories about local ghosts at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Oxnard Library, 251 South A St.

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Halloween treats will be served and actress/singer Whitney Kershaw will read stories that deal with helping kids get over their fears at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Ojai Table of Contents, 208 E. Ojai Ave.

UP THE COAST

Local and out-of-town book dealers will participate in the fourth annual Santa Barbara Book Festival, sponsored by the Earthling Bookshop and the Book Den. New, rare and collectible books and other literary ephemera will be on display and offered for sale from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Anapamu and State streets. Call 962-3321 for details.

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The saga of the poor Polish girl who achieved fame as opera singer Ganna Walska, collected six husbands and vast wealth and created the magnificent lotus land gardens in Santa Barbara is captured in “Lotusland: A Photographic Odyssey” by Theodore Roosevelt Gardner. A book-signing reception is scheduled at 3 p.m. Sunday at Sullivan Goss Arts & Architecture Bookstore and Cafe, 7 E. Anapamu St.