VENTURA COUNTY WEEKEND : Author Urges Girls to Prepare for Equality : Book says education and entrepreneurial skills are keys to economic gains.

Women are now equal and aggressive players in the marketplace, right? Well, maybe not. Many women still hang back, whether it’s trying out for “Jeopardy,” competing for jobs or signing up for the Internet, social scientists say. So Ojai author Joline Godfrey (“Our Wildest Dreams”) has produced a second book, “No More Frogs to Kiss,” which encourages young girls to seek education and learn entrepreneurial skills in order to achieve economic equality. Godfrey is the founder of An Income of Her Own, a national organization to educate teen-age women. She will appear at 5 p.m. Friday at Table of Contents, 208 E. Ojai Ave. in Ojai.

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Bill Caulkins kicks off the second year of poetry readings at Cafe Voltaire at 8 tonight as featured poet. The tradition of open microphones for all poets continues. Sign-ups are at 7:30 p.m., 34 N. Palm, Ventura.

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A double-header is scheduled at noon Friday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Susan Wittig Albert will sign her new book “Rosemary Remembered,” and Nancy Atherton will autograph her English mystery “Aunt Demity and the Duke.”

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Private investigator/author Joe Valentinetti will sign “Glint,” his mystery about the traffic in rare coins, at 1 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., Ventura.

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Santa Barbara author Richard Barre will sign his mystery adventure novel “The Innocents” at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Ventura Book Store, 522 E. Main St. The bookstore is also sponsoring a “Write Like Raymond Chandler” competition. Come up with the title and opening paragraph of a “Lost Philip Marlowe” manuscript that emulates Chandler’s style. Call 643-4069 for details.

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Combine the work of the outstanding watercolorist Cheng-Khee Chee and the lovely, lyrical prose of Douglas Wood and the result is the extraordinarily beautiful book “Old Turtle.” This is a tale designed for children and for all of us who seek harmony in a wounded world. Wood, an award-winning songwriter/author has also produced an “Old Turtle” audiotape. He will perform at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Adventures For Kids, 3457 Telegraph Road. He will also discuss his work at noon Saturday with this columnist on KQSB 990-AM.

UP THE COAST

A group of writers will gather at 7 tonight to share the written word at a Writers Harvest organized to raise funds for the FoodBank of Santa Barbara in Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 112 W. Cabrillo Blvd. Admission is $5.

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Himilce Novas, a Santa Barbara resident and author of “Remembering Selena,” will sign her new illustrated book “The Hispanic 100,” which spotlights influential Americans of Hispanic background, at 7 p.m. Friday at the Earthling Bookshop, 1137 State St.

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The action in Michael Collins’ latest adventure mystery, “The Cadillac Cowboy,” is centered in and around the mansions of Montecito and Santa Barbara. Collins has written 42 novels, and, as Dennis Lynds--his real name--wrote the acclaimed short story collection “Talking to the World” just released by local publisher John Daniel. Collins will appear at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 829 State St.