When his younger brother, civil rights leader...

When his younger brother, civil rights leader Medgar Evers, was assassinated in 1963, Charles Evers vowed to carry on the fight.

As part of Black History Month, Evers, author of “Have No Fear: A Black Man’s Fight for Respect in America,” will speak at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday.

The year after his brother’s murder, Evers, who had once been prevented from voting by Ku Klux Klan members, led a massive movement to register blacks in Mississippi, a state once known as the “lynching capital of the country.”

He went on to organize a boycott in Natchez, which led to integrated hotels and the hiring of blacks as salesman, store workers and policemen. He led another boycott in Port Gibson, which led to integrated hospitals, schools and cafes.

By the end of the decade, Evers was elected mayor of Fayette--the first black mayor of a biracial Mississippi town in a century.

Evers’ 7 p.m. talk in Pavilion C in the University Center will be followed by a signing of copies of his book purchased at the event.

*

Costa Mesa bookstore owner Toni Bruner is planning a tea party featuring 30 Orange County romance writers.

The Feb. 22 tea party, in a tent to be set up in the parking lot behind the store, New and Recycled Romances on Broadway, will include signings by authors such as Suzanne Forster, Heather Cullman, Karen Kay and Dorsey Adams.

But Bruner recently decided to add to the mix.

“I tried to get the hunks--the cover guys--to come,” she says. “But the Topaz man wants $300 for the two hours!” (For the uninitiated, Topaz is a line of romance books.)

Hunk-loving romance fans won’t be disappointed, however.

Bruner has lined up a handful of local “hunks”: the Orange County firemen who adorn the Fire Foxes of California calendar, which benefits the Orange County Burn Assn. and burn survivors.

The tea party, which will be held between 2 and 4 p.m., marks the store’s 10th year at the Broadway location and will be limited to 150 guests. Tickets are $5 (to help pay for the tent, says Bruner) and must be purchased in advance at the bookstore. (714) 645-0529.

Also this week:

* Connie Shelton, “Deadly Gamble” and “Vacations Can Be Murder,” will speak and sign at 1 p.m. today at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 13232 Springdale St., Westminster.

* Marilyn Moody, “Courage & Cancer,” will read and sign at 4 p.m. today at Different Drummer Books, 1294 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach.

* Mildred Brown, “True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism,” will read and sign at 4 p.m. Saturday, also at Different Drummer Books.

* Betty Sinnock and Ann Brewer, members of the Beardstown Ladies Investment Club, will speak and sign “The Beardstown Ladies: Guide to Smart Spending for Big Savings,” at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Rizzoli Bookstore, South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa.

* Poet Beth McIlvaine will read at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Gypsy Den Cafe and Reading Room in the Lab, 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.

* Author Patricia McFall, “Night Butterfly,” will conduct a six-meeting writing workshop beginning Monday at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 13232 Springdale St., Westminster. Cost: $150. To register, call McFall at (714) 897-9907.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, Life & Style, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.