Unearthing the Past

Strolling around old graveyards can be a productive activity for writers. When Harriet Rochlin lectured at the Earthling Bookshop recently, she described how during the research for her book, “Pioneer Jews, a New Life in the Far West,” she discovered Wyatt Earp buried in a Jewish cemetery in Colma, near San Francisco. His last wife, Josie Marcus, was Jewish.

So consider attending the Genealogical Society’s program on “Old Churches and Graveyards” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Conejo Valley Adult Center, 1025 Old Farm Road, Thousand Oaks. Family history expert the Rev. Gary Allen Dickey is guest speaker. Call 497-8293 for details.

And check out the Ventura County Writers Club’s next “Write Your Own Epitaph” contest. Call 482-5648.

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Former Washington Post graphics editor, Jeannette Belliveau, will present a slide show and sign “An Amateur’s Guide to the Planet” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

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Local authors Bob Carter and Gail Hobbs have compiled recipes and travel tips from bed and breakfast inns, historic hotels, restaurants and glitzy resorts for their new book “Soup’s On! Hot Recipes from Cool Chefs.” A soup tasting and signing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., Ventura.

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Professional actors who live in Ojai, including Peter Bellwood and Peter Scolari, will appear at a 6 p.m. reception and perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at a fund-raiser for the Ojai Valley Library Foundation’s SchooLinks program. The event is at Ojai Valley Inn. Call 646-9312.

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Jonathan Young, founding curator of the Joseph Campbell Archives, will discuss the influence of mythology on modern literature and sign “SAGA--Best New Writing in Mythology” at 2 p.m. Sunday at Borders Books, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

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The much-published photographer-author Tim Hauf will describe how to take the photos that editors will pair with articles at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Ventura County Writers Club meeting, Orchid Building, 816 Camarillo Springs Road, Camarillo. Nonmember fee is $5. Call 482-5648.

In Santa Barbara

At a free seminar sponsored by Small Publishers Artists & Writers Network, founder Mary Embree and local authors Laura Kath Fraser and Steven Gilbar will dispel some of the mysteries surrounding getting published at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Karpeles Library, 21 W. Anapamu St. Call Andora Hodgin at 962-4680.

* Frances Halpern and Jon O’Brien are co-hosts of “Beyond Words” at 10 a.m. Sundays on KCLU-FM (88.3), Ventura County’s National Public Radio station.