Selling Point

The great Roman general Caesar wrote (in Latin, of course) that “Gaul is divided into three parts.” And so is the career of a writer divided into three parts: First there’s the creation of the work; then the difficult job of getting it published; and finally, the overwhelming task of distribution and publicity. So when publishers or authors are creative and entrepreneurial in publicizing their books, we salute them.

Les Cole, who wrote “The Sea Kings: The Prophecy” and published it via his own company, Adda Press of Ventura, has extended through February an offer to donate his Bronze Age historical novel to libraries. Buy a copy and Cole will send an additional book to a library of your choice. Call 659-4480 for details.

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Los Angeles Times reporter Barry Siegel, whose true-crime chronicle, “A Death in White Bear Lake,” was nominated for an Edgar and reviewed as “a work of compelling narrative force,” will discuss and sign his debut novel, “The Perfect Witness,” at 7 p.m. Friday at Venture Bookstore, 522 E. Main St.

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Kevin Fagan will demonstrate his cartooning techniques and sign “Son of Drabble” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., Ventura. Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts, lists Drabble as one of his favorite comic strips.

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It will be a busy weekend at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Barry Siegel will sign “The Perfect Witness” at 1 p.m. Saturday, and Rochelle Krich presents her latest novel “Fertile Ground” at noon Sunday.

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The story of Grandma Moses, who became a world-famous painter between the ages of 78 and 101, will be told in a series of programs by Jim Woodard at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library near Simi Valley, in conjunction with an exhibit of the artist’s work. Woodard’s first presentation is scheduled at 1 p.m. Saturday. Call 658-6697 for future Grandma Moses storytelling dates.

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Pencil in the following events at Borders Books, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks: George Gamez, a psychologist and musician attempts to answer the question, “Can creativity be taught?” and will sign his “Creativity: How to Catch Lightning in a Bottle” at 7 p.m. Monday.

In a book published by Ventura-based Pathfinder Publishing, Ojai author Winnie Hirsch challenges the medical world that she says failed her husband. Hirsch will sign “In Search of My Husband’s Mind” at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Mark Bailey will sign his first novel, “Saint,” an imaginative thriller, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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Art City founder Paul Lindhard is the featured speaker at the Focus on the Masters series at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Performance Studio, 34 N. Palm St., Ventura. The fee is $5 for nonmembers. Call 649-9366.

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IN SANTA BARBARA: Maren Tonder Hansen will sign “MotherMysteries” at 7:30 tonight in the Montecito Library, 1469 East Valley Road.

Karen Kavelin signs “Beast in the Mirror, the Life of Outsider Artist Antonio Ligabue” at 2 p.m. Sunday at Chaucer’s, 3321 State St., in Loreto Plaza.

* Frances Halpern and Jon O’Brien are co-hosts of “Beyond Words” at 10 a.m. Sundays on KCLU-FM (88.3 Ventura and 102.3 Santa Barbara), Ventura County’s National Public Radio station.