Shifting Gears
When Louise Ann Noeth traveled around the country racing jet dragsters and booking other racers, she never expected to write about the motor sport.
But that first paycheck for an article about land speed racing sent her into overdrive. Since then she has covered most every form of motor sport in the world, with assignments from 17 magazines, including Hot Rod and Sports Illustrated.
Land speed racing, the Camarillo resident said, is a form of motor sport that takes place on dry lakes, such as the Bonneville Salt Flats. One vehicle runs along a designated straight-line course and races for time and speed against the clock. At Bonneville--about 14 miles long--racers have been clocked in excess of 600 mph, she said. She tells racers that courage is in their right foot--somewhere between no power and the fire wall. As an experienced racer with the nickname Landspeed Louise, she ought to know.
All Noeth ever wanted to do was drive cars, very fast, write about them and about others who raced them. So when she left the corporate world in 1984, she formed LandSpeed Productions, a fancy name for the free-lance business that allows her to go and do her own thing, she said.
Noeth described the jet dragster as an airplane jet engine with a chassis wrapped around it, some wheels thrown on, a cockpit attached with a brave soul inside. From a standing start, they travel a quarter-mile at 250 to 300 mph in about 6 seconds. While Noeth said she enjoyed racing, she eventually inched her way into journalism. She is the first to tell you that she is completely self-taught, from operating the camera to writing and designing.
Intrigued by the history of the Bonneville Salt Flats--a remnant of an ancient lake bed called Lake Bonneville--Noeth spent several years researching the area. Situated at the Nevada/Utah line near Wendover, Utah, the lake bed was once 350 miles long and 150 miles wide--the closest one will ever get to being on another planet without needing a spacesuit, she said. Nothing lives there, it’s as hard as concrete and you can taste the salt. All of this makes it safe to race on.
“You can spin out, lose control of your car at over 200 mph and never hit a thing,” she said. Since 1937, every August has been speed week at Bonneville. Those and other little-known facts prompted Noeth to write “Bonneville Salt Flats,” a hard-bound, full-color book published by MBI, International ($39.95).
Noeth will discuss and sign her book Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Ventura. Along with some cars, Noeth will be accompanied by about a dozen other drivers. They will sign books and answer questions on the motor sport. She has promised to rev up a couple of the cars, two of which are capable of speeds up to 400 mph. Just don’t expect to hop in for a spin.
HAPPENINGS
* Today: 3 p.m. Author Marianna Dengler will sign and read her children’s picture book, “Fiddlin’ Sam.” Calabasas Barnes & Noble, 4735 Commons Way, (818-222-0542).
* Today: 6 p.m. Poetry Night. Group discussion followed by a featured poet at 7 p.m. and open mike at 8 p.m. Borders Books & Music, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks (497-8159).
* Tuesday: 10:30 a.m. Storytime at Adventures for Kids, 3457 Telegraph Road, Ventura (650-9688).
* Tuesday: 7 p.m. Short Stories Group. Selection: “A Journey,” by Edith Wharton from the Oxford Book of American Short Stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates. Borders (497-8159).
* Tuesday: 7 p.m. Partners in Crime Mystery Group. Selection: “The Titan Committee” by Iain Pears. Borders (497-8159).
* Tuesday: 7:30 p.m. Authors discussion and book signing: “Ebay for Dummies,” by Roland Woerner, Stephanie Becker and Marsha Collier. Borders Books and Music, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks (497-8159).
* Tuesday: 8 p.m. Poetry reading by Jesse Spring, followed by an open mike reading. The Daily Grind, 607 E. Main St., Ventura (641-1679).
* Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. Storytime. All about “Barney” the purple dinosaur. Ventura Barnes & Noble (339-9170).
* Wednesday: 7 p.m. Author Karen Kingston will discuss and sign “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui.” Borders (497-8159).
* Wednesday: 7 p.m. Featured speaker, Mary Embree, founder of Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network, will discuss new developments in the publishing industry at the west Ventura County chapter of SPAWN. Call Patricia Fry at 646-3045 or e-mail at PLFryaol.com for details. Members free, $5 donation for nonmembers. Book Mall, 105 S. Oak St., Ventura.
* Wednesday: 7 p.m. The Writing Group. Meet to read and talk about writing. Open to writers of all genres. Ventura Barnes & Noble (339-9170).
* Wednesday: 7 p.m. Great Books of the Century Fiction Group. Selection from the 1990s is “Shipping News” by Annie Proulx. Ventura Barnes & Noble (339-9170).
* Thursday: 7:30 p.m. Poets published in the 1999 edition of Rivertalk Magazine will read their work. Ventura Barnes & Noble (339-9170).
* Friday: noon-2 p.m. Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, will sign copies of her latest book, “Chez Panisse Cafi Cookbook,” at Sur La Table, 4050 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite E, Thousand Oaks (381-0030).
* Friday: 7 p.m. Storytime. Hear about “Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor” by Herman Parish. Ventura Barnes & Noble (339-9170).
* Saturday: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Race Car Show and book signing. Author, photo journalist and racer, Louise Ann Noerth, will discuss and sign “Bonneville Salt Flats.” Some of the world’s fastest cars and drivers will also be at the event. Ventura Barnes & Noble (339-9170).
* Saturday: 3 p.m. Storytime at Adventures for Kids, (650-9688).
Information about book signings, writers’ groups and publishing events can be emailed to anns40@aol.com or faxed to 647-5649.
