Nancy Cartwright, Bart Simpson’s Voice, to Appear at Borders

Nancy Cartwright, who provides the voice of Bart Simpson on “The Simpsons,” will sign “My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy” at 2 p.m. Friday at Borders Books & Music in South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. (714) 432-7854.

In her book, Cartwright discusses her career and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the popular animated series, which debuted on Fox in 1989.

It turns out that it wasn’t the role of Bart that the voice-over artist was originally asked to audition for: It was for Bart’s sister, Lisa. Cartwright, however, found the description of the underachieving and irreverent Bart far more appealing, so she read the part of the spiky-haired troublemaker, and a star was born.

A woman playing a fourth-grade boy?

As Bart would say, “Don’t have a cow, man!”

Local Couple Examine Firefighter Heroics

Veteran Costa Mesa firefighter Curt Yoder and his wife, Karen, will discuss and sign their book “Heart Behind the Hero” at 2 p.m. today at Borders Books & Music in South Coast Plaza. They also will sign at 7 p.m. today at Barnes & Noble, 26751 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo. (949) 362-9665.

“Heart Behind the Hero” is a collection of stories, essays and poems from firefighters and paramedics across America that offers insight into their lifestyle and thoughts.

Also Coming Up

* Bruce Alexander will discuss and sign “The Color of Death” and John Douglas will discuss and sign “The Cases That Haunt Us” at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 11931 Valley View St., Garden Grove. 1 and 3 p.m., respectively, today. (714) 898-2583.

* Linda Pyle will discuss and sign “Peaks, Palms and Picnics” at Borders Books & Music, 429 S. Associated Road, Brea. 7 p.m. Tuesday. (714) 672-0120.

* Photographer Randy Leffingwell and writer Pamela Welty will sign “Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast” at Borders Books & Music in South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. 2 p.m. Saturday. (714) 432-7854.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before the event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Or e-mail to dennis.mclellan@latimes.com.