Stories With Precedent

Lawyer Frances Khirallah Noble left her firm in 1991 after many years practicing law, because she felt a deep calling to join the literary world. Her first short story, “Missing Her,” was published in December 1999, and her collection of short stories, “The Situe Stories,” was recently published by Syracuse University Press.

“In many ways, I was always a writer doing other things, and I turned in the right direction,” she said in a recent phone interview.

Her short story collection is framed by tales of her Arabic grandparents, her situe and jidue. She and her parents lived with them in East Los Angeles during the first three years of her life. It wasn’t obvious until she was much older how deep the imprint was, she said.

Noble will discuss her writing Tuesday evening when she speaks to the Ventura County Writers Club at the Borders in Thousand Oaks.

Although she had never written a word of fiction, Noble majored in English as an undergraduate at USC and in graduate school at UCLA before attending law school. After she quit her law practice, she took an extension writing class at UCLA and advanced fiction writing at USC. Meanwhile, she practiced writing short stories daily.

After six months, Noble said, she noticed that several of her short stories had to do with the extended Syrian families she visited every Friday night for years. These became part of her first collection, “The Situe Stories.”

“I did create the first story as more of a folk tale, because it starts in the old country where there is a different feel or aesthetic. I wanted to communicate this archetype figure that this grandmother figure was,” she said.

Her situe--Arabic for grandmother--now lives in a home for seniors. The 11 short stories capture experiences and stories Noble heard from other immigrant relatives caught between the old and new cultures.

In “The Invisible Woman,” a second short story collection, Noble mentions what she calls her fat period, when she felt more satirical, dark and funny. She has also completed a novel, “The Old Neighborhood,” and is working on a second, “A Force of Nature.”

Noble, who doesn’t belong to any writers’ groups, considers herself a loner. She thinks people are either born an artist, or they are not. This does not mean, however, that people can’t learn from a great writer, she said, adding that excellent literary criticism can be helpful.

“Writers’ groups sometimes tend to dilute a voice,” she said. “You have to have the confidence to proceed with what you are going to write, even if it’s offbeat, unpopular, may never get any attention, may never be published, because that’s your one particular voice as an artist. And that particular voice is not always respected in writers’ groups.”

Despite that opinion, Noble said she is considering requests to hold workshops on writing.

Among other projects, she has been working with photographer Janet Schipper on a nonfiction book, tentatively titled “Alley Flowers.” It came about after she discovered the beauty in flowers hanging over fences along the alleys in Santa Monica, where she has lived since 1969 with her husband Tom.

HAPPENINGS

* Today: 9:30 a.m. Borders Classical Musical Society. Ongoing discussion of everything classical and musical. Borders, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 497-8159.

* Today: 10:30 a.m. Mystery author Eric Garcia will discuss and sign “Casual Rex.” And at 1 p.m. Earlene Fowler will discuss and sign “Arkansas Traveler.” Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 374-0084.

* Today: 11 a.m. Joan Bransfield Graham, local author of the award-winning books “Splish Splash” and “Flicker Flash,” will conduct an interactive poetry session in celebration of National Poetry Month. For kids in grades 2 through 5. Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., 446-2820.

* Today: 11 a.m. Children’s Music Hour. The Junior Music Academy will present a free class for children and their parents. Borders, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 470-8159.

* Today: 5 to 7 p.m. Art reception. “Dreams and Shadows” by Anthony Satori. Borders, 497-8159.

* Sunday: 1 p.m. William Kent Krueger will discuss and sign “Purgatory Ridge.” Mysteries to Die For, 374-0084.

* Monday: 12:30 p.m. Monday Afternoon Book Club. “The Girl With the Pearl Earring” by Tracy Chevalier. Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 446-2820.

* Monday: 7 p.m. New weekly Evening Options book group, a celebration of poetry with facilitator Roseanne Savo. Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 446-2820.

*Tuesday: 3 p.m. “Book Buddies” reception. Honoring 10th-grade authors from Westlake High School and Westlake Hills Elementary School’s third-grade authors in their collaboration producing original children’s books. Thousand Oaks Barnes & Noble, 446-2820.

*Tuesday: 7 p.m. Second Tuesday Contemporary Book Group. “The Girl With the Pearl Earring” by Tracy Chevalier. Borders, 497-8159.

*Tuesday: 7:30 p.m. Ventura County Writers Club welcomes Frances Khirallah Noble, who will discuss “The Situe Stories,” a short story collection that has been on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list for five weeks. Also, chiropractor Adam Story will give a 15-minute presentation entitled “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome--The End of a Writer.” Open to all. Contact Joanne Sehnem, 579-9414, for more information. Borders, 497-8159.

* Wednesday: Noon. Sarah Lovett will discuss and sign “Dante’s Inferno.” Mysteries to Die For, 374-0084.

* Wednesday: 7 p.m. Oprah and More Book Club. “The Girl with the Pearl Earring,” by Tracy Chevalier. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., 339-9170.

* Wednesday: 7:30 p.m. Billy Mitchell, Gig Magazine columnist, will discuss his survivor’s guide, “The Gigging Musician.” Band performance followed by a book signing. In the cafe at Borders, 497-8159.

* Wednesday: 8 p.m. Poetry workshop. Ventura Barnes & Noble, 339-9170.

Information about book signings, writers groups and publishing events can be e-mailed to anns40@aol.com or faxed to 647-5649.