Mystery Writer Will Share Tips of the Trade

Literary agents Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen were in Santa Barbara this week searching for authors with salable manuscripts.

The list of writers they represent is large and varied. But they say they are finding it more difficult to place manuscripts with major New York publishers who are fixated on acquiring blockbusters from name authors.

So the story that Gerald Schiller of Newbury Park has to tell about getting his mystery novel, “Deadly Dreams,” published is an eye-opener.

Schiller, a filmmaker and teacher, will describe how to co-publish a book with an established publisher, at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Ventura County Writers Club, Orchid Professional Building, 816 Camarillo Springs Road, Camarillo. Nonmember fee is $5. Call 482-5648.

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SPAWN, the Small Publishers, Artists & Writers Network, provides access to, and information about, people in publishing and helps members see their projects through to publication. The Thousand Oaks chapter meets tonight at 7 at Borchard Center, 190 Reino Road, Newbury Park. Nonmember fee is $5. Call Paul Doebler at 388-7297.

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Raleigh Pinsky will present a workshop on how to promote a business, product or talent and sign her book, “You Can Hype Anything,” at 2 p.m. Sunday at Borders Books, 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Borders will present four women authors who write science fiction: Emma Bull, Laura Frankos, Roby James and Deborah Wheeler.

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Susan Moss will discuss her battle with cancer and sign her book, “Preventing Breast Cancer the Natural Way,” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Barnes & Noble, 160 S. Westlake Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

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Dolores Ramirez will describe how to access genealogical information by using inter-library loans at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday for the Conejo Valley Genealogical Society, Conejo Valley Adult Center, 1025 Old Farm Road, Thousand Oaks. A beginners class on “How to Get Started and Organized” will meet at 6 p.m. Call Emma Price at 497-8293.

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Jazz fans might be interested in knowing about “The Sound of the Trumpet,” Bill Moody’s second Evan Horne mystery. Moody will sign at noon Wednesday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

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Award-winning playwright Gib Johnson will conduct “Introduction to Playwriting,” an eight-week course that begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Learning Tree University, 72 Moody Court, Thousand Oaks. Call 497-2292 for details.

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In Santa Barbara

Journalist Marcia Meier, author of “Santa Barbara, Paradise on the Pacific,” and novelist-screenwriter S.L. Stebel, whose “Double Your Creative Power” should be on every writer’s bookshelf, will address the Santa Barbara chapter of SPAWN at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Karpeles Library, 21 W. Anapamu St.

Stebel will then present a workshop at 3 p.m. at Earthling Bookshop, 1137 State St. Writers can bring the first few pages of their manuscripts for evaluation.

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James Prideaux, whose long list of credits include Broadway plays and Hollywood films, will share show-biz stories from his book, “Knowing Hepburn and Other Curious Experiences,” at 3 p.m. Sunday at Earthling Bookshop.

Frances Halpern is co-host with Jon O’Brien of “Beyond Words” at 10 a.m. Sundays on KCLU-FM (88.3).