ORANGE COUNTY BOOKS & AUTHORS

Orange County mystery writer T. Jefferson Parker will open a series of three evenings with authors to benefit the Costa Mesa Library Foundation, whose goal is to build a central city library.

Parker, whose latest Orange County-set novel is “The Blue Hour,” will speak at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Costa Mesa Senior Center, 695 W. 19th St. Also on tap are Ray Bradbury (“Fahrenheit 451”) on Oct. 13 and Jo-Ann Mapson (“The Wilder Sisters”) on Nov. 17.

Tickets for the series are $40 per person; admission to single sessions is $15 per person. Books will be available for purchase and signing each evening.

For reservations, call (949) 650-4846.

Also Coming Up:

* Poets Heather Hampton and Ben Trigg will read at 8 tonight at Alta Coffee House & Roasting Co., 506 31st St., Newport Beach.

* Barbara DeMarco Barrett will interview Thom Taylor about his behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood, “The Big Deal,” at 6 tonight on KUCI (88.9 FM) in Irvine.

* Riley St. James will sign his mystery, “Deception in the Rainshadows,” at 7 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble, 26751 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo.

* Barbara Klyde will sign “What If Giraffes Wore Necklaces?” at 7 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble, 13712 Jamboree Road, Irvine.

* Robert Bruce Woodcox will sign his book about golf obsessions, “The Gods Are Laughing,” at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 13712 Jamboree Road, Irvine.

* Martin Dugard will sign “Knockdown: The Harrowing True Account of a Yacht Race Turned Deadly” at 6 p.m. Saturday at Border’s Books and Music, 25222 El Paseo, Mission Viejo.

* Byron Belitsos will discuss and sign “Just in Case: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Y2K Crisis” at 7 p.m. Saturday at Borders Books and Music, 429 Associated Road, Brea.

* Elizabeth George will sign her latest British mystery, “In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner,” at 1 p.m. Saturday at Book Carnival, 348 S. Tustin Ave., Orange. George also will read and sign at 2 p.m. Sunday at Barnes & Noble in the Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach.

* David Koenig will sign “More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland,” at 3 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Main Place Mall, 2800 N. Main St., Santa Ana.

* Angela De Lorenzo, author of “Taste Tour of Italy,” will include a cooking demonstration and tasting at her book signing at noon Saturday at Borders Books and Music, 429 S. Associated Road, Brea.

* Tess Gerritsen will discuss and sign her latest medical suspense novel, “Gravity,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Coffee, Tea and Mystery, 13232 Springdale St., Westminster.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, Southern California Living, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Or e-mail to [email protected].