Speakers' corner

Award winning writer Laura Shumaker reads from her book 'A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism,' a memoir about life with her autistic son Matthew, spanning from babyhood to young adulthood. A Regular Guy illustrates the many ways in which family, friends and strangers are touched by Matthew’s desperate desire to be a regular guy.

Shumaker is a regular contributor to the NPR Perspective Series on KQED and a columnist for www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com. Her essays have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Contra Costa Times, The East Bay Monthly and in several anthologies including Voices of Autism (La Chance 2008). She is also a contributor to 'Something That Matters: Life, Love and Unexpected Adventures in the Middle of the Journey,' a collection of essays by the best selling Wednesday Writers. Shumaker lives in Lafayette with her husband and three sons.

Shumaker speaks Saturday, Feb. 28 at Noon at the South San Francisco Main Library Auditorium, 840 W. Orange Ave. To request sign interpretation or other accommodation, call at least 10 working days prior to this event. Please refrain from wearing scented products to this program. This presentation is supported in part by Fit for Life, a program of Libraries for the Future, made possible thought the support of MetLife Foundation. Refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Library. For more information call 829-3876 or visit www.ssflibrary.net or www.laurashumaker.com. This event is free.

Cara Black

American author Cara Black is back with her ninth book featuring French detective Aimée Leduc. In 'Murder in the Latin Quarter,' Aimée is stunned when a mysterious woman named Mireille arrives at Leduc Detective and announces that she is Aimée’s sister. Despite initial misgivings, Aimée embraces her. A virtual orphan since her mother’s disappearance and her father’s death, she has always wanted a sister. Her partner, René, is wary of the stranger, particularly when Mireille suddenly vanishes. When Aimeé sets out to find her, she quickly finds herself involved in murky Haitian politics that lead to murder.

Black is included in Great Women Mystery Writers by Elizabeth Lindsay, and her third novel in the Aimée Leduc series, Murder in the Sentier, was nominated for an Anthony Award as Best Novel. Black, who lives in San Francisco with her husband, a bookseller, and their teenage son, is a frequent visitor to Paris.

Black speaks about her writing and signs books Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at M is for Mystery bookstore, 86 E. Third Ave. in downtown San Mateo. For more information call 401-8077 or visit www.MforMystery.com. This event is free.

Daniel N. Leeson

Foothill College’s Author Series presents Mozart authority Daniel N. Leeson speaking on his newest book, ‘The Mozart Cache,’ the story of a variety of precious objects that, with a single exception, all appear to have been in Leopold Mozart’s apartment at the time of his death in 1787. Leopold Mozart, a composer, conductor, teacher and violinist, is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Included in ‘The Mozart Cache’ are various portraits of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his sister, his mother and other members of his family. Author Leeson discusses how these items should be regarded by the scholars of Mozart’s life.

Author Daniel N. Leeson, one of America’s leading Mozart authorities, has been a professional performing musician for much of his life, and is a former officer of the Mozart Society of America. Leeson speaks on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 12 noon in the Student Lounge/Campus Center of Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. For more information visit http://preznet.fhda.edu/fas.html or email CaseyMia@Foothill.edu. This event is free.

Roger Siminoff

Author and music historian Roger Siminoff appears at the Redwood City Downtown Library Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m. to talk about the life and work of Lloyd A. Loar, a prominent musician and acoustical engineer who is the subject of Siminoff’s recent book, ‘The Lore of Loar.’ Loar pioneered the development of string musical instruments and invented several systems for electrical amplification of string and keyboard instruments. Siminoff’s presentation is part of the Bluegrass Authors Symposium sponsored by Friends of the Redwood City Library and the Northern California Bluegrass Society.

Siminoff’s book ‘The Art of Tap Tuning’ features a 50-minute DVD that fully explains the process of adjusting the structure of acoustic stringed instruments to improve their sound. Siminoff currently devotes his full attention to luthierie and the production of mandolin kits, banjo and mandolin parts, and to authoring various texts and monthly columns on musical instrument construction.

Redwood City Downtown Library is located at 1044 Middlefield Road. For more information call 780-701 8 or visit www.redwoodcity.org/library. This event is free.