Based on the true story of an adopted dog who finally found his home, "Darby's Story" is a heartwarming family tale for readers and listeners alike.

Steward will hold signings on the following dates:

• Saturday, Nov. 7, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Kamp K-9, The Lodge at the Blue Lakes, 5135 West Highway 20, Upper Lake;

• Saturday, Nov. 7, to Sunday, Nov. 15, Cobb Mountain Art Galleria, Cobb Mountain Village, in the 16000 block of Highway 175, Cobb;

• Saturday, Nov. 21, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Wild About Books, 14290 Olympic Drive, Clearlake;

• Friday, Dec. 4, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Watershed Books, Author's Studio, 305 N. Main St., Lakeport.

The event will take place from 5:30 p.m to 7 p.m. at the gallery, 325 N. Main St., Lakeport.

New in the November show are Toni Stewart's one-of-a-kind handcrafted hats. The popular artist Ray Farrow returns to the gallery with his fine oils, and Elaine Lewis displays her flair with acrylics.

Continuing in the October show are Bill Bartram in oils and Paula Strothers, Diane Constable and Paula Starkey in acrylics. Bruce Vandariss is exhibiting vivid paintings done in colored pencil. Keith Nelson's 8-foot metal giraffe gains immediate attention as you walk into the gallery, but take time to examine his other work as well.

Each of Bill Blum's miniature wooden gnome homes hold a surprise. To accompany them, Chris Schreier has fashioned wee folk art gnomes. Sunny Franson's beautifully executed oils reflect wonderfully soft landscapes and wildlife of Lake County. Judy Cardinale continues in this show exhibiting her versatility as an artist as she changes out her animal collection to vibrant watercolor landscapes and seascapes. Rounding out this fine collection of artists is the intricately fashioned jewelry by Anna Koot.

Returning to the Linda Carpenter Gallery to show their ever-growing talent and experimenting with various mediums and techniques are students from Cobb Mountain under the energetic tutelage of Linda Prather.

This is not just a student exhibition but a fine example of how art expands our lives by having us explore other cultures, nature and science.

Mrs. Liotta's class of fifth, sixth and seventh graders did just that by using the Internet to check out masks from around the world and then using Smart Board to examine them and determine how they would create their own masks.

Mr. Weiss's third and fourth graders studied the values of colors, learning warm and cool shades, and through the medium of watercolors learned to mix, blend and apply washes to their paper. You can view the end result of this creative process in their display of vases and flowers in the Impressionistic style. Two art docents, Jennifer Prather and Merilyn Mahnke, contribute their time and talent to this class.

Please join us for this evening of art, meet the featured artists and sample the award winning wines from Gregory Graham Wines.

Enjoy the delightful music of Ian Shaul on acoustic guitar as he plays and sings his own compositions.

We look forward to meeting you, sharing our gallery and bringing even more and new artistic talent to you in the months ahead.

For more information call 707-263-6658.

Shelby Posada is executive director of the Lake County Arts Council.

GARDEN VALLEY – Author Carol Tillotson’s first novel, “The Legend of Round Valley,” is a thriller about three couples on a romantic vacation that takes a dark twist, leaving the couples in a struggle for their very survival.

Little did Tillotson know that she’d be in her own struggle for survival, fighting for her life as she completed the book.

After Carol Tillotson’s passing, her husband Don continues to fight to keep her memory, dreams and talent for writing alive by fulfilling her final wish – to share her romantic thriller, “The Legend of Round Valley,” with the world.

The book opens with three couples leaving their worlds of hectic work and family life behind for a romantic getaway, setting out to explore unfamiliar terrain.

Far from civilization, their guided horse tour leads them into contact with drug traffickers and Indian tribes. Soon their idyllic vacation turns into a nightmare. Lost and on the run, they realize they must work together to fight their attackers in order to make it through their vacation alive.

Through themes of love, hate, trust, and betrayal, the close friends experience the darker side of human nature.

“The Legend of Round Valley” examines the deepest components of friendship and forces readers to reflect on their own relationships and experiences. The novel keeps readers anxious and on-edge, anticipating the final fate of the couples.

Perhaps with an intuitive feeling about her own mortality, Tillotson’s novel stresses how precious life is – and how it can be taken away at a moment’s notice.

“I want to honor my wife and her memory,” Don Tillotson says. “She was so proud of her book, and I want the world to share in the exciting story she spent her final days crafting.”

Carol Tillotson was raised in Antioch, where she attended the University of California at Berkeley. Tillotson’s joy in life was working with quarter horses in the Yolla Bolly Wilderness of Northern California.

The boutique will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The location is 2698 Greenway Drive in Buckingham Park.

For more information call Leah Adams at 707-279-0642.

The governor successfully proposed and pushed for the Film and Television Incentive as part of a package of economic stimulus measures, which was passed by the state legislature in February 2009. Aimed at curbing runaway film and television production, a total of 50 projects have been approved for the program to date.

"I'm thrilled by the early success of our program – it's having an immediate impact," said Schwarzenegger. "Productions that were slated to film outside the state have shifted gears and are now shooting in California because of our film and television incentive. This is not only great news for our production workers, but for the thousands of small businesses that support film and television production in California and our state's economy as a whole."

The California Film Commission, which administers the incentive program, reports that among the 50 approved projects 50 percent are for independent feature films, 22 percent are for non-independent (studio) features, 8 percent are for direct-to-DVD films, 14 percent are for movies of the week and 6 percent are for TV series. Fourteen projects have already begun filming, and 22 more will begin before the end of the year. The remainder will begin filming in early 2010.

Notably, Sony Pictures Television's new series for FX, "Lawman," about a U.S. Marshal, will begin production in late October in Santa Clarita. The show is set in Kentucky and the pilot episode was photographed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"Thanks to the production incentive and with assistance from the guilds and unions, we were able to prevent this show from leaving California," said Ed Lammi, Executive Vice President of Production for Sony Pictures Television. "We are extremely grateful that this new program allows us to keep the series here."

While many of the productions are slated to film in the Los Angeles area, other regions around the state will also benefit from an increase in production activity. Several productions are set to film scenes in Fresno, Kern, San Francisco, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Other approved projects slated to begin production this quarter include “Burlesque,” “Beginners,” “Social Network,” “The Raise,” “Answers to Nothing,” “Dinner for Schmucks” and “Max Rose.”

"Our members are starting to see results and are getting calls from productions that have qualified for the program," said Steve Dayan, Business Agent for Teamsters Local 399. "I am happy to see tangible jobs being created so quickly. This is great news for my members and our industry."

"Every week we learn of another production slated to film out of state that have instead chosen to stay in California," said Amy Lemisch, Executive Director of the California Film Commission. "The program is performing exactly as it was designed to, leveling the playing field and keeping us competitive."

Please visit www.film.ca.gov for details on the California Film and Television Incentive Program.