Port Coquitlam author Robert C. Belyk has weaved another spooky yarn - just in time for Halloween.
His new book, titled Spirits of the West: Eerie Encounters from the Prairies to the Pacific, by TouchWood Editions, unwinds tales of the scariest ghost locales in western Canada including the Port Moody Station Museum, the Stave Falls Powerhouse and the Hell's Gate Airtram.
Signed copies of Spirits of the West can be purchased at Reflections Books (111D Austin Ave., Coquitlam).
They can also be bought through amazon.ca and chapters.ca.
NYC MEMOIR
Television personality and author Mike McCardell will sign his new book in Coquitlam next month.
McCardell recently released a Harbour Publishing work called Cardboard Queen, a memoir of his early days while living in Queens, New York.
He will appear at Pinetree Village Chapters (2991 Lougheed Hwy.) on Saturday, Nov. 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Call 604-464-2558.
FOR TWEENS
Port Coquitlam's Mark David Smith has a new historical adventure novel out for tweens.
Caravaggio: Signed in Blood will be launched on Friday, Nov. 7 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Byrne Creek secondary school (7777-18th St., Burnaby). The event will include kids' activities and a short sword-fighting workshop by Academy Duello.
Smith, a former Coquitlam school teacher, will be on hand to sign copies of his book, which centres on a 15-year-old servant named Beppo Ghirlandi. The work is published by Tradewind Books.
WRITE ON
Join Tri-City scribes at the Port Moody Public Library next month to get support during a 50,000-word write-off.
The library is welcoming writers on Tuesday nights for NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month, which challenges people to put pen to paper - or fingertips to keyboard - over the 30 days in November.
PoMo librarians will be on hand to read works and offer encouragement. Coffee and light refreshments will also be served.
To register as a NaNoWriMo participant, contact Port Moody librarian Maryn Ashdown at 604-469-4635 or email mashdown@portmoody.ca. The library is located inside PoMo city hall at 100 Newport Dr.
LUNCH TALK
A few years back, opera singer Karen Santos created a series of abstract paintings after being forced to take a vow of silence for medical reasons.
Next week, the Mexican native will speak about her recovery - and therapy through visual art - in the first Art for Lunch talk at Place des Arts in Coquitlam.
The new daytime event for this season highlights the journey of several local artists, including Place des Arts' teacher Joy Kirkwood.
Santos' appearance at the arts facility (1120 Brunette Ave.) is on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at noon and guests are encouraged to bring a bagged lunch.
Tickets at $5 are available by calling 604-664-1635 or going online through Brown Paper Tickets.
INFLUX
Photographs, drawings and paintings of the Ioco townsite and Colony Farm are part of a new exhibit that opens Thursday in Port Coquitlam.
Artists Laara Cerman and Adrian Walker present Influx and Exodus at the Leigh Square Community Arts Village until Dec. 1. The pair will also talk on Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. about the role of digital technology in contemporary art.
Cerman's images tell the visual story of Ioco's past. She narrows her lens on the derelict buildings that were once occupied by the workers of the Imperial Oil Co.
Walker, by contrast, is inspired by Millers Field, the Kwikwetlem First Nations and Colony Farm regional park and captures the changing landscapes of Port Coquitlam.
The opening reception will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 30 at Leigh Square (behind PoCo city hall). The artists will be in attendance and refreshments will be served.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
@jwarrenTC
