Stephen Van Handel to read from debut novel ‘The Tale of Piper’

AT THE PLACITAS COMMUNITY LIBRARY

Stephen Van Handel will read from and discuss his novel for children, “The Tale of Piper: the spider who built bridges” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Placitas Community Library.

Van Handel, a Placitas resident, writes the book is “a tale of musketeer friendships, clever solutions and a little bit of magic — or maybe a lot of magic — a world where impossible things are made possible with heart and courage.”

The title character, Piper, is a young spider with a talent for creating just about anything except an ordinary web. He discovers he can spin gold, which is a gift and a destiny.

Other main characters are Sputter, a near-sighted bee; Slugger, a snail with a tough shell and a tougher attitude; Blink, a socially awkward young firefly; Willoughby, a wise turtle with a knack for mentoring those who need it the most; and Rufus, a hard-working ant who is chairman of the Garden Ant Association.

Van Handel, who also designed the book, is a multi-talented artist. He’s a painter, illustrator, graphic designer, composer and musician.

He writes the “creative vision for this tale includes the e-book and an audiobook narrated by him and enriched with his original musical score.”

Though the tale is aimed at young readers, Van Handel said in a phone interview that he thinks it can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

He said the story conveys such values as gratitude, friendship, mentorship, kindness, acceptance, compassion and love.

“The Tale of Piper” is Van Handel’s debut novel.

The Placitas Community Library is located at 453 New Mexico Highway 165 in Placitas.

AT BOOKS ON THE BOSQUE

The Albuquerque bookstore is hosting these upcoming author events.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, Tom Andes will discuss his new work of fiction, “Wait There Till You Hear From Me: A Charles Prentiss Novel.” A couple of months before Prentiss’ wedding, his fiancee’s brother Marshall disappears. Prentiss is offered $15,000 to find Marshall.

Prentiss knows it’s a bad idea, but it’s his big chance to prove himself to the wealthy New Orleans family he’s about to marry into.

Prentiss finds a strange pattern of behavior that links Marshall to a shady real estate developer, who is stalking him and his fiancee.

Andes’ stories have appeared in Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories 2025 and in Best Private Eye Stories of the Year 2025.

At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, Dina Gilio-Whitaker will discuss her book “Who Gets To Be an Indian? Ethnic Fraud and Other Difficult Conversations About Native American Identity.”

At 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, Chris Allen and Paul J. Knight will talk about “The Music of Creation,” the science fiction novel they co-authored. It’s about a universe where music is a narcotic and an alien must protect a brilliant Irish composer from abduction.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, Adrienne M. Enghouse will discuss her book, “The Pearl of Great Price: A Journey Within. The author, who is a veteran nurse and self-described truth-teller, invites readers on a journey “past the noise, past the performance and into the sacred truth of your own worth.”

Books on the Bosque is located at 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane NW.

AT COLLECTED WORKS

Julian Brave NoiseCat will talk about his new book “We Survived the Night” at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at the Santa Fe bookstore.

After his Native father abandoned the family, NoiseCat and his non-Native mother were embraced by the urban Native community in Oakland, California, and by the Canim Lake Indian Reserve in British Columbia.

In his father’s absence, he immersed himself in Native history and culture to understand the man he seldom saw and, by extension, himself.

The book blends history, mythology, memoir and reportage.

NoiseCat will be in conversation with Deborah Jackson Taffa, the director of the MFA Creative Writing Program at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Collected Works is located at 202 Galisteo St. in Santa Fe.