Sci-fi legend to discuss latest at Page One

Award-winning sci-fi author Greg Bear will talk about his latest novel, “Halo: Primordium — Forerunner Saga Book 2,” at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, at Page One Bookstore.

The novel is a sequel to “Halo: Cryptum.” Bear is the author of more than 30 books, spanning thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy. His books have been translated into more than 22 languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide.

As an illustrator, Bear has had artwork appear on covers of the publications Galaxy, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Vertex, as well as on books. He also has served as a consultant to NASA, the U.S. Army, the State Department and the Homeland Security Department on matters ranging from privatizing space to food safety and the frontiers of microbiology and genetics. Bear lives in California.

In another event, the bookstore is having a Poetry Open Mike Night at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10. Patrick Houlihan is the featured poet.

Page One is at 11018 Montgomery NE.

AT BOOKWORKS: The North Valley bookstore, at 4022 Rio Grande NW, hosts these author events this week. … Franciscan friar Richard Rohr, the founder of Albuquerque’s Center for Action and Contemplation, talks about his book “Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps” at 3 p.m. today. In the book, Rohr, who wrote “Falling Upward,” argues that the 12 steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous program can be interpreted as a significant contribution to spirituality. As a result, he writes, it relates to Christian teaching and connects with the Gospels. … Astrologer Dan Furst discusses his new book, “Surfing Aquarius: How to Ace the Wave of Change,” at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13. As Furst writes in the book’s introduction, “For the most optimistic among us, 2012 may even be the curtain-raiser for the Age of Aquarius, the overture to the grandest and most spectacular opera that human beings will ever stage or dream.” He argues what the Mayan “end of time” means is a “dramatic clearing and speeding up of our way of perceiving things,” not a doomsday prediction.

IN OLD TOWN: Editor Rick Carver and photographer/writer Evangeline Chavez discuss and autograph the book “A Year or So in the Life of New Mexico: An Uncensored Look at Life in the Land of Enchantment” from 2-4 p.m. today at Treasure House Books & Gifts, 2012 South Plaza NW. The photos by more than 50 people explore the state’s cultures and the daily lives of its residents.

IN SANTA FE: Collected Works, at 202 Galisteo, hosts these author events this week. … V.B. Price chats about his new book, “The Orphaned Land: New Mexico’s Environment Since the Manhattan Project,” at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9. Price is a longtime Albuquerque poet, journalist and teacher who considers New Mexico as a microcosm of global ecological degradation. … Maggie Macnab discusses her new book, “Design by Nature: Using Universal Forms and Principles in Design,” at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13. Macnab teaches design theory at the University of New Mexico and at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

CONTESTS: Deadlines are approaching for two contests sponsored by the New Mexico Press Women. Monday, Jan. 9, is the deadline for entries for the 2012 Excellence in Communication contest. Open to all, it recognizes excellence in print or electronic media, books, photography, advertising, public relations, graphic arts, blogs/websites and academic journalism. And Friday is the deadline for nonfiction entries from New Mexico women for the Zia Book Award. For details, visit http://newmexicopresswomen.org.