Paperback rioter

I've unleashed five new paperbacks on the world!

These novels -- some of my best work -- previously were available only as e-books. Now, thanks to the miracle of indie publishing, the books are for sale on Amazon.com as beautiful trade paperbacks with glossy covers. They run 300 pages or more each, and they're priced around $13.

 As you can guess from the titles and covers, these are standalone crime novels. Let me tell you a little about each:

The most recent is A BOX OF PANDORAS, a traditional mystery set at a film festival in Santa Fe. It stars Loretta Kimball of Pandora, NM, president of the International Michael Girard Fan Club. When Mr. Girard, a near-famous actor, falls under suspicion, Loretta takes it upon herself to clear his name. Author Pat Browning just reviewed this novel and called it a "funny, gossipy small-town mystery."

LOST VEGAS is more hard-boiled, a true heist novel about a crew that knocks over a casino in small-town Nevada. Lots of action, and two of my favorite characters, a former Mob button man called Nicky Pop-Pop and a Samoan bodyguard named Shamu.

CALABAMA is rural noir in the vein of my favorite TV show, "Justified," though I wrote it before "Justified" ever aired. It's about a young slacker in Redding, CA, who gets mixed up in a kidnapping scheme with hillbilly crimelord Rydell Vance. Lots of dark comedy.

THE BIG WINK is also set in Redding, at the peak of the medical marijuana boom. A shooting during a holdup at a pot dispensary sets off a manhunt and a media firestorm. Author Reed Farrel Coleman says, "He's done masterful work before, but Brewer's outdone himself with THE BIG WINK."

FIREPOWER is a rip-snorting tale about a taciturn hitman (think Steve McQueen) who rescues an inventor from the evil forces of Big Oil. Author Penny Raife Durant calls it "a rousing story with many twists and turns."

I'm very proud of these books and I hope having them in paperback will mean a wider audience. If they do well, I'll bring out more of my backlist in this format.

In other news, I'm making great progress on the first draft of my new novel, DEADPAN. And the "Become a Better Writer" honors class I'm teaching at the University of New Mexico starts Monday.

Happy reading!