Great cover art!

My publisher has just revealed the cover art for my next crime novel (written as Max Austin), and I think it's terrific.

DUKE CITY HIT, a story about a hitman who discovers he has a grown son, is the second in a trilogy being published by Alibi (an e-book imprint of Random House). Publication date for the action-packed thriller is Dec. 16.

One of the nicest things about publishing with Alibi has been the cover art. I loved the blue Sandia Mountains on the Scott Biel-designed cover of the first one, DUKE CITY SPLIT, which came out in April. The art for DUKE CITY HIT delivers a real New Mexico feel, with its lonely highway and blazing sky.

All three crime thrillers are set in Albuquerque, with intertwined characters and locales. I can hardly wait to see what artists come up with for DUKE CITY DESPERADO, which is scheduled for publication in June 2015.

While the deal with Alibi is for three books, I've been writing a fourth one that features characters from the other novels. Just finished the first draft of DUKE CITY HEAT, and it rocks. Lots of revision to come, of course, but I get a short breather this week, including the annual family reunion in Corona, NM.

For more about the Duke City series, check out the Random House website here.