New boxed set will slay you

Say hello to DIE LAUGHING 2, a new boxed set of full-length novels from Ben Rehder, Paul Levine, Parnell Hall, Bill Fitzhugh and yours truly.

Our first e-book collection, which is called -- surprise! -- DIE LAUGHING, came out over the summer and has sold very well, gaining us some new readers in the process.

My contribution to the new collection is CALABAMA, a novel of hillbilly noir set in the wilds of Northern California. It's the story of a young slacker whose life goes so wrong, he winds up in a doomed kidnapping plot. I love this story. Very dark humor. A great villain named Rydell Vance.

I've read the stories by Fitzhugh and Hall, and they're superb. Looking forward to the other two, soon as I can get to them.

I'm staying very busy as autumn arrives here in Albuquerque. My writing seminar at the Honors College at

the University of New Mexico is going full steam ahead, and I'm planning a "Meet the Authors" class for next semester. My latest manuscript is with my beta readers, but I'll be giving it a final polish soon.

Bouchercon is less than two weeks away.

Last, but certainly not least, we're gearing up for the Dec. 16 launch of my second Max Austin crime novel, DUKE CITY HIT. Today, I heard from a reviewer who really liked an advance copy. "Great plot," he said. "Great characters."

Music to my ears.