THE COUGAR'S PREY -- release date: 10/04/11

The Cougar's Prey is the 4th book in the Josiah Wolfe, Texas Rangers series.  It releases two years to the day that the first novel, The Rattlesnake Season, in the series released, on October 4, 2011.  It's been an amazingly quick span of time, and a great journey, especially for me as a writer.

I tried for several years to sell a a series, but honestly, I had little clue of the reality writing one.  The Josiah series has taught me lessons in discipline, consistency, desire, and most importantly, what it's like to be a working writer for a major publisher.

The Cougar's Prey finds Josiah away from his family and hometown of Austin, inhabiting a new identity as a spy in South Texas for Captain Leander McNelly.  Josiah is trying to gain information about Cortina's cattle rustling operation, but he makes some bad decisions along the way, and can't seem to escape the actions of his past.  As with all of the Josiah books, there's a little bit history, some nail-biting adventure, and a dose of emotion thrown in for good measure.  It was a fun book to write.

The next Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger novel, The Coyote Tracker, is set to be released in August, 2012.  It is completed and in production, and I'm writing the 6th novel in the series, The Gila Wars, which should see publication in early 2013, probably April.  So there are plenty of Josiah adventures yet to come...

THE SCORPION TRAIL wins Best Books of Indiana competition

The Scorpion Trail, published by Berkley Books (Penguin, New York), has won the Best Books of Indiana literary competition.  The honor was announced by the Indiana State Library on September 06, 2011.

The Best Books of Indiana contest was created to honor Indiana's long and illustrious literary heritage and recognize Hoosier authors. The Indiana Center for the Books administers the Best Books of Indiana contest annually and accepts entries from Hoosier authors or books that have an Indiana theme or setting.

"It is a privilege to recognize this terrific group of Hoosier authors," said Roberta Brooker, Indiana State Librarian, of the winning contestants. "One copy of each Best Book will permanently join the works of great Hoosier authors like Gene Stratton Porter, James Whitcomb Riley and Kurt Vonnegut within the State Library’s Indiana Authors Room."

Sweazy was a finalist in the same category last year for The Rattlesnake Season, Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger #1 (Berkley Books, New York).

The Scorpion Trail is the second book in the award-winning Josiah Wolfe, Texas Ranger series. The novel previously won the 2011 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western Fiction.

From the back cover: Starting your life over in a big city like Austin, Texas is no easy task, especially for a man raised on the land like Texas Ranger Josiah Wolfe. Now, after uprooting his son to the state’s capital, Josiah must leave Austin to meet up with the rest of the Texas Ranger Frontier Battalion. But before he can get to work, Josiah has to make a quick stop to check on his old friend Juan Carlos. When Josiah finds the livery where Juan Carlos was hiding aflame, he fears he may never repay the debt made the day the Mexican saved his life. To find out if his friend is dead or alive, Josiah searches for the one person who might know Juan Carlos’ whereabouts. But she too has gone missing, and another deadly fire is reported in Waco, Josiah’s quick detour turns into a search that brings up old enemies and new dangers. He’ll have to ride hard and draw fast to find his Battalion…and to return back home..

There will be (at least) six books in the Josiah Wolfe, Texas series with the most current novel, The Cougar’s Prey (#4), published on October 04, 2011. The Badger’s Revenge (#3) was published in April, 2011.