Hawke was born and raised in the heart of a major American city in the Industrial South. The fire to become a writer ignited for the boy at an early age, most particularly with his multiple devourings of the DC comics Batman series as well as the Howard Pyle rendition of 'Robin Hood', both being stories of audacious outsiders taking whatever drastic or heroic efforts are necessary in order to put wrong back to right. A steady diet of good, bad, and mediocre literature throughout his teenage years whetted Hawke's appetite for the audacity of the written word, and it was while in college in the Eastern Midwest that Hawke began sharpening his spear for a determined thrust at a career in fiction. Upon graduation (not with honors), a somewhat extended blur appears in the Hawke biography, as the realities and necessities of day-to-day survival effectively trumped the dream of his attempting to churn out publishable fiction. Even so, Hawke kept his hand in, writing book reviews for several newspapers, creating advertising copy, slamming the short story form all around the room...all this while leading a life of very modest debaucherie and the occasional wandering down wrong streets and dark alleys. Research. Breaking away at last from the workaday world with a determination to re-ignite his dream of one day doing his day job barefoot and in sweatpants, Hawke took up residence in the city with the enormous pulse, New York City. It was here that darkness and wonder in equal measure (remember Batman?) presented themselves and began seeping deeply into his skin. Too late by several decades to rack up a closet full of worn shoe leather, Hawke traipsed the boroughs in a succession of comfortable cross-trainers, keeping an eagle eye out for how things operate in the most amazing city in the world. Finally he turned his pen towards Gotham, aiming to capture the adrenaline, the daily sense of mystery, the smells, the jostling, the dangers, and the rich palette of characters that inhabit the streets, bars, clubs, penthouses and underbellies of this city where everyone has a story to tell as well as a stupendously unique voice with which to tell it. Speak of the Devil was the firstborn of those efforts, a story that moves as swiftly as the Number 3 train on a good day. The critics jumped all over it (in a good way), as did readers. Made Hawke happy. Now comes Cold Day In Hell. Exciting. Grim. Vastly entertaining. And as if that's not enough, the story has also got lots of heart, bleeding, broken and redeemable. So find yourself a warm (and safe) place and enjoy a Cold Day In Hell. Read a recent interview with Hawke on BookReporter.com. Hawke has also gotten himself hooked up with this crowd. Worth checking out!