Cross Country Hit is largely the age-old story of evil conquering good, sort of, most of the time. No lunch is free; a price must be paid. Luke is by most accounts a successful freelance hit man who travels on assignments by his Agent, Stan, but he starts to weigh the cost. Luke has a home in South Carolina and a condo in Mexico. In this novella we follow his travels on a series of assignments which take him from Finger Lakes, N.Y. State, to nearby Buffalo, from there to Quebec City, Canada and on to Napa Valley, California. The novel examines the day-to-day concerns and activities of a man who kills to make a living. He is a multifaceted individual with interests which include literature, sports, scuba diving and fine food and wine. He is introspective and comes to question both his activities and his future. Because he lives a secretive existence, which prevents him from sharing with others, his humor is largely internalized and ironic. Over time he comes to question his present occupation and considers a possible romantic commitment which would require some explanation of what he had been doing for the past ten years. Luke is proficient and impersonal in his professional activities, but becomes increasingly aware of the inevitable isolation which he ultimately faces. He is no more an island than the rest of us. When love rears its head and washes up onto his shore, he is tugged and battered by the age old tide. However, his baggage weighs heavily as he seeks to break free from the path he has chosen. Because he has lived a solitary, secretive life, and 'knows where the bodies are buried', it is not so easy to 'live happily ever after'.
About the Author: E. Craig McKay lives in Newfoundland and Ontario, Canada during summer and Almunecar, Spain in winter. Pilot of small planes, salt-water sailor, open-water diver, educator, bridge and poker player, he's written wine, food and travel articles for Enoteca and Elite magazines, movie critiques for Canadian newspapers, copywriting for radio, edited educational periodicals, technical writing, and police reports. Writes poetry, short stories and novels. Novel, Hit by the Dealer, 2011, was the first of a three-book series of Crime Fiction which includes Cross Country Hit, 2013, and Hit with the Ladies, 2013. His novella, Arial; Shieldmaiden of Middleworld, was released in late 2011. Short stories of an eclectic nature appear in anthologies: Villainy, Rapunzel's Daughters, Pulp Empire, and Queer Fish. Science Fiction and tales of speculative mythology have been published by Dead Mule, School of Southern Literature, Renaissance Magazine, and the Canadian Broadcast Corp. His first murder mystery, Brand of Death, is scheduled to be published in 2014. Craig has also been published as James W. Marsh.