Manuel Ramos is an attorney and a part-time professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. His debut novel, "The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz" (St. Martin's, 1993), was nominated for an Edgar. His other awards include the 1994 Colorado Book Award for Fiction and the 1991 Chicano/Latino Literary Award. Three of his other Luis Montez novels-"The Ballad of Gato Guerrero" (St. Martin's, 1994), "The Last Client of Luis Montez" (St. Martin's, 1996), and "Blues for the Buffalo" (St. Martin's, 1997)-are forthcoming in new editions from Northwestern University Press..