<DIV><p>&ldquo;DelRay and Ava can&rsquo;t avoid the violence that surrounds them (nor do they always want to), but, in Gifford&rsquo;s hands, their troubles are elevated to a gritty, visceral poetry of the marginalized.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>Publishers Weekly</i></p><p>&ldquo;A palpable sense of toughened nostalgia wafts through the pages . . . The ghosts of Gifford&rsquo;s muses, Sailor and Lula, and their fiery dialogue are everywhere . . . Gifford provides . . . ecstatic highs.&rdquo;&mdash;<i>Kirkus Reviews</i></p><p><i>The Sinaloa Story</i> tells of DelRay Mudo and Ava Varazo, two down-and-outs looking for a reasonable life and maybe even a little redemption in a corrupt and violent world. Ava is a Mexican prostitute, beautiful and no victim of circumstance. When DelRay falls in love with her at the drive-in whorehouse where she is the prize, she seizes the chance to break free. They take off for Sinaloa, Texas, the lone-dog state where &ldquo;nothin&rsquo; good ever happens.&rdquo; The host of far-out border flunkies they meet&mdash;Thankful Priest, the one-eyed former football player; Indio Desacato, Ava&rsquo;s pimp and a small-town racketeer; Arkadelphia Quantrill Smith, an octogenarian whose father marched with Shelby in the Iron Brigade; and many others&mdash;fill out the sinister and electrifying ride.</p><p><b>Barry Gifford</b> is the author of over 40 published works of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, including <i>Wild at Heart</i>, <i>Wyoming</i>, <i>The Rooster Trapped in the Reptile Room: A Barry Gifford Reader</i> and <i>Do the Blind Dream?</i>.</p></DIV>