KYLE – Uvalde native Bowie V. Ibarra’s third book, “Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire” is breaking new ground in sports fiction.

A book-signing event by the Uvalde author with a live wrestling presentation is scheduled for Feb. 14 from 10a.m. to 1p.m. at El Progreso Memorial Library.

Ibarra says, “I own a lot of martial arts training books. There are also lots of martial arts movies. But I’m not sure how many Mixed Martial Arts themed fiction books are out there.”

“Pit Fighters: Baptism by Fire” follows a small and diverse stable of fighters from around the world who form a stable in the fictional south Texas town of San Uvalde.

The team competes in a fictional mixed martial arts tournament in Austin during the advent of the sport.

Ibarra believes MMA is more of a rebirth, or a kind of martial arts renaissance.

“The Greeks would have called Mixed Martial Arts “Pankration”.

“This ancient sport was a combination of punching, kicking, and submission wrestling. In the 1970’s, Bruce Lee advocated the study of all arts to avoid the limitations of one form. Today, his dream is a reality,” says Ibarra

The book is a culmination of Ibarra’s appreciation of combat sports.

“Growing up, I would join my father and uncle and watch boxing on weekends. From the matches on “Wide World of Sports” to the big Pay-Per-Views with Tyson and Chavez,” recollects Ibarra.

“Today, its Couture or Emelianenko who are making waves in the MMA fight world.”

“Pit Fighters”

is Ibarra’s third. His first two pulp-style zombie horror novels, “Down the Road: A Zombie Horror Story” and “Down the Road: On the Last Day”, have made waves in the zombie horror subculture.

His third story in the series, “Down the Road: The Fall of Austin” is completed and will be released later this year.

“Pit Fighters” is published by Swarm Press, an imprint of Permuted Press, a print-on-demand publishing house.

The publisher has been in business since 2004. Permuted’s books, including Ibarra’s first two, are available on the shelves at Borders and Waldenbooks, as well as online through Amazon and other online vendors.

Bowie Ibarra lives in Kyle and teaches at Lehman High School.

He is represented by Acclaim Talent in Austin. Bowie Ibarra has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and a Masters of Art in Theatre History.

For more information on Swarm Press or Permuted Press titles, go to http://www.swarmpress.com or http://www.permutedpress.com.

For more information on Bowie Ibarra and his other works, visit his website at: http://www.bowieibarra.com/.