Weekly Blog - Monday 9th March

[Steven Hague]

It’s official – the second novel in the Zac Hunter series, Blood Law, will be released in the UK, Eire and South Africa on the 17th July 2009. To give you a brief teaser as to what the book’s about, here’s the blurb that will appear on the back cover:

All hell is breaking loose in the city of Angels...In this breakneck sequel to "Justice for All", ex-LAPD detective Zac Hunter receives a cry for help from an old snitch, gangbanger Angel Cortez. Angel's daughter Gracie has gone missing, and her boyfriend knows more than he's letting on. Discovering that a rival gang grabbed Gracie from an East Los Angeles park, Hunter agrees to do what he can to find the missing girl. As two rival gangs wage war on each other, only Hunter and the mysterious vigilante Stone will be able to save Gracie - and prevent a city from going up in flames.

I hope that’s enough to grab your interest! And if you stay tuned in the next couple of weeks you’ll witness the grand unveiling of Blood Law’s cover art. As for the third Hunter novel, The Beholder, that’s now back in the hands of my agent for further comment.

On the gig front, I had a great night at the Norwich Waterfront last Monday, one of my all-time faves at the venue in fact, when I saw The Gaslight Anthem ably supported by Frank Turner (apologies to the first band on, Polar Bear Club – I got there too late to catch your set). It’s fair to say that the folk poet stylings of Frank Turner (former frontman of punk band Million Dead) don’t fall into my usual listening habits, but when you stumble across genius you have to embrace it. Armed with just a semi-acoustic guitar and a seemingly never-ending supply of outstanding lyrics, Frank captivated the sold out venue with his tales of love and loss in modern day Britain. His gift is to capture the human condition with eloquence and passion, transforming his tales of everyday life into something extraordinary. Highly recommended, and if there’s any justice in the world, soon to be treasured by the masses.

After a support slot like that, it was always going to be a tall order for the headline act to measure up, but The Gaslight Anthem managed it with ease. I’m a real sucker for bands like Gaslight, with their blue collar, heart on their sleeves tales of Americana, taken straight from the Springsteen school of rock (they even name check some of the boss’s songs within their own work, and word has it that Bruce personally chose them as support for his Hyde Park show coming up later this year.) Brian Fallon’s vocals drip with passion and sincerity, while the driving punk sound created by the band grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go. The highlight of the show came courtesy of the second encore, when a lone Fallon was joined onstage by Frank Turner to cover Billy Bragg’s seminal ‘A New England.’ Mind blowingly good stuff, and a night that will live long in the memory for all those that were fortunate enough to have been there.

Cheers,
Steve

What’s Steve been listening to this week?
The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me– by Brand New
Love, Ire, and Song – by Frank Turner
Siren Song Of the Counter Culture – by Rise Against