What We Do Is Secret A Novel

"Why am I a punk? Because I wasn't anything before, except different. And now it's like I'm different, but with a vengeance." It's been months since the suicide of Darby Crash, L.A. punk rock icon and lead singer of the Germs. He checked out on the same day John Lennon was shot: December 8, 1980. But for Rockets Redglare, it feels like yesterday. Darby was the hot-as-sun center of Rockets's world. Part ringleader, part god, and all charismatic manipulator, Darby was as close to family as a hustler and street kid like Rockets might ever get. Now, as Rockets amps up for another night looking for tricks and scrounging a meal, Sex Pistols and X lyrics on repeat in his head, he knows he's come to a turning pointthe scene is changing, and nothing's as easy as it was when Darby brought him into the fold. From the underground clubs to the back of the giant "H" in the Hollywood sign, Rockets and his crew of friends spend the night burning bridges, building new ones, tripping and talking and searching for answers. As the dark gives way to early morning, the punks and the cops engage in their ritual standoffand Rockets faces the ultimate choice: Should he stay or should he go? From the Trade Paperback edition.

Thorn Kief Hillsbery is the author of the novels What We Do Is Secret and War Boy. He was born in Portland, Oregon, and is a graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. His feature articles on surfing, skateboarding, and rock climbing have appeared in Rolling Stone, Outside, Mountain Gazette, and other magazines, and he has been a contributing editor and columnist for Outside magazine. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.