Authorpreneur Dashboard – Darin Gibby
The Vintage Club
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Can wine really make you live forever? Yes, if the grapes are an ancient varietal---or so the members of the Vintage Club believe. Made up of some of the world’s wealthiest industrial magnates, the club conducts secret scientific research to discover what has eluded humans throughout history: the elixir of life. Their quest hits a snag when scientist Walter Trudell is murdered. The prime murder suspect is his godson Reggie Alexander, a patent attorney whom Trudell once saved from a life of poverty in northeast Washington, D.C. As soon as news of the murder spreads, Reggie goes into hiding---soon after his wife and son disappear. After being chased by mysterious assailants, beaten unconscious, and planted with a bug, Reggie must come to grips with his own private demons while figuring out how to save his family. The Vintage Club is a thriller that both explores the ancient Christian symbolism of wine and imagines ways that modern nanotechnology could be used to discover the fountain of youth.
Book Bubbles from The Vintage Club
An Ancient Legend About Wine
A number of years ago when I was in Spain I visited a winery. Our guide told us a story about how the ancient Romans came to the south of Spain and planted vineyards so that they could make wine. That's when I came up with the idea to create an ancient legend about a wine that could make a person live forever. What if the Romans had produced a wine that brought eternal life? And what if the seeds from those grapes still existed? It was the perfect set up for a thriller. So I went to work and created the Vintage Club, a group of the world's wealthiest men who were searching after a legend about a wine that could make you live forever.
Chasing Hindy Text
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Addy’s dream as a patent attorney is to help bring a ground breaking energy technology to the world. Addy’s hopes soar when she is wooed by Quinn, an entrepreneur, to join his company that has purportedly invented a car that can run on water using an innovative catalyst. After resigning her partnership to join Quinn, Addy discovers things aren’t as they seem. The patent office suppresses the company’s patent applications and her life is threatened by unknown assailants if she doesn’t resign. When she is arrested for stealing US technology from the patent office she realizes Quinn has used her. Now, Addy must find a way to clear her name while salvaging her dream of propelling this technology to the world, all while powerful forces attempt to stop her.
Book Bubbles from Chasing Hindy Text
Can a car really run on water
A number of years ago I was at an event where members of the audience were put under hypnosis and asked questions. One of the questions was what the fuel of the future would be. Without exception, they all answered, "water." The hypnotist said that every time he did this, he got the same response. That was the genesis for Chasing Hindy. What if there was a way to economically extract hydrogen from water underneath the hood of a car and then run the car on hydrogen? And, if someone did invent a water powered car, what forces would try to stop her from bringing it to market? That was the perfect setup for a thriller.
Gil
Literature & Fiction
Some gifts come with a price. Twenty years before, high school coach Gil Gilbert gave up his dream to play professional baseball so he could marry his pregnant girlfriend, Keri. When he miraculously discovers that he can pitch with deadly accuracy and speed, he must choose between his successful career and comfortable family life or his chance to play with the Colorado Rockies during a player’s strike. Gil stuns the pitching staff with 100 mph fastballs and is offered a contract. After joining the Rockies, the world soon learns that Gil is a supernatural phenomenon and the Rockies keep winning. But Gil soon faces stiff opposition, including a frivolous lawsuit, a father who feels his son’s calling to pitch is to save souls, and threats from the striking players. As the season progresses, Gil discovers that his unexpected gift is the result of a rare disease, and continuing to pitch may hasten his own death. While Keri supports his decision to keep playing, she is fearful about her husband’s bizarre health condition. Gil must decide what price he is willing to pay to live his dream.
Book Bubbles from Gil
Pitching for the Rockies
After I’d come up with the idea of Gil, I needed a realistic way of getting him to play for a major league team. I figured I could just have him try out for a team and because he could pitch 100 mph any team would want him. But, my consultant told me that isn’t how it works. No major league team would take this chance. He’d have to go to the minors to prove himself. But with a fiction book, I needed Gil to jump right into action. I couldn’t have him languishing in the minor leagues. I was stumped on how to handle this until I read a book about replacement players during WWII. I decided to do a modern day equivalent and have the players go on strike. That way, every team would need replacement players. That’s the beauty of fiction. And, it let me Gil pitching in major league parks right from the start.
Consulting with a Professional Baseball Player
After I'd finished the first draft of Gil, I figured it would be a good idea to have a professional baseball player read the manuscript to see if it was true to life. I was fortunate to come across Larry Brooks who pitched several years in the minor leagues. After he read the book, he set me straight on what really happens behind the scenes in professional baseball. Also, he helped me understand how to throw each of the pitches and how I should describe them. When we were finished with our discussion, I was convinced that I needed to rewrite the draft--which I did. I came up with the idea of having the MLB go on strike and need replacement players. That made it much easier to sell Gil as a major league player. When I sent Larry the revised draft, he loved it and offered to write a blurb for the cover. It's the best blurb I've received for any of my books.
