The First Page: Gil by Darin Gibby #fiction #baseball

Title: GIL
Author: Darin Gibby
Publisher: Keohler Books
Pages: 301
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Baseball

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.

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 The First Page:

GIL HURLED THE baseball as hard as he could at the

backstop. He needed to blow off steam and calm himself before

he did something stupid, or regrettable. He picked up another ball

from the fluorescent-orange five-gallon bucket, and concentrated

on his form.

He was consumed with frustration, and was venting with the

baseball instead of with his fists or mouth. He tried concentrating

on his form instead of his woes. Gil could control his pitches,

but not his destiny. He was good, but not good enough. At age

forty-four, Gil knew he was well past his prime and was trying

to accept the inevitability of unfulfilled dreams.

He reached again into the bucket beside him on the mound

and grabbed another ball. Focusing his form, he hurled another,

and then another. Arm back; elbow bent, he told himself. He

threw once again, then he looked up, and saw his buddy and

assistant coach, Peck, making his way over to him from a series

of disjointed brown brick buildings, the campus of the Prairie

Ridge High School Coyotes.

“First strike I’ve seen you throw all night. What gives, Gil?”

Gil kept his foot lodged against the rubber on the pitcher’s

mound then stooped down and plucked up another baseball.

With a quick windup, another of his pitches cut the thin Colorado

air and hammered the fence.

“Okay,” Peck interrupted, stepping between the mound and

home plate. “That’s enough, Gil. We need to talk before you ruin

a whole bucket of balls—and your arm. With these budget cuts

we’ll be lucky if we get enough for the season.” He turned and

made his way to the backstop, tugging on two balls lodged in the

wire lattice. Peck yanked one out and ran his fingers across the

torn leather.

“Holy crap,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

“What’s got you so pissed off?” Peck asked.

Gil slid the back of his worn leather glove across his brow.

“I’ve got my reasons.”

“Like?”

“All my life I’ve worked so hard, tried to do the right thing,

and look what it’s gotten me.”

About the Author

In addition to a thriving career as a novelist, author Darin Gibby is also one of the country’s premiere patent attorneys and a partner at the prestigious firm of Kilpatrick Townsend (www.kilpatricktownsend.com). With over twenty years of experience in obtaining patents on hundreds of inventions from the latest drug delivery systems to life-saving cardiac equipment, he has built IP portfolios for numerous Fortune 500 companies. In addition to securing patents, Gibby helps clients enforce and license their patents around the world, and he has monetized patents on a range of products.

Darin’s first book, Why Has America Stopped Inventing?, explored the critical issue of America’s broken patent system.  His second book, The Vintage Club, tells the story of a group of the world’s wealthiest men who are chasing a legend about a wine that can make you live forever. His third book, Gil, is about a high school coach who discovers that he can pitch with deadly speed and is given an offer to play with the Rockies during a player’s strike. Gil soon discovers, however, that his unexpected gift is the result of a rare disease, and continuing to pitch may hasten his own death.
With a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree, he is highly regarded in Denver’s legal and business community as a patent strategist, business manager, and community leader. He is also a sought-after speaker on IP issues at businesses, colleges and technology forums, where he demonstrates the value of patents using simple lessons from working on products such as Crocs shoes, Izzo golf straps and Trek bicycles.
An avid traveler and accomplished triathlete, Darin also enjoys back country fly-fishing trips and skiing in the Rocky Mountains. He lives in Denver with his wife, Robin, and their four children.

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