In the Spotlight: Chasing Hindy by Darin Gibby

Title: Chasing Hindy
Author: Darin Gibby
Publisher: Koehler Books
Pages: 284
Genre: Thriller

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.

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Book Excerpt:

ADDY FELT LIKE jumping out of her car and doing a quick happy dance in the middle of stalled traffic. Her excitement at   becoming  the  newest—and  youngest—partner  at  the intellectual property law firm of Wyckoff & Schechter was nearly overwhelming.

She grinned at the shadow on the hood of Hindy, her treasured retrofitted cherry red Shelby Mustang. The shadow was created by a barrel-sized, hydrogen-filled balloon that floated above the Mustang’s roof. Gawkers pointed and laughed as the Shelby eased down El Camino pulling the tethered balloon as if in a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The balloon—which on one side sported her law firm’s logo, and on the other Hindy in giant cursive script—was just an advertising gimmick to show her passion for alternative energies. It was only strapped to the roof on calm, sunny days when she was travelling at slow speeds using routes that avoided overpasses. The retrofitted Mustang was  really powered by four electric motors using electricity produced by solar panels and a conventional fuel cell.

At first, the Wyckoff partners questioned Addy’s prudence in strapping a floating balloon to the roof of any vehicle, but they’d

come to admire the effectiveness of her marketing innovations. They even lifted their champagne glasses at the end of her mentor’s welcome speech acknowledging that her Shelby was responsible for bringing in increasing numbers of the “green” companies sprouting like weeds all over the Silicon Valley— inventive, entrepreneurial companies in need of legal advice and support for their patents.

While  the  traffic  inched  forward,  Addy  chuckled  with excitement. “Hindy, ol’ pal,” she said, patting the dashboard, “you and I are going places now! Next time some overzealous cops accuse you of being a traffic hazard, I’ll stare them down and inform them they’re messing with the partner of a highly prestigious law firm.”

Traffic  momentarily  loosened  and  Addy  eased  Hindy forward, careful not to snap the lines tethering the egg-shaped balloon. Addy sang along with Zissy Spaeth, pop rock’s newest and most flashy star, as Zissy belted out her latest hit, Light in Your Eyes, over the radio. In the corner of her eye she noticed a blaze of neon orange.

Her heart stopped. In the car next to her someone was pointing a bazooka-sized gizmo at her balloon. She blinked, trying to clear her vision.

A  flare shot  out,  aimed  straight  at  her  floating ball  of

hydrogen.

Even in the late afternoon sunlight, it was impossible to miss the explosion. The dirigible burst into a giant fireball, then slowly deflated and floated down toward the Shelby’s crimson hood.

Addy  stomped  on  her  brakes,  hoping  the  balloon’s momentum would shoot the flaming mass forward. The fireball, safely secured by its fluorescent yellow nylon tethers, crashed down onto the windshield, blocking Addy’s view. She screeched to a halt, slammed her shoulder into the door, flung it open, and darted out, catching the heel of her pump on the doorjamb, which sent her sprawling headlong onto the pavement.

She heard tires squeal and at least a half dozen blaring horns. Stinging pain shot up from her elbow and knees. Thank goodness traffic had been just inching along.

Ignoring the pain, she bolted forward, arms raised, ready

to yank the still-burning fabric off the windshield. Before she got close enough to grab it, the sweltering heat from the flames scorched her cheeks, and she shielded her eyes with her forearm. Just when she reached the hood, a breeze lifted the infernal blob and propelled it directly at her, the nylon cords now seared through.

She braced herself for the fireball when she felt arms wrap around her chest and yank her back, barely in time to avoid the searing molten mass of goo about to descend on her head, threatening to fry her face and melt her hair.

“Are you crazy? What are you thinking?” a deep voice

bellowed in her ear, still holding her tight.

Together they watched what was left of the blimp float like a falling leaf onto the grassy shoulder, just like the Hindenburg did almost eighty years ago.

“Someone clearly doesn’t like you, short stuff,” her rescuer said, now standing next to her stroking his goatee, his face hidden behind dark sunglasses and a low-riding Dodgers cap. “More like out to get you. That was some kind of flare the driver shot at your blimp. I tried to spot his license plate, but it was covered up. Snapped a picture with my phone, though,” the man said fishing it from his pocket. “You can kind of see a tattoo on his forearm. The police will love this.”

Before she could thank him, someone cried out, “Call a fire

truck! The grass!”

Brush fires in California were no joking matter. Addy could smell the smoldering grasses. A strong breeze fanned the flames, pushing the fire toward a row of redwood trees.

Then she heard a whiny voice coming from the milling crowd of stranded passengers who’d gathered to find out what was holding up their homeward commute. “I’ve seen that blimp before. I knew it was trouble,” the whiner complained.

“Yeah, but at least she’s part of the solution,” said someone else. “Her car doesn’t use gasoline. Look at what you’re driving,” he said, sneering at the whiny woman’s crossover SUV.

Addy’s knees buckled, her head spinning. She plopped down onto the pavement and hugged her bare legs. This couldn’t be happening.

Why would someone try to destroy her car?

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.

His latest book is the thriller, Chasing Hindy.

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• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
• This giveaway ends midnight June 30.

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Rik's Book Trailer Blast

About the Book:

Title: RIK’S   
Author: dhtreichler
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 483
Genre: Thriller

“The entire affair began with sheep brains and falafel -- Saddam Hussein's favorite dish.”

It is 1990 and in Baghdad two lovers are separated by the impending First Gulf War. CIA operative Rik Bogart is desperately seeking television correspondent Ingrid Johannson -- but is instead picked up by  Saddam’s Secret Police and thrown into Abu Graib -- the Prison of the Dead. Ten years later, he must make a fateful decision after finally reuniting with her -- one that may keep them apart forever. How far would YOU go for your true love?

This heart-pounding thriller is written by a former international defense contractor who brings incredible realism and arresting insights into the days leading up to Saddam’s invasion of neighboring Kuwait, and provides a chilling account of life inside the infamous Prison of the Dead.

"It's as much a love story as it is a runaway thriller." Midwest Book Review

RIK’S IS AVAILABLE AT AMAZON

Book Excerpt:

Despite the blood flowing from my side and my exhausted condition, we wrestled for control of the weapon.

I rolled him over, coming up on top, and pinned him to the ground as we continued to wrestle for control of the Glock. I pushed his arm down to my left, held his arm with my left hand and punched him in the face, which loosened his grip just enough. I gained control of the gun. Now Tariq stared down the barrel of his own weapon with me on top of him.

“So this is the end, my friend?” Tariq asked as he looked beyond the barrel pointed at his head.

“No, Tariq, this is just the beginning. The ring?”

Tariq nodded in understanding and held his hand up for me to remove my Academy class ring, which I did and slipped it into my pocket.

About the Author

As a defense contractor, award-winning screenwriter and novelist, dhtreichler has wandered the world, visiting garden spots and more.  Having lived and worked with our intelligence agents and soldiers, witnessing the conflicts and the turmoil of recent decades, he paints vivid backdrops for his stories. Like him, the men and women he portrays attempt to make sense of our fast-changing world. He has held a lifelong interest in the profound influence of rapidly changing technology on our lives and relationships. Exploring that power (what has changed and what might come) forms an insightful theme of his novels. His stories also reflect the universal desires and fears of real people everywhere.

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In the Spotlight: The Ashes by Vincent Zandri & Enter Giveaway!

Title: THE ASHES
Author: Vincent Zandri
Publisher: Bear Media
Pages: 277
Genre: Thriller/Horror/Romantic Suspense

HORROR IN THE DARK WOODS

It’s been eight years since artist and single mom, Rebecca Underhill, was abducted and left to die in an old broken down house located in the middle of the dark woods. But even if her abductor, Joseph William Whalen, has since been killed, another, more insidious evil is once more out to get her in the form of the Skinner. The son of an abusive butcher, Skinner intends on finishing the job Whalen started but failed at.

How is he going to get to Rebecca?

He’s going to do it through her children, by luring them into the cornfield behind the old farmhouse they live in.

HORROR IN THE DEPTHS

Now, armed with the knowledge that the Skinner has escaped incarceration at a downstate facility for the criminally insane, Rebecca must face the most horrifying challenge of her adult life: Rescuing the children not from a house in the woods, but from the abandoned tunnels that run underneath her property.

But the Skinner is watching Rebecca’s every move.

Horrifying question is, will she live long enough to save the children?

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Book Excerpt:

Albany Police Department

South Pearl Street Precinct

The old homicide detective sits behind his metal desk surrounded by the cold quiet of the early morning, staring forlornly into the radiant screen on his department-issued laptop. He’s been using the laptop, which is integrated with the department’s web server, for years and years now, but he still fondly recalls the days when his desktop supported only a telephone connected to an old fashioned landline and beside that, an IMB Selectric typewriter. And how could he ever forget the old two tiered Inbox/Outbox?

He glances at his inbox and the two dozen or so new emails that have come his way since he last checked it the previous evening. He scans the emails for their importance, relegating most of them to routine, until he comes to one marked, “URGENT: Serial Murderer Hanover Escapes Custody.”

The detective, whose name is Nick Miller, is a tall, wiry, white-haired man. He has been on the force for more years than a man should be. Or so he’s been told countless times by his peers inside the department. But he’s a widower who can’t seem to get over the fact that his wife is gone, even years after her untimely death on an operating table after suffering a burst aneurism. It also explains why he’s sitting behind his desk, suffering from the pangs of a whiskey hangover, on a quiet Sunday morning.

He opens the email.

“To Whom It May Concern,” reads the department wide message. “The former cellmate of New York State registered sex offender and convicted murderer, Joseph William Whalen, has escaped from the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center in New Hampton, New York while en route to a routine medical review at an upstate facility. Lawrence Frederick Hanover, 69, Caucasian, was convicted on several counts of murder in the first degree and is considered extremely dangerous. Both guards who were assisting with the transfer were killed during an apparent violent exchange with Hanover, aka Skinner, or The Skinner. His present whereabouts is unknown.”

 Miller exhales, sits back in his swivel chair.

The email originates not from the FBI but from the state police, most notably, the Rensselaer County Division. He recalls Whalen as the maximum security inmate who, not long after his release, attempted to abduct and kill the same woman, Rebecca Underhill, whom he’d abducted back when she was a little girl in 1977. Her twin sister, Molly, was also the target of his attacks. Although Molly has since died, Rebecca, still lives in the area with her son.

The email comes with several pictures of Hanover, including his most recent mugshots and psychiatric facility photo records. The small, bald, scraggily faced little man doesn’t seem like he could hurt a fly much less another human being. But Miller wasn’t born yesterday and he knows that even a little man can kill as efficiently and quickly as a big, monster of a man. Perhaps even more quickly and efficiently.

Sitting back up, he scans the rest of the email.

“While state police have issued state-wide APBs and launched a task force to hunt for Hanover’s whereabouts, we are asking that police cooperate in every way possible to ensure the quick, efficient, and otherwise discreet apprehension of the serial murderer. All communications should be delivered directly to this office via the email/phone number listed.”

Once more Miller sits back.

“The quick, efficient, and otherwise discreet apprehension of the serial murderer,” he whispers. “Somebody fucked up and that somebody doesn’t want the press to get ahold of this story.”  

Sitting there, alone in the quiet office, Miller feels a distinct and very unpleasant chill run up and down his backbone.

“What would a schooled Statie or FBI pathologist have to say about this rather delicate situation?” he whispers quietly to himself. “That a killer as skilled and hungry as Hanover is gonna slip up and be found sleeping in some crappy hotel somewhere? That they can then slip him back inside his rubber room at Mid-Hudson Psychiatric, like he’s some two-bit bank robber?” The detective laughs aloud. “I’ll tell you something right now. If the Skinner doesn’t want to be found, then no way in hell he’s gonna be found. Simple as that. He didn’t escape to be free. He escaped to kill, to butcher, and that’s all.”

His bloodshot eyes once more focused on the laptop screen, the old detective shifts the curser so that it clicks on the Action Taken box beside the open email. He clicks on Saved Mail.

Closing the laptop lid, he finds that his hands are shaking. He opens the bottom desk drawer, pulls out the bottle of Jack Daniels stored inside it. Pouring a generous shot into his empty ceramic coffee cup, he drinks it down.

“Skinner,” he whispers. “Who will you flay next? Whose flesh will you feast on?”     

Meet the Author

Winner of the 2015 PWA Shamus Award and the 2015 ITW Thriller Award for Best Original Paperback Novel, Vincent Zandri is the NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and AMAZON KINDLE No.1 bestselling author of more than 25 novels including THE REMAINS, MOONLIGHT WEEPS, EVERYTHING BURNS, and ORCHARD GROVE. He is also the author of numerous Amazon bestselling digital shorts, PATHOLOGICAL, TRUE STORIES and MOONLIGHT MAFIA among them. Harlan Coben has described THE INNOCENT (formerly As Catch Can) as "...gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting," while the New York Post called it "Sensational...Masterful...Brilliant!" Zandri's list of domestic publishers include Delacorte, Dell, Down & Out Books, Thomas & Mercer and Polis Books, while his foreign publisher is Meme Publishers of Milan and Paris. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, Zandri's work is translated in the Dutch, Russian, French, Italian, and Japanese. Recently, Zandri was the subject of a major feature by the New York Times. He has also made appearances on Bloomberg TV and FOX news. In December 2014, Suspense Magazine named Zandri's, THE SHROUD KEY, as one of the "Best Books of 2014." Recently, Suspense Magazine selected WHEN SHADOWS COME as one of the "Best Books of 2016". A freelance photo-journalist and the author of the popular "lit blog," The Vincent Zandri Vox, Zandri has written for Living Ready Magazine, RT, New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, The Times Union (Albany), Game & Fish Magazine, and many more. He lives in New York and Florence, Italy.

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Giveaway Details:

Vincent is giving away ten Kindle e-copies of THE ASHES!

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
• Ten winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter.
• This giveaway ends midnight May 31.

Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

 
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Book Feature: No More Magic Wands by George Finney

We are thrilled to be hosting George Finney's NO MORE MAGIC WANDS Virtual Book Tour today! Please leave a comment to let him know you stopped by!

Title: NO MORE MAGIC WANDS
Author: George Finney
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 130

Genre: Business/Leadership/Management/Cybersecurity/Technology

Once upon a time there was a company that made magic wands, but when they were hacked all the magic in the world couldn’t prevent their data from being stolen. If that company had a chance for a clean start, what would they have done differently? The unlikely hero isn’t a security guy. She’s a business elf who makes it her mission to change the way her company does business from the top down.

Most books on Cybersecurity are written for highly technical professionals, focus on specific compliance regulations, or are intended for reference. No More Magic Wands is different...it takes complex security concepts and puts them into practice in easy to read, relateable stories.

No More Magic Wands is available at AMAZON

Book Excerpt:

Security is everyone’s job.

That’s what we say as security professionals. It’s not a copout. It’s not as if we’re trying to pass off our jobs on everyone else. It really does take everyone working in concert to make an organization truly secure. So why, then, do we do so little to enable those outside the cybersecurity field to do their part of the universal security job? We often provide some training, usually in the form of mandatory twenty-minute propaganda videos. But what about tools? Maybe we create a button to encrypt email data or to report phishing. What about books? Mostly we just provide a bunch of technical reference manuals, white papers, or standards written for the highly technical security professional. In them are policies that no one ever reads.

If security is everyone’s job, everyone needs to have the right tools to actually do the job. Not some of the tools. Not a little bit of the information. All of it.

In cybersecurity, all of us are on the frontlines of a complicated battle involving governments, organized crime, activists, and more which makes security being everyone’s job even more important. If that’s your goal, you must empower your employees to take initiative. They should be able to think for themselves. They should not have to ask for direction. If you constantly tell people exactly what to do and how to do it, they’ll never develop the ability to be self-directed. This is why cybersecurity should entail real-world, experienced-based training—not just awareness—to create a culture of ownership. Annual training should be progressive, and its lessons should build over several years. The company should provide real examples of cybersecurity issues in order to give the training efforts a specific direction and focus. If the training involves reading from a binder or sticking to a narrow script, what will happen when something off-script happens? Employees won’t know how to react and will have to ask for input from their supervisors.

If we improve our communal awareness of cybersecurity, we can start to develop a kind of collective immunity to cybercrime. Today, it is cheap and easy to be a cybercriminal: software isn’t difficult to hack, and people make even easier targets. This means the victims are plentiful, and the risks of getting caught or prosecuted are extremely low. However, if the cost of cybercrime increases and the chances of getting caught go up, the volume of cybercrime will be forced down (assuming cybercriminal’s ill-gotten profits remain the same).

There needs to be an ecosystem of participation in security so that salespeople, accountants, attorneys, bankers, doctors, librarians, barbers, and car salesmen can all communicate with one another about the types of cybercrime they’ve experienced: How they were hacked and what they did to improve their security measures. What technologies worked and which ones didn’t. Which common techniques hackers are employing today. Everyone should be able to look to the security community for leadership and find answers.

Great cybersecurity is possible, but it’s not easy.

Have you ever felt like someone was asking you to waive your magic wand at a problem and make it go away? You may have wanted to shout, “It’s not that easy!” This is what’s happening in cybersecurity. Waive your magic wand and everything will be better? Not in real life. If there really was a magic wand to be found, then thousands of companies wouldn’t become the victims of cybercriminals every year. Software could be made to run perfectly, business processes would be designed without loopholes, everyone would follow policy, and employees would be constantly vigilant. Cybersecurity would be a thing of the past.

This book imagines what life would be like for a magic-wand manufacturing company, staffed entirely by elves, after knockoff wands with their label start cropping up. On top of that, their customers’ private information gets leaked and becomes scattered all across the enchanted forest. But the elves still have one magic wand. Can they use it to fix the mess? Or will they have to think of something else—some other way to prevent the villains of the enchanted forest from going one step further and stealing their greatest treasure?

The unlikely hero isn’t a security guy. She’s a business elf who makes it her mission to change the way her company does business from the top down. One of the first things she does is build a coalition of partners inside and outside the business to help make those changes happen. She looks for other fairy-tale creatures who have had personal or professional experiences with cybercrime and who have taken to heart the hard lessons of being hacked. She considers weathering the trials of being hacked a badge of honor, not a failure on their part. She has to learn how to talk to other business creatures about security—and she has to do it in their language, not her own. On her quest, she must challenge people to change their ways before the next breach happens, which she does by simulating a hack on the company, thereby creating the learning experience of being breached without the negative consequences. In this new world, she learns that it needs to be okay for people to challenge authority, even when it might normally be considered rude. Without a culture of inquiry and vigilance, actual security will be out of reach. She realizes that, just like a healthy immune system, there needs to be multiple interconnected structures inside the organization to keep things working together.

This book isn’t written for technology professionals, although it may help them as well. It’s written for anyone and everyone who wants to make a difference and improve cybersecurity. The first lesson that students of cybersecurity learn about cybersecurity is that there’s a constantly evolving cycle of improvement. Although basic principles will remain the same, you must always grow and adapt to various threats as they emerge. You will never arrive at a state of perfect security.

No matter how good you are, you will be hacked at some point.

It may be a surprise to hear, but hackers are an important part of the security ecosystem. Hackers help the security ecosystem improve, particularly when they reveal the vulnerabilities they find or disclose the methods they used to expose weaknesses in a company’s security measures. Imagine a young infant: we don’t want the baby to get sick, but if she were never exposed to germs, her immune system wouldn’t properly develop and she could wind up being very weak and vulnerable later on in life. Without hackers, our cyber immune system wouldn’t develop and could be susceptible to worse cyber threats: attacks from government-sponsored actors, large-scale organized crime, or malicious inside jobs. Therefore, this book is for hackers too. Keep us honest. Make us better.

About the Author

GEORGE FINNEY, ESQ., has worked in Cybersecurity for over 15 years and is the author of No More Magic Wands: Transformative Cybersecurity Change for Everyone. He is currently the Chief Information Security Officer for Southern Methodist University where he has also taught on the subject of Corporate Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. Mr. Finney is an attorney and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional as well as a Certified Information Security Systems Professional and has spoken on Cybersecurity topics across the country.

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