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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Book Blurb:
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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Tell us a little about
yourself.
My day job is actually being a
patent attorney. I am a partner with the
firm of Kilpatrick Townsend. I help
inventors get patents on things like drug delivery systems and life-saving
cardiac equipment. I also help clients enforce
and license their patents around the world.
In addition to Chasing Hindy,
I’ve written three other books: Why Has America Stopped Inventing? (that
explored the critical issue of America’s broken patent system), The Vintage Club (that 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) and Gil (that 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).
I also travel quite a bit, run
triathlons and enjoy back country fly-fishing trips and skiing in the Rocky
Mountains.
When did you begin writing?
I started writing about 12
years ago. I wrote several “practice
books” before Why Has America Stopped Inventing? was published.
Describe your writing process.
Do you plot or write by the seat of your pants? When and where do you write?
I’m a “plotter”. I come up with the story line and outline the
characters. I have all the chapters
mapped out before I start writing. And,
because I work full time as a patent attorney, I write whenever I have a few
spare minutes. Early in the morning,
weekends and on airplanes are the best times.
Can you tell us about your most
recent release?
My upcoming release is
entitled, Chasing Hindy. This book tells the story of Addy who, as a patent
attorney, has a dream 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. 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.
How did you get the idea for
the book?
The genesis behind Chasing Hindy came from a surprising
source—a hypnotist. When I was in high school, we had an assembly where a
hypnotist put a group of volunteers under hypnosis. One of the questions he
asked them was what would be the fuel of the future. What fuel would people
pump into their tank? Almost without exception they all said, “water!” The
hypnotist then told the audience that every time he asked that question he
received the same answer.
That was several decades ago, but I’ve always wondered
whether that could possibly be true—and why all these people thought we’d all
be driving cars that used water. In the following years, I realized that a car
wouldn’t run on water per se, but from hydrogen that is extracted from water.
The question, of course, is that if we know how to produce hydrogen, why aren’t
there hydrogen cars? The answer is quite simple. As an engineer and patent
attorney I know the science behind extracting hydrogen from water. The problem
is that it takes more energy to do this than to just run a car on gasoline, or
even electricity.
But what if somebody invented a way to make it happen?
That’s the germ of an idea that led to Chasing Hindy.
Of all your characters, which
one is your favorite? Why?
My favorite character is Addy
in Chasing Hindy. I wrote the book five
times and threw them all in the garbage can. What made the story finally click
was my discovery of Addy—a patent attorney with a dream to change the world. I
decided on a female character (who was also a patent attorney) for several
reasons. Perhaps the main reason was that female patent attorneys are in short
supply and I wanted to encourage women to enter the profession. So I created
Addy to hopefully show what a difference one person can make, and through her
experience more women would want to become patent attorneys. What I love about
Addy is her determination to make the world a better place, no matter the cost.
What was the most challenging
aspect of writing your book?
Finding an idea for a main
character. For me, a good character is far more difficult than finding a story
idea. Not only does the character need to make the story line happen, but the
readers need to relate to what the character is experiencing. I struggled with
such a character for years, and, in fact, rewrote the book several times with
other characters that just didn’t seem to work.
But explaining how a car can
actually run on water was also a challenge. I had to condense some pretty
complicated technology down to a very simple level.
Which authors have inspired
your writing?
John Grisham has inspired me
the most. He came out with The Firm when
I was a first year law student. One of
my classmates had a copy and we all read it in the first week it came out.
What projects are you currently
working on?
I am currently working on a
piece of historical fiction based in the mid-18th century. I was just at the New Jersey Historical
Society doing research. I’m going to
tell about an important and fascinating part of American history that has
somehow been overlooked.
What advice would you offer to
new or aspiring authors?
Learn how to write well.
That was the hard lesson I had to learn. I even hired a coach to help
me.
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