Redmond businessman’s novel pulls from his experiences in the military and investment industry

Published 11:24 am Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Writing and publishing a book has been a longtime goal for Dennis Gibb.

“It’s a bucket list item,” he said.

And on June 2, the longtime Redmond resident and businessman (who now lives in Trilogy on Redmond Ridge), was able to check that item off his list.

Gibb’s first novel “Exordium” was released on that date through Amazon.com, on which readers can purchase a physical copy of the book or download a digital version for their Kindle.

The story follows Lt. Phil Johnson, a helicopter pilot who was badly wounded during the Vietnam War and leaves the U.S. Army with no job prospects for his future. Eventually, one of the richest men in the world hires him to work in his stock brokerage firm. However, as an introvert in a world that requires extroversion, Johnson struggles in his new profession. On top of this, Gibb said his character also has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — remnants of his combat time in Vietnam — and he must learn how to adjust to civilian life. In addition, the novel is set against many dramatic changes of the time period (1972-89), such as the end of the Cold War. Gibb said this was also a transitional period with shifts in technology, morality and society.

“All of that filters through (into Johnson’s new job),” Gibb said.

When asked where he got the idea for the book, he said fiction books are usually somewhat autobiographical and it was no different in his case.

“I was in the army,” Gibb said, adding that he also served in Vietnam. “I wrote about what I knew.”

In addition, he has worked in the investment industry just as Johnson does in the story. Gibb founded Sweetwater Investments, Inc. in downtown Redmond in 1989.

Gibb said he initially planned for his novel to be about the funny things he has seen throughout his post-military career, but things just weren’t coming together. So the story became about an “everyman” and the struggles he faces when he begins a new profession.

For Gibb, it was more than just Johnson’s career paths that mirrored his own. He said upon returning from Vietnam, he also had to adjust to life back home.

“I will openly admit that I had PTSD,” he said.

Back then, Gibb said, people did not know what that was or how to treat the condition. He explained that in the military, it is a very inclusive environment and there is a lot of excitement and adrenaline during combat time. Coming back home, Gibb said, can sometimes be a letdown as soldiers depressurize from an action-packed life.

“A lot of those rules don’t transfer to civilian life,” he said.

It took Gibb eight years to write “Exordium.” Having never written much prior — he had only written newsletters to his clients — he said he attended a few seminars on how to write a book. One of the things he took away from those seminars was that he needed to treat writing like another job and set time aside to actually do the job. For Gibb, that time is an hour each night.

“It takes longer than you think it’s going to take,” he said.

Gibb also learned that writing is not easy, especially when you are writing for other people — especially if they are not familiar with the topic. He said most people have no real understanding of the military or of the investment industry, so he had to find a way to simplify things but still provide enough details so readers can understand the concepts.

Despite the challenges he faced in writing “Exordium,” Gibb said he has “ideas for a couple more novels.”

“I guess once it gets in the blood it is hard to stop,” he said, adding that he also would like to write a book about investments.