Gary Troup, author of Bad Twin and The Valenzetti Equation ("out-of-print"), is described as an "acclaimed mystery writer" and 'a master of quiet irony'. Troup delivered the Bad Twin manuscript to Hyperion Publishing just days prior to boarding Oceanic Flight 815.
Hyperion Publishers tout the book as 'a suspenseful novel that touches on many powerful themes, including the consequence of vengeance, the power of redemption, and where to turn when all seems lost'.
Biography
Little background is know about the author outside of published comments by Hyperion editors. The official biography mentions a possible romantic relationship between Gary and the flight hostess, Cindy Chandler, on Oceanic Flight 815, and indicated that Chandler was given a role in the book.
Published Works
- Bad Twin
- Protagonist: Paul Artisan
- The Valenzetti Equation (out of print)
Bad Twin on the island
Hurley found a copy of the manuscript in "The Long Con". The book is later acquired by Sawyer, who almost finishes it but he cannot because in "Two for the Road" Jack destroys the ending, because he wanted guns from Sawyer.
Bad Twin in thehandfoundation website
Thehansofoundation.org updated its site with an entry dated Fri 12/05/06 (May 12, 2006) entitled: "Don't Believe Bad Twin". The entry is linked to a press release gif image, whose contents are below:
A MESSAGE FROM HUGH McINTYRE, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AT THE HANSO FOUNDATION Don't Believe "Bad Twin" For over thirty years, The Hanso Foundation has stood for compassion and innovation, but today, our reputation has been attacked in the novel "Bad Twin," written by Gary Troup and published by Hyperion books. Throughout the pages of "Bad Twin," readers have found numerous passages featuring misinformation about The Hanso Foundation and its partners. The Hanso Foundation strongly objects to the book "Bad Twin," and encourages readers to make up their own minds. The truth about The Hanso Foundation is available at www.TheHansoFoundation.org and not on the pages of Gary Troup's "Bad Twin." Experience it for yourself. Thank you, and namaste. (Hanso Foundation Logo: Reaching out to a better tomorrow)
Opening title of Book Talk show #1523, clip 3 of 9.
Book Talk Interview
On 16 Sept 2004, Gary Troup was interviewed by Laird Granger about Bad Twin on Book Talk show #1523. Three of nine parts of the interview have appeared on various booksites.
Part 1
Part 1 was found on the Barnes and Noble site. Next to the Bad Twin picture, there is a link that states: "See an exclusive video clip". [1]
Laird Granger: Hello, I'm Laird Granger and welcome to Book Talk. Today we're talking to
Gary Troup,novelist and non-fiction author whose works include The Valenzetti
Equation and his newest mystery novel Bad Twin. Welcome Gary, nice to have you here.
Gary Troup: Thanks, glad to be here Laird.
Laird Granger: Bad Twin - what inspired the novel?
Gary Troup: I was game fishing off the Florida Keys and I got to talking to the boat captain.
He started telling me about this other business that he had which was ferrying people
and things in and out of Cuba. Illegally of course.
Laird Granger: Interesting.
Gary Troup: Oh yeah, I thought he'd make a great character and that was the spark that got the
book going.
Laird Granger: But the book's not really about him...
Gary Troup: No, no, the boat captain is j...
*CLIP ENDS*
Part 2
Part 2 was discovered in a link in a Borders Reward e-mail. [2]
Gary Troup: The boat captain is just a point of departure. Here's this guy. One day he's taking
families fishing and the next day he's making smuggling runs, and it was that
duality that intrigued me - how we all have good and bad inside of us.
Laird Granger: And is that what the title 'Bad Twin' refers to?
Gary Troup: Er, yeah. The book is a story about a private investigator named Paul Artisan who's
hired by this rich man to track down his missing twin, the supposed "bad twin" from
the title.
Laird Granger: But without giving anything away here, who is bad and who is good - that's all part
of the mystery isn't it?
Gary Troup: (nods) Yes, yes, very much so.
Laird Granger: Your book men...
*CLIP ENDS*
Part 3
Part 3 was found on the Amazon Bad Twin page.[3] The clip was accompanied by the following statement:
"Amazon.com Exclusive: Author Gary Troup delivered the manuscript for his hotly anticipated thriller, Bad Twin, just days before he boarded doomed Oceanic Flight 815. Watch the recently uncovered video clip of Gary Troup on Book Talk interviewed by Laird Granger talking about the controversy surrounding his mysteriously out-of-print first book, The Valenzetti Equation, and his new novel, Bad Twin."
In this part of the interview Alvar Hanso, The Hanso Foundation and The Valenzetti Equation are raised:
Laird Granger: Your book mentions a lot of real life people, places and institutions.
Gary Troup: Yeah, I try to incorporate real-life stuff into my fiction, um, just gives it a lot
more... veracity.
Laird Granger: Like Alvar Hanso, and the Hanso Foundation?
Gary Troup: (looks uncomfortable)... right...
Laird Granger: Did including them have anything to do with your non-fiction writing?
Gary Troup: Absolutely. I wrote a non-fiction book called The Valenzetti Equation
Laird Granger: (interrupting) about the reclusive Princeton University mathematician Enzo
Valenzetti and his famous theorem...
Gary Troup: Yes
Laird Granger: At least that's what they say it's about. (shaking head) I have to confess I can't
find a copy.
Gary Troup: (nods) Yeah, I know. I mean, first of all it was a small printing, and allegedly,
now...
*CLIP ENDS*
Part 4
Part 4 was found using the Valenzetti Equation link on the Amazon.com Bad Twin Page.[4]The link first appeared on May 16th, 2006.
In this part of the interview, Troup discusses the fate of his book, The Valenzetti Equation and the relationship to that book of Alvar Hanso and The Hanso Foundation
Gary Troup: and allegedly, now, I emphasize allegedly, Alvar Hanso bought up all of the
available copies and (emphasis) he bought the rights to reprint.
Laird Granger: Why would he do that?
Gary Troup: That's a good question...
Laird Granger: The book was critical of him?
Gary Troup: erm... no. But as I was doing my research I discovered that Alvar Hanso is the only
guy in the world who has an actual copy of the Valenzetti Equation (pause) now,
despite repeated requests, I was categorically denied access to it. In fact, no one
outside the Hanso Foundation has access to it.
Laird Granger: (interrupting) and what about inside The Hanso Foundation?
Gary Troup: From what I've been able to learn, even within The H...
*CLIP ENDS*
Part 5
Part 5 was found on the Powell's book website [5] on May 17th, 2006.
In this part of the interview, Troup discusses The Hanso Foundation and secrecy regarding Valenzetti.
Gary Troup: From what I've been able to learn, even within the Hanso Foundation, the Valenzetti
Equation is one of the most closely guarded secrets.
Laird Grainger: That must have made it hard for you to write the book.
Gary Troup: Beyond that.. look at every turn Alvar Hanso and the Hanso Foundation... they tried
to stop me from writing it. I mean, for whatever reason, they want to keep
Valenzetti and his work a secret. They don't want the public to know anything about
it. You know what... we are here to talk about "Bad Twin"
Laird Granger: Sounds like you've got your next piece of non-fiction in the works here.
Gary Troup: Look, The Hanso Foundation promotes itself a...
*CLIP ENDS*
Part 6
Part 6 can be found on the Gary Troup Website.[6]The file first appeared on May 17th, 2006
In this part of the interview, Troup discusses the previously mentioned non-fiction work about The Hanso Foundation
Gary Troup: The Hanso Foundation promotes itself as "bettering humanity"... um, and that's all
I am gonna say about it right now because I am gonna to be writing a book about this,
and I'll tell you this, that as soon as people find out what is going on inside
this huge, famous, supposedly benevolent foundation.. it's going to shock you.
Laird Granger: Tell me about Cindy...
Gary Troup: (laughs) This isn't going to air until after the book is published, right?
Laird Granger: Yes, that's right
Gary Troup: Alright, well I, I'm an inveterate bachelor, I mean, I never even thought about
coming close
*CLIP ENDS*
A note from the editors (audio)
A 'note from the editors' is in segments between websites. (Italics indicates overlap with the next segment)
(All the parts can be heard on the Gary Troup website: Hear An Audio Excerpt in Windows Media format)
Part 1
Hear a Sample on SoundsGood.com appears to be part one:
- Note: The Copyright of this audio sample is (c) James Patterson, which indicates that he is the actual author of Bad Twin.
"(whispering) Bad Twin. A note from the editors. It is with a mix of pride and sorrow that Hyperion presents 'Bad Twin', the last novel by a wonderful author taken from us in the very prime of his writing life. As many readers are already aware, Gary Troup has been missing since September 2004 when the jetliner that was carrying him from Sydney to Los Angeles crashed somewhere over the South Pacific. While nothing is more human to hope for miracles, reason tells us that the author and his fellow travellers cannot have survived this disaster. As his books so vividly attest, Gary Troup was a master of quiet irony. Perhaps he would have savoured the cruel, but undeniable irony of his own demise on route from Sydney. In recent years, Australia had become an increasingly important part of his life. He loved the Land Down Under and the Land Down Under seemed to love him back. A new readership was discovering him in the antipodes. He seemed re-energised by the acceptance he found there, as evidenced by the letters that followed--correspondence that Troup shared with us when submitting his manuscript, just days before departing on his fateful journey. But it wasn't business alone that accounted for the author's increasingly frequent Transpacific travels. Somewhere in the skies above the ocean, he seemed to have found a great romance and this, to those of us who knew him well, came as a delightful surprise. Gary Troup was a confirmed bachelor. Long on charm, but short on commitment, he’d kept his affections ..."
Part 2
Preview on iTunes picks up with the next segment:
"... re-energised by the acceptance he found there, as evidenced by the letters that followed--correspondence that Troup shared with us when submitting his manuscript, just days before departing on his fateful journey. But it wasn't business alone that accounted for the author's increasingly frequent Transpacific travels. Somewhere in the skies above the ocean, he seemed to have found a great romance and this, to those of us who knew him well, came as a delightful surprise. Gary Troup was a confirmed bachelor. Long on charm, but short on commitment, he’d kept his affections in check—until he met Cindy Chandler, a flight attendant on Oceanic Airlines. All indications are that he was completely smitten with her. It is to Cindy that he dedicated this book; with characteristic slyness, he even gave her a cameo role to play. If death can ever be kind, perhaps it was a kindness that the new lovers were lost in the same catastrophe, neither having to mourn the other. ---------------------------------- Walkabout Publishing Christine DeVries, Senior Editor August 16, 2004 Mr. Gary Troup 481 West 68th Street NY NY 10023 USA Dear Mr. Troup, I wanted to drop you a line to tell you how ..."
Part 3
The message continues on both Troup's website and Border Books.
As they differ slightly, both are shown below:
From Troup's website
Walkabout Publishing Christine DeVries, Senior Editor August 16, 2004 Mr. Gary Troup 481 West 68th Street NY NY 10023 USA Dear Mr. Troup, I wanted to drop you a line to tell you how delighted I am with the draft of BAD TWIN. I think it's the cleverest, and the same time spookiest, thing you've done. Good move setting some scenes in Sydney and at the reef not to mention including such an appealing, if not neccessarily trustworthy Aussie woman as a love interest. Your growing audience in our hemisphere will no doubt appreciate the local references. I am happy to tell you that we are planning a major promotional push for your book, and I am wondering if we could lure you to Sydney sometime soon, to meet with our marketing people and to work out some details of your publicity tour. We would insist, of course, on arranging your accommodations and covering your expenses, as well as trying our very best to show you a damn good time while you are with us! Please let me know if you are willing to make the journey. Warm regards, Christine --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gary Troup Ms. Christine DeVries Walkabout Publishing 4200 Queen Street Sydney, New South Wales 2316, Australia August 23, 2004 Dear Christine– Thanks so much for your kind note. Like every other sort of salesman, I rub my hands with glee at the thought of expanding my territory—and Australia is a big territory. Regarding my willingness to come to Sydney, you should know that I never miss a chance to visit your beautiful city—and if the trip is on the publisher's dime, so much the better. I trust that entertaining me will not be too difficult for you and your colleagues; just have a few bottles of your excellent shiraz on hand at all times. Which reminds me, please don't call me Mr. Troup anymore, I write private eye books, not literary novels and i'm not to be taken too seriously. Let me know when it would be convinient to have me visit, early september would work for me. Cheers, Gary
From Border's website
Christine DeVries, Senior Editor August 17, 2004 Mr. Gary Troup 481 West 68th Street NY NY 10023 USA Dear Mr. Troup, I wanted to drop a line to tell you how delighted I am that Walkabout will be publishing BAD TWIN here in Australia, and how pleased I am to have the privilege of being your editor. I have long been a fan of your work, and have lobbied for several years now to have your books introduced Down Under, where I believe they will attract a wide audience as well as the critical acclaim you've deservedly enjoyed in the States. BAD TWIN, with it's wonderfully evocative scenes in Sydney and at the Reef (not to mention its intriguing if not entirely flattering portrayal of Australian womanhood!) is the perfect vehicle for launching you here in the Antipodes. I am happy to tell you that we are planning a major promotional push for your book, and I am wondering if we could lure you to Sydney sometime soon, to meet with our marketing people and to work out some details of your publicity tour. We would insist, of course, on arranging your accommodations and covering your expenses, as well as trying our very best to show you a damn good time while you are with us! Please let me know if you are willing to make the journey. Warm regards, Christine --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gary Troup Ms. Christine DeVries Walkabout Publishing 4200 Queen Street Sydney, Australia August 26, 2004 Dear Christine– Thanks so much for your kind note. Like every other sort of salesman, I rub my hands with glee at the thought of opening up fresh territory—and Australia is a big territory. I very much look forward to working with you. Regarding my willingness to come to Sydney, you should know that I never miss a chance to visit your beautiful city—and if the trip is on the publisher's dime, so much the better. I trust that entertaining me will not be too difficult for you and your colleagues; just have a few bottles of your excellent shiraz on hand at all times. Now, as to my portrayal of Australian womanhood… You may as well know that the love-interest in BAD TWIN is not an entirely fictional creation. While doing my research last year, I met a countrywoman of yours who is every bit as fetching (and let us hope more trustworthy) than the character Pru in the novel. Not to flirt, but what is it about this strange attraction between Australian women and American men? Which reminds me, please don't call me Mr. Troup anymore. I write private eye books, not literary novels, and I am not to be taken too seriously. Let me know when it would be convenient to have me visit. I am taking a break between books and could travel almost anytime. Cheers, Gary
Theories
Ghost writer
- It is possible that the Gary Troup ghost writer may be Hyperion Books author Jillian Straus (profile on Hyperion site). In one of the Gary Troup Web sites, garytroup.net, the source code contains a meta tag that lists the Web site for the book Unhooked Generation, written by Straus. The Web site was also created by the same company that created garytroup.net.
- Some theorize that the actual Gary Troup is Stephen King, because in a press release ABC said they hired a well-known mystery writer to ghost as Troup. Stephen King is a well-known mystery writer who has been mentioned on the show and is a huge fan of the series.
- Another theory is that the "real author" is James Patterson. The audio file provided by the online book company www.soundsgood.com (listed as a reseller on the Gary Troup website) provides a (c) copyright mark for James Patterson. ABC made a press release that they had hired a well-known mystery author to write the book and James Patterson (author of Along Comes A Spider and Kiss The Girls) certainly fits this description.
- Alternatively, Patterson could have been the voice on the audio.
Other theories and thoughts
- Clicking on the Bad Twin logo on links page of http://www.garytroup.net the page brings the viewer to thehansofoundation.org
- Gary Troup is an anagram for "Purgatory", "A Group Try" and "Up Gyrator" (which would support the theory that he is the Turbine Man).
- It is interesting to note that there is a New Zealand cricket player by the name of Gary Troup [7]
Whois Information for Garytroup.net
Registrant: Domains by Proxy, Inc. 15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 United States Registered through: GoDaddy.com Domain Name: GARYTROUP.NET Created on: 17-Jan-06 Expires on: 17-Jan-09 Last Updated on: 24-Feb-06 Administrative Contact/Technical Contact: Private, Registration GARYTROUP.NET@domainsbyproxy.com Domains by Proxy, Inc. DomainsByProxy.com 15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 United States (480) 624-2599 Domain servers in listed order: NS.NTIHOSTING.COM NS2.NTIHOSTING.COM
Theories
- The Hanso Foundation is responsible for the Crash. Hanso wants Troup silenced.
- Gary Troup died in the Crash.
- Gary Troup was travelling under a false identity hoping to elude Hanso Foundation but they discovered him and caused the Crash. Troup however, survived and is using his false name, which is listed in the Flight Manifest. Troup ignores his manuscript survived the Crash.
- The sixth section of the interview is edited. The sound seems to glitch just as he says "shock you" and then the subject and tone of the interview changes completely.