BIT FLIP received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Mike Trigg.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The novel is called BIT FLIP and it was published on August 16, 2022. The title is derived from a technical term referring to the change between 0 and 1 in binary code, used here metaphorically as a complete change of heart.
What’s the book’s first line?
“The buzz of the audience was audible even from the greenroom backstage in which Sam Hughes sat with the other panelists.” I wanted to drop the reader into a terrifying (but not life-threatening) situation, and public speaking is among the greatest fears for many people.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
The book is a satirical critique of tech start-up culture told through a corporate thriller. The protagonist, Sam Hughes, is an executive at a tech company who gradually unravels a fraudulent plot by the founder and investors, ultimately forcing Sam to choose between his ambitions and his values.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
Honestly, the book started as a series of anecdotal stories from my career in tech start-ups. Just funny or eye-rolling things I’ve observed. The triggering event in the book is when Sam gets fired, which is practically a rite of passage in Silicon Valley and something I’ve experienced on both sides many times! But I needed a storyline to turn those quips into a proper novel. I finally got a spark of inspiration from the Hero’s Journey template and used that to frame the story. The Theranos scandal also gave me some inspiration, demonstrating how founders can get so caught up in their own hype that they end up perpetrating fraud.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
The tech industry has an outsized impact on our society right now. Whether you’re in the industry or not, understanding how people in tech behave, and why, is important in mitigating the industry’s negative side effects. Too often the stories (both nonfiction and fiction) I read about Silicon Valley either glorify or vilify the founders, investors, executives, and employees within those organizations. But rarely is it that black and white. What makes the tech industry so confounding is it has built up a collective self-delusion of “making the world a better place” that can serve to rationalize the misbehavior and self-dealing that too-often lurks beneath the surface. I wanted readers to understand this dynamic and how it can ultimately lead people with good intentions to act in unethical ways.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who—real or fictional—would you say the character reminds you of?
The most distinctive thing about Sam Hughes, the main character, is his capacity for self-delusion. He is simultaneously critical of the behavior of others, yet perpetrates similar acts himself. The story opens with his change of heart, in other words his “bit flip,” from loyal corporate shill to a full-throated rejection of the industry. But then he gradually flips back, rationalizing his behavior along an ever-more-ruthless path of redemption that culminates in naked ambition and greed. Sam shows how easy it is to lose one’s moral compass and represents the ethical dilemmas and borderline identity crisis that many people in the tech industry, including myself, face.
When did you first decide to become an author?
I first discovered I might want to be an author in an undergraduate creative writing course. But I ended up instead getting into public relations, a field where I thought I might get paid a little better to write! Then, during the first dot-com boom, I got excited about the internet and pursued a twenty-plus-year career in tech. But I always harbored a desire to write a novel. For me, a silver lining of COVID and the start-up I was working on at the time that I ended up shutting down, is it afforded me the opportunity to do this thing I had always wanted to do and become a full-time author.
Is this the first book you’ve written?
Yes, BIT FLIP is my first full-length novel. But I have a second novel written that I am working on getting published, and a third novel in the works. So I’m very focused on building my author platform and fan base for the long term.
What do you do for work when you’re not writing?
I still dabble in my previous life as a tech executive. I’ve spent most of my career on the operating side, rather than investing. So I mostly do pro bono advising to start-up founders and connect people within my professional network.
Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why?
I have been thrilled with my publisher, SparkPress (sibling imprint to She Writes Press), which is an independent hybrid publisher. Their high editorial standards, incredible nurturing of authors, and traditional book distribution made them a perfect fit for my first novel. I would work with them again on my future novels in a heartbeat, but would certainly also consider a traditional publisher because of the strength of promotion, distribution, and credibility they can provide.
Is there something in particular that motivates you (fame? fortune?)
It sounds clichéd to say, but I’m truly not motivated by fame and fortune at this stage in my life. Those were perhaps bigger motivators for me during my career in tech. But now what really motivates me is having people read my work and, hopefully, be moved by it. I recognize that the time and attention required to read a novel is much more precious than the $15-25 to buy a novel. So the biggest reward for me is simply to have my work be engaging, entertaining, and thought-provoking for my readers.