Author Mike Trigg looks at the dark side of Silicon Valley in his novel Bit Flip

Bit flip, Menlo Park-based author Mike Trigg explains, refers to a zero-to-one change — a 180-degree turn.

It’s not completely unlike his transformation from tech founder, executive and investor to author of a first novel, Bit Flip.  It is described as fast-paced contemporary thriller that delivers an insider’s view of the corrupting influences of greed, entitlement, and vanity in technology start-ups. Published in August, signed copies of the book are available at Kepler’s as well as through the bookstore’s website.

“I’d been writing nights and weekends when the pandemic hit,” Mike says. “It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I became unemployed, and the stars aligned to allow me to write full time,” adding that he’s used to “being scrappy and building things.”

He wrote about the high tech culture he experienced — and the Menlo Park places he frequents like Cafe Borrone and Dutch Goose. You can join him on a Bit Flip virtual book tour on his You Tube channel; Sand Hill Road premiered today.

Mike has already completed his second book, Burner, which is currently in what he describes as “beta reader state,” meaning he’s put it in the hands of friends and colleagues to read in order to gather feedback.

“It focuses on two characters who share an addiction to social media and is written alternately in the first person,” he says. Described on his website as a story confronting “the loss of the American dream and the societal factors behind it, including wealth inequality, lack of opportunity, and cultural prejudices.”

Mike sums it up: “It’s more of a traditional thriller.”

Photo by Linda Hubbard (c) 2022