424: The Mythos and Lexicon of Silicon Valley in a Tech Industry Drama - Interview

08/24/22 • 52 min

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Mike Trigg. We’ll be talking about the intricacies of Silicon Valley and his book Bit Flip.

Prior to becoming an author, Mike Trigg was an executive, founder, and investor in various technology start-up companies for over 25 years. Born in Kentucky and raised in Wisconsin, he earned a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

After several years working for a U.S. Senator in Washington, D.C., Mike began his career in the technology industry, working for telecommunications giants MCI and 3Com. He was an early employee of Octane Software, which was acquired by Epiphany during the first dot-com boom. He went on to co-found a data analytics company called Truviso (acquired by Cisco) then became VP of marketing at hi5, one of the world’s largest social networks. More recently, Mike was Chief Marketing Officer and GM at Entelo, a recruiting software company, and Chief Operating Officer at cloud file sharing vendor, Hightail (formerly YouSendIt), which was acquired by OpenText. Mike was an entrepreneur-in-residence at AI Fund and SymphonyAI, both AI-focused, early-stage venture funds, and an advisor at Shasta Ventures.

Mike has been a contributor to TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company. He lives in Menlo Park, California, with his wife and two sons. Launching August 16, 2022, Bit Flip is his first novel.

You can find him on his website or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

In this episode Mike Trigg and I discuss:

Ensuring a story about an industry insider has universal appeal.
Keeping authenticity in the industry language used after editing.
How to balance backstory with the fast pace of your story.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/424

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Mike Trigg. We’ll be talking about the intricacies of Silicon Valley and his book Bit Flip.

Mike has been a contributor to TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company. He lives in Menlo Park, California, with his wife and two sons. Launching August 16, 2022, Bit Flip is his first novel.

You can find him on his website or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

In this episode Mike Trigg and I discuss:

Ensuring a story about an industry insider has universal appeal.
Keeping authenticity in the industry language used after editing.
How to balance backstory with the fast pace of your story.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/424

Previous Episode

423: Making the Shift from YA to a Chapter Book Series - Interview

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Kathryn Holmes. We’ll be talking about making the transition from YA to a chapter books series and her book Madison Morris is NOT a Mouse!

Kathryn Holmes is the author of the Class Critters chapter book series, which includes Tally Tuttle Turns Into a Turtle, David Dixon’s Day as a Dachshund, and Madison Morris is NOT a Mouse! (publishing August 16th, 2022). She also wrote the young adult novels The Distance Between Lost and Found and How It Feels to Fly. Kathryn grew up in Maryville, Tennessee, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, daughter, and piles upon piles of books. A graduate of The New School’s MFA in Creative Writing program, Kathryn works as a freelance dance journalist, among other writing gigs.You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In this episode Kathryn Holmes and I discuss:

The best ways to incorporate learning in a chapter book to fuel kids’ curiosity
How to blend grounded worldbuilding with a magical element in a story
The role authors must play in amplifying the work of diverse voices

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/423

Next Episode

425: Understanding Lives that Are Not Our Own through Short Stories - Interview

Today, Lori is interviewing May-lee Chai. They’ll be talking about understanding lives unlike our own and her book Tomorrow in Shanghai and Other Stories.

May-lee Chai is the author of eleven books of fiction, nonfiction, and translation, including her latest short story collection, Tomorrow in Shanghai & Other Stories. Her last story collection, Useful Phrases for Immigrants, won the 2019 American Book Award. She teaches in the MFA program in creative writing at San Francisco State University. Her writing has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, Bakwin Award for Writing by a Woman (selected by Tayari Jones), Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, named a Kiriyama Prize Notable Book, and recipient of an honorable mention for the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights Book Awards.

Her short prose has appeared widely, including in Seventeen, New England Review, Longreads, Paris Review Online, Kenyon Review Online, Los Angeles Times, Best Small Fictions anthology, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and cited as Notable in both the Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays anthologies.

You can find her on her website or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

In this episode May-lee Chai and Lori discuss:

Creating a journey through a short story collection using the placement of stories
Using short stories to inhabit lives that are different from your own
How to evoke a specific mood in a collection of short stories

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/425