34 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} mouth,” he shares. “That’s what I find fulfilling.” A true professional, Mike juggles all three phases at once. While promoting Burner, he slogs through the edits of his third book, another tale at the nexus of politics and technology. Set amid a massive internet and cell phone failure in Virginia near Washington, D.C., it traces a woman’s search for her missing lobbyist husband—whom she suspects had a hand in the communications blackout. And Mike balances all this while his fourth novel’s first draft takes shape. Calling his works “cautionary tales,” Mike jabs at the assumption that tech is making the world a better place. “That mantra has probably been on the wall of 80% of the tech companies in the valley,” he notes. Though the industry has produced prosperity and revolutionized daily life, he finds that the motto rings increasingly hollow and offers his books as a cultural commentary on the industry. “Our own behaviors and our own pursuit of ego create these negative side effects,” says Mike. “If there’s a message in my cautionary tales, it’s that we are all part of this.” Societal healing comes down to individuals choosing to change by valuing relationships, talking to each other and really listening. “Focus on what you can do and make your immediate social circle a better place,” he advocates. His goal is to get people thinking, then talking. And hopefully, working to restore thoughtful, respectful political and ideological conversation. “My real opponent is polarization,” he says. my computer and write, with my dog down here on my feet.” When asked if writing comes easily, he answers, “I rarely have writer’s block. I often have editor’s block.” Assembling the non-linear narrative of Burner was a bit like solving a Rubik’s Cube. “That’s where writing becomes a team sport,” Mike says. Like a software company testing and refining its product, he relied on beta readers: “People I trust, who will give me honest feedback.” The result is a striking contrast between the book’s first and final drafts. The fun returns for Mike when the editing is done and he’s promoting his book. He’s in his element as a public speaker. He has toured, talked with book clubs, done signings and served as a panelist at ThrillerFest 2023, an annual conference for international authors. The common theme between book promotion and the solitary writer’s room? “The movement of ideas from your head onto the page or into your thrills & chills miketrigg.com
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