Getting Burner Ready to Launch

The months leading up to the release of a new book are both nerve wracking and gratifying for an author. Although you’ve received feedback from family, friends, and editors, it is the first time the story is being read by a wider audience—including fellow authors, reviewers, influencers, fans, and, soon, the public at-large. It’s like being an actor backstage, looking out at the audience from behind the curtain and realizing the moment is fast approaching when anyone can read, and judge, your work.

As much as any author, I, of course, love to hear the praise. It’s validation for all the hard work required to get a full-length novel out into the world. But I also truly value hearing what readers don’t like about the book. One of the hardest things to embrace as a writer is that not everyone will like your work—and that this is a good thing. In fact, if all one hears is positive feedback, it’s probably not sincere. What I strive for in my novels is a story that is thought-provoking, unexpected, and even controversial. That’s what I like to read too. I like stories inspired from actual events, because reality is often stranger than fiction. I like characters who are deeply flawed, because that’s both more realistic and what makes them interesting. And I like plot twists readers don’t see coming, even if those twists can be inherently upsetting.

With my first novel, Bit Flip, the part where those attributes—realistic, flawed, and unexpected—converged was the ending. In discussions with readers at events, book clubs, and online, the ending inspired the most controversy. Some readers loved it, some were unsettled by it, some even found it disheartening. But that was the point. I’m not writing formulaic, feel-good stories. I’m offering cultural critiques. A story can’t be a cautionary tale unless something bad happens to the protagonist. Ideally something of his or her own doing, because self-inflicted tragedy is the most poignent.

With my upcoming book, Burner, I tried to lean into these storylines even more. Instead of one flawed character, I have three. Instead of one big twist, I have several. Instead of a personal narrative, I drew inspiration from real-world events. For me, that all makes the story more interesting, but I expect that will also be what some readers dislike. One reviewer found the novel unrealistic, even “convoluted” and “deeply implausible”—but that is exactly the critique I aspired to write. Our current cultural and political climate is so tainted by disinformation, ego-centric validation, and toxic online subcultures that it is nothing but implausibility and convolution. Our rhetoric has become so unhinged from reality that unrealistic things seem to happen every day. I would argue that not only are many of the plot points in Burner realistic, but they’ve already happened—from QAnon, to the January 6 riot, to the GameStop short squeeze, to dozens of other examples from which I drew inspiration for this novel. Unrealistic, convoluted, implausible beliefs and actions bubble over into the “real world” all the time. Personally, I find our repeated collective susceptibility to misinformation to be one of the most frightening and dangerous dynamics of our time (see Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce conspiracy unfolding in real-time). Anyone who finds that dynamic unbelievable hasn’t really been paying attention.

But, again, that’s exactly the kind of reaction I hoped to generate. It may not be positive in the traditional sense, it may even be negative, but at least it’s a reaction. It catalyzes conversation. And not everyone will feel comfortable, reassured, or validated by that conversation. In fact, it’s meant to be uncomfortable. So I hope you will buy it, read it, and be activated by it. Soon, you will be able to form your own opinion.

As I’ve started to receive reviews from trade publications and fellow authors I admire, many of the quotes are along those lines, identifying both what they liked and what they found unnerving about the story. I’ve shared a few of these along the way and on my social media channels, but I’ll leave you here with a round-up of what people are saying about Burner:

“Trigg’s searing, all-too-believable novel reads like a gripping true-crime story . . . readers can expect to be pulled in quickly . . .”

—BookLife Reviews, Editor’s Pick

“Burner is a fascinating thriller in which an online movement swallows up the person who started it.”

—Foreword Clarion Reviews ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Political unrest, paranoia, conspiracies, and internet culture—Trigg has brought them all together into a killer novel more relevant now than ever. An absolute page-turner.”

—Tosca Lee, NYT bestselling author of The Line Between

“A man arrested for domestic terrorism and a woman abducted by his followers lead the cast in Mike Trigg’s latest spine tingler. In Burner, Trigg pulls back the curtain on toxic internet stardom and shows how in the wrong hands it can be used to feed political unrest. A powerful, pulse-pounding tale that hits uncomfortably close to home.”

—Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of The Paris Widow and Three Days Missing

“Masterfully plotted and thoroughly absorbing, Burner delves into the toxicity of an internet obsessed culture and the dangers of relying on technology for validation and human connection. A thrilling and timely cautionary tale for the digital age, I was hooked from the first page.”

—Lindsay Cameron, author of Just One Look and No One Needs to Know

“Mike Trigg takes a timely look at the world of social media and the propaganda that results from that bias. Great characters and an unpredictable narrative make Burner a must-add to your thriller reading pile!”

—A.J. Landau, author of Leave No Trace

“In Burner, Mike Trigg shines a light on homegrown domestic terrorism in a way seldom seen before. This thought-provoking thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put it down. If you are interested in the shadowy world of domestic violent extremism and how it affects us all, read this book."

—Frank Runles, FBI Supervisory Special Agent (Retired), author of Lies People Tell: An FBI Agent’s Toolkit for Catching Liars and Cheats

“Political unrest and domestic terrorism—Mike Trigg gives us a compelling look into the not-so-distant future. Burner sizzles with tension and reveals the high price of extremism in our digital culture. A must read.”

—James L’Etoile, author of Devil Within and Face of Greed

“Mike Trigg is fast becoming the go-to writer for high-tech thrillers that lay bare the perils of our digital age. Burner is no exception. Readers are in for a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet set against a San Francisco simmering in a stew of toxic social media conspiracies, wealth disparity, and political unrest. Buckle up; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

—Evette Davis, Author of 48 States and the Dark Horse Trilogy

“Mike Trigg knows how to tell stories that keep you in suspense but also make you think deeply—about culture, politics, ethics, and about who the good and bad guys really are. What does it take to survive in a post-truth world where violent extremism and corruption rule the day? You owe it to yourself to read Burner and find out!”

—Jude Berman, author of The Die