Book 1 of The Uncommon Series - Continued in Book 2, Uncommon Stock: Power Play.
Mara Winkel is rock climbing, mountain biking, and 'studying' her way through school at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
But when her best friend James asks her to partner with him to start a disruptive new software company she discovers that the world of technology startups is fraught with intrigue, adrenaline, soaring successes, and scorching failures. It turns out this is especially true when your technology threatens entrenched drug cartels.
Mara has to juggle mysterious investors, opaque partners, critical customers, and a team that is as brilliant as it is dysfunctional until only one question remains: win or die.
Book Details:
Genre: Technothriller Published by: Previously FG Press; now Self-Published Publication Date: March 2014 Number of Pages: 231 ISBN: 9781517513214 Series: Uncommon, #1 Purchase Links:
Read an excerpt:
Chapter 1
Mara Winkel turned onto the muddy single track and lifted her body off the seat as her mountain bike plunged down the slope through the aspens. It jolted up and down beneath her, the suspension struggling to keep up with gravel and rocks. She yanked the handlebars to the right to avoid a nasty root. Mara quickly corrected her course to keep her front wheel on the two-foot-wide path.
She accelerated as the track cut down the slope at a sharp angle, sucking in a deep breath of Rocky Mountain air as the bright yellow leaves and white trunks flashed by. She lived for this, adrenaline pumping through her body, complete mental focus, and high-speed natural beauty. What more could a girl want?
Craig let out a “Whhoooooppp,” as he launched down the path behind her. He was fast but she had enough of a head start to keep her lead to the bottom.
The course dropped off into a steep switchback and Mara threw her body to the left and torqued the front wheel around hard to the right to make it through the turn. She raised her body farther off the bike and hit the next section of rolling bumps, catching some air in between each one. The suspension thumped rhythmically and she jerked the bike up onto the mossy side of the path to avoid a large mud puddle.
As Mara turned around the next switchback, a small clearing dropped away from the bottom side of the path and she had a clear view of the surrounding mountains awash in textured patches of green and yellow, battling for deciduous September supremacy. The white trunks of the aspens flashed up again as the track dropped into another thick grove.
It took half an hour to get to the bottom of the mountain. By the time Mara sped through the last section of the trail her quadriceps burned and her knuckles had a death grip on the handlebars. She came around a turn and jumped the bike up over an angled rock in the path. Her front wheel landed on a bare aspen root and skittered to the right along the slick wood.
Mara Winkel turned onto the muddy single track and lifted her body off the seat as her mountain bike plunged down the slope through the aspens. It jolted up and down beneath her, the suspension struggling to keep up with gravel and rocks. She yanked the handlebars to the right to avoid a nasty root. Mara quickly corrected her course to keep her front wheel on the two-foot-wide path.
She accelerated as the track cut down the slope at a sharp angle, sucking in a deep breath of Rocky Mountain air as the bright yellow leaves and white trunks flashed by. She lived for this, adrenaline pumping through her body, complete mental focus, and high-speed natural beauty. What more could a girl want?
Craig let out a “Whhoooooppp,” as he launched down the path behind her. He was fast but she had enough of a head start to keep her lead to the bottom.
The course dropped off into a steep switchback and Mara threw her body to the left and torqued the front wheel around hard to the right to make it through the turn. She raised her body farther off the bike and hit the next section of rolling bumps, catching some air in between each one. The suspension thumped rhythmically and she jerked the bike up onto the mossy side of the path to avoid a large mud puddle.
As Mara turned around the next switchback, a small clearing dropped away from the bottom side of the path and she had a clear view of the surrounding mountains awash in textured patches of green and yellow, battling for deciduous September supremacy. The white trunks of the aspens flashed up again as the track dropped into another thick grove.
It took half an hour to get to the bottom of the mountain. By the time Mara sped through the last section of the trail her quadriceps burned and her knuckles had a death grip on the handlebars. She came around a turn and jumped the bike up over an angled rock in the path. Her front wheel landed on a bare aspen root and skittered to the right along the slick wood.
Author Bio:
Eliot is a writer and strategist based in Oakland, CA. He is the author of The Uncommon Series and when he’s not hacking away at his next novel, he works with entrepreneurs and investors to build new technology businesses as a drop-in operator and adviser. He was an entrepreneur-in-residence at a venture capital firm where he accelerated portfolio companies, sourced/vetted deals and advised foreign governments on innovation policy and capital formation. He has been a founder and early employee at multiple startups.
Interview:
- What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I hate semicolons and ask my copyeditor to ensure they never appear in my novels.
2. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
The Uncommon Series is based on my personal experiences as a startup founder and venture capital investor. The world of entrepreneurship is full of big personalities enjoying soaring successes and suffering scorching failures. It was a canvas too rich to resist. I knew there was an adventure to be had, a story to tell. I supplemented that with research and interviews with technologists, special agents, money laundering investigators, major investors, and veteran CEOs.
3. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’m currently working on my fifth novel, The Burn, which follows a pair of friends who uncover a dark secret hidden in the swirling dust and exultant revelry of Burning Man.
My fourth novel, Cumulus, is currently in editorial and takes place in a not-too-far future where economic inequality and persistent surveillance push Oakland to the brink of civil war.
My first three books constitute The Uncommon Series, which is a trilogy of tech startup thrillers that follow a fierce female entrepreneur who gets caught up in an international conspiracy on the way from garage to IPO. The Uncommon Series has earned great grassroots reviews, a cult following in the Valley, and is the top-rated financial thriller on Amazon.
4. What do you think makes a good story?
A good story has characters, momentum, action, ideas, and suspense. It sucks us in and doesn’t let us go. A good story makes us feel and leaves us with something even after the tale is done. The best stories engage our imaginations and feed our souls.
5. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
Han Solo.
6. What would you like my readers to know?
If you’ve ever dreamed of starting a company or wanted a secret peek into the dark side of Silicon Valley, you might enjoy reading The Uncommon Series.
Great interview. I love it when an interview makes the author seem more human, not just someone on paper, LOL.
ReplyDeleteThanks!