My book is free for Prime Day
Sports fiction with financial thriller elements
I wrote a book. Along with stock picking, I like to fill the time outside work with reading fiction and watching sports. I was able to combine all three of my primary interests with Trials:
I am a big fan of Prime Day, and few things are better than a good book over a long weekend at no cost. Kindle Direct Publishing lets you apply the $0 price just for Kindle, but if you don’t have Kindle, I’ll gift you the book for the July 8 - July 11 timeframe of Prime Day :-) - just reply to this email with your address. The Amazon link for the free Kindle edition is here.
Trials is my attempt to write a good sports fiction page-turner that you could finish in one sitting at the beach or on a plane. I’m a firm believer that books should be fun and engaging. I’ve been through more than a few drafts on this and had a range of advance reviewers give feedback.
Hey, I’m biased, but I can say from my many re-reads, this book checks many boxes for me: high-stakes sports, drama in the boardroom, whipsawing financial markets, baseball at Fenway, a unique story-telling timeline that goes from 1994 - 2019 and more.
If you want to “trial” it first (get it?), here is an excerpt from one of my favorite chapters:
The Appendix slide glowed on the HD widescreen. American Food and Tobacco had just finished a 35 minute presentation. Andrew lobbed softball questions. It was a routine diligence trip.
When AF&T needed money, Altior Securities was a willing lender. First a revolving credit facility and a term loan for nearly $300 million in total. Then lead left on a $1 billion bond issue. Underwriter on the junk bonds for all of Altior’s acquisitions of smaller food and tobacco outlets. Altior was AF&T’s bank of choice.
“Any more questions?” drawled Dwight Vaughn, the long-time CFO. The question hung in the air for three seconds, then five. Miles realized he had not spoken and felt compelled to break the silence.
“Why did your auditor resign?”
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Miles knew he had erred. It seemed like the most sensible of questions. Any investment banking analyst worth their weight in salt would’ve asked it. But now, at the polished mahogany conference table in American Food and Tobacco’s corporate headquarters, he saw eyes silently reprimanding him.
Andrew cleared his throat.
“What Miles means is we just need some notes for our memo. We know the last auditor didn’t resign. You guys fired them.”
The men from American - all in their 40s, 50s and 60s with graying hair and practiced looks of conscientiousness - nodded.
The largest and fattest of the old men stood up. He looked directly at Miles, who had no choice but to meet his gaze.
“Young man, are you new here?”
His voice had a noticeable Southern twang. Miles instantly knew it was Billy Huckabee, the eldest of the Huckabee children whose father had founded AF&T sixty-five years ago. He was often the talk of the Altior office after a diligence trip. His behavior at bars and clubs was legendarily bad.
“I haven’t seen you before and you look mighty young. How many times have you been to our office?”
Miles looked at Andrew for guidance, who was deep into his Blackberry, refusing to look up. “Just this once.”
“Just this once. I have been at this company for my entire life. Started washing dishes when I was five. You see son, we started franchising locations in 1985. And many of the auditors don’t understand franchising. That’s why we have to get rid of them.”
The conference room was silent except for the sound of Billy’s heavy breathing.
“But the annual report says they resigned. It says they had concerns about your internal controls.”
“You think I don’t read my own annual report boy? I know what it says. We told them they could say that.” Here he paused, and Miles could see he was improvising. “As a courtesy.”
Miles saw Andrew was looking up now. His look told him not to pursue the point. He was not about to jeopardize his job. The other analysts had been talking about an upcoming round of layoffs any day now. Altior was doing better than most because of its unique client list. Sin industries had a way of surviving - even thriving - during recessions. He knew he was lucky to have a job.
Lunch trays came in with a variety of cold cuts and the men ate, swapping stories about the cigarette distributors, restaurant franchisees and the stock market. For years, AF&T had been rumored to be considering an IPO. Miles suspected the sorry state of the financials was the reason they couldn’t go public. As he watched them chomping on their sandwiches and washing it down with iced tea, he wondered if any of them actually cared that Efelbein & Butler had sent them a pointed resignation letter.
He excused himself to go to the bathroom.
And if you prefer audio:
I hope you enjoy reading it and, if not, you got it for free. As always, feedback appreciated and welcome.