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"...an engrossing and easy read
on the evolution and collapse of
of the subprime mortgage market."
 --- Gil Thibault, 
Laguna Beach, CA

About this Book

Subprime provides the reader with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the highly charged and unscrupulous world of mortgage lending, the very instrument that precipitated the economic meltdown.

Set against the backdrop of greedy investors who bilk credit-blemished borrowers, the book delves into a toxic mix of character traits portrayed by an uncle and his nephew. One is elderly, rich, inflexible and jaded while the other is young, poor, pliable, and naïve.

The conflict between the two manifests itself as the nephew struggles with a sense of morality while his uncle weaves a cancerous web of extortion and deceit. Once the nephew extricates himself from his uncle's grasp, he falls into an abyss of his own making as power, lust and ambition continue to cloud his vision.

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About the Author

Michael Cole lives in Laguna Niguel, California. After earning B.A. and M.A. degrees, he wore a number of different career hats, but none of them ever stirred his soul—until he took up writing. As senior vice president of a mortgage banking firm, his experience in the exciting and often disloyal world of subprime lending provided him with the impetus to write Subprime.

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Feel free to use all or part of the following, and edit to suit. This content was prepared for your use. We ask no acknowledgement of any kind.

Michael Cole's fourth novel, Subprime, provides the reader with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the highly charged and unscrupulous world of mortgage lending. A number of incidents and events described in the book are loosely based on actual events that occurred while he was senior vice president of a mortgage banking firm.

Armed with a college degree in marketing, Matt Mittleman seeks his fortune in Los Angeles so he can be near his uncle, a wealthy entrepreneur. Wanting to be like him, Matt sets out on a quest to seek fame and fortune. His uncle presents him with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start a mortgage company that specializes in funding loans for people with bad credit. But what Matt doesn't know is his uncle is his only competitor.

With the help of a mentor who continuously challenges him to think big, Matt rides an eight-ton elephant inside his mortgage company. The bizarre event attracts so much attention that the national networks pick up the story. As a result, his company becomes one of the largest and most formidable privately owned lending institutions in the country.

Matt's uncle flies into a fitful rage when he sees a picture of his nephew on the cover of Time magazine. He becomes so insanely jealous that he vows to ruin his nephew.

Matt's life at that point slowly starts to unravel when a series of baffling, disastrous happenings occur within his company.

As he focuses his energy to overcome these adversities, an unprecedented economic meltdown occurs. No longer able to fund subprime loans, Matt goes from riches to rags overnight. He is now faced with two choices. He can either admit defeat or try to climb back on the proverbial entrepreneurial ladder of success.

Subprime was published by Foremost Press. It can be ordered through local bookstores and at ForemostPress.com, and at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.com.
ISBN 10: 1-936154-00-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-936154-00-5
256 pp, $14.97

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