Featured Interview With Michael Kelso
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Son of a preacher man, so I moved around a good bit during my childhood. Most of it was in western Pennsylvania. Most of the places we lived were either rural or semi-rural, so I have a love and healthy respect for nature and its beauty. Moving around a lot it was difficult to form lasting friendships which in the end drove me to books. The escape from normal and mundane into the fantastic was compelling. And besides, where else other than books can you carry a universe around in your pocket?
Currently, we have 4 cats and a dog. Most of them get along alright but every once in a while the fur goes flying. One of the funniest things about them is every time I go to the bathroom, at least one of the cats follows along. And when I flush the toilet, they put their paws up on the edge and watch with rapt attention as the water swirls. One of the kittens from the last litter was born partially blind. He was also having problems eating because his mother would walk away from him and wouldn't feed him. My wife took care of him and fed him from a bottle, nursing him back to health from near malnourishment. He has become her favorite and sleeps with us every night. Despite the almost total lack of sight, he still gets around the house very well on his own and his sister loves to wrestle with him. He gives her a run for her money too. 🙂
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I didn't really start reading a lot of books until I graduated high school. After I started working night shift as a corrections officer I became a voracious reader to stay awake and pass the time. At one point I read 'Lord of the Rings' 6 times in the space of a year. I've also read The Stand, both regular thousand page version and the unedited 1400 page version along with 'It' (I'm not getting that month of my life back).
I started writing when a new warden came in and told us we couldn't read on post anymore. At that point I told myself, "Fine, if I can't read books, I'll write them." And as they say, the rest is history.
I love writing horror, mystery and crime. Short stories are my forte, but I've come to appreciate writing novels as well.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Tolkien, Tim Zahn, Mary Shelly, Frank Perretti, Clive Cussler, Tessa Wegert, Dawn Hosmer, Neil Christiansen, Tim Gabrielle, Stephen King(when he's not being obnoxiously long winded)
I would say all of these people had some hand in inspiring me at one point or another. But Tolkien and Shelly probably inspire me the most. Tolkien because of his dedication to his story. I mean, to make up three distinct languages just to write your book is amazing. And Shelly because of the humanity she injected into the story of Frankenstein's creature.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
The book I'm currently working on is called, 'Identity'. It's a direct sequel to my debut crime novel, 'One on one'. I'm hoping to have it out by early 2022. It takes place directly after the events in One on one and brings back many of the characters. I originally had a different book planned, but readers told me they wanted a sequel to One on one, so I shelved the other project and started working on that. The settings and characters in 'Identity' will be very familiar to those who read One on one.
I'm also working on a crime/mystery for Kindle Vella. I plan to start publishing chapters of that one by the end of 2021. This is a new platform for amazon and I'm excited to be able to publish work on it. I hope to present a work that readers won't want to put down until they find out what happens.
If it works out, I may publish future works on Vella, including my first children's book I've been writing.