One on One by Michael Kelso

4/23/2018

Multi-volume author, Michael Kelso, introduces us to One on One:
Corrections Officer Emil Sorn believed the inmates at Larsan State Prison were coddled by the system, had too many rights, and never received any real punishment for their crimes. As sergeant in charge of the evening shift, disrespect or disobedience in any form was dealt with swiftly, severely, and quietly.

The idea started in a bar after a couple of drinks, and like most ideas so conceived, it should’ve stayed there. If the accused is granted the right to face their accuser, then the victim should have the right to confront the perpetrator. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.

There is a fine line between Justice and Revenge. Emil Sorn is about to cross it.

This book about life in prison on both sides of the bars rings with a great deal of authenticity! Michael knows his stuff, he is a former corrections officer.
I really enjoyed this book because it feels so real. Without wasting any words, the characters, settings and action are very tangible and quite believable. Many of the actors have multiple faces that seem so appropriate for the moment.
The change in Emil Sorn is radical and alters his life forever. The loss of his father and the self-centered scorn of his mother both contribute to his dark transformation.
I promise no spoilers and I think I have managed to keep that promise once again. But I have to say this is an amazing story that will leave many rather unsettled and hopeful at the same time, and for different reasons.
I give 4.7 stars to One on One!
I have it straight from the author that a sequel is in the works! That makes me a happy camper!

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/One-on-One-Michael-Kelso-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36121796-one-on-one
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/one-on-one

You can follow Michael:
https://twitter.com/MichaelKelso2
michaelkelsoauthor.com
https://www.facebook.com/mikeswritings
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-kelso-825ba6a5
https://www.pinterest.com/michaelkelsoaut/pins
https://www.instagram.com/michaelkelso8294

I have reviewed another book by Mr. Kelso: www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-misadventures-of-a-cryptid-hunter
And another of his books, Infected: www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/infected-by-michael-kelso

Tags: mystery, thriller, crime

Copyright © 2018 Mark L Schultz except for the author's introduction

48 Comments

Michael Kelso link

4/24/2018 09:12:05 pm

Thank you so much, Mark for your wonderful review. I'm very glad you enjoyed it. I also contacted my publisher about the typos and he corrected them.
Thank you for going through and rooting out the errors thereby helping me to improve my writing for others to enjoy.

Mark

4/24/2018 10:33:25 pm

Thank you Michael for the kind words. I really enjoyed your book. You have quite a few books and short stories already published. When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

Michael Kelso

4/25/2018 05:10:01 pm

Around ten years ago when I was a corrections officer.
I was working midnight shift and would read during my down time. The order came through that officers were no longer allowed to read on thier posts.
I decided right then that if I wasn't allowed to read books I would write my own.

4/25/2018 05:53:29 pm

That seems rather draconian. You could write a book, but not read a book. Any idea why reading was forbidden?

4/25/2018 07:09:39 pm

I recently spoke about this with the man who was warden at the time. He said that the state department of corrections was cracking down on leasure reading on post.

4/25/2018 10:06:37 pm

Is One on One the book you started writing while you were on the graveyard shift?

4/25/2018 11:32:33 pm

One of several. Along with lots of short stories. One on one is the first novel I completed though.It actually started out as a short story, around 3,000 words. But after I finished it I realized there was much more story to be told.
At that point, I began looking at the short story as an outline and started writing more scenes for it.

4/25/2018 11:57:46 pm

You have quite a few short stories on Amazon. Several different genres, horror seems to be your favorite. What is it about horror that you like so much?

4/26/2018 10:01:59 am

Even saying the word 'horror' puts readers on edge. I use that to my advantage because it builds tension before I've written a single word. I'll keep the readers on the edge of their seats just waiting for the bad things to happen.
I also like to twist things and come at them from an unexpected angle. This throws the reader off even more.
I love making my readers think.
I also love the freedom that horror brings. I can use any other genre, sci-fi, historical, even romance, as long as something bad happens.

4/26/2018 11:53:14 am

I never thought of horror as a control thing. That is fascinating! Who are your favorite authors? Is there one book that is your favorite? When did you develop a love for reading?

4/26/2018 12:37:13 pm

Favorite authors? That's quite a list.
J. R. R. Tolkien, Stephen King, Frank Perretti, Timothy Zahn, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Clive Cussler, Mike Battaglia, and so many more.
As for one book, it would be a 4 way tie between Frankenstein, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars: Heir to the Empire series, and Mike Battaglia's The Danforth State Mental Hospital (which I had some input on)
I actually didn't fall in love with reading until I was out of high school.

4/26/2018 02:17:11 pm

I share one part of that favorite author list, Tolkien and I add C. S. Lewis. I love Narnia, but also the sci-fi trilogy "Out of the Silent Planet", the first in the series. I read a bit of Perretti many years ago and enjoyed it. I read Frankenstein recently and was shocked at how different it was from all the movies.
Did you take any creative writing classes in college? Have you taken any courses recently or been on writers' retreats?

Stanley C Straub

4/26/2018 01:04:06 pm

I'm a writer also and I like that you decided that if you couldn't read, that you would write. Do you spend many hours each day writing or do you take breaks from your writing. I would probably write all the time, but my wife says no. :)

4/26/2018 01:13:14 pm

I try to write as much as I can. Often times that means dictating ideas and dialogue into a voice recorder and trying to find the time to type it in later. However, with a 50 hour a week day job, and a family, that can be quite challenging sometimes.
Good for you, making the decision to write. That was my biggest step.
Have you finished or published anything?

4/26/2018 10:05:02 pm

Recording ideas and dialog seem like a really good idea. Do you use any other hardware or software to facilitate your writing? Perhaps Scrivner? Are you a plotter or a pantster?

4/27/2018 12:13:21 am

I have published two books and I'm working on a third book. All three are thrillers. First one was a Medical Mystery and the second and third are and will be Science Fiction. I've basically been writing most of my life. Just got very serious about it a couple of years ago. I've always loved writing and wrote many short stories.

4/26/2018 10:41:38 pm

I tried a dictating app on my phone, but it didn't work out for me.
I used to be a pantser until I went to a Johnathan Maberry book signing. He spoke of the importance of doing at least some outlining. The way he explainex it made sense. Ever since then I consider myself a plotser. I write down some general plot points and where I want the story to go, then I'll start writing narrative. That's how I started working on my latest book.

4/26/2018 11:33:06 pm

A lot of authors have been hurt by Ama-zons recent changes in the TOS. Reviews have disappeared and other problems. They are trying to get rid of fake reviewers, it seems. What do you think of what is happening? Have you seen any reviews go poof?

4/27/2018 04:47:25 am

Stanley: That sounds very similar to my writing path. Just a handful of years ago I started getting more serious about it. That's when a friend convinced me to put together my first collection of short stories and post them on amazon. What are the names of your published books? I would love to read one.

Mark: Quite honestly, you have to have reviews before they can disappear. None of my works have more than ten reviews. That's something I've been trying to rectify, which is why I turned to your awesome service. If I knew that every review service was as good as this one, I'd do a lot more.

4/27/2018 10:16:27 am

Hi Michael. My published books are, The Killer Within and The Segmented Tail. First one is a medical thriller and other is Science Fiction. I also find that getting reviews is very hard. You're are right on two things you said, my review that a lady said she wrote didn't disappear, it just didn't show up. The other thing you said which is absolutely right is that Mark's services are the best. He gives good honest reviews and does a fantastic job at proofreading and finding misspelled and incorrect words. I'm happy to be writing books and it sounds like you are too. All we can do is keep at it, enjoy it, and hope that one or more of our books will really take off. By the way, I'm very happy to connect with you here on Mark's blog. Stan

4/27/2018 04:04:29 pm

What advice do you wish you had been given when you first realized you had the writing bug?

4/28/2018 10:54:21 am

Stan: I picked up, 'The Segmented Tail' thank you very much. I can't wait to read it
I completely agree about Mark's services and will recommend them to anyone and everyone I think it would be helpful to.
Very happy to connect with you too. One to one interactions are immensely better than wasting money on marketing programs that never work because there's no personal connection. Word of mouth is a much better way to share your writing.

Mark: Read. Read everything you can get your hands on. Read about the craft of writing. Some of my favorite writing books are, 'The Art of War for Writers' by James Scott Bell, 'Write Great Fiction: Dialogue' by Gloria Kempton, and for when you start thinking about marketing, 'The Frugal Book Promoter' by Carolyn Howard Johnson.
Another tool that is completely invaluable is Writer's Digest magazine, especially their '101 websites for writers' issue. That alone is worth the cost of a subscription.

My other advice is make mistakes. Too many people are so afraid to make mistakes that they don't even try for fear of failure. The only guarantee is that you will fail if you don't try. Make lots of mistakes and learn from them. What you eventually find is that by making mistakes you diminish your fear of failure. One of my favorite quotes is by Thomas Edison. He was once asked about the fact that he had failed to create a working light bulb over a thousand times. His response was, "I didn't fail, I found a thousand ways that don't work."

Stanley Straub

4/28/2018 11:12:34 am

Michael, thank you very much for buying my book. I hope that you like it. Now, I'll have to reciprocate. :) We can scratch each other's back. Those are great reference books that you list. I particularly like the quote from Thomas Edison. Did you make any mistakes in marketing your book that you would do differently now that you've been through it?

4/28/2018 01:07:06 pm

That is some great advice Michael! Marketing seems to be one of the hardest things for authors. I understand that because you’re really selling yourself more than you are selling your book so that makes building relationships pretty darn important.

4/28/2018 11:49:06 am

Stan: So many mistakes. The biggest of which was the belief that Twitter would sell my book for me. I fell victim to a few 'book marketing' individuals, wasted some money, and got zero results. The most misleading thing about Twitter for me was the numbers game. I saw that someone who had ten thousand followers retweet about my book and I would do the happy dance. In my mind the math was clear. Ten thousand people just saw that, so at least a thousand will look at my book and at least a hundred will buy it.
As I'm sure you know, that was a complete fallacy. I once had a post that had over thirteen hundred engagements with only one link click. That was when my faith in Twitter began to fade. Now I try to help other authors on Twitter by retweeting their posts. Don't get me wrong, Twitter is great for connecting, but not for selling, at least not from my experience.
I would also have started marketing my book much sooner, before it was released and focused on having lots of reviews on the day of release.
As I look back, I was about six months behind the curve with my book. I'm just now doing some of the things I should've done before release.

4/28/2018 11:58:59 am

Thank you for your reply. It looks like we both have found some of the same things in trying to promote our book. I was also taken in by the number of Twitter followers that I had. I found out that the number of followers didn't equate to anywhere near the number of sales. If it wasn't for Mark, I wouldn't have had as much success as I've had. We both were fortunate to find wordrefiner and use his services. Thanks again, Stan

4/28/2018 01:04:08 pm

Thank you both for your support and validation of my service. I subscribe to quite a few newsletters from authors and I have noticed that each and everyone of them is building and using a group of advanced readers and giving them advanced reader copies with the expectation of an honest review. To do this of course requires at least a blog if not a website, and any mailing list which seems to be a very coveted thing among the authors. Something that would take some time to build I am sure.

4/28/2018 01:10:58 pm

So Michael, do you have fellow writers that you can sit down and talk about your books together? Do you have critique partners or beta readers or are you involved in a writing group?

4/28/2018 01:22:23 pm

One more question Michael,
Do you have your own Website that you use for promoting your book? I don't, but have thought about getting one. Thanks, Stan

4/28/2018 07:00:50 pm

Stan: Yes, I agree. Mark's services were a very fortunate find.
Yes, I have a site devoted to the book, but it's a facebook page. I plan on expanding it once the sequel comes out. My main website is a wix.com site. It's free and fairly easy to use.

Mark:Yes, I will be using as many advance readera as possible when I release my next book.
I am involved in a writng group that meets once a month. They are incredibly supportive. I also was involved with a site called fanstory.com. There were many people there that taught me a lot through reviews of stories I posted on the site. This is also where I met my best writer friend.

4/28/2018 07:26:23 pm

Thank you for the reply. I'm still trying to decide if I can benefit from having my own website. A question about your time writing, do you exercise or walk to relieve the constant pressure of sitting all the time?

4/28/2018 09:01:32 pm

Good questions Stanley. I will piggyback on that.
Michael, do you have a set time to write? Or do you plan for x number of words? Do you write at home, if so where, or do you write someplace away from home?

4/28/2018 11:14:09 pm

Over the last year or so, most of my writing has been while I'm driving. (Truck driver is my day job) I'll get an idea and I'll dictate it into my voice recorder. It could be a random thought that becomes a short story or it could be a scene from my book. Then, when I get home, I try to find the time to listen and type in the recording.
As for number of words, no, I don't have a set amount. I try to do some every day, but some days are more productive than others.
What will sometimes happen as I'm typing in the day's dictation, I'll have a thought and get on a roll, adding more to the thought I was working on.
On the rare occasions that I have more than an hour of uninterrupted writing time at home, I will take little breaks every once in a while and go do some housework or something for 10-20 minutes, then come back to my writing. It keeps things fresh and helps me focus on writing without getting fatigued.

4/28/2018 11:17:36 pm

Michael, thank you for your answers and good luck with your writing and future books. I'll be looking forward to them. Your writing friend, Stan

4/29/2018 04:41:46 pm

Michael, have you ever struggled with writer's block? How would you counsel a new writer on overcoming writer's block?

4/29/2018 07:53:29 pm

Stan: It has been my pleasure. I'm glad to have met you here and hope to continue having such conversations on Twitter. Thank so much for your well wishes, greatly appreciated.

Mark: Yes, I've had my share of writer's block. I've tried different ways of fighting my way through it, but this has been the most successful for me.
I look around the room and find some object, it doesn't matter what. Then I start writing about it. If I can't think of anything, I just describe it. This gets me in the physical act of writing. Next, I'll take one of my characters from the story I'm struggling with and write about the character interacting with that object. How would they hold it, is it too heavy, what would be their reaction to someone handing them that object. This is all throwaway writing, but it usually gets me moving by writing a scene about my character and the object. Soon I'll be back in the groove with my character, writing to my heart's content.

4/29/2018 09:12:41 pm

That is a brilliant plan! It sounds like it works very well.
Does writing make you feel weak or strong? Do you find it hard to go to sleep after a good writing session, if so how do you bring sleep on?

4/29/2018 09:38:15 pm

Writing always makes me feel strong because i'm in total control of the story. Sometimes I'll let my characters run for a while and see where they take me, but I always control when they stop and how much of it will end up in the final draft.
As for sleep, not a problem. Most times my writing time is at night, so if anything I have the problem of letting my writing keep me up too late to the point where I wake up as my head is about to bonk off the keyboard. Even if I've been writing and haven't finished a scene, I'll go to bed and let the boys in the basement have a shot at it.

4/29/2018 10:06:53 pm

I have no doubt the boys are happy to have a chance to contribute.
What do you think are some of the biggest traps beginning writers fall into?

4/30/2018 05:06:42 am

One of the biggest is the contest trap. While there are plenty of good writing contests out there, there are at least as many bad ones. For example the one contest I was interested in entering billed itself as being helpful to writers to such a degree that they made you feel like they were your best writing friend, until the fine print. It was $20 just to enter the competition, then if you wanted a review of your work it was another $20. While this is not uncommon I was surprised by the website billing itself as altruistic only to find that it was a ploy to increase their bottom line.
Another contest I saw was free to enter, but even by entering you signed over exclusive rights to your work for two years! The grand prize for this contest was a whopping $20!
All this is to show one thing. Always read the fine print before you agree to anything.
This goes for regular magazine submissions too. Make sure you read every last word of a magazine's submission guidelines. If you like what you read and want to submit, then make sure you follow those guidelines to the letter.
Another trap is the Twitter trap. Don't be fooled by numbers. Just because someone has 50,000 followers doesn't mean that a retweet from them will guarantee you sales. I once paid a site $40 to promote my book on Twitter. They had advertised that it would be seen by over 2 million people. I was thrilled. Until my month of promotion ended and I had sold one copy of my book. I know that they promoted it because I saw it in my feed, but it seems that they count a little differently than everyone else. the same handful of pages retweeted over and over. So if 5 pages that each have 30,000 followers retweet every day for a month to the same people, that's how they came up with 2 million.
Another thing is don't rush into anything. Check the fine print. If something looks shady or someone is pushing you to sign up, make sure they are legitimate.
There's also traps that have nothing to do with money. These are traps that writers spring on themselves.
The 'I'm not good enough to write' trap.
Quick answer to that, yes you are. Everyone started somewhere. Even Hemingway was a beginner at one point.
The 'My book is going to sell a million copies' trap.
Quick answer, this one is a very devious trap. Yes, you want to have confidence in you work and success is a great motivator, however realistic goals will help you so much better than thinking about the winning lottery ticket type sales. Realistic and reachable goals can then be replaced with higher goals once reached.

4/30/2018 04:33:28 pm

The old adage applies, there is no such thing as a free lunch. I bet we can both think of several more. You made the point so well, read every bit of fine print! I am amazed that the one company expected to get all rights to your book for 2 years!
What are your thoughts about writing under a pen name or pseudonym? Did you ever consider it for yourself? Then what about the problems of using it with social media?

4/30/2018 07:18:06 pm

I've considered it but only for a certain reason. I wrote a children's book and my niece is illustrating it. I considered using a pseudonym because my other published works are crime and horror. I thought there would be confusion when people looked for the children's book. But after talking with several friends I decided to stay with my name. The biggest reason being I would have to start all over with marketing the book. I would like to avoid that if at all possible.
Whatever name I chose I would have to start over with social media as well, losing years worth of work.

4/30/2018 07:26:19 pm

That makes a lot of sense. It is very hard to establish a brand. But there are quite a few authors that start with a pseudonym and that is their brand.
Have you ever found it hard to kill a character and why?

4/30/2018 07:38:56 pm

I've had varying responses to killing a character. When I write one of my short horror stories, it's pretty much guaranteed someone's gonna die. Either that or wish they had.
As for my books, I have no problem killing off a character if it's what's best for the story.
In my one novelette, that I'm trying to find the time to turn into a screenplay, I killed a main character and it affected me emotionally (Okay, I cried, there, I said it) but it wasn't because I had become attached to the character, it was because of the way I wrote the scene. If you can read that scene (or hopefully someday see it on film) and not get emotional, you might wanna check yourself for a pulse.
All that being said, I do have legacy characters that will do a lot of cameos and side characters in my stories. At least one of these is untouchable. If I ever killed off that character, I would be devastated.

4/30/2018 08:05:05 pm

That sounds powerful! Sometimes scenes make my eyes sweat also. I look forward to seeing that.
If you are having trouble with a scene would you prefer to talk about it with another person or would you read it out loud to try and figure it out?

4/30/2018 08:12:48 pm

Most times I'll talk about it with my wife (who is incredibly supportive) and she'll give her opinion. Sometimes she says what I was already thinking but wasn't sure, and sometimes she'll come up with a solution that I didn't think of.
I really don't do well at reading scenes out loud.

4/30/2018 10:22:14 pm

It's marvelous that your wife is supportive, mine is also. I have gained a great deal of respect for her intuition.
Are you reading anything at this time? Do you prefer ebooks or a hardcopy?

4/30/2018 11:27:53 pm

Actually audiobooks are my preferred method of 'reading' at the moment. It's so much easier to listen to a book while driving around during the day.
Currently I'm 'reading' Thrawn by Timothy Zahn.

One on One by Michael Kelso

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