The Misadventures of a Cryptid Hunter by Michael Kelso

9/8/2024

Multi-genre, multi-volume author Michael Kelso introduces us to the first in a series, “The Misadventures of a Cryptid Hunter”:
I didn't sign up for this. I never wanted to be a cryptid hunter. I didn’t even believe in cryptids. I always thought they were the stuff of bedtime stories to keep kids quiet and in bed, scared out of their wits, when mom and dad wanted some quality time together.
I was perfectly happy in my boring job as a park ranger. (Not really) But fate had other ideas. When I came face to face with a Bigfoot... everything changed.
Some people are born to greatness, others have it thrust upon them. Then there are still others who trip, fall down a hill backwards, and land face first in a big stinky, steaming, pile of greatness.
I was the latter.
This is the story of that steaming pile that was my life as a cryptid hunter.

Get ready to embark on a wild and hilarious journey with Michael Kelso's "Misadventures of a Cryptid Hunter". This horror-comedy novel follows the unexpected and comically disastrous life of a park ranger turned cryptid hunter. As a skeptic of all things mythical, our protagonist never could have predicted that his life would be turned upside down when he comes face to face with a real-life Bigfoot. Suddenly, he's thrust into a world of cryptids, danger, and hilarity.

Kelso masterfully weaves together horror and humor, delivering a unique and entertaining read for fans of both genres. From the hilarious mishaps and missteps of our clumsy hero, to the spine-tingling encounters with terrifying creatures, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat and laughing out loud.

But it's not all fun and games for our cryptid hunter. As he navigates through this new and dangerous world, he quickly learns that some people are born for greatness, while others just stumble into it - quite literally. Will our hero be able to survive his new calling as a cryptid hunter? And will he ever make it back to his boring park ranger job?

If you love a good scare with a side of laughter and a heap of cryptids, then "Misadventures of a Cryptid Hunter" is a must-read. Kelso's witty writing and unique take on the cryptid trope will have you hooked from the first page. So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy today and join our hero on his hilarious and thrilling adventures.

Winner 2024 Hollywood Book Festival, Wild Card category!

Runner up 2024 New York Book Festival, Wild Card category!

I love this story! I thought the daily routine of a park ranger would be a piece of cake. The author proves me wrong.
I laughed so many times and shivered quite a few times also. I am glad the scary parts are not any longer than they are.
Get the book, you will love it!

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Misadventures-Cryptid-Hunter-Michael-Kelso-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/-misadventures-of-a-cryptid-hunter
It is also available in Kindle Unlimited.

You can connect with the author:
https://twitter.com/MichaelKelso2
https://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

Tags: murder, monsters, horror, comedy
Copyright © 2024 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction.

53 Comments

Michael Kelso link

9/9/2024 10:03:39 am

I'm glad you enjoyed the book.

Mark

9/9/2024 05:15:34 pm

I did! I love to laugh and your book had me laughing quite a bit.

New questions.

Why do you write?

How has writing changed your life?

9/9/2024 05:56:04 pm

Wow, Those are a couple of good questions.
Why do I write?
I used to read at work all the time when I was a Corrections Officer. When a new warden came in, he told us we weren't allowed to read on post anymore. So at that point i said to myself, 'Fine, if I can't read, I'll write my own stories. And a writer was born.
I started out writing short horror stories and showing them to coworkers. They told me I was sick, but also asked me when I was writing my next story.
I guess I've come to the point in my life where I write because I always have ideas for stories popping into my head. I'll see something mundane and think how to use it in a story that would horrify and challenge people's perceptions.
Readers enjoying my stories is the pinnacle. I'd love to have my stories on a larger stage so that more could enjoy them.
As for how has writing changed my life...

9/9/2024 06:09:26 pm

Writing changed my life by giving me a creative outlet that I enjoy. I actually started out writing songs. But a life event changed my perspective towards writing stories, especially horror stories.
I've been writing for over ten years and I couldn't even imagine not doing it.
Sometimes the characters I create feel more real to me than some of the people I know. lol
The total control of it is very appealing. I can create and destroy entire worlds with the stroke of a key or a pen. It's a humbling feeling. I think having something that I love to do with such a level of control over it gives me something to focus on instead of the craziness of the world we live in now.
Since my writing has become more popular it's given me the opportunities to try different things as well. For example, I recently went to a local radio station and recorded my own ads for my new zombie book.
I'd never even been inside a radio station before and the people were super nice. Without my writing, I never would've had that opportunity. I've also been to festivals where I set up a table to sell my books and met some amazing people because of it. I've been on several podcasts and have had many of my stories narrated into youtube videos, which total have now been viewed over 6 million times. That never would've happened without my writing and my willingness to try things, knowing I might fail, but like a friend of mine says, 'You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take.'

9/10/2024 10:20:20 am

"How soon can I read more of this sick sh!t"? That is fabulous! Kudos to you!

I hope you have a journal to save all of your writing ideas. They are so easy to lose.

I am not surprised that some of your characters feel more real to you than some people. Some people do horrific things. Capturing a common concept and putting a horror twist on it is brilliant. You are not likely to run out of writing material anytime soon.

That radio experience sounds wonderful. 6 million views on YouTube must be a lot! I think my video of The World's Worst Singing Dog has 45 views.

Your friend is correct. Your fans are glad you listened to him.

New questions.

Does your work, past or present, have any influence on your writing?

Who was the first person to inspire you to write?

9/10/2024 12:19:37 pm

Two more excellent questions that will require separate answers.
Does your work, past or present, have any influence on your writing?

Most definitely yes. Mostly the past. I often reread some of my previous stories, especially short stories and bring them up to my current writing style. I'll make corrections to things that I never saw as errors before. Now I don't do that with everything I've ever written, (having published just shy of a million words) (850,000 as of my latest novel) but as I read a past story, I'll make changes to it and save it. Sometimes I'll update one of my books to show the list of all my published works, and when I do, those corrections automatically update. I try to constantly improve my work.
Another way the past has an influence on my writing is the world I've built in my mind that houses most of my stories. It's an actual physical place in my brain called Larsan County and most of my stories take place there to add depth and continuity. So when I talk about the Frost Creek mall that first appeared in my novelette, 'The Mall' it's the same one that patient zero invades and begins turning people into zombies in, my latest book.
By using the same place in different stories, it allows me to treat the place as a character as well. And as a bonus, it gives a nod to readers who have read more of my books because I not only refer back to incidents in other books, but also have recurring characters that have roles in different books. My most used character is the local sheriff. I believe he's been in at least seven of my books in varying levels of involvement.

9/10/2024 12:37:42 pm

Who was the first person to inspire you to write?

I didn't really catch the reading bug until I was out of high school. I started out reading a lot of science fiction, Star Trek books mostly. But the one that really got me interested in writing because of the depth of his world was J.R.R. Tolkien. At one point I read Lord of the Rings six times in the space of a year. It fascinated me how he made me feel the hopelessness and desperation of Frodo and Sam's journey.
Another person who had an early influence on me was Stephen King. Even though some of his works drove me to distraction with his longwindness and horrible endings, I really loved Misery and The Stand (at least 2/3rds of the way through until it became a soap opera) I haven't been a King fan for a long time now. 'It' was the last of his books I read and had such a horrible ending that I swore to never read another of his books.
There were a group of people on a site I used to be a member of called Fanstory dot com that were extraordinarily helpful in the early development of my writing. They helped me grow as a writer and to understand that criticism can be a good thing if it helped me make the story better. I consider a few of them to be my early writing mentors.
Another person who inspires me to write is my friend Boris Bacic. I met him on Instagram a couple years ago and his advice has been instrumental in the resurgence of my writing career. I can look at my amazon sales and point to the time when I started following his advice. He's been a tremendous friend, advisor, and motivator. He is an incredible writer of horror, suspense, and thrillers. I encourage everyone to check out his books, you won't be disappointed. My favorite of his is, 'They came from the Mall.'

9/10/2024 01:10:26 pm

Great story! I am not surprised that you find questionable spellings. Time gives your brain a refresh. It sees your old books as new items and you are able to see what you couldn't see before. Fresh eyes make a lot of difference. Updating your old books is a good idea especially with your complete backlist. Don't ever stop doing that, more books equal more sales.

Place is always a player in a story. Whether you realize it or not.

We share a love for Tolkien's monumental creation. I read it three times before graduating from high school. LOTR was my introduction to fantasy and it is a close, second, favorite genre to sci-fi.

New question.

What inspired you to write this book?

9/10/2024 05:17:44 pm

What inspired me to write, 'Misadventures" ?
Good question.
It all started around two and a half years ago when I first joined Reddit. I started posting some of my short stories and people liked them. Narrators started approaching me and asking if they could narrate them on their youtube channels. Most of them (the narrators) didn't have a huge following so I allowed them to narrate to help them out and get my work noticed. It was win win.
That's when I started reading other stories on reddit and seeing how popular the park ranger/cryptid theme was. I began writing my own park ranger/cryptid stories and people went nuts for them.
Soon I had enough to fill a book and that's when I published 'Dark Tales of Cryptids and Park Rangers'.
It was quite well received and I continued to write cryptid stories until I had published 2 more collections of them in the space of around a year.
At this point I began to notice that my cryptid stories had begun to be a bit formulaic.
I started out writing my next story with the idea of flipping it on its head. The park ranger in most of my other stories was a clean cut, boy scout type. With this new story I wanted something different.
I started out by making him hate his job, his boss, and his coworkers.
I wrote the first short story and had so much fun with this new snarky park ranger, that I wrote another story starring him. Before I knew it, I had 4 stories that were all written as short stories but had an overarching narrative. Whereas in my previous collections of short stories, the park rangers were different in each story, this time around it was the same ranger throughout the whole thing.
I was contacted by a popular youtube narrator (Mr Creeps) to narrate these stories exclusively on his channel.
Meanwhile, I kept writing and soon realized that this could easily go to novel length. The ideas kept flowing, with each chapter being around 4000 words long (good short story length) but also adding to the overall story. So essentially each chapter finished with its own ending, but also a cliffhanger as to what would happen next.
Writing this book has been the most fun I've ever had in my writing career. This character is so fun to write, but I also found that he matured quite naturally as the story progressed and characters were added.
One of my goals was to make sure this book didn't fall into the same cookie cutter outline as some of my other ranger stories.
The humor was one of the ways to avoid that and also keep readers interested. Another way was to flip the script every now and then. Like when he has a cryptid cornered but instead let her go and she ends up becoming his best friend. (Spoiler alert) lol.
I'm not only proud of this book, but also the character arc that the main character took and how he matured (somewhat) throughout the narrative.
This was hands down my favorite book to write and I truly believe it was the best book I've written to date.

9/10/2024 07:54:15 pm

I Love the lazy, snarky character you created. He is rather clumsy. His attempt at hiring a sidekick was a dismal failure. You had me laughing all the way through the book. Scare me all you want as long as I can laugh!

New question.

Why did you choose this genre, or do you feel the genre chose you?

9/10/2024 10:41:25 pm

Why did I choose this genre. or did this genre choose me?

If you mean horror, that came from my surroundings. At the time I started writing I had been working full time as a Corrections Officer for over ten years, probably closer to fifteen. Having seen some of the low points human beings can sink to and watching them on a daily basis act like what they've done is nothing, and even the entitlement of most (not all) of the inmates that I had to care for, takes a toll.
It takes a certain kind of person to work in corrections. To deal with the stress on a daily basis. Writing horror was part of my way of dealing with that. Once it had become habit, it was all I wrote. I actually branched out into crime/mystery novels and domestic thrillers, but none of them were nearly as popular as the horror.
In fact, my first novel was a crime/mystery that was set in a fictional prison and it wasn't very popular.
I think that once you get somewhat popular in a certain genre, amazon expects you to stay in that genre and it confuses the algorithm when you switch back and forth..

9/11/2024 10:43:49 am

That makes sense. I have never been to a prison. Seeing people at their worst certainly would take a toll on a person. Violence is more than punching someone in the face or shanking them. It is a degradation of the humanity of all involved. History is replete with violence.

The algorithms are inscrutable, yet you have drawn out a likely possibility. It is a matter of trial and error without a doubt.

New question.

Have you ever seen a UFO or UAP, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena?

Michael Kelso

9/11/2024 11:20:44 am

Not that I remember. Unless they zapped my memory MIB style. Lol.
I did write a story about an alien abduction in one of my books, but that was just my imagination... wasn't it?
(Mike stares blankly at screen trying to remember... )

9/11/2024 01:17:26 pm

A Grey told me to tell you it was your imagination. He assured me that. ;-)

UFOs and the unknown are interesting subjects. They leave room for much speculation.

New question.

How many drafts did your book go through before publishing?

9/11/2024 05:20:59 pm

Wow. I'm glad it was just my imagination. That's a load off my mind. Lol
I can't even count the number of drafts. I know I was constantly editing for like a year.
I would edit each chapter for it to be used for YouTube, then I would go back and edit again for the novel version. And then I would go back and do it over again.
I have an editing program that shows me when I'm using repetitive words, too many adverbs, all kinds of things, then I have to go back through and manually change what I didn't like.
It was arduous.
In my new zombie novel I used the same program and went through the manuscript more times than I can count. More than once I told my wife this book is killing me. Lol
But in the end, it made for a better book. Pointing out the words I was using and how they compare to a standard horror novel really made me think about my word choices.

9/11/2024 05:33:20 pm

Your process is fascinating and labor intensive. It does take a lot of time to make all the corrections, it forces you to evaluate every change. That is how a great book is written. The first draft is usually a dumpster fire and that is okay because the story has to get out of your head and onto the screen or paper. Does anyone still write a first draft longhand? I have heard of that program, but I can't recall the name of it.

New questions.

How do the YouTubers feel about your published book being different from what you sent to them?

Does your copyright extend to those audio productions?

9/11/2024 06:10:41 pm

I know I don't do any writing longhand anymore. I don't know about anyone else.
The name of the program I use is Autocrit. I pay a monthy fee for using it.

As for youtubers, I haven't had any complaints. The changes aren't major, just cleaning up and polishing the prose. I don't think they notice a difference because the video relies on the performance of the narrator. That's what they really enjoy. I see lots of fans of the videos say how they listen to the stories to fall asleep. But there were several who lightheartedly complained about my story because they were so into it that they couldn't fall alseep. Lol

As for the copyright. I own the copyright on my written works. The narrators have to ask permission to use it. My understanding is the copyright is mine, but in letting them use my work there could be a copyright on their performance, but I would still retain the rights to do any future audiobooks of my work.

9/11/2024 08:04:49 pm

I think you are right about the copyright of your books and audio books are a popular format for a lot of people who struggle with vision issues. If you haven't already, I urge you to consult a lawyer experienced in Entertainment law. Protecting your intellectual property rights are critical since your estate owns the copyright for 75 years after an author dies.

New questions.

Are the YouTubers using your work to showcase their narration skills or because they want to share your work?

Have any of them made audio books of your stories for you?

9/11/2024 11:14:45 pm

Youtubers need constant content. I realize that they are trying to keep their channel alive and popular, but most of the ones I deal with are also more than happy to help me out by posting my website in the video description. So the answer is it really is both. I look at it as a symbiotic relationship. They get what they need in (hopefully interesting) content and I get what I need in promotion.
There've only been a few instances where someone used one of my stories without asking permission. One also lied to his subscribers and told them that I demanded money or I wouldn't give permission to narrate my story. When I found out, I tried to contact the narrator, but he shut down the video and avoided all contact.

To date none of them have made audiobooks for me, but there's one narrator who does his narration in Czech. I've asked him to save his written translations and send them to me when he's done. I'll put them together into a book in Czech and sell it on amazon. Just one of the ways I'm looking for opportunities to branch out with my writing.

9/12/2024 09:50:33 am

That is an interesting relationship where all parties win. Too rare also. It is also the first time I have heard of this as a promotional opportunity. I will be adding this idea to my questions.

I am assuming there must be lots of people on YouTube reading books aloud. I imagine that a few of them might even earn a few bucks in ad revenue.

A Czech version will probably do well. They have experienced many generations of war horrors. I bet you are looking for other YouTubers who are multilingual by now.

Audio books and translations are great ways to spread your work and increase your earnings.

New questions.

Is there anything unconventional about your writing technique? Why is that?

9/12/2024 10:11:52 am

I don't know. Everyone has their own style.
I like to write hot, meaning write whatever I'm thinking, even if its garbage, just to get the idea down, then go back and edit it later.
One of my favorite sayings is, 'writing a first draft is like shoveling sand into a sandbox. You'll go back and build the sandcastles later.'
One thing about my writing that might be considered uncoventional is I like to write in scenes. So I can write at whatever place in a book I want to in order to get the idea down.
For example, just this morning I wrote a scene at the end of book 5 of my zombie series. I had an idea of something I wanted to put in the end, so I went ahead and wrote it, even though I'm only halfway through writing book 2. I have a good idea of the major plot points throughout the series and this scene was helping to refine the ending.
Also maybe a little unconventional was the way I wrote 'Misadventures'. With each chapter being its own short story. I think that makes for more of a pageturner novel.
I'm not sure of why I started writing in scenes. Maybe it was just a way of remembering things I wanted to write into the book later. That's part of the beauty of Word. You can cut and paste anywhere. I actually cut a chapter out of book 1 of my zombie series and pasted it into book 2.

9/12/2024 12:24:20 pm

That is a great way of putting it, 'build the sandcastles later'. More elegant than the phrase I was using. I will borrow that, if you don't mind.

Writing scenes is a good method. I think it helps to avoid writer's block.

Another good way to avoid writer's block is having multiple projects and you seem to be utilizing that idea quite well. Your zombie project is a good example.

New questions.

Who designed the cover of your book? Feel free to drop a link if appropriate.

How many drafts did the cover go through?

9/12/2024 03:27:56 pm

Borrow away, The phrase isn't mine, I heard it somewhere along the way and liked it.
Yes, writing in scenes does help prevent writer's block as does having several active projects going at once, which, yes, I do that quite often. It's nothing for me to have 8 to 10 word documents at the bottom of my screen at any given moment.

The cover designer for this book is the same as for my entire 'Dark Tales' series. I found him on Fiverr dot com.
Here's the link to the gig that I used. https://www.fiverr.com/kingof_designer?source=gig_page
I first contacted this designer for, 'Dark Tales of Cryptids and Park Rangers'.. When he sent me his ideas for the cover, he sent two distinct covers. The second one was the one that became 'Misadventures'. All he had to do was change the title and it was ready to go. It was just a matter of that was the cover I knew I wanted for 'Misadventures'. The only drafts it went through were minor changes for size to fit the amazon format and making sure the back matter had no spelling errors.

He did great work for me, and we worked together on five book covers, but I used a different cover designer for my zombie series.

9/12/2024 07:42:54 pm

Shovel lots of sand into the sandbox before you build a sandcastle. I love it.

King sure did a nice job on this cover! Sometimes a stylist change is a good idea.

New questions.

Was it hard to come up with the title?

What was the process?

9/13/2024 03:15:08 am

It took some thought to come up with the title, especially since it was essentially a series of short stories, I had a title for each of them.
In the end I typed out a bunch of different titles, but they were all really long. I came up with misadventures because I wanted to convey that my MC was a little on the clumsy/lucky side, and to show the story had some humor to it.
The rest, as they say, is history.
I think it turned out pretty well.

9/13/2024 09:41:01 am

Misadventures is a fitting choice.

The importance of a title can't be overstated. It is the first or second thing a prospective reader sees. The author has about half of a second to grab the attention of the reader before they move on.

Sometimes, I see many books with the same title with different authors and covers. Some titles are so perfect in certain genres the get reused a lot. I imagine that you were actively checking your potential title choices to discover if they were already being used by another author.

New questions.

Were the character names difficult to develop?

How did you choose them?

9/13/2024 10:21:55 am

Well first off, my main character doesn't have a name. Or at least I haven't named him yet. When writing first person stories, especially park ranger/cryptid or anything suspenseful, I don't like to name my MC. In my opinion it allows the reader to more easily put themselves in that role and therefore immerse themselves into the story with greater emotional connection.
As for naming other characters, I'll try on several names to see if they fit the character's personality and role within the story. If I get really stuck for a name I'll pull out a phone book (yes, I do still have a phone book) and look for something interesting.
I do have reoccurring names that act as easter eggs for those who have read several of my books.
For instance, in Misadventures the MC ends up with an assistant named Billy, but MC keeps calling him Tommy as a humorous way to keep the interactions between them light.
The joke here is that in my YA novel about football, 'Endzone' the MC's name was Billy and his best friend's name was Tommy
I like having little things like that in my books for people to find.

9/13/2024 02:06:07 pm

I didn't miss the lack of him being named! That is so funny! I do love first person POV, it is so intimate and immediate.

The emotional connection is quite real! I was scared out of my socks more than once.

Easter eggs are fun, an inside joke for no extra charge.

Names are a big deal and play an important role in a story for a variety of reasons. You can toss your phone book if you wish. There are websites that specialize in popular baby names for each year or decade sometimes organized by country, region or state. Some of these websites go back hundreds of years.

New questions.

Have you ever written any fan fiction?

If so, what storyline were you mimicking?

9/13/2024 03:08:12 pm

I never really got into fan fiction from the time that I realized it was borderline copyright violation if you tried to publish it.
I'd seen others do it and get away with it. I just wasn't interested in the sword of damocles hanging over my head, waiting to fall.
The thing about fanfic is you're essentially handcuffing the actual author with your version of their story.

9/13/2024 05:43:56 pm

That copyright infringement is a serious issue and I am with you on that. I wouldn't sleep well with that hanging over my head also.

New question.

What other books and genres have you written?

9/13/2024 06:59:29 pm

My first novel was a crime/mystery set in a prison. (I got a lot of questions from coworkers asking if there were any true parts in the book. I reassured them that it was totally fiction.)
I wrote a sequel to that book, which of course was another crime/mystery.
I wrote 2 domestic thrillers. One of them, 'Secrets) was my first book with a female MC.
I also wrote a YA novel about footbal and a middle grade horror book.
The rest of my books are short horror story collections, except for Misadventures and my latest novel which starts my zombie series.

9/14/2024 09:37:23 am

That is a nice catalog! You are a prolific writer. Congratulations!

New questions.

How many books are you planning for the Misadventures series?

Any side stories?

9/14/2024 10:25:53 am

Thank you.
At the moment I've started book 2, but haven't planned any more sequels. I need to see how the events unfold in book 2 and if I have enough ideas left for a third book.
Right now I have no side stories in mind. One of my readers suggested a Thomas/Dolores book explaining their shared history.
As intriguing as that would be, I'd rather focus on the main story for the time being. With 4 more books to go in my zombie series, the Misadventures sequel, another horror novel, plus continued short story collections, a side story is on the back burner for now.
I'm also in negotiations to ghostwrite 2 books.

9/14/2024 12:22:56 pm

You are busy as a beaver! Congratulations!

A Thomas/Dolores prequel sounds like a good idea to me. Even a collection of stories for either character alone could be interesting.

Ghostwriting is one way for an author to expand their income. Here is a copy-and-paste link about other ways to diversify streams of income: https://www.writingforward.com/creative-writing/creative-writing-careers or hit the search block below.

New question.

How does an author create a ghostwriting business?

How hard is it to find clients?

9/14/2024 02:12:25 pm

Honestly, I couldn't tell you. I stumbled upon someone who was looking for a ghostwriter during an online conversation.
We talked about it, hashed out terms, and got to work.
I wouldn't have the first idea where to go looking and I wouldn't trust any online searches. Seems like any site that used to be helpful to authors now is looking for how much money they can take from writers desperate to get their work seen.

9/14/2024 04:17:00 pm

Fortunate circumstances! Being in the right place at the right time makes a difference.

I have lists of people, on my Twitter page, who provide services to writers. One of those lists is Ghostwriters and Freelance, it has 345 members. I have never vetted any of them, I have come across them as I follow others and am followed by other accounts.

There are a lot of scammers out there, no question.

New questions.

Is there a different genre you would like to explore?

If so, what genre are you thinking of?

9/14/2024 04:32:38 pm

To be honest, I'm pretty happy in my horror/suspense niche. Writing the occasional thriller or mystery (that will be ignored on amazon) is good for me. I've never considered writing a romance , historical fiction, fantasy or anything like that.
Sticking with what I know is, in my opinion, a good way to use my limited time and energy.
I mean, right now I have 4 more zombie books and Misadventures 2, not to mention the half dozen other projects in the works. Stepping out of my comfort zone to try a different genre holds no appeal for me.

9/14/2024 06:38:48 pm

I am not surprised that you are happy right where you are. You have multiple volumes in multiple genres. You are in a great place, no need to stray from a good center.

New questions.

What do you think of the current controversy regarding AI, Artificial Intelligence?

Did you use AI in any of your writing or planning for your books? I am not including research in this question because most of the major browsers have embedded AI in the browser.

9/14/2024 06:55:02 pm

I'm not terribly happy with AI. There's just too much that can go wrong. (Everything I ever needed to know about AI I learned from Terminator. Lol)
In my humble opinion AI written books are just wrong. AI narration videos are nearly as bad. Taking the time and hard work that real narrators do and replacing it with the click of a button isn't cool.
The only thing I use AI for is helping me write blurbs. I never use it verbatim, I look at it as an idea for me to expound on. I always start out with an idea of my own and just run it through an AI filter to tighten it up a bit.

9/14/2024 08:28:25 pm

You have found an appropriate use for AI. One that prevents AI from lying to you or hallucinating results for you. It is a beast that needs to be controlled and must never be allowed total freedom.

New questions.

Have you encountered a troll reviewing one of your books?

How did you handle it?

9/14/2024 09:07:42 pm

Absolutely. It's one of the reasons I no longer do review swaps. Another author did me dirty. I also had people who wanted me to read and review books that were twice the length of mine. I gave an honest review which wasn't 5 star and the next thing I know, they're giving me a 1 or 2 star review.
Mostly, the annoying and frustrating part is when readers don't review, just leave a 1 star rating with no explanation I call these, 'Drive-by reviews'.
Yes, it's always frustrating to get a poor review, but I'm fine with it if the reader points out something that I can improve in my story.
If it's someone who just wants to bust on my book because they're an a-hole, I do my best to ingnore it and move on. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

9/15/2024 09:10:14 am

Most people who ask for the truth and honesty don't want it unless it pleases them. Sad but true.

A 1-star review by itself means nothing.

Authors, especially new authors, tend to perseverate when they receive that first bad review. They might have 5, 7, or more good reviews but they focus on the bad review. Some make the mistake of engaging the reviewer. That never ends well. The author is giving the "reviewer" AKA the troll, the attention they desperately crave. The troll lives to make authors cry.

I tell authors their first bad review authenticates the good reviews. It proves the good reviews are not all from their mom and her bridge club.

No one has ever written a universally loved book. Be happy when you find your audience and your audience finds your books.

New question.

What was the first paying job you worked as a kid and how old were you?

9/15/2024 09:20:37 am

Ames department store. I worked as a stock boy for 2 + years before I quit and started working at a local factory.
I had a lot of fun working at Ames and made some lifelong friends.
It was so long ago, that minimum wage was $3.15 an hour. If you can imagine. lol

9/15/2024 12:15:57 pm

Great job! You have a fair amount of freedom being out of the public eye most of the time. $3.15 an hour was a good amount of money in the beginning. When I started working the minimum wage was a dollar an hour.

New questions.

Have you done any public speaking?

If so, will you be doing more in the future?

9/15/2024 02:20:46 pm

If you mean public speaking like a Ted talk or a lecture, then no, I haven't done any.
If you count being interviewed on podcasts, then yes, I've done a few.
They usually end up being really fun.

9/15/2024 05:13:35 pm

I was thinking more along the lines of a book signing or speaking at a book club.

I have been part of a couple of podcasts also and they are fun, no question.

New questions.

Have you entered any writing contests?

Have you won awards of any kind for your writing?

9/16/2024 07:04:47 am

I won a couple site sponsored horror writing contests when I was a member of Fanstory dot com.
Misadventures got runner up in the 2024 New York Book Festival, Wild Card category.
Misadventures also won the Wild Card category in the 2024 Hollywood Book Festival.
Misadventures is also currently a semi-finalist in the 13th annual Kindle Book Awards, Horror/Suspense category.

9/16/2024 07:14:30 am

Congratulations! Those awards must have generated some warm and fuzzy feelings. A little bit of fame can be quite intoxicating for the moment. The next day it is back to fingers on the keyboard!

New questions.

Among present or past family members and friends how many are or have been writers or authors?

Is there anyone you know who might claim you as their inspiration for writing?

9/16/2024 07:47:14 am

Family members, none. I've encouraged my kids to write as a creative outlet, but never said they had to follow in my footsteps.

As for friends, being an author I gravitate towards other authors. So yes, I have several friends who are authors. So if I may be so bold as to drop their names and encourage people to check out their books.
Trey Stone
T.R. Mullins
Mike Battaglia
Annette Dashofy
Tim Gabrielle
Kathleen Harryman
Luther Salyers
But my best friend who has been incredibly helpful over the last few years is Boris Bacic. He is an amazing author who also writes Horror/Suspense/Thriller books. He has mentored me and been a sounding board for my writing as well as my writing career. I urge you to read some of his books. My favorite is, 'They came from the Mall'.

I don't think I've been anyone's inspiration for writing. I always try to encourage fledgling writers and help them as much as possible, but no one that I know of has called me thier inspiration.

9/17/2024 09:48:37 am

You have a nice circle in your writing community. I think I am already following several of those authors. I will make sure to follow them all.

I am glad to hear you are encouraging new authors, I like to do the same.

I was a sheet metal worker for most of my construction career and I loved working with apprentices. There was a lot they didn't know and I was happy to share my knowledge. Sometimes their lack of knowledge afforded them an interesting perspective and I learned from them.

Last questions.

I noticed that your book is in Kindle Unlimited. How is that working out for you?

Why did you choose that exclusive venue?

How many books have you put in KU?

9/17/2024 09:00:02 pm

All of my books are in KU except for 'One on One'. A friend recommended putting them in KU and it has paid off incredibly. I make 60 to 70 percent of my royalties from KU.

9/18/2024 08:08:03 am

I have heard from some authors that their books do quite well on KU, others have a much different experience. The quantity of books seems to make a difference.

Thank you for being a fabulous guest on the Word Refiner channel. I have enjoyed our conversation a great deal.

Until next time, keep on writing.

9/18/2024 08:23:05 am

Thanks so much for having me and for your review. I'm glad you enjoyed my book and hope that many others will as well.

The Misadventures of a Cryptid Hunter by Michael Kelso

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