I first became familiar with Ken La Salle when I read his hilarious tale of Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World. As I read more of his work, I think there is no genre that he cannot conquer.
Now…I would like to share his latest: Once Removed by Ken La Salle.
The cover makes me curious, but also I begin to wonder…why were the letters hidden? Why were they never sent?
Let’s investigate further, shall we?
BLURB
You never really know a man… until he’s dead.
After Terence Montez dies in a seemingly incomprehensible suicide, his family is left to sort out the emptiness he leaves behind. Terry’s wife, Isabelle, however, wants nothing more than to return to her normal life. She wants to see her daughter, Iris, back to school and lose herself in her work.
And then, they find the first letter, a love letter Terry has left behind, stashed away with no apparent intention to be found.
One letter turns into two and three and more, each one a seemingly innocuous expression of love, each one hidden away in nooks and corners around the Montez home.
Once Isabelle and Iris see patterns in the letters, they begin to suspect a disturbing intention behind them all. Each new letter fuels the fire of mystery leading Isabelle and Iris across the suburbs and shopping malls of Orange County, California, where they uncover one incredible secret after another.
As the mystery slowly builds to its fiery conclusion, Isabelle discovers the horrible truth about a life she never knew and a death she could never fathom.
ABOUT KEN LA SALLE (From Amazon)
Author and Playwright, Ken La Salle grew up in Santa Ana, California and has remained in the surrounding area his entire life. He was raised with strong, blue collar roots, which have given him a progressive and environmentalist view. As a result, you’ll find many of his stories touching those areas both geographically and philosophically. His passion is intense humor, meaningful drama, and finding answers to the questions that define our lives.
GUEST POST (a journey into the mind of Ken La Salle)
As a writer, my strategy has always been to write the kinds of books I would like to read. This allows me to write in any genre I like and in whatever style I like. I’ve written horror novels (such as Wormfood Island), memoirs, love stories, and anything my heart desires.
But, at some point, writing the kinds of books I liked to read took a back seat to writing the kinds of books I felt publishers might like to read. I had self-published plenty of titles but I wanted the kind of distribution (and, I thought, marketing attention) available to a publisher.
One afternoon, as I was walking through a shopping mall parking lot with my wife (which is how these stories always begin), I was grousing about the constraints I felt as a result in this shift. When Vicky asked what I would write if I could, the answer that came out to the surprise of us both was “a series of children’s books for adults.” Like children’s books, each title would use some cute, little thing to create a lesson. Unlike children’s books, each cute, little thing would be twisted into the kind of lesson I felt adult children could use.
Thus, came Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World, the first book in a series I call Fun To Grow On. Cookies tells the story of a chocolate chip cookie with herpes who is looking for God to cure his rather incurable… affliction. Where are the benefits in looking to God for the answers to all of our problems? Therein lies the lesson. The follow-up was Puppies: Best in Stew. There will be five books in the entire series.
Since I’d already been producing my own audiobooks, I decided to make these audiobooks a little different, with a nod to my background in theater, and a bit more immersive.
What I didn’t realize was just how much Cookies would change how I looked at things. Because this experience got me thinking about the limits in audiobooks; how they’re all kind of the same old thing. Audiobooks never take you to an art museum or to the moon or to the inside of a live volcano – and it was this realization that brought forth The Most Amazing Book You’ve Ever Heard In Your Entire Life (and you’re not worth it). The Most Amazing Book is truly unlike any other audiobook in that it’s not just a story and that it uses “theater of the mind” to take the reader on a journey.
And that gave me the idea to go all the way and produce my first comedy album, inspired by “theater of the mind” innovators such as The Firesign Theatre and Monty Python. That album is due to be released early in 2016.
You never quite know where one decision will take you. My advice is to hold on and enjoy it for all its worth!
I have been reading some heavy books and wanted something that is the total opposite. I guess you could call Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World a Cookie fairy tale or a fable. It is a tale with a moral to the story.
All I can say is SUCCESS! Laughter abounds in this creatively told story of a cookie with a problem.
Chocolate chip cookies are cookies with herpes.
I mean, really…think about it. With a start like that, I was laughing my way through the very first page. This is one Cookie’s story.
How does Ken La Salle come up with something so off the wall?
How do you tell if a cookie is male or female? Come on Ken, share the secret.
OMG, I just can’t quit laughing. A word of warning, you may not want to read this in public. People may think you are crazy when you start laughing hysterically.
Cookie scenarios keep running through my mind. Cookie genitalia. Cookie sex. Cookie VD. Do you believe there is a Cookie God?
Well, he is determined to speak to him, the Supreme Cookie Imperious, who can be found at the mall. The big question is how will he get there.
Danger abounds and it is best to keep a low profile, but also, life is short, so live it to the fullest.
You may be afraid to eat anything, unless you have grown it yourself, after reading Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World.
They discuss the badness of big business and the one percent, along with food manipulation.
Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World by Ken La Salle is a rip roaring laughfest picture book for adults. The premise is so original and creative, my head is still spinning. There is a moral to the story and it may keep you thinking long after the laughter has ended.
I received a copy of Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World by Ken La Salle in return for an honest review.
5 Stars
SYNOPSIS
Goodreads Blurb: Are the voices in your head listening to you? Oh yes. Yes, they are listening to you. They know what you’re saying. Sometimes, they talk back. Sometimes, they sing along. Sometimes, they write children’s book with hidden messages placed in plain sight with a neon bow because, hey, a little style never hurt anyone. (This, of course, ignores the Great Style Massacre of 1973.)
Welcome to “Fun To Grow On” – the new children’s book series for ADULTS. These books are not for little children or big babies. Each story is filled with blood and violence, sex and swearing – Seriously. This series is for adults. These are not parodies of children’s books but original stories for adults who still have a lot to learn… as do we all.
“Fun To Grow On” presents the very first book in the series… Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World!
When a cookie gets herpes, he decides to ask God for a cure. Can he find God in time?
Someone fed a chocolate chip cookie equal parts of blinding self-awareness, cranberry vodka, and shrooms and asked him to tell his story. Here it is, with all the pageantry you would expect from a cookie… which is probably a whole lot less than you would desire.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY
Ken La Salle is offering two ebooks for the giveaway. All you need to do is answer the question and leave your email so I can notify you if you win.
. Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of adailyrhythm.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
~~~~~~
I gotta share this.
VROOOM
Jeff Gordon has always been my favorite Nascar driver.
HE WON!!!!!! the race in Martinsville.
It was a race that went right to the checkered flag.
A true nail biter, stand up and yell at the TV moment. Can you see me *happy dancing*
He is the first racer to be locked into The Championship in Homestead.
There will only be four and I am wishing him all the best.
He is retiring from full time racing after this year. 😥
For a couple of laughs, and since it has been a while, I thought I would share this again.
The lid flew open – blinding all of us inside – and I heard that thunderous tone of a human voice say:
I’m tired of chocolate chip!
.
Suddenly, I was airborne, sailing through the clear blue sky…
(56% in Kindle)
SYNOPSIS
Goodreads Blurb: Are the voices in your head listening to you? Oh yes. Yes, they are listening to you. They know what you’re saying. Sometimes, they talk back. Sometimes, they sing along. Sometimes, they write children’s book with hidden messages placed in plain sight with a neon bow because, hey, a little style never hurt anyone. (This, of course, ignores the Great Style Massacre of 1973.)
Welcome to “Fun To Grow On” – the new children’s book series for adults. These books are not for little children or big babies. Each story is filled with blood and violence, sex and swearing – Seriously. This series is for adults. These are not parodies of children’s books but original stories for adults who still have a lot to learn… as do we all.
“Fun To Grow On” presents the very first book in the series… Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World!
When a cookie gets herpes, he decides to ask God for a cure. Can he find God in time?
Someone fed a chocolate chip cookie equal parts of blinding self-awareness, cranberry vodka, and shrooms and asked him to tell his story. Here it is, with all the pageantry you would expect from a cookie… which is probably a whole lot less than you would desire.
BLURB
Author and Playwright, Ken La Salle grew up in Santa Ana, California and has remained in the surrounding area his entire life. He was raised with strong, blue collar roots, which have given him a progressive and environmentalist view. As a result, you’ll find many of his stories touching those areas both geographically and philosophically. His passion is intense humor, meaningful drama, and finding answers to the questions that define our lives.
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
5 Stars
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of 