Tag Archives: ken la salle

Friday 56 #151 – Heaven Denied by Ken La Salle @KenLaSalle

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The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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I read Heaven Enough, Book I (see my review HERE) some time ago and loved it, so I am very excited to share the cover for Ken La Salle’s new sequel, Heaven Denied.

 Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY 56 is the first paragraph, since I don’t have the book…yet.

In the remains of a bedroom down in the seaside town of Ocean Beach, California, a broken man bolted out of a nightmare and returned to his life.

(published in 2018)

GOODREADS BLURB

What would it be like to have heaven enough?

For just a few, brief days on the Pacific Crest Trail, Matt Murphy knew. He fell in love, faced his true self, and came to understand what was really important in life – until the woman he fell in love with died and his life was cast into the chaotic emptiness of grief. Within that emptiness, Matt lost his wealth, his job, and everything that helped his life make sense.

Matt believed he could accept that if it really was the price of true love… Until he learned that the woman he loved had already been married.

Where that left him and what it meant for the love he thought they shared, Matt couldn’t know. His only recourse would be to meet the man who had married his love and understand what that love had meant to him. How could he have lost her? How could he have pushed her aside? How could he have given her up when losing her broke so much of what was left of Matt’s heart?

Matt is going to have to find out. Even if it means blundering through another relationship, driving into a lake, just a bit of kidnapping, and possibly facing the kind of man he really is, was, and always will be.

The results of which could change Matt’s life forever…

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Memories From The 70’s – False Starts by Ken La Salle @KenLaSalle

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Ken La Salle is an amazing author that dips his feet into many genres.

I have enjoyed everything I have read by him, so to get a glimpse into what makes him tick is an opportunity I can’t pass up.

Are you ready to take a blast to the past…The 1970’s coming up.

False Starts: Mistakes & Missteps Growing Up In The 70s

Amazon  /  Goodreads

Normally I am getting lost in make believe, but now and then I feel a need to gain insight into the real world, and to learn more about an author that I enjoy is an opportunity I can’t pass up.

I have read several of Ken La Salle’s wonderful, wacky and creepy books, so to learn where all that talent came from is something I was more than happy to do.

A box of memories started this journey.

“It was the hippest of times. It was the funkiest of times. It was the 1970s.”

What would your box of memories hold?

In False Starts, Ken La Salle shares his life during the 70s. Do you remember what you were doing?

His talk of TV and music strikes home to me. A lot of people think the 60s was a time of change, but the 70s brought so many more options for our viewing and listening pleasure. Do you remember Hot Wheels, 45s, or the Smother’s Brothers, who were only on one season because they were too disrespectful?

Ken La Salle grew up poor with his mom and siblings. I cannot understand from personal experience the lack of enough food, going hungry and no clothes to wear. It wasn’t like I had a lot, but I had what was needed and an occasional goodie or two.

It’s hard to feel sad for Ken when I was reading the book, because of his writing style. Is it a positive spin he puts on it or is it his drive to find what he was good at, what would work for him and make his life a good one. I find myself nodding and smiling as I read along sharing similar memories.

He finds those moments of light and happiness that shine through the darkness.

I thoroughly enjoyed this trip down memory lane and getting to know an author I plan on following for a long time.  I think it is because of his upbringing that he is able to write so well in very different genres with his humorous bent shining through the written words.

As long as you are moving forward in life, it can appear to you as though it were a series of False Starts.

I can only imagine what fun it would be to listen to this in as an audiobook., which is available.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of False Starts from Ken La Salle.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  4 Stars

Memories…Some things I was familiar with, others not so much. How about you?

GOODREADS BLURB:  I recently opened up my chest of childhood memories, faced a decade I had long since forgotten, and wrote these words:

“It was the hippest of times. It was the funkiest of times. It was the 1970s.”

And I grew up right there in the middle of it. I won talent shows. I went to camp. I fought the school bully for the honor of the girl I loved. I lost my father…

But having just turned 50, I decided the time had come to take an honest look at those years without the tinted lens of nostalgia, which allowed me to remember so much more. I never told the girl I defended that I loved her. I barely survived camp. No amount of talent show victories brought my father back and, to be honest, my memories weren’t as accurate as I thought they were.

The 70’s were a swirling minefield filled with a family destroyed by poverty and divorce, horrible TV shows, bad disco on AM radio, wretched food… and the only saving grace a child like me had was Pong. My teachers tried to put me on drugs. My sister taught me the art of shoplifting. My best friend was Burp Boy. Life was a series of constant set-backs, a barrage of defeats, embarrassments, and false starts.
And I wouldn’t change a thing.

ABOUT KEN LA SALLE (From Amazon)

Ken La SalleAuthor 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.

Website  /   Twitter  /  Facebook  /  YouTube  /  Goodreads

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

 


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Teaser Tuesday #80 – False Starts by Ken La Salle @KenLaSalle

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Teaser

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of booksandabeat.

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!

~~~~~~

Ken La Salle is an amazing author that dips his feet into many genres.

I have enjoyed everything I have read by him, so to get a glimpse into what makes him tick is an opportunity I can’t pass up.

Are you ready to take a blast to the past…The 1970’s coming up.

False Starts: Mistakes & Missteps Growing Up In The 70s

Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY TEASE

When I heard a song on the radio I didn’t understand, I would walk right up to my mom and demand an answer.

“What is ‘one toke over the line’ Mom?”

(16% on Kindle)

I will be reviewing False Starts by Ken La Salle on 11.7.16, so be sure and stop in to check it out.

GOODREADS BLURB:  I recently opened up my chest of childhood memories, faced a decade I had long since forgotten, and wrote these words:

“It was the hippest of times. It was the funkiest of times. It was the 1970s.”

And I grew up right there in the middle of it. I won talent shows. I went to camp. I fought the school bully for the honor of the girl I loved. I lost my father…

But having just turned 50, I decided the time had come to take an honest look at those years without the tinted lens of nostalgia, which allowed me to remember so much more. I never told the girl I defended that I loved her. I barely survived camp. No amount of talent show victories brought my father back and, to be honest, my memories weren’t as accurate as I thought they were.

The 70’s were a swirling minefield filled with a family destroyed by poverty and divorce, horrible TV shows, bad disco on AM radio, wretched food… and the only saving grace a child like me had was Pong. My teachers tried to put me on drugs. My sister taught me the art of shoplifting. My best friend was Burp Boy. Life was a series of constant set-backs, a barrage of defeats, embarrassments, and false starts.
And I wouldn’t change a thing.

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

You can check out my other reviews below:


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Why Would You Write a Letter and Never Send It – Once Removed by Ken La Salle @KenLaSalle

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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?

Once Removed coverBLURB

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)

Ken La SalleAuthor 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.

Website  /   Twitter  /  Facebook  /  YouTube  /  Goodreads

  • You may see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

 Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World

Heaven Enough

Wormfood Island

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Heartbreaking & Uplifting – Heaven Enough @KenLaSalle

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Heaven Enough by Ken La Salle is so different from the other books of his I have read, I wasn’t sure I would like it. I have read Wormfood Island, a zombie vacay horror story and Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World, an adult picture book that had me in stitches.Heaven2

What a wonderful surprise. This lovely cover opens up to reveal an amazing story that lingers long after I close the pages.

Heaven Enough

MY REVIEW

The title for Heaven Enough and one of the opening lines of the blurb:

“What would it be like if I had heaven enough?

confused me in the beginning, but as I read on it all came together.

Matt Murphy’s wife had been run down by a speeding driver. The questions asked when the death of a loved one comes so unexpectedly, may bring to light things you never knew. We all have our secrets and when all of them are brought to light, we can wonder how well we really know someone.

Her brother, Neal, is a monk…but not that kind of monk. He kept saying that to Matt but would never explain further. Well, all kinds of warning signs went up for me and I took great satisfaction in being right. I saw what was in store for Matt and I guess he was too self involved to see it for himself. I love trying to figure things out before the author gets me there.

It’s funny, not funny ha ha, but ironic that a chance encounter could have such a life changing effect. Would you reinvent yourself if the opportunity arose?

When you read Heaven Enough, you will be walking “a mile” in Matt’s shoes. Sometimes I wanted to smack him upside the head and tell him to man up and get over it, but his journey of guilt and regret turns into a chance to grow and realize the important things in life.

I like that the story was not lose a wife, meet someone new, and live happy every after. He struggles to make it through the day, and he is not the only one.

I probably would never have read this, except I love Ken La Salle’s writing and would give anything he pens a try. The story did slow a bit in the middle, but now that I am finished, I find it added to a sense of reality. The details and information about hiking the trails and foraging for food and water were interesting and pivotal to the story.

Heaven Enough is thought provoking and reflective, bringing forth emotions of sorrow, guilt and, most important, hope. We never know what tomorrow brings, so never give up. It has a touch of religious intonation, but it never got preachy or bothered me in any way. Just seemed to fit right in.

OMG. I sure did not see this one coming and I was shocked, stunned. Then…the ending. Oh man, it caught me so off guard I sat with my mouth hanging open. My emotions ran AMOK as I tried to write notes for this review. I am at a loss for words and cannot express how amazed I was at Ken’s writing and where he took the story. Excellent job, Ken, even though I am a bit pissed off at you!!! I NEVER saw that coming. A heartbreaking and uplifting novel that I cannot recommend strongly enough.

This is a book that will stick with me, reminding me of the time I was questioning what was most important to me. I found my answers. Have you?

Thank you, Ken, for asking me to read Heaven Enough! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  5 Stars

Heaven1

GOODREADS BLURB

Is a poem about longing, about wishing for something more. “What would it be like if I had heaven enough?” it reads.

Matt Murphy reads these words for the first time at his wife’s funeral. After a death shrouded with mystery, it is the first time he learns that she wrote poetry. He and Diva were married for nearly twenty years, yet he did not “know” her. A poet and lover of culinary delights, she is struck by a car and killed instantly—randomly—on the wrong side of town.

When her brother, the “monk,” appears for the funeral, Matt is set on an unprecedented course. The two find Diva’s computer filled with preparations to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Over 2600 miles from Mexico to Canada…and she was leaving without her husband.

Matt takes it upon himself to hike the trail and sprinkle her ashes along the way. What happens in the first two hours is dumbfounding.

What happens next changes his life forever…

ABOUT KEN LA SALLE

Novelist 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. He’s also very funny.”.

Blog  /  Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook  /  G+  /  YouTube  /  Smashwords

MY REVIEWS OF KEN LA SALLE”S NOVELS

Giveaway, Guest Post & Review – Cookies: Sluts of the Snack World by Ken La Salle

Zombie Vacay – Wormfood Island by Ken La Salle

~~~~~~~~~~~~

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

If you have a problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.

Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Teaser Tuesday #59 – Heaven Enough @KenLaSalle

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.
TeaserTuesdays-ADailyRhythm3Teaser 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 will be reviewing Heaven Enough by Ken La Salle on Friday so be sure and check it out. This is a heartbreaking, yet uplifting novel. The ending blew me away!

Check out the cool cover.

How does it make you feel?

Heaven Enough

MY TEASE

And something deep inside of his chest broke.

(1% on Kindle)

I thought Heaven Enough would be just another love story, but I have enjoyed Ken La Salle’s writing so I thought I would give it a shot. Even though there are no supernaturals or murder, it kept my attention. Heaven Enough is full of things that made me think this could be someone’s real life story. If you want to laugh, cry and rage at the world, this book is for you.

GOODREADS BLURB

Is a poem about longing, about wishing for something more. “What would it be like if I had heaven enough?” it reads.

Matt Murphy reads these words for the first time at his wife’s funeral. After a death shrouded with mystery, it is the first time he learns that she wrote poetry. He and Diva were married for nearly twenty years, yet he did not “know” her. A poet and lover of culinary delights, she is struck by a car and killed instantly—randomly—on the wrong side of town.

When her brother, the “monk,” appears for the funeral, Matt is set on an unprecedented course. The two find Diva’s computer filled with preparations to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Over 2600 miles from Mexico to Canada…and she was leaving without her husband.

Matt takes it upon himself to hike the trail and sprinkle her ashes along the way. What happens in the first two hours is dumbfounding.

What happens next changes his life forever…

~~~~~~~~~~~~

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

animated smilies photo: animated animated.gifLook on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

Thanks for visiting fundinmental!