Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Musical Muses Behind Demon Alcohol and the Monstermen, Part II

I became a John Mellencamp fan late in life. As a child of the 80s, I tapped my toes to a certain little ditty about Jack and Diane, but I never took the guy seriously until a few years later when he really hit the social-awareness gas with the album Scarecrow. Rain on the Scarecrow is a mainstay on my iPod as are many more of his more socially relevant songs, including Human Wheels.

In 2004, I picked up Mellencamp's box set called Words and Music and found another gem that had escaped me, an homage to pride and grace called Walk Tall. One verse in particular struck me, Mellencamp singing: "No drunkards are allowed in Heaven, no sinners will get in."

That verse from Walk Tall formed the backbone of Chapter 5, Beyond Vak’s Place: Part VI, 1967-1972: The Pre-Golden Years. In Chapter 5, Leysa Henko realizes her marriage to bastard Ed Dargashian will never provide her with the love she desperately wants, and that her only grandchild is afraid of her because of her constant abusive behavior. In short, she's at the crossroads, and has to decide whether to change her alcoholic ways or risk dying alone, embittered, and in shame. For a religious woman like Leysa Henko, the afterlife was always at the forefront of her mind, even if she was in denial. In Chapter 5, that denial is stripped away in dramatic fashion, and Leysa Henko is left to ponder whether drunkards will indeed be allowed in Heaven, and if sinners will get in.

As with the other musical citations, I had to remove this one on my publisher's "advice."

Oh well. At least I get to share it with you all.

Blessings,

Kenneth James Kirsch

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

My First Book Signing!

Hey everyone! Come check me out at my first book signing. Info below:

Book Signing for Kenneth James Kirsch's Demon Alcohol and the Monstermen

Date: Sunday, November 30, 2008
Time: 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Location: Barnes and Noble
Street: 2300 Chemical Road
City/Town: Plymouth Meeting, PA

View Map
Google
MapQuest
Microsoft
Yahoo
Contact Info
Phone: 610.567.2900
Email: kirsch_kenneth66@yahoo.com

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Two More Strong Reviews! Read on!

5 Stars Out of 5
Craaack! A homerun from new author Ken Kirsch
Art M, A reviewer, 10/01/2008

I discovered a nice surprise once I sat back and started to turn the pages of this book from new author Kenneth James Kirsch. Mr. Kirsch does a fantastic job of drawing the reader into the story and making you feel as if you are actually in the room with the characters. His character descriptions are superb, clearly depicting the physical, mental and emotional traits of the major players in the story. His historical perspective really held my interest as I'm a native of Pennsylvania and I could relate to many of the small towns and cultural peculiarities he references. All in all this book was a truly pleasant surprise and one that I found difficult to put down. It's the perfect book for a cool Fall evening. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next book from Mr. Kirsch.

4 Starts Out Of 5
Inspiring Story
L Basara, A reviewer, 09/30/2008

I was really struck by this story's message, and by the poetry that Mr Kirsch is able to produce 'see p 16' when describing certain phenomena. The book is highly memorable, and not just because of the main character's “rude awakening”. Lots of folks who come from challenging family situations 'like me' constantly struggle with whether to continue bad habits and behaviors that they learned growing up, or to do what they know is right and good 'which means doing truly hard work to overcome their “programming” as kids'. Leysa, the book's main character, is certainly inspirational and reinforcing in this regard. Overall, 'Monstermen' is definitely worth the time.