Testimonials
FROM THE PUBLISHERS
We’ve worked with Ken Churilla now on two big projects, and he has really delivered. What makes Ken a perfect writing partner for high profile clients?
*He has worked with big personalities throughout his professional career and knows how to communicate with them.
*He has a marketers instinct for stories that are compelling and sellable.
*He can put his own ego aside and write in the voice of the subject. (That’s a rare trait)
*His writing is very readable and has a nice easy flow.
*He is professional, dependable, and reliable. That means he will treat the subject and client with respect, he will do what he says, and he will deliver the product by deadline.
The two projects we worked on with Ken were very different. One was a memoir of an individual radio air personality (Doin’ the Cruise) that required him to cull decades of material and present it in a coherent fashion. The other was an oral history project (The Flip Side) that required dozens of interviews with a wide range of people from different walks of life. We were impressed he had the kind of range required to do both and do them at such a high level.
If you are looking for a collaborator on a book project, we couldn’t recommend Ken Churilla any more highly.
Rick Kaempfer & David Stern
Publishers / Eckhartz Press
Testimonials
FROM THE FLIP SIDE GUYS
Along with Ken’s great writing came his ability to sort through all the memories while making us dig deeper which produced so many things we had forgotten. Ken’s research and interviews with our co-workers, industry contacts and friends like Mr. Cheap (Jeff Schwartz) added memories that made this book even enjoyable for our own reading.
Trusting Ken to tell this story was the best decision we could have made, he is a man of detail and can push you to remember what you think you have forgotten. This book tells our story, 27 years of rock n roll, two brothers working together surrounded by family and friends, music, happy times, scary times and lots of crazy adventures.
If you have a story to tell Ken is your guy.
Carl and Larry Rosenbaum
Testimonials
FROM MITCH MICHAELS
As a whole, the experience was exceptional and the entire process was a joy. Our process was this: we discussed the overall concept of the book I was looking for and then went to work. We set up a regular interview schedule where Ken would come to my house for anywhere between three to four hours at a time and I would let it roll. In those interviews, Ken was not only a great listener picking up on both the big picture and the small nuances, he was a great interviewer as well. He didn't allow me to just 'tell a story' and gloss over details or run through it too fast. He asked pointed questions that forced me to slow down and go into greater detail. Other times he unearthed memories that proved to be quite relevant and made the book that much better.
Let me point out very clearly, it wasn't all fun times and reliving the good ol' days. We tackled some very touchy and emotional subjects from my financial woes on through the recent passing of my youngest son. Ken handled these and other delicate subjects with the utmost professionalism and knew exactly when to push me for more detail and when to back off. His empathy in our conversations as well as the way he handled these matters in print was everything I could have asked.
As for the writing process, I wanted this book written in my voice and Ken captured that perfectly. While Ken wrote every word, he took on my voice and was able to use it bouncing back and forth between being the overall storyteller as well as interspersing quotes. He wrote the manuscript and at the end of all of our interviews, I read it and made my edits. Ken went back and made the changes. If I suggested a change he didn't think we should make, we would discuss it.
I think by now you can see how happy I was with Ken. His professionalism was super, he did his research both before and during and the book was better for it. He always made deadlines, he kept our schedule and offered both helpful insight and suggestions while remembering this was my story to tell.
Make no mistake, it was a lot of work and Ken was not only up to the task, he was phenomenal to work with. DOIN' THE CRUISE: Memories from a Lifetime In Radio and Rock & Roll has been something I have wanted to do my entire life and thanks to Ken, it turned out to be everything I had ever hoped it to be.
Mitch Michaels
Testimonials
FROM AMAZON READERS
Appreciate every day with your loved one Joseph Flaherty (April 2022)
This is a wonderful book for someone going through cancer with their spouse. My wife is a breast cancer survivor of ten years. The book took me back to the every day struggles that you don't have time to think about when you are going through all the things you encounter. I sometimes had to put the book down because it brought back the situations you feel, but were too busy to grasp at that time. The doctors appointments, radiation, chemo and the fear of loosing your wife. Ken does a great job of relating your everyday struggles you encounter.
Thank You For Your Honesty Danny H. (Feb 2017)
My wife is currently in the end stages of breast cancer. Your honesty and thoroughness in detailing the troubles you had have been very helpful to me. There is no sugar coating the awfulness, and hearing your struggles has helped me began to anticipate things I will be dealing with. Guys if you are in this spot, read this book. It's not a "how to." A "how to" can't be written, but this book will certainly make you think.
Thank You For Your Honesty Well Worth Your Time Carolie Warren (July 2014)
This book is a must read whether you are dealing with a loved one with cancer or not. The brutal honesty of the character as he struggles with anger, self-pity, and grief is applicable to all of us in many situations and teaches us not to be so quick to judge others. The book flows and is very difficult to put down. You will take away many words of wisdom from your time invested in this story.
A Must-Read For Anyone Touched By Cancer Krissi Woods (May 2014)
The author effectively captures the emotion of a husband’s helplessness of watching his wife suffer, without the writing ever becoming too maudlin or sentimental. This story touched me on a personal level. I lost both of my parents to cancer. I realize that is not the same situation as losing a spouse, but cancer’s devastation is universal. There were passages in the book that, upon reading them, I found myself reeling with the remembered pain of my parents’ battles. Protagonist Tommy is realistic in that he is not presented as a “perfect” husband. He very humanly makes mistakes – yet he remains likeable in the reader’s eyes. This is not an easy balance for an author to maintain, but Churilla did it. When my mother and then my father were sick, there were times I was selfish. Looking back, I should have been more patient with my mother's depression. I should have gone to visit more when dad was sick, etc. These are things I can't change. What No One Said It Would Be Easy did for me was to show that I wasn’t alone in making mistakes, and it helped me a great deal. This story brought me to tears more than once. A well written book will not just entertain, but will also make the reader FEEL, as No One Said It Would Be Easy did for me.
Real Miken40 (April 2014)
Not everybody is a poet and not every emotion needs to be expressed like a soundbite from a movie. This book takes an extraordinarily human approach to a regular guy's struggle with his wife's fight against cancer. Raw, and insightful, I felt like I was living inside his head feeling the anger and angst that countless men doubtless have experienced. It's not pretty and sometimes you want to slap him but it's real and unfiltered and for that I'm appreciative.
PROUD MEMBER
