Ken Kuhlken | Author

Ken Kuhlken
"Ken Kuhlken writes about characters most authors wouldn't touch." Raymond Carver

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PUBLISHED: May.01.2010

The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles

In May of 1926, celebrity evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson went swimming at Ocean Park beach and vanished, presumed drowned. Millions mourned or prayed for her miraculous return. On June 23, she walked out of the Mexican desert and crossed the border into Douglas, Arizona. Though her kidnapped story convinced her followers, the district attorney didn’t buy it. He summoned...

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PUBLISHED: Dec.01.2007

The Venus Deal

San Diego, 1942Following Pearl Harbor, Tom Hickey and a partner open a supper club, Rudy's Hacienda, in downtown San Diego, a few blocks from the harbor. The club begins to make Tom wealthy. He's glad to be making money. His wife Madeline, part gold-digger, has wearied of living in decent but modest circumstances. Tom's ticket to wealth is Cynthia Moon, the club's jazz singer who...

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PUBLISHED: Oct.01.2007

The Loud Adios

The Loud Adios, San Diego, 1943 Private Investigator Tom Hickey, now an army corporal military assigned to the U.S./Mexico border, accompanies Private Clifford Rose to a Tijuana nightclub where Clifford claims they will find his sister Wendy. The nightclub is aptly named Hell. Wendy, dancing naked on the stage, appears so lost and innocent, Tom agrees to help rescue her from the...

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PUBLISHED: Sep.15.2007

The Angel Gang

It is the winter of 1949: Tom and Wendy Hickey are at peace in their Lake Tahoe cabin awaiting the birth of their first child. Wendy is young and delicate and her unworldly innocence and faith in her "angels" provide her with a stronger shield against evil than Tom's devotion and the gun he sometimes carries.

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PUBLISHED: Feb.15.2008

The Vagabond Virgins

THE VAGABOND VIRGINS, Baja California, 1979A Holy Virgin, or a convincing fraud, appears in Mexico, dedicating herself to the overthrow of the corrupt and tyrannical Partido Revolucionario Institutional. And a woman who claims to be the Virgin’s sister brings San Diego law student and private investigator Alvaro Hickey a chance to help reform the country of his birth.Alvaro's got...

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PUBLISHED: Oct.01.2006

The Do-Re-Mi

THE DO-RE-MI, a Northern California folk festival, 1972Evergreen is a different town than the last time Clifford Hickey visited, only a year ago. Then it was an Eden, a garden of peace and delights, of music and lovely hippies sharing all they had. Now it's the site of a range war. Bikers have descended upon the place to poach from the hippies' marijuana plantations. And a home...

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PUBLISHED: Oct.01.2006

The Do-Re-Mi

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Ken's Latest Blogs

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May.06.2010 - 11:16 am

The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles

The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles, book one (chronologically) of the Tom Hickey California Century series, came out on May 1. Set in 1926 (guess where), it features a lynching,...

Mar.03.2010 - 8:20 am

The Scoop for March 2010

THE SCOOP, Ken Kuhlken’s newsletter The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles is due out in two months. If you’d like a free copy, shoot me an email with an idea for an interesting contest...

Jan.11.2010 - 4:40 pm

Midheaven

A long time ago, Viking Press published my novel Midheaven. But the editor who bought it gave up the business, and even when it became a finalist for the Ernest Hemingway Award...

Dec.31.2009 - 1:08 pm

How and Why to Become a Bestselling Writer, or Not

The past month or so, at writingandthespirit.blogspot.com, I've been offering thoughts about what it takes to become a bestselling author, giving some informal case studies,...

Comments from Ken

May.06.2010 - 1:20 pm

In response to: The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles

the book

Ruth, Read the book before you judge it, please.

May.06.2010 - 12:39 pm

In response to: The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles

misbehavior

Ruth, I certainly didn't mean to be flippant about the lynching. In my vocabulary, misbehavior includes everything from...

Aug.19.2009 - 2:36 pm

In response to: on waxing

waxing

Eric, It depends if your poetic waxing is dedicated to achieving quality. Ken

About Ken

Ken Kuhlken’s stories have appeared in Esquire and dozens of other magazines, and anthologies, been honorably mentioned in Best American Short Stories, and earned a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. He has been a frequent contributor and a columnist...

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Ken Kuhlken"Ken Kuhlken writes about characters most authors wouldn't touch." Raymond Carver

Featured Works

Ken's Latest Blogs

Comments from Ken

About Ken

Ken Kuhlken
"Ken Kuhlken writes about characters most authors wouldn't touch." Raymond Carver