Author of Murder in Old Kentucky & the newly released The Kentucky Book of the Dead

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Welcome to Keven McQueen's OFFICIAL website!

Painting by Barbara McMahan

"McQueen, an English instructor at Eastern Kentucky University, gives us an entertaining look at some of Kentucky's oddities and oddballs, from the nutty to the notorious." -- Stephen M. Vest, publisher, Kentucky Monthly Magazine.


Welcome to the Official Keven McQueen Website, Home to the one-of-a-kind  "Author, Educator, Disturbing Man-Child."

07/25/2010

 Keven (and possibly his twin brother/illustrator Kyle) will be attending a Local Author Meet and Greet at the EKU Bookstore on the Richmond campus on Monday, August 16! Keven will be there between 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., possibly longer. Be there or be square!


New Pictures from the Book signing of "The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890" at Destinations Booksellers Click Here to see!


Special thanks to Andy @ Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, IN!


Some long awaited wit & wisdom from Keven: to read the Blog, click HERE


Keven will sign copies of "The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890" at Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, IN, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on May 20.


Click here to see my interview on WHAS11!


 

Click on the image above to enlarge. I call it "Angel with a Mop"


 

 Keven has three speeches coming up soon!

April 15: Speech on myths about Cassius M. Clay before the Madison County Historical Society, Richmond, KY.


May 13: Speech on "Murder in Old Kentucky" before the Corbin Rotary Club, Corbin, KY.


May 27: Speech on "Offbeat Kentuckians" before the Monthly Book Club, Perry County [KY] Public Library.


NEW BLOG ALERT!

Please click here to read my new blog


Click HERE to read a review from the "Louisville Eccentric Observer," an alternative weekly, March 24, 2010


Click HERE to read the review from the Louisville Courier-Journal of March 20!


The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890 tells the story of one of the worst American natural disasters of the nineteenth century—one which has been largely forgotten, even in Kentucky. On March 27, 1890, Louisville was visited by a tornado of such immense power that it cut a diagonal path through the city, crossed the Ohio River, struck Jeffersonville and New Albany, IN, then turned around, crossed the river again, and hit Louisville a second time. The official death toll is 76, but after doing extensive research, I have concluded that it was closer to 100+.
    The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890 is the first book-length account of the storm in over a century. It includes tales of death and destruction, rescues and close calls, and citizens’ determination to rebuild their city—which, remarkably, they accomplished with no help whatsoever from the federal government.
    The book also includes accounts of violent pre-1890 tornadoes in Kentucky and is illustrated with many drawings from the Louisville Courier-Journal and astounding photos of storm damage. You can order the book at your local independent bookstore (they need the money!), or at these links:

Amazon and Barnes & Noble


Early risers in the Louisville area can see a live interview with Keven on Ben Goldenberg's Weekend show on WHAS-11 (ABC), 7:15 a.m., April 17!


Keven will sign books between 5:00 and 8:00 on April 9 at A Reader's Corner Bookstore, located at 138 Breckinridge Lane in St. Matthews, KY.



Keven will be signing copies of his book "The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890" at Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, IN, on April 17 at 2:00 p.m.


Keven's newest book, "The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890," will be released by The History Press on March 10. Check this website for further details!


Here's an exclusive preview of Keven McQueen's soon-to-be-released book! Enjoy!

CLICK HERE


On January 20, Keven did a live interview on WFPL 89.3 FM, Louisville's NPR radio station. Click here to hear the nearly hour-long interview!


Keven will sign copies of his upcoming book "The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890" at Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville on March 27-- the 120th anniversary of the disaster. Carmichael's Address: 2720 Frankfort Avenue. Phone: 502-896-6950.

Keven will be on a radio talk show in Louisville (WFPL 89.3 FM) from 1:00-2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 20. He is scheduled to mostly discuss his Indiana-based books, especially "Forgotten Tales of Indiana."


 Keven will be signing copies of "Forgotten Tales of Indiana" and "Strange Tales of Crime and Murder in Southern Indiana" at Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, IN, on January 22, 2010, at 6:00.


Click HERE to see pictures of the Borders book signing on 11/21/2009 

Several members of Eastern Kentucky University's Department of English and Theater will sign copies of their books in Walnut Hall in the Keen Johnson building on campus. The event will be held on Thursday, December 3, between 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. Scheduled authors include James Keller, Linda Frost, Derek Nikitas, Salome Nnoromele, Keven McQueen, Charlotte Rich, Mason Smith, Marie Mitchell, Dorothy Sutton, Ordelle Hill, and Young Smith. 

 


Please check out this link to the Richmond Register article that showcases not just Keven McQueen, but many other prolific members of the EKU English and Theatre department!

CLICK HERE


Click on the image above to see pictures from this booksigning!

 


As Professor Farnsworth says on Futurama, Good news, everyone! My two new books have just been released by History Press. Both are full of the familiar darkly comic material and obsessive research, and best of all, both are fully illustrated by my twin brother Kyle. (Whats that you say? You dont believe he really exists? Take my word for it, he does!) Southern Indiana True Crime Stories is a historical true crime book cut from the same cloth as Murder in Old Kentucky and Cruelly Murdered


 The other new History Press book, Forgotten Tales of Indiana, contains several elements found in my other books: there are true crime stories as in Murder in Old Kentucky and Cruelly Murdered; accounts of monsters and buried treasure as in Forgotten Tales of Kentucky; ghost stories as in Kentucky Book of the Dead; short biographies of eccentrics as in the Offbeat Kentuckians series; weird little real-life stories and graveyard lore as in Book of the Dead and Forgotten Tales of Kentucky. Depending on your point of view, its either an apotheosis or a self-parody. 

You can purchase either book, or both of them--hey, why not get both of them? That's a great idea!--at this Amazon.com link: HERE . You also may have them specially ordered at your local Mom and Pop bookstore.
 

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for more information on the books!


*NOTICE NEW TIME*

Keven's fans in northern Kentucky can meet him at a book signing at Border's in Crestview Hills, Kenton County, from 2:00 to 4:00 on November 21. The address is 2785 Dixie Highway, Crestview Hills. 


SNEAK PREVIEW! Keven's two new books,"Strange Tales of Crime and Murder in Southern Indiana" and "Forgotten Tales of Indiana" are due to be released by History Press around mid-October. Here is an exclusive advance view of the covers!

click on either image to make it bigger




 




 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

CASSIUS M. CLAY, FREEDOM'S CHAMPION (Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing, 2001)

Cassius M. Clay (1810-1903), not to be mistaken with Muhammad Ali, was an emancipationist who lived near Richmond, KY.  

READ MORE

 

 

OffBeat Kentuckians: Legends to Lunatics. (Kuttawa, KY: McClanahan Publishing, 2001)

Around 2000, I considered writing a book about Jim Porter, the Louisville Giant (1811-59), whom I have long considered a fascinating character.

READ MORE

 

 

 

MORE OFFBEAT KENTUCKIANS (Kuttawa, KY: McClanahan Publishing, 2004)

Kentucky is such a breeding ground for rugged individualism that one book could never tell all the tales of the state's eccentrics.

READ MORE

 

 

Murder in Old Kentucky

( Kuttawa, KY: McClanahan Publishing, 2005)

After writing Offbeat Kentuckians and More Offbeat Kentuckians, I realized that both books included plenty of chapters about criminals. Why not write a book that was entirely in the true crime genre, only combined with Kentucky history? Murder in Old Kentucky covers slightly over a century's worth of Bluegrass mayhem. The book has inspired some controversy due to the pro-death penalty views expressed within.

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The Kentucky Book of the Dead

(Charleston: History Press, 2008)


Ghost stories and tales of the supernatural are a special delight of mine, even though I keep changing my mind about the existence or nonexistence of such things. Elements of the same have appeared in all of my previous books, so it was inevitable that sooner or later they would be the focus of an entire book. The Kentucky Book of the Dead is my first book to be published outside the state of Kentucky and the fourth to feature illustrations by my twin brother Kyle. A sequel called Forgotten Tales of Kentucky has already been written and is slated for a 2009 release

READ MORE


Forgotten Tales of Kentucky

(Charleston: History Press, 2008)


This is the follow-up to The Kentucky Book of the Dead; in fact, both books were written at the same time. Hopefully, I will continue to find strange historical incidents while doing research. (Do you know of any stories I should look into? E-mail me about them!) There are only a few ghost stories this time around, because the weird tales in this book are of a more earthly type.

READ MORE

 

CRUELLY MURDERED: THE MURDER OF MARY MAGDALENE PITTS AND OTHER KENTUCKY TRUE CRIME STORIES (Ashland, KY: Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2008)



 Kentucky history is an inexhaustible gold mine for those who would write in the true crime genre. Cruelly Murdered is the second serving, and I anticipate many more to come.

READ MORE

 

 

 

 

Forgotten Tales of Indiana  (The History Press, 2009)

Southern Indiana True Crime Stories is a historical true crime book cut from the same cloth as Murder in Old Kentucky and Cruelly Murdered

READ MORE 



 

Strange Tales of Crime and Murder in Southern Indiana (The History Press, 2009)

Depending on your point of view, its either an apotheosis or a self-parody.

READ MORE


Page Still Under Construction. Stay Tuned for Upcoming Books, Tour Dates, artwork from Kyle McQueen, and other things I may want to share with the world.






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