Keven McQueen, who became an author “by accident” 21 years ago and is still writing successful books today, will be paying a visit to the Daviess County Public Library at 2 p.m. this Saturday. McQueen’s career was kickstarted by a natural curiosity and a desire to provide knowledge.
“I was a tour guide at White Hall — Cassius Clay’s estate — for a few years and I noticed that all the books about him are out of print,” McQueen said. “So I thought, well I’ll write a new book about Cassius Clay with new stories about him. That snowballed from one book to many more books.”
Similar to his very first published work about Clay, all of McQueen’s books are true stories. His favorite part about these stories is the research that goes into finding and learning more about them.
“Some of my books are straight out biographies or histories, but largely they concern historical true crime, the paranormal, and things like that,” McQueen said. “These topics have been lifelong interests, I really don’t know where it all came from.”
Bizarre Bluegrass, McQueen’s most recent book, uncovers “strange but true” events that have taken place in Kentucky over the course of history, which he will be discussing at his event at the library. He even has a few gothic and supernatural stories specific to Daviess County that he hopes to discuss.
“I love coming to Owensboro. This will be my third time there,” McQueen said. “I enjoy the people and it’s such a nice place to be, especially because it’s a very historical area.”
McQueen is no stranger to speaking to audiences, as he is a senior lecturer of English composition and English literature at Eastern Kentucky University. Whether he is conversing about his books or teaching in a classroom, he knows how to captivate a crowd.
“My favorite part about speaking to large groups is the question and answer I always do at the end,” McQueen said. “Then I get to really talk to people in a conversational way rather than just speaking to them, and I get to find out what they really want to know.”
Several books by McQueen are in the works, including about the Civil War, a sequel to his bestseller Kentucky Book of the Dead, and a historical true crime book covering multiple states.
To hear more about McQueen’s works, join him at his talk at the library, where he will also be signing copies of Bizarre Bluegrass. To keep up with his work, follow his Facebook page here.
