LOCAL Author Ken Kaye Spins Tabloid-Worthy Mysteries

By Liz Booker

reporters as their main characters that will intrigue and entertain readers.

As a young man in Cleveland, Ohio, Ken wanted nothing more than to become an airline pilot. He was working toward that goal, building hours as a flight instructor, when a spark of inspiration took him in a new direction. His first book idea helped him determine he was better suited for a creative life and pursued a career in journalism. He started writing for Sun Newspapers in Cleveland before moving to South Florida in 1978 to write for Sun Sentinel.

‘true’ stories about crazy scenarios that happen in South Florida and mingle with an eclectic mix of characters, including romantic encounters with powerful women like exotic police helicopter pilots and alien biker chicks. There’s almost always an attractive and intelligent Latina involved, since he’s married to one.

What do a bloody massacre on Hollywood Beach where Marylin Monroe is the prime suspect, an airline crash involving the Broward County Mayor on a fan boat in the Everglades, and a scandal around the U.S. Vice President against the backdrop of a Chinese nuclear missile crisis all have in common? They’re just a few of the scenarios found in local independent author, Ken Kaye’s, mystery-suspense novels. A retired Sun Sentinel reporter living in Weston, Ken has published ten books featuring Broward County tabloid

Ken’s flying experience led him to numerous articles and columns featuring aviation. He was the lead Sun Sentinel reporter on the ValuJet Airlines DC-9 crash in the Everglades in 1996 that killed 110 people, earning multiple awards for his reporting on the story. He also covered weather and hurricanes for 18 years and was the team-lead during the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons. Both years, Sun Sentinel was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Ken retired in 2015 after 41 years in journalism, 37 at Sun Sentinel.

Ken’s passion for aviation and his fascination with the Everglades often find their way into his stories. He casts his main characters as tabloid reporters because they are usually paid to fabricate stories. In his books, they stumble upon fantastical

Ken purchased his home in Weston in 1990. He and his wife, Maria, who is from the Dominican Republic, love living here because it feels like Disney. After decades of writing on deadline, Ken enjoys the freedom to write at his own pace. He spends about four hours a day writing and revising, and publishes his books independently through Middle River Press, owned and operated by Oakland Park residents Judy and Bruce Borich. He’s working on two books now and has ideas for many more. When asked what motivates him, Ken says, “I’m just an old guy who likes to write books.”

▸ You can find all of Ken’s books on Amazon and follow him on Instagram @KenKayeBooks.

Liz Booker is a retired U.S. Coast Guard helicopter pilot and young adult fiction writer living in Weston. She promotes books featuring women in aviation as @LiteraryAviatrix.