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Up Close and Personal with Ken and Dahlynn McKowen
Ken’s favorite food is ice cream, Dahlynn collects Asian vases, and they both are very fond of traveling, having trekked 150,000-plus miles in the last three years (if Dahlynn stays home too long, she gets antsy—blame it on her gypsy blood).
Ken and Dahlynn in Hanoi, Vietnam
Dahlynn’s favorite treat is tangerine-flavored Jelly Belly
candy,
Ken is a master woodworker and builds furniture, guitars and kayaks from
scratch (no kits), and the couple’s sole television is more than 25
years old. They don’t even have cable, but they did get one of those
infamous converter boxes
Ken loves to cycle (working off that ice cream), Dahlynn’s favorite room is the kitchen where she creates gourmet meals using her huge collection of cookbooks (another reason Ken cycles), and the couple calls a small community near Sacramento, California, home.
Dahlynn enjoys spending time on their property (which features an 1880s Western theme town—really!), Ken can often be found puttering in his large garden, and between them, they have three children, two grandchildren, one godson, two dogs and a parakeet named Fred.
Ken is on the board of a nonprofit that protects area lakes and waterways, Dahlynn crochets baby blankets and donates them, and the two spend countless hours volunteering in their local school district.
Because they are also business partners, Ken and
Dahlynn are together 24/7, which, for some couples, could prove
difficult. But not for these two; they wouldn’t change a thing and
absolutely love their lifestyle. Two days are never the same, which is
fine with them. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment in the
McKowen household.
The McKowens: Writing and Business Background
Together, Dahlynn and Ken McKowen have 50-plus years
of professional writing, editing, publication, marketing, and public
relations experience. Full-time authors and travel writers, when they
reached more than 2000 articles, stories, and photographs published,
they stopped counting!
The McKowens have been consultants and coauthors for Chicken Soup for the Soul for the last ten years, where they collaborated with series founders Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen on several books such as Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur’s Soul; Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause; Chicken Soup for the Fisherman’s Soul; and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating Brothers and Sisters. They have also edited and ghostcreated many more Chicken books for this company.
For acclaimed outdoor publisher Wilderness Press, the
McKowen’s books include national award-winner Best of California’s Missions, Mansions and Museum; Best of Oregon and
Washington’s Mansions, Museums and More; and the Wine-Oh! Guide to California’s Sierra Foothills.
The McKowens are the owners of Publishing Syndicate (www.PublishingSyndicate.com), which provides writing and editing services for publishers. The duo ghostwrites for CEOs and founders of some of the nation’s biggest companies, and have even ghostwritten for a former President and a few California governors and elected officials.
And they have two additional businesses under the umbrella of Publishing Syndicate: www.PlacesToDiscover.com, a site that showcases travel destinations for tourists and offers stock stories and photographs to the print media, and “Ranger Ken: Discovering Nature” school programs (www.RangerKen.com). A former California State Park ranger, Ken takes nature into elementary schools via campfire programs. Through the sale of Ranger Ken educational coloring and activity books that Ken penned and Dahlynn illustrated, they offer opportunities for parent-teacher associations to raise money for their schools.
Contact Us
Publishing Syndicate
PO Box 607
Orangevale, CA 95662