Exciting news!

Gumbo Life: A Journey Down the Roux Bayou,

Ken's much lauded social and cultural history of gumbo, is now available in a revised and updated  paperback edition from

Blair, a highly regarded independent publisher of Southern-centric novels, non-fiction and poetry.

"A mouthwatering culinary memoir"--Geraldine Brooks, mega-New York Times bestselling author of "Horse" and "People of the Book."

Order now! Amazon    B&N  Bookshop.org   Bookasamillion

Read the fabulous Economist review

     More news! Ken has signed a contract with LSU Press to write a book on...boudin...for the Press' Louisiana True series. Watch this space for updates.

   Read his summer YA adventure and survival novel recommendations on Shepherd.

    His blog on why he writes...

    New: Ken's interview on the Rainy Cajun

 Also new: a charming and timeless Christmas tale now available on Amazon...

   A Christmas Tree Without a House

 The Tale of Sam and the Mysterious Joseph E.W. Pine

   (A Very Possibly True Story)

     Sam, a boy of seven who loves Christmas more than his own birthday, is slowly making his way through Albee’s Christmas Tree Farm searching for the best possible tree when he is diverted into the nearby forest by a very odd whistle. He is startled to meet Joseph E.W. Pine, a talking, 45-foot tall evergreen who has wistfully watched for years as Albee’s trees are chosen and taken home to be lovingly decorated. Sam and Joseph form an instant bond and Joseph confesses his lifelong wish: to be a Christmas tree himself even as he  admits the impossibility of such a thing given his size, puffy shape and the fact that he is rooted in the forest.

     But Sam, big of heart, thinks surely something can be done and crafts a plan on a snowy Christmas Eve to deliver a homemade aluminum-foil Christmas star and climb it to the very top of Joseph’s branches—thereby fulfilling Joseph’s dream. Wary at first for Sam’s safety, Jospeh gives in when Sam assures him he is a strong climber. But as Sam gains the top and attaches the star, a snowy day turns into a blizzard, threatening to trap him in Joseph’s branches.  Joseph is at wit’s end until Sam reminds him that a tree, once it becomes a Christmas tree, might have some magic in it.” Is that really true,?” Joseph wonders. “Am I really a Christmas tree?” Can Joseph summon some Christmas magic to save the day?

      “A Christmas Tree Without a House” mixes whimsy, wit and a dash of suspense to render a story that captures the spirit of Christmas; an uplifting tale of serendipity, generosity, friendship and the magical power of hope and belief to make dreams come true.  With ten beautiful illustrations,  the book will charm readers from five to 95.

What readers are saying…

“A precious story. Don’t change a word!” --Sally. C.

“Adorable. I couldn’t put it down.  A lovely chapter book to be read each Christmas.” –Chris K.

Buy it!!

Ken's sixth novel, Swamped!, a fast-paced young-adult survival story set in Louisiana's Great Atchafalaya Swamp, from Virginia-based Koehler Books. Ken has taken on a writing partner, his bright, talented and niece, Hillary Wells, to help with the dialogue and other writing chores. Click here for a summary of the novel.

Praise for Swamped!

“No surprise for a Wells novel, Swamped! is propelled by crisp, evo

cative writing, a delicious sense of place, and a tale that will keep you reading and break your hearts, in a good way. Read it now.” —Bryan Gruley, award-winning author of the Starvation Lake Trilogy

“An immersive, atmospheric ballad of the Great Atchafalaya, Swamped! is a mesmerizing tale of love and survival set in the most hazardous of stews—a story that deftly whispers the mysterious beauty in which nature gives and takes away. I happily drowned in this novel.”

—J. C. Sasser, author of Gradle Bird

"A great and hugely entertaining novel about relentless challenges facing a couple of very different teenagers thrown together in one of the most dangerous and isolated areas of North America...A good tale told by really good storytellers."--Gary Lavergne , author of A Sniper in the Tower

                                                Read the first chapter

See Hilllary's reading of the first chapter...

                                            See a video trailer for the plot...

 Bookshop.org Here   Amazon.com  Here  B&N.com  Here

Post a review on Amazon or Goodreads...

 Signed copies available while they last at:

 Outside & In boutique, Houma, La.

Southdown Planation Museum Gift Shop, Houma, La.

Narrative Non-Fiction  and Anthologies...

New--Biography!

Available on Amazon...Ken's dad's memoir...with a forward by Ken

Rex Wells

The Right Place at the Right Time

A Memoir of Childhood, Family and War

written by a member of the "Greatest Generation"

Click here!

New from Crawdiddy!

Chanky-Chank Music!

The groundbreaking album from Ken and his talented musical brother, Pershing Wells, and featuring two of Cajun music's greatest fiddlers, Michael Doucet & Waylon Thibodeaux recording together for the first time ever!

Available for streaming and downloading at Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and other digital-music sites.

      Sing along: lyrics here!

Listen to

our hearbreak ballad, Jessie, I'm Lost

Purchase these and others

on my Etsy shop.