Ken Jolly is a 75-year-old cowboy who lives in Texas. Has the boots and hat. His Great-Great Grandfather led a company of Virginians to Texas in 1836 to fight in the War of the Rebellion and served as First Lieutenant.  He participated in the Grass Fight and the Battle of San Jacinto. He was awarded the Land Grant, which the family still owns. To transport his small force to Texas, he brought a Brig, and after the Texas Navy lost its first four ships, he donated the vessel to the Navy and rechristened it the “San Jacinto”.

In his previous role, Ken served as a CAD/BIM Coordinator at an International Corporation, which required extensive travel. There he learned to appreciate the Tow Path and the quiet aspects of British culture. He can be found on weekends two-stepping at local dives, playing the fiddle, or fly-fishing. He writes stories about people who live between places where lives move at the pace of water and weather. His Tow Path Series blends contemporary romance, paranormal, and mystery with community-driven storytelling, rooted in the everyday rhythms of life.

Ken began writing technical manuals in 2010 and, upon retiring, has recently branched into fiction genres. He has a distinct writing voice across genres and establishes individual character arcs, adding unique direction and credibility to his actors.

He is a sailor, and his boat in Texas travels slightly faster than 4 knots when the wind is blowing, and he has often had to execute short tacks while going up canals. He actually lived on board the boat for most of a year through a brutal winter. However, he sees joy in living the slower pace of the canal. A lifelong observer of waterways, Ken is drawn to the quiet drama of small decisions, shared meals, late-night conversations, and the way music, memory, and place shape who we become. His characters are often rebuilding—boats, relationships, and themselves—finding connection not in grand gestures, but in steady hands, shared labour, and the trust earned over time. Some of his writing drifts into the paranormal, as he was the Leader of a ghost-hunting group, Paranormal Investigations and Eliminations (PIE), for many years.

When he isn’t writing, Ken can usually be found walking, studying the craft of storytelling, or listening for the kind of music that sounds better drifting across water at dusk. The Tow Path Series is his love letter to canal communities—past and present—and to the idea that home is always on the water.

Amazon books, where Ken's books can be purchased in a variety of forms, introduce his Tow Path Series thus:

"Set along the winding canals and hidden waterways of Europe, The Tow Path Series blends romance, music, and community into a tapestry of modern canal life. Each book explores the lives of those who choose the water as home—narrowboat dwellers, traveling musicians, wanderers, and dreamers—where the pace of the canal contrasts sharply with the turbulence of love, ambition, and second chances.

With recurring characters and overlapping storylines, the series paints an intimate portrait of a floating community bound together by locks, pubs, festivals, and the timeless rhythm of the towpath. The stories explore themes of belonging, self-discovery, and connection, often with a fire-and-wild romantic undercurrent that pushes characters to navigate both their waterways and their hearts.

At once tender and gritty, The Tow Path Series offers readers an immersive escape into a world where every bend in the canal reveals not only scenic vistas, but also new adventures, new faces, and the possibility of love where it’s least expected. "  (Amazon)

Review:

Ken Jolly writes with the precision of an engineer and the heart of a storyteller. A lifelong craftsman of words and design, he has authored acclaimed guides on architecture and technology, but his true passion lies in exploring the human connections that shape our lives.

When he’s not writing, Ken can often be found aboard his sailboat or imagining the quiet towpaths of England’s canals, where the rhythms of water and music inspire his stories. His love of the violin, his eye for detail, and his deep curiosity about people bring authenticity to the characters he creates.

Mooring Lines is his first romance set in the canal boat world, weaving together love, loss, and second chances against the backdrop of narrowboats and community life. With a craftsman’s discipline and a romantic’s heart, Ken proves that love stories told by men can be just as tender, raw, and true.

There are currently 7 novels in the Tow Path Tales series, all of which are available on Amazon KIndle The 7th book, 'Thin Water on the Canal', has only recently been published. Some of the books are also available as Audio books,  and all as paperbacks.

Ken's first book in the series, Mooring Lines, can be found serialized in this magazine - Ken Jolly, Author at CanalsOnline Magazine