Born in Seattle, but raised in San Jose, K.S. Haddock was reading, writing and drawing at a young age. After university at UC Irvine (BA, Psychology), he moved to San Francisco, where he worked as a layout artist while writing his first novel, The Patricidal Bedside Companion (St. Martin's, 1994). After a short stint as a copywriter, he became a digital retoucher at the forefront of commercial digital photography. Finally, he found success as an Art Director for the famed Industrial Art & Magic Art Department. He works for Star Wars.

 

In the '90s: he pitched screenplays, acted in local theater, and even wrote, directed and produced a very low budget feature film based on Sartre's No Exit. Subsequently, he went on to write and direct three award winning musicals at the San Francisco Fringe Festival: Thanatics, A Rock Opera (2006), Hell, The Musical (2009), and Hitler in the Green Room (2017). From 2022-24, he directed the Cheapside Music Hall at the famed Cow Palace's Dickens Fair.

K.S. comes from a long line of musicians on both sides of the family. Playing guitar since he was 15, he's been in many bands over the years. Crooked Family (his musicals); the Gravel Spreaders (a metal-grass band, 2010-2019), and since 2023, The Grüps, currently gigging in San Francisco. Look for their album in 2026. He writes songs, sings and plays guitar.

But it's Imagine My Surprise! (Coming in spring 2026 from Heresy Press/Skyhorse) that has revitalized his love of writing fiction. He is currently working on another, tentatively titled, Jayne, The Pirate Queen of Lodi.

K.S. resides in San Francisco with a lovely wife and daughter. If you are in San Francisco, see if the Grüps aren't playing a local bar.