Kinkster is back in the saddle

The crowd that turned out to hear country singer-turned-writer Kinky Friedman at the Beverly Hills Public Library was as likely to be wearing spangled Texas T-shirts and boots as L.A. basic black. The Kinkster sauntered in to the auditorium 10 minutes early, sized up the crowd and launched into an account of his recent trip to London, where he made a pilgrimage to what he called the most famous address in the world: 221 B Baker St., home of Sherlock Holmes.

For his 15th novel, Friedman described how he veered away from detective plots and instead cranked out a tale of modern-day merry pranksters trying to shut down a Starbucks, a premise that drew a lone cheer and a few snorts from some latte-clutching audience members. The talk turned to the conflict in Iraq and Friedman, sporting a yellow ribbon on his lapel, said: “I was discussing the war with Willie Nelson, who’s kind of a conspiracy theorist. I told Willie, ‘This guy’s a murderous bully and we’ve got to get rid of him.’ Willie said, ‘No, he’s our president and we’ve got to stick by him.’ ”

After sharing his philosophy on writing (“I try to write with a total disregard for the reader”), Friedman stepped off the stage and wandered through the audience reading from “Kill Two Birds & Get Stoned,” his first non-mystery.

He punctuated a passage about famous writers and their inordinate fondness for mental hospitals by waving his trademark cigar, unlit -- a concession to California codes against smoking indoors. When he reached the end of the passage, he looked up and dead-panned, “This audience looks like it’s been hit on the head with a hammer.”

-- Ana Cantu