Rumors started swirling that Michael Kun must have died after he published his first novel in 1990. Then there was gossip he overdosed, drowned while on vacation or that was killed while mountain climbing.

Fans of his book, “A Thousand Benjamins,” were convinced Kun had died because a writer that good couldn’t possibly stop after just one novel.

He hadn’t died. He’d just gotten busy at his day job.

Kun, 52, is a labor and employment attorney in the Century City office of Epstein Becker & Green.

“I’d get phone calls from my friends and family asking if I was alright,” he said. “The truth of the matter was that I was just so busy. If I were an employment lawyer in Alabama, I think I would have more time to write.”

After a 13-year hiatus, Kun’s second novel was published in 2003. Much to the delight of his readers, more books followed. He has now released eight and is shopping a ninth around to publishers.

One novel, “You Poor Monster,” was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2006.

The film rights to another of his books were purchased by Tarzana production company Breaking Ball Films, which is adapting the story into a movie.

“Fingers crossed not only will they film it this year, but I’ll get to show up to a movie premiere with my wife and make a fool out of myself,” he said.

Crowd Has Him Covered

As the chief investment officer at El Segundo’s Cambria Investment Management, Meb Faber makes a living by picking the right stocks. And he’s done a good job of that, as Cambria’s main exchange-traded fund has outperformed the broader market since it launched two years ago.

But when it comes to design, Faber is willing to let others to the picking.

Faber has written three investment books and just finished his fourth, “Global Asset Allocation,” which is the same name as Cambria’s newest fund. For this one, which came out Feb. 23, he decided to crowdsource the cover art, setting up an online poll where 333 people submitted designs and thousands voted on them.

The wisdom of the crowds paid off for Faber. The people clearly spoke when it came to the art Faber liked – and led him to consider a different choice.

“I successfully picked the lowest-rated cover,” he said.

Faber, 37, is one of the more Internet-savvy portfolio managers around. He regularly interacts with his more than 16,000 Twitter followers. And with Cambria not having a dedicated marketing budget, Faber’s Internet presence is key to promoting the company – as well as his latest book.

“The beauty of the Internet and social media is that it gives you a soapbox,” he said.

Staff reporters Cale Ottens and Matt Pressberg contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].