He wrote the New York Times bestseller The Widow of the South and has played a major role in preserving the historic Carnton mansion, a focal point in the Battle of Franklin which occurred on November 30, 1864.

[2] He moved to Williamson County, Tennessee, in 1974 and lived near the Bingham Community at "Labor in Vain," his late-eighteenth-century log cabin.

King's Blues Clubs in Nashville, Memphis, Orlando and Los Angeles, Hicks served as "Curator of Vibe" for the corporation.

He served on the board of directors of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans and of Historic Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee.

By the end of 2005, Franklin's Charge had already raised over 5 million dollars toward this goal, surpassing anything ever done within any other community in America to preserve battlefield open space.

During his many years working at Carnton, he began to develop a book idea, and during an accidental meeting with civil war historian and author Shelby Foote, he received further encouragement to complete a historic novel about the battle.

The Widow of the South was launched September 1, 2005 to overwhelming critical success,[citation needed] entering the New York Times Bestseller List after only one week out.

[5] The novel is centered around the Carnton Plantation and mansion which was commandeered by officers of the Confederate States Army as a hospital during the Battle of Franklin II.

Hicks creates a cast of characters including the Madame of the mansion, Carrie Winder McGavock, and soldiers wounded during this monumental battle.

Hicks's essays on regional history, southern material culture, furniture and music have appeared in numerous publications over the years.

He has also written the introduction to two books on historic preservation authored by photographer, Nell Dickerson: GONE: A Photographic Plea for Preservation (BelleBooks, 2011; ISBN 9781611940039) and Porch Dogs (John F. Blair, 2013; ISBN 9780895875976) In January 2016 Hicks was a panelist and featured speaker at the third annual Rancho Mirage Writers Festival in Rancho Mirage, CA.