Don’t close the book, your next chapter remains unwritten
Once a writer, always a writer
By Kevin Kluesner
People often say that you’re never too old to chase your dreams, but I’m not sure how many people actually believe it. I hope when you get to the end of this piece, you’ll see me as living evidence that the old adage is true.
You see, I had a pretty nice run during a 40-plus-year career in health care. My last two roles in the field were the defining ones for me. I was the administrator of a large, urban, safety-net hospital, and then led the effort to open up a mental health emergency center in Milwaukee’s inner city. I held both roles during the pandemic. Those jobs were far and away the toughest of my career, but also the most rewarding. It can be almost impossible to separate who you are from what you do, especially if you’ve invested yourself fully in those roles. But, after turning 65 in late March, I retired. The next month, Level Best Books of Maryland released “The Killer Speech” Speech, my second thriller novel.
What? I know, that seemed a rather abrupt transition, both living it and writing about it. But it wasn’t as haphazard as it appears at first glance. I earned my BA in journalism from Marquette University back in 1980 and added an MBA from the same school in 1994. Once a writer, always a writer. And I’m proof that the millennials didn’t invent the side hustle. While working full-time in health care, I often had side jobs, including being the outdoor writer for a daily newspaper and later teaching leadership and marketing at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I took on those outside roles because I was inquisitive; I wanted to learn something new and to continue to grow both professionally and as a human being. I think it helped set me up for what would become my next chapter, both literally and figuratively.
I started my first novel more than 30 years before it was ever finished. I read a book a week, mostly fiction, and most of those thrillers. I set out to write a thriller novel about two people who fell on very different sides of a divisive societal issue, who need to set aside their differences in order to catch a killer. I would come back to the story from time to time over the years and write a random chapter. It was aimless. But then I read Stephen King’s Memoir, “On Writing”, and things clicked. It took 30 years for me to write my debut novel’s first 45,000 words, but only five months to write the next 45,000 words and to knit them into a story. King might not have been the first to say the words, but with my three kids grown and my wife’s support they resonated: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
It took me months and more than 60 email rejections from publishers and top literary agents before Level Best Books of Maryland offered me a three-book contract. I was at the back end of 63 when my debut novel was released in December 2021. I’m hard at work writing the third book in this series and wondering what else lies ahead.
To learn more about the author, check out his website: kevinkluesner.net
About the author: Kevin is the author of two books: The Killer Sermon and The Killer Speech. He earned both a BA in journalism and later an MBA from Marquette University. Before retiring to dedicate himself to his writing, Kevin was an administrator for an urban safety net hospital. He lives in New Berlin, Wisconsin with his wife Janet.
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