OMC: Do you ever see a time when you'd step back completely from Hama, then, to become a full-time writer?

LK: I'll always be involved with Hama. I love our customers and our staff. They're like family. But, I have to admit, it's getting tougher and tougher to spend long periods of time there. It's not just the writing that takes me away. After your book is published there are book club visits and tours and interviews that need my attention.

OMC: Tell us a bit about how you succeeded in becoming a published author.

LK: In order to get a book published these days, you need to be represented by a literary agent. I thought, how hard could this be? I'll send a query letter and these agents will ask to see sample pages of "Whistling in the Dark" and we'll be off! I'll be a published author in no time! Ha!

The manuscript was rejected for representation by 133 literary agents. Demoralizing is the word that comes to mind. Doomed is good, too. Thank God I've got the personality of a wire-haired terrier. I didn't give up and eventually found an agent that liked the story and was willing to go to bat for it with the publishers.

OMC: Do you think the fact that you're in Milwaukee and they're in New York was a drawback?

LK: Maybe to some. New Yorkers seem to think that the world ends at Staten Island. I had a publishing assistant phone to ask me, "Do you milk cows?" She was just asking for it, so, of course, being the smart-mouth that I am, I was forced to tell her, "Only when I'm done churning the butter and weaving the wool."

OMC: Tell us about Milwaukee's writing "scene," as you see it. Is there one? Are there people that are making a living here as creative writers?

LK: I've met some wonderful writers at seminars this past year. Kris Radish is terrific and a wonderful human being. Same goes for Lauren Fox, CJ Hribal and Liam Callanan and many others, so yes, there is a vibrant writing scene in Milwaukee, and all over Wisconsin. Christina Schwarz is fabulous, Michael Perry is outstanding, and a new writer, Jess Riley is doing a great job. Writing is a solitary endeavor so authors get to see much of each other, but it's fun to compare notes when we do.

OMC: Are you already working on a third book? Can you tell us anything about it?

LK: Yup, I'm about a third into a new story, but I can't tell you anything about it. Sorry, I'm superstitious.

OMC: When is it due?

LK: It's not due at any specific time. I'm hoping to have it finished by the holidays and ready for publication in the fall of 2009.

OMC: Lastly, what advice do you have for Milwaukee's aspiring creative writers.

LK: Write every day and don't ever give up.