Just Five Questions with Kimmery Martin

A bit about her debut novel, The Queen of Hearts:

Now, on to the Five Questions:

When faced with setbacks or rejection with your writing, what was something that made you push through? I had a lot of query letter rejections because I was not a very good query writer. (You can read more about my struggles here ) Eventually, it got so bad that I’d cringe at the sound of an incoming email. I’ll be honest—I did think of quitting, many times. And I still think self-publishing is an excellent option in many ways. But I’m a persistent fool when it comes to carrying out obligations, even ones I’ve made for myself. I’d told myself I wasn’t going to quit until I’d run through the list of agents I really wanted. And I didn’t.

I can definitely relate to a lot of that, Kimmery! What is your morning routine? Depends on if it’s summer or not. Summertime is freewheeling carnage, because all the children are home and it’s beautiful and there’s all this travel. But during the rest of the year, I get up at 6:00, inhale some coffee, wrangle my little people out of bed and into their clothes, make some breakfasts, referee some hostile morning arguments over who gets the bathroom first, and ship them off to school. Then I make some more coffee, exercise for a half an hour, and sit down to tackle whatever is on my to-do list that day. Sometimes I have to go to my day job or meetings, and those days are useless, writing-wise, because I can only write in the mornings. By afternoon, my brain is fried.

What’s your favorite form of exercise? (And on the flip side, what’s your favorite way to be lazy?) Laziness first: I love to read! Curling up with a book is absolute favorite thing in life. I am not a natural athlete but I’m a kickass walker: if I can get outside, I walk a few miles super-fast while listening to music. If I’m indoors, I have a little Pilates routine I do that keeps me limber and reasonably strong. I have discovered that writing is catastrophically bad for your butt. In my other job—ER doctor—I ran around a lot.

Thank you to Kimmery Martin for stopping by leahferguson.net — and congratulations on the publication of her debut, The Queen of Hearts. The Queen of Hearts can be purchased through Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Indiebound (and as always, if you can take a moment to leave a review on a book you’ve read and enjoyed, it is very much appreciated!).