KIMMERY MARTIN TAKING THE LEAP
Words by : S a ra h H e nde r s on
“The day the issue came out, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to run out and buy a copy,” recalls Kimmery Fleischli, Charlotte-based novelist and Dickens Mitchener client. “It’s rare for the New York Times to review a debut novel, and it’s even more uncommon in my genre – which is medical fiction mixed with women’s fiction. I have to admit that seeing my picture in the Times has been the most exciting moment of my writing career so far.” KIMMERY’S DEBUT WORK, The Queen of Hearts, was released in 2018 and has received high praise from media outlets throughout the country — including Southern Living, The Harvard Crimson, The Charlotte Observer, and The New York Times. She also promotes reading; interviews authors; teaches writing seminars; and frequently speaks at libraries, book festivals, and bookstores around the United States. But Kimmery Fleischli is no ordinary novelist. Prior to taking the leap into the wonderful (and sometimes arduous) world of writing, Kimmery practiced Emergency Medicine as a physician in multiple Charlotte-area hospitals. “In my past life, I was an Emergency Room doctor. I trained at Vanderbilt University and practiced in the CMC Health Care system,” says Kimmery. “But a few years ago, I found my passion for writing, which turned into its own full-time job.” While Kimmery does still keep a toe in medicine — filling in at Carolina Asthma and Allergy and covering some of their shot clinics in case people have anaphylactic reactions — her focus is now on writing. “When you produce a novel, you’re not done when the writing is done. You have to do quite a bit of publicity and marketing for literature, just like you would for any product you’re trying to put in front of the public,” explains Kimmery. “I do a lot of interviews, events, social media posting, and traveling. I also teach a writing course in Florida once or twice a year. By adding all of these writing-related tasks and functions, my love of writing has ballooned into a very full-time career.” Photo courtesy of The Late Show/Grammy Museum
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