KM - The original title was Trauma Queen. Having characters who embody those qualities seemed natural.

I know about being a doctor and I know about being a mother and I know about being a friend.

It’s a common trope that debut authors should write what they know, and there’s a good reason for that: for most people, mastering the technicalities of good fiction alongside a massive amount of background research would be too time-consuming and difficult. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I harbored a secret desire to model myself after the human beings I most admire-writers-and one day I just sat down and started. KM - I’ve always been a tremendous book nerd. Think of it as a fusion of Big Little Lies and Grey’s Anatomy. Kimmery Martin - Two physicians-a trauma surgeon and a cardiologist-navigate marriage, motherhood, and a series of professional errors even as a long-buried secret from medical school threatens their friendship. Question: Please describe what the book is about. Since the publication of her debut novel, I was able to interview Kimmery about her novel and her writing process. The Queen of Hearts was published by Penguin Random House on February 13, 2018. Kimmery Martin is a physician, book reviewer, author interviewer, travel blogger, obsessive reader, and general all-around literary nerd who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and three children. Kimmery Martin is a new voice to watch.'- Sarah Domet, author of The Guineveres Kimmery Martin’s Biography Brimming with wit, intelligence, humor, and warmth, this dazzling debut teaches us about the heart’s surprising resilience. 'In The Queen of Hearts, Kimmery Martin deftly weaves a tale of friendship and betrayal, family and lost love, the choices that define us and the secrets that keep us. A brilliant debut.' -Lisa Duffy, author of The Salt House 'Whip-smart and full of heart, Martin expertly weaves the threads of friendship, love and betrayal into a story that crackles with humor and compassion. 'Martin’s debut novel, about pediatric cardiologist Zadie Anson and trauma surgeon Emma Colley, is a medical drama executed with just the right balance of intensity, plot twists, tragedy, and humor.A remarkably absorbing read.” - Booklist We sat, hushed, in our pool of dimming molten light. The background noise of dogs yelping and trees rustling and the rhythmic feet of the joggers faded into stillness around us. Even though his eyes were brown, they were very clear in the sunlight I thought I could see right through them. The dying sun caught him full in the face, suffusing his skin with glowing pinks and golds and transforming his hair into a soft halo.

The queen of hearts kimmery martin