Thank you to Dr. Melissa Dymond for joining me to talk about her latest medical romance with suspense release, Paging Dr. Hart.
Read Paging Dr. Hart (The paperbacks are available now, but will be on Kindle Unlimited on June 17th):
Follow Melissa on Instagram - @melissadymondauthor
Keep up with her new releases on her website.
For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list.
For episode feedback, future reading and author recommendations, you can text the podcast by clicking the "Send us a message button" above.
For more, follow along on Instagram @whereileftoffpod.
Thank you to Dr. Melissa Dymond for joining me to talk about her latest medical romance with suspense release, Paging Dr. Hart.
Read Paging Dr. Hart (The paperbacks are available now, but will be on Kindle Unlimited on June 17th):
Follow Melissa on Instagram - @melissadymondauthor
Keep up with her new releases on her website.
For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list.
For episode feedback, future reading and author recommendations, you can text the podcast by clicking the "Send us a message button" above.
For more, follow along on Instagram @whereileftoffpod.
Welcome back. I'm Kristen Bahls and you're listening to Where I Left Off a Bookish Podcast, and today I'm joined by the author of Holiday Star, Dr. Melissa Dymond, and we are talking about her latest release, Paging Dr Hart. Thank you so much for coming on, Melissa.
Melissa Dymond:Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Kristen Bahls:Me too, and of course, I know that you are a huge reader, so what are you currently reading right now?
Melissa Dymond:I just actually finished Funny Story. I finished it and I haven't picked up another book yet, so I'm actually trying to figure out what I'm gonna read next. But Emily Henry is one of my favorite authors and so of course I enjoyed that one.
Kristen Bahls:Yep, it's back there on my shelf. I haven't read it yet, but it is very high on my TBR. You know how sometimes, whenever you have a bunch of books on your TBR, then it takes you like forever to read through some, just because there's so many new releases right now.
Melissa Dymond:I know it's hard to resist. It's like candy. You know, in a store you want to have a little piece of everything.
Kristen Bahls:I know, and you see all those like reels and memes going on about you know, all those new books just popping up and you end up grabbing those instead of your TBR, exactly. Yeah, if you want some recommendations, I can give you a bunch of good summer read recommendations. Do you tend to read mainly only romance or do you kind of switch around with different genres?
Melissa Dymond:I actually like. I predominantly read romance, but I actually like other genres of all. I love romancy, and when I was younger I actually was really big into horror of all things. Like I read a lot of yeah, a lot of post-apocalyptic stuff. I've read every single um book by Stephen King, like literally every book the man's ever written, and so that's a huge task. Yeah, I started when I was like a teenager and then I just every year when he'd come out with a new book, I would buy it and read it. So, so I actually just downloaded his uh short stories. He just came out with a new book. I would buy it and read it. So, so actually just downloaded his uh short stories he just came out with. So that'll probably be my next book. He's a great writer.
Kristen Bahls:Yeah, I, every time I kind of go into horror, I always regret it and I have to read like 50 rom-coms to set it off. But I will go into like psychological thriller territory. But every time I cross into horror I always freak myself out too much.
Melissa Dymond:So like cleanse your palate with a rom-com right?
Kristen Bahls:Yes, yes, that's how I got into rom-coms in the first place was I had read horror and then I just went on a whole streak of um K Catherine Center. That's a good one. What can you tell us currently about your work in progress, Even though you're just releasing Paging Dr. Hart and it's almost out, I know that writers are constantly working on like the next thing.
Melissa Dymond:Yes, so actually I'm writing Holiday Wedding right now, which is the sequel to Holiday Star. So I wrote Holiday Star originally just thinking it was going to be one book, but then when I finished it I had so much reader response asking for like well, because at the end of that book spoiler alert they get engaged. And so the readers were like well, we want to see the wedding, like what's going to happen with the wedding? And I was like you know what? I kind of want to see the wedding too. Like I don't know, I don't know what's going to happen at the wedding, like let's check it out.
Melissa Dymond:So I've been writing that, I'm on the second draft of it, I'm at like 71,000 words and it's yeah, it's going great. It's so fun to just be with those characters again and I'm giving like some side characters a little more exploration that were reader favorites, or that was the best thing about the process is I really, like you know, I read reviews and I like take back their reader feedback, and so then I'm truly trying to just design Holiday Wedding around what they were asking for, like the characters they wanted to know more about or characters that they felt needed a redemption arc, like I'm trying to kind of satisfy all of that with this book, and also like going to new territories.
Kristen Bahls:Nice. Well, that's really different, that it's kind of a continuation of the main characters, because you know, normally in a series, especially romance series, they like to take, you know, side characters and kind of make them the main.
Melissa Dymond:So that's really nice that you get to continue completely and then just add in those other characters, so you get a little bit of everything. Yeah, it's fun because I'm focusing on Gwen and Caleb, the main characters from that book, and it's kind of like they have a more developed relationship now so I can explore that more, and then I'm also bringing in some other characters to focus on that give it kind of a breath of fresh air. So it's a mixture of old and new.
Kristen Bahls:And so you actually read your Goodreads reviews. I've heard that there are a lot of authors that will not touch reviews, but you read them all?
Melissa Dymond:It's a very controversial subject and I can totally see both sides. I read every single review, and sometimes multiple times. I want always to be improving. Like my goal is to be better with every single book and for me, I guess my counter argument to why authors shouldn't read their reviews is like it's hard to improve and avoid. Right, like any product that you have, how are you going to improve it unless you feedback on it? Right, so you can see its strengths and weaknesses. I think my writing is the same thing. Like obviously I'm learning and hopefully getting better and better, and I need to have that feedback, both the good things and the bad things, so that I can become a better writer. And it's not just I'm looking for the critical ones, I'm also looking at that. What did you love? Like, what? What like? Especially like I say, of Holiday Wedding. Like there are characters that people are like I want this character to have her own story. Like that kind of feedback is just as valuable as the critical feedback of like maybe you know pacing could be improved or whatever it was. So I do. I read all of my reviews and some of them make me want to, you know, crawl into bed and not get out. Most of them are like really sweet and really encouraging and overall I say it was a good experience to read them. So I do, I read every single one.
Kristen Bahls:Wow, I mean I guess, like you said, if you see a consistency in the reviews, I mean not necessarily a bad thing, but like, if they like that particular character, they want more of this and that would be very helpful to know what to include. Yeah, in future books, but I'm sure a lot of authors would say that you are very brave for for doing that.
Melissa Dymond:I do. I know a lot who are like I don't do it for my mental health and I'm like I do get that. There have been days where I was like ouch, that wouldn't hurt. But like I say, I mean most of them are positive and I do, I learn a lot from them. I just want to make my readers happy and if that's the way that I can better address what they want, then that's what I'll do.
Kristen Bahls:Well, I absolutely love your writing style. I I was like I said I had to set a timer. I had to stop myself from just reading Paging Dr. Hart all the way through because I knew that I had other books I had to read. But oh my gosh, it just hooked me from the beginning and I really, really loved this book. And obviously the Holiday Star is very high on my TBR and I will be reading through all of your releases as they come.
Melissa Dymond:Oh, I appreciate that, like that support is super, is super, super appreciated.
Kristen Bahls:Y yes, it, yeah it read so, so, so well, and I saw that, speaking of H holiday S star, I saw on Instagram that a listener actually made a board game out of H holiday S star, that that is so cool. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
Melissa Dymond:Yeah it, it's actually a 13-year-old girl. She had a class project where she was supposed to read something and then there were a couple different options, I guess, of what you could do for, like you know, almost like a reading comprehension. One of them was you could make a board game. So she read my sweet version of Holiday Star, which is just kissing and is you know more appropriate for a 13-year-old and she made an entire board game out of H holiday S star. It was like literally one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I mean, she like hand molded the, like plain pieces that you move around the board and they're little like Christmas ornaments, and then each space on the board had like references to the car, to the, to the book, and there were like cards you could choose. That like asked you questions from the book. It was just.
Melissa Dymond:It was crazy like what's Gwen's, you know best friend's name, and then you'd flip it over and be like Jenny. And so it was. And there's like one spot was like heartbreak, like you break up with Caleb, go back three spaces. It was so imaginative and well done. She hand painted it. It was crazy. So her mom reached out and, you know, showed me some pictures like, oh my gosh, please don't get rid of that. Like, if you guys don't mind donating it to me, like I will literally keep that forever. So they sent it to me. It was just really neat.
Kristen Bahls:That is the coolest thing.
Melissa Dymond:Isn't that crazy? It was so beautifully done, like the hard work she put into it. I was so i mpressed. S o they did send it to you, s So you have it now? I have it. Yep, I have it. I have, like this little Tupperware box. I have one for each of my kids and one for myself and we call it the Keep Forever boxes, and so really special, like schoolwork or awards or things like that go into it, and I have one for me and it's in my Keep Forever box, like I'll always keep that and treasure it. It was just really special.
Kristen Bahls:I love that, yay. Well, talking a little bit more about Paging, Dr. Hart, could you describe the plot of the book in a few sentences for readers?
Melissa Dymond:Sure, so Paging Dr Hart is a medical romance. It's dual timeline and so in the current present day timeline the main character is Dr. Tiffany Hart and she has this guy come in, she has to interview him. She's in a radiology resident and she has to interview him and then train him. His name is Dr. Ethan Clark and at first they kind of have a rough start to things because its enemy to l overs. But he kind of falls for her pretty hard and pretty fast and so he works very patiently and diligently to kind of like open her up, because she's pretty icy and closed off and in the beginning you don't know why she's that way. In the past timeline we watch her grow up from age 5 to 18 and we see, like this, events of her life and circumstances that led to her to be this kind of like closed off person and to be someone who's really protecting and guarding herself because she's been hurt in the past and has had betrayal and tragedy and grief in her past. A nd so then in the current timeline, you know, you kind of see Ethan and her growing closer and eventually the two timelines actually collide and her past comes back for her. So I hoped, with that dual timeline format, that you would get a really like deep understanding of this character, that you would really understand why she's making these decisions in present day, because it's a reflection of the things she's been through in her past. Like all of us are influenced by our past. I really wanted that to be kind of a theme through t The book is like confronting your past like you know, letting go of your past, forgiving yourself for things that happened in your past, and those are all things that she has to process to kind of get to her happy ending.
Kristen Bahls:And luckily she has an Ethan to help her.
Melissa Dymond:Yes, she has a book boyfriend who's willing to put in the work.
Kristen Bahls:So this is a romantic suspense. Did you have any specific challenges, kind of switching, you know, doing something a little bit different in your genre?
Melissa Dymond:I like didn't have any difficulty writing it. I was a little bit concerned in marketing it, like how exactly to approach that, because it's not a cookie cutter romance, it's not just like a rom-com boy meets girl. You know they have some problems, they move on. This has like a kind of complicated backstory and so I was a little anxious in the beginning, thinking like this is a little bit of a genre mashup, this is like a little out of the box. How are readers going to take it, b But I mean, the readers have been so enthusiastic and so welcoming and I think that they actually liked it that it brings a little more complexity and depth to the characters to have that backstory. So the response has been great. That was just the hardest part was like how do I market it? And that's why I literally list it as like a medical romance with suspense, because I don't want anyone to go into it and be surprised like I was expecting some you know fluffy rom-com and this has, like this, really like kind of extra layer to it.
Kristen Bahls:True, and you do have trigger warnings in the beginning as well that are pretty specific. I feel like a lot of romance readers actually read thrillers. So it was a good genre mashup because, know they're already kind of used to one or the other and it was, I guess, just being able to know that they were still going to get their HEA, you know the happily ever after. But then also having the suspense in there just made it even better, because you know, sometimes with romantic suspense you're kind of wondering, oh my gosh, are they gonna actually get a happy ending. Is this gonna tend more thriller than it is romance? And with paging Dr Heart, you know that they are going to get their happily ever after in the end, even if you might question it a couple times throughout.
Melissa Dymond:Yes, yeah, all my books will always have happily ever after. I mean, I feel like that's like the payout all readers are looking for you when you're reading romance. I personally, like refuse to read a book unless it ends with a happy ending, like I'm reading this book to escape and to have enjoyment, like I don't want to be like crying and sad at the end. So, they'll always, t hey'll always get their happy ever after.
Kristen Bahls:I was gonna say maybe I've just read too many thrillers lately. There was one romantic suspense that it was a little bit heavier on the suspense and the characters didn't get a happily ever after. W hat! That's terrible. Yeah, after all that they didn't and it just went full thriller at the end and I was like okay, okay, I guess, I guess we're doing that so thank you for being easy on my heart and letting me know that they are gonna get it.
Melissa Dymond:Yes, ever I will never, ever do that to anyone. I will never write a book that doesn't have happily ever after. I'm a Disney girl at heart, and so I believe everything needs to end that way and your characters even go to Disney.
Kristen Bahls:Uh, D isney W orld in in the book.
Melissa Dymond:Yeah, they do. I had to bring a little bit of you know. They say, write what you know, and so all of those things that happen in the book like I've actually known and experienced, like I've lived in that apartment in Cleveland, I've lived at the apartment in Las Vegas, I've been to Disney World multiple times. So it's like I wanted to kind of bring in some of that stuff into the writing because I felt like I could write it authentically, because I've experienced it authentically.
Kristen Bahls:Oh, that's really smart. And yeah, I'm sure the Disney, uh Disney W world research was the most fun.
Melissa Dymond:Yeah, exactly. I tried to convince my husband that was just reason for us to go even more often. I was like, but I have to do it. You know it's a tax write-off, it's a work thing now. He didn't buy it.
Kristen Bahls:Come on, let's go to Disney one more time.
Melissa Dymond:I know I was like. I was like maybe we could I should start writing about like places in Europe and then we'll have to go there. He's like you're crazy. I was like my next book is going to be in Italy.
Kristen Bahls:I was going to say I knew that you loved Disney because a lot of the food was also talked about, just as much as the parks, which of course you know is just as important. If you're going to go there, you have to try all the food, and Tiffany got to have her pretzel and and all of that, I'm pretty sure you can guess what my favorite snack is there. S so how has your experience as a doctor really shaped the characters in your novel? G enerally being in the same occupation, is that like easier or harder to write because you put kind of pressure on yourself?
Melissa Dymond:I think it's easier because I mean, I know that world so well like it was my identity basically for like a large portion of my life. And so again, they say, write what you know. And I was like, well, I know about what it's like to be a woman in medicine, so I guess I could write about that. So so far all my characters have been women, doctors.
Melissa Dymond:I'm sure at some point I'll diverge from that, but in the beginning it was honestly the easiest thing for me to write, because I just know what that day looks like. I know what that feels like to be in the hospital and to be in those positions and to be doing those procedures. So it came very naturally to try and write characters from that perspective and also, like I think it's not, um, like you see, especially romances where, like the guy is a doctor, but and now I'm seeing it more where the girl is a doctor but like not that often where the main character female is a doctor, and so I was like that would be cool to have a little bit more of that representation. There's a lot of professional women reading these books. There's a lot of women in STEM reading these books, and I think that they would appreciate maybe seeing some characters that reflect that.
Kristen Bahls:I agree. I can only think of one book off the top of my head, in addition to yours, that has a female doctor. So it, yeah, I still think that there could be more. Yeah, that was fantastic, and you know that it's going to be accurate because, like you said, you've lived it. You know exactly, exactly how it goes.
Melissa Dymond:Yeah, even though I have to fudge a little things every now and then for like plot points, and then I'm like, oh, the other doctors are going to see this, they're gonna be like that's not how that happens. So I almost wanted to write a note like hey, I'm sorry, guys, like there were just a couple little things I had to, like you know, tweak a little. Like people like, for example, in Holiday Star, like she has a like an academic sabbatical where she gets to go home for a year, like that does I mean for a month. Like that doesn't really happen, like really that much. Like I've never really heard that happening, but it just kind of had to happen for the book, so things like that.
Melissa Dymond:But yeah, I have a lot of doctor friends who have read the books and like we actually have a there's a physician book club of like physician moms and I often leave like let them read the books first, because I really like hearing their feedback, so that you know they can kind of weigh in. So they're one of the first people who get access to ARCS and usually over like 200 of them have read each of those books and then provided reviews and feedback. So that's been really helpful.
Kristen Bahls:I will say that I appreciate the way that you you do include STEM and of course, you include the medical knowledge, but it's never too much. I am pretty squeamish and so if it was like super, super in depth, of like how the procedures go, even whenever Tiffany was doing her presentation, it went in depth, but not in depth in a way that you know makes you want to like flip through sections of the book. So I appreciate you keeping it tame for those of us who are not used to that, because, yeah, it hits like the perfect spot.
Melissa Dymond:Good, good, I know that's what I wanted. To be accurate, but not also like dry and boring, because some of the medical stuff can get that way if you're not into it.
Kristen Bahls:No, it was never dry or boring, it was perfect. What was the most rewarding scene to write in? Paging Dr Hart?
Melissa Dymond:I would say that the most rewarding scene was probably the one that actually takes place in Disney World with a pretzel. So like in this scene, Tiffany's with Ethan and they're in Disney World and they're like walking around. She's eating like a bag of popcorn, a thing of popcorn, and he's got like a pretzel with like cheese sauce. And she's like, oh, your pretzel looks good, and he is like do you want a bite? She's got pretzel in one hand, popcorn in the other and he holds out like the cheese sauce and she goes to dip in the cheese sauce and goes to take a bite and like wind comes along, kind of like, blows her hair in her face and she like laughs at herself and she's like ugh, she's like I'm a mess. And he's like, because he's like, here, let me help you. And he like tucks her hair like out of her face and behind her ear, which I think is like such a romantic gesture, Like I'm like ugh. That just always makes me melt when they do that in books. So he does that and she like laughs at herself and says oh man, I'm a mess. Then, he says very seriously to her like I don't think so, I think that you're perfect just the way you are.
Melissa Dymond:And like that moment, like I get like a little bit like emotional even thinking about that one, because I just feel like that's the moment where he's telling her like I accept you, like I understand that you have things you've maybe seen yourself that aren't perfect, but the when I look at you, I see you as perfect and I think that that's like that level of acceptance is something that we all crave.
Melissa Dymond:And he just kind of flat out tells her and then she says, like in her mind, in the book it says something like like his land, his words, land like pennies, like going into into a fountain, like wishes coming true, like you wish somebody would see you and accept you that way and think that you know, even though we all know we're not perfect, that they see you as, and so I think that moment for me is like one of the most tender moments where she really also is at a place where she can accept that he's telling her that, whereas earlier in the story I think if he had said that, she wouldn't have been able to hear it.
Kristen Bahls:Yeah, I agree that by the time they get to Disney World they have been on a journey and she is definitely more ready to hear that from him. And I mean, she was kind of like I don't know. I feel like she was kind of laughing it off and you know, trying to have a light-hearted moment, and then he'll, he'll just go there like he'll joke around with her, of course, but he'll, he's not afraid to go there and just get vulnerable in like five seconds, and that is just exactly what she needs, it seems like in every moment exactly, yeah, that's he's just he knows how to like kind of to speak to her and like handle her, and that's where you know you can tell that he really cares, because he's studied her and what are your favorite qualities in Tiffany and Ethan?
Melissa Dymond:Oh gosh, that's a good question. . So in Tiffany, I just like that she's very resilient, like she's been through a lot and and like it has changed her, but she also has never given up, like she's even times that she wanted to give up. She's fought through that and come out on the other side and like, very like ambitiously pursued her dreams and her goals. And then in Ethan, I just like that he's very caring, like he's a very nurturing person and he sees her and he sees some of her wounds and like that doesn't scare him away, though that she's going to be worth the effort that he's going to put in, and so I just think that that's pretty special. So I think those are the things about her and I think that's what draws them to each other. I think that he's very admiring of her strength and her like skills and, um, I think that she is like responds to his kind of nurturing and caring nature. So I think that's the things that attract them to each other.
Kristen Bahls:Yeah, they really do balance each other out perfectly well. Ethan has an adorable nickname that he gives Tiffany throughout. Um, do you, do you have a trick for coming up with nicknames for your characters, or does it just kind of come to you as you're writing?
Melissa Dymond:It, just that one just came to me, I think. In my life I like I nickname people and I always nickname them with like a kind of an e sound at the end. So like, um, like my son Ashton, I'll call him Ashty, you know, and things like that. So I think automatically, like I just decided to give her a nickname that was like so hers Tiffany turns into Tiffy. He just calls her Tiffy and at first it annoys her and she's not a fan, but like over time, like she realizes it's really a term of endearment and like a way of him telling her that she's special, that he's given her a special name that's just for the two of them to share. So that was where I think I just automatically add that sound to the end of all my nicknames.
Kristen Bahls:And I like how he he didn't give up whenever she didn't love it a At first. H e was like nope, nope, I'm just going to keep on with this. And then, like you said, you said eventually it grows.
Melissa Dymond:You know, part of their relationship too is like he's. It's almost like that little boy like pulling the little girl's you know ponytail on the playground, like she doesn't want to give him her attention. So in the beginning he has to goad her a little bit to get that response out of her. So I think that's one reason he starts out with that a little bit, ignoring that she's like, stop it. You know he's like nope, because every time I say that you look at me.
Kristen Bahls:True, A little bit more kind of on your whole writing journey. You share a lot of different tips and tricks on Instagram for really writers of all kind. What made you decide to add in those writing tips and kind of switch it in addition to your books?
Melissa Dymond:I think that, like for me, I, when I started writing, I really had like no idea what I was doing and people have been so generous, and especially like social media and Facebook and TikTok and Instagram, that's where I've learned. Like this is my classroom. I've learned from other people, other writers, who are generous with their knowledge, and if I can give back in any way and help other people learn, then I'm more than happy to do that. You know, I mean, I really like people. This writing community is really special, especially the i indie author community. Like, we are more than willing to help each other out. We're more than willing to, you know, put a hand out and lift each other up, and there's really a sense of like community amongst us. So I was hoping that if I could give back in any small way, that I would do that and continue to do that. So I think that we're, all you know, better if we work together.
Kristen Bahls:And what is something that has kind of surprised you throughout this process that maybe you didn't expect that you would have to think about when self-publishing?
Melissa Dymond:I mean for sure, the marketing is like more intense than I ever imagined. I mean, I think most people think like, oh, I'm going to write a book and then I'm just going to put the book out and then that's going to be like that's what it is to be an author and that's unfortunately, in this day and age, is not at all what it takes to be an author. L like a t this point I say that writing is probably 30% of the job. Like I break it down writing is 30%, publishing is 20% and marketing is 50%. It's really important.
Melissa Dymond:There are so many books out there, so many great books out there, that trying to get your book in front of readers faces takes a lot of time and effort and you actually have to have a strategy behind that. You have to have a plan and you have to implement that plan and you know a lot the amount of hours and legwork that takes it to go into it. So that has been surprising to me. I was very naive in the beginning. I didn't know that all that would be required and I don't mind it.
Melissa Dymond:I like, actually like the marketing part of it. I like connecting with readers. I, like you, know, social media. The only thing I don't like is just it's very time consuming, and so sometimes I I personally find it hard to balance writing and marketing. Like right now I'm in the phase where I'm busy promoting Paging Dr. Hart, so I just haven't had a lot of time to work on writing, like Holiday Wedding, and then I feel kind of pulled in two different directions and I start to feel guilty like oh, I should really really need to be writing, because that's what I'm trying to do is write books, but I just don't have the time in my day to do both sometimes.
Kristen Bahls:And in addition to that, you have your job and your family and everything to try to balance all at once. So that that is yeah that's the thing.
Melissa Dymond:Is I still? You know I'm working as a doctor. I have three kids. I have three boys, ages four to 13, who are super busy. You know my husband's very busy, so it's just I have aging parents. You know I have all the things that everyone else has that I'm juggling. So we all wear many hats and my hats are constantly rotating.
Kristen Bahls:So what made you decide to go into self-publishing and to try to publish as an indie?
Melissa Dymond:I actually never submitted to agents, so my grandmother and mother were both writers. My mom wrote pretty seriously her whole life and I watched. You know she used to have like a writer's group in our house every other week like these, like 5, 10, 20 people would rotate. It would change through the years, but these people would meet in our house and they would like go over their writing and I just watched them and, honestly, like none of them ever really like I think maybe one got an agent and published. Like none of them really had success in the tradition.
Melissa Dymond:Yeah, exactly, yeah, exactly yeah. They know what they're getting. You know, a lot of readers, especially the sweet readers, have been frustrated because they'll get halfway through a book and then the spice hits and they're not comfortable and they just wasted time reading that book and so this way they know exactly what they're getting from me. It was like very easily laid out and so things like that. I yeah, a traditional publisher would have never gone for that because it is extra expense. I mean I do pay extra editing, formatting, all of those things, but um, to me it's worth it in the end and with traditional publishing anyway, with all the querying and stuff, it's so, like me, it's worth it in the end.
Kristen Bahls:And with traditional publishing anyway, with all the querying and stuff, it's so like any art. It's so subjective and you literally never know what agent wants what specific thing, and I'm sure it changes all the time anyway. And so that's why you get to put out, like you said, what you want, when you want it and how, how you want it to look, and you don't have to worry about like waiting on 50 million other people to um to agree on something to be able to get it out it is. And do you plan on keeping your books on kindle unlimited right now or you're going to switch um anytime soon?
Melissa Dymond:Kindle Unlimited for sure. I mean especially for romance readers, and I am myself on Kindle Unlimited. We're so voracious that financially it's hard to read the volume of books that we do and to pay for each one individually. So Kindle Unlimited is like a really nice way to be able to read as much as you want and then only know that you're only going to have to pay that one fee every month. So, I have a lot of Kindle Unlimited readers at this point. Holiday Star has like over 4.2 million it's almost like 4.25 million pages read from my Kindle Unlimited readers. So I would never want to abandon them. I would definitely like stay in Kindle Unlimited for me. It suits me really well.
Kristen Bahls:Yay, and, like you said, it just makes it easier to read because you have more options. You can do the e-book, you can do Kindle Unlimited, or you could do the paperback copy and any version. You have both versions available, so they get to really just pick all mediums and all versions.
Melissa Dymond:Yeah, I know, and even for Holiday Star I have . he audiobook actually comes out in June, on June 11th, the audiobook for Holiday Star. So I will literally have all the formats available for that book, which makes me really excited.
Kristen Bahls:And if you weren't already sold to try Paging Dr. Hart, then here here's your chance. You need to order a paperback copy, and Melissa does have a lot of pre-order goodies right now that go along with them. And, of course, you can buy any of her books with the link in the show notes, and that is it for today. So thank you for listening to Where I Left Off a Bookish Podcast. You can visit her site, you can follow her on social media and, of course, you can purchase her novels through all the links that are in the show notes, and you can always find her books Kindle U nlimited, in both the sweet and spicy version.