Our Interview with author Kaira Rouda

Welcome Kaira and thank you for joining us!  

We have a great interview, information about her book and then a great review to reveal today! (I just finished reading her book on Monday night!)

Tell us a little about Kaira Rouda!

Karia do you work another job when you aren't writing?

Until a year ago, I worked full time, most of my life. Most recently, my husband and I created a residential real estate company called Real Living. (If you haven’t heard of it yet, hopefully you will soon!) It’s the fastest growing brand in real estate. My husband continues to run the company, and I’m the brand consultant.

All my life I’ve wanted to write novels – and I have been writing on the side. But now, I’m taking the advice I offered women in my own business book Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs  – follow your passions, put them into action. I’m finally doing just that. When HERE, HOME, HOPE came out in May, it was the most amazing dream come true.

What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t writing?

Teen wrangling – I have four; playing with my dogs – I have two; and hanging out with friends. Yoga is my favorite workout. Oh, and I like to spend time with my husband – I have one. 

What is your favorite color? Why?

Blue. Reminds me of the ocean.

What is your favorite season? Why?

Summer. I love to be warm.

If you could live anyplace on earth, where would it be? Why?

At the beach. Anywhere, really, at the beach, but I am finally living here (as of 2 years ago), and it’s also a dream come true. 

If you could have any car, what would it be?

I hate cars. And I really hate driving – especially in LA! Soooo, if I could have any car, it would come with a driver.

Tell us about your writing

How long have your been writing? Was it a dream, a goal or is it just a hobby?

I have written for as long as I can remember. Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, magazine features, newspaper columns, business columns, ad copy, radio spots, speeches, manuals (ick), press releases. I was the society columnist in Columbus, Ohio for 10 years and I’ve written for too many magazines to name. But my dream always has been to write a novel.  

How many hours a day do you devote to writing? Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?

This luxury of writing full-time is new, so I’m figuring out my mojo. Stay tuned!

Is there some place special you like to be when you write?

Anywhere with my laptop works.

Do you listen to music or do you need a quiet place to write?

Either – as long as it’s not pop music as I tend to sing along and that messes up dialog.

Tell us about your book

What is the name of it and is it part of a series or a stand alone novel?

HERE, HOME, HOPE is a stand-alone novel, set in the fictive suburb of Grandville. There are three more stories set in the same town, but they aren’t sequential, just some familiar characters pop up.

Where did the idea come from?

  I have no idea, but I am a product of the suburbs, myself.

How long did it take to write?

Originally, six months. Revisions/edits/rewrites/blah – another 1 ½ years.

What is it about?

From the back cover: “HERE, HOME, HOPE is a witty, absorbing tale of one woman’s journey from midlife crisis to reinvention. “ That makes it sound boring, but hopefully it’s not! I was blessed to receive amazing endorsements from some of the best women’s fiction writers working today including Claire Cook, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Beth Hoffman, Amy Hatvany, Katrina Kittle and more. I like their descriptions better. Claire, my cover girl, said: “Reading Kaira Rouda is like getting together with a best friend.” I love that. I’m proud it won the 2011 Indie Excellence Award. That means a lot.

Your other work

Do you have any upcoming projects in the works or other books that have been published?

As I mentioned, I wrote a business book for women – REAL YOU INCORPORATED: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs (Wiley/2008) - that continues to resonate with women across the country. I truly hope to empower and inspire other women with that book, and through other activities I’m involved in.

I published my first short story – A MOTHER’S DAY – this summer, too, and hope to follow with another one this winter.

My next book set in the same suburb of Grandville is ready to go. My current publisher, Greenleaf, would like to publish it, but I’m attempting to get interest from a “big” publisher. If not, I’ll carry on with the Indie path.

Where can readers connect with you?

I love to Skype with book clubs and I’ve been having a blast with that. 

To reach me, visit my website: www.kairarouda.com , my Facebook Fan Page Kaira Rouda Books or on Twitter, @KairaRouda

Where can we buy your books?

HERE, HOME, HOPE is at Hudson News airport locations, at select Barnes & Noble stores across the country and available from some wonderful independent booksellers. It’s also of course on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and IndieBound. 

REAL YOU INCORPORATED and A MOTHER’S DAY also are available online.

Thanks for having me on your blog, Stacy!

Here, Home, Hope - Review by Stacy Eaton

This is a book for women, plain and simple.  Any woman who has reached a point in her life and has started asking questions about what they have accomplished and where they are going from here will find real joy from this book. 

I was able to identify with Ms. Rouda’s Here, Home, Hope very easily as I have had not one, but two mid-life crisis’s.  Reading how she takes the lives of close friends, husbands, children and careers on a round-about merry go round was entertaining and enjoyable. 

Her writing style is easy to read and her book flows very nicely. The only thing I found challenging for me was once in a while the conversation felt a bit rushed and I wasn’t completely clear on the time at some points in the story. 

I loved her plot line, and her knowledge of the world of real estate and staging shined through in her words.  I very much enjoyed her characters and could easily see them interacting with each other throughout the book. 

For any woman who has hit the mid-life crisis point in their life, they will be able to identify with what Kelly and her friends are going through. Any woman with a teen will be able to understand the stress of what Melanie was dealing with, and for all of us… we all know a Rachel White that has come into our lives at some point.

Raising my martini glass to Kaira here!  Great book! Really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of her work! 

Join Kaira Rouda and 35 other authors for the 99 Cent Book Event, in celebration of the release of award-winning,

bestselling author Melissa Foster's 

COME BACK TO ME

Tues., Nov. 1 - Thurs., Nov 3. 

ALL BOOKS 99 CENTS, ebook giveaways, and more! www.womensliterarycafe.com