aha | Kaira Rouda

5 11, 2015

Real You: Remember what’s important during the holidays

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:43:01+00:00November 5, 2015|aha|Comments Off on Real You: Remember what’s important during the holidays

I was asked to write a piece for Woman's World magazine about what it was like not to have any more kids to dress up and take trick-or-treating during Halloween. Sob. Sure, I've had teenagers for awhile, so that phase of little people needing to be chaperoned in the neighborhood had long since passed. But what I discovered, as I began to write, was there was one important message I wish I could have told my younger self: be in the moment. Because this Halloween, this Thanksgiving and this Christmas only happens once, ever. Perfection is not what's important, being there, focused on your kids, that's what matters. There aren't any do overs. Just these precious years of chaos that will soon be memories. Enjoy every moment this holiday season! (to read the article I wrote, go here)

5 01, 2014

Real You: Happy New Year book news and woman power

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:49:48+00:00January 5, 2014|aha, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Happy New Year book news and woman power

I hope you're having a great start to 2014! So far, I've been enjoying my family, recovering from food poisoning (a pickle, of all things), and trying to get back in the writing saddle. The end of 2013 left me a bit adrift, from the writing standpoint. But, I should have some good news to announce shortly! In the meantime, I wanted to let you all know that IndieReader gave ALL THE DIFFERENCE a great review on their site, calling it "a quick and sexy mystery, a challenge to unravel, and proves there’s nothing humdrum about the ‘burbs." See the whole review here. I wasn't expecting the review and it reinvigorated me, the same way that five-star Amazon reviews can. It's odd, but us writers are such a sensitive lot. A tiny bit of applause goes a long way. My debut novel, HERE, HOME, HOPE, [...]

21 03, 2013

Real You: A moving experience

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:51:02+00:00March 21, 2013|aha, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: A moving experience

We all have certain talents - and certain, shall we say, challenges. Well, I'll readily admit one of my biggest deficits is organization - or lack thereof! So, the fact we've moved as a family four times since the fall of 2009 is remarkable. Remarkable that we've stuck together and remarkable that I can find anything, anywhere. And, why am I writing about this you ask? We're moving AGAIN! So with the impending, looming process I thought I'd take a moment to share the top five things I've learned during my last four years of a very moving experience: Lesson 1: You cannot control anything. You can plan, make checklists, plan some more - but when the big day comes, it arrives with all the mistakes, broken dishes and chipped treasures that are part of being human. Lesson 2: Moving is a great time for reflection. I [...]

2 05, 2012

Real You: The treasures that matter in the vaults of life

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:06:25+00:00May 2, 2012|aha|Comments Off on Real You: The treasures that matter in the vaults of life

The truth is, I'm not having a great time with this move. We were relocated due to my husband's job - suddenly - over Thanksgiving and picked a place to live quickly, and for a short-term lease. Now, it's up and we're off. Two things. It's hard to move - for a short-term - a family of six with two dogs and piles of stuff. It's even harder to move - again - five months later. Second, I've found I'm practicing for empty nesting. I am letting go. I am a natural pack rat, and when the vaults - yes they call them vaults - of stuff we had in storage from two moves ago pulled up on a semi-truck in front of the new house, I wanted to tell them the driver he had the wrong address. Clearly, I didn't need the vault contents [...]

24 10, 2011

Real You: 10 Tips for Networking – you can do this!

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:08:23+00:00October 24, 2011|aha, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: 10 Tips for Networking – you can do this!

Here's the thing. We all know we need to network - no matter what we do. As a mom, I network to find good tutors, good doctors, good electricians. Everything. As an author, I network to find out about good agents, good publishers, and to discover new methods of reaching readers. So given we all need to network, and according to studies, we as women are more reluctant to do so in a business setting, I offer you my 10 tips for networking success. I hope you enjoy them and will take them to heart. You can do this - you're a natural! 1.Know the Real You - who you are, what you do , who you do it for and why you do it. 2. Join organizations that have meaning to you. 3. Remember to give as much as you take. 4. Know your manners, online and [...]

6 10, 2011

Real You: Lessons learned from a really bad cold

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:08:30+00:00October 6, 2011|aha, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Lessons learned from a really bad cold

1. Instead of being in denial, go to doctor right away.2. Juice bar "get well" shot with cayenne pepper and the like hurts going down, so must be doing good? 3. When cough medicine bottle says 2 tsp - that is teaspoons not tablespoons. Oops. 4. Whatever you are writing after 2 tbsp of cough medicine seems better than it really is once medicine-fog clears. 5. It's great to have understanding dogs. They are bored, in need of a walk, but yet, still stick by me. 6. Remember, good health is a blessing. Repeat daily. 7. People do not want to talk on the telephone to someone who cannot speak without coughing. Those of us who cannot speak without coughing should stay off the telephone. 8. I would rather be sick when it's raining. 9. Thank goodness for antibiotics. 10. When a cold forces you [...]

20 09, 2010

Real You: Choices

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T00:16:17+00:00September 20, 2010|aha, authors, choice, Kaira Rouda, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Choices

I am stuck. Doesn't happen much, because I try to be a woman of action. Afterall, my refrain is put your passion into action. But here's the problem. I need to choose a cover for my novel - Here, Home, Hope - being published in May 2011. But there are two good choices and I'm not sure which one to go with. People do judge books by their covers. It's arguably the biggest, most important decision surrounding a book. The cover conveys visual cues about tone, subject, substance and so much more. And well, that's why I'm stuck. Please, if you like to read women's fiction and you have an opinion one way or another, please let me know! The choices are here, on my Facebook Fan Page, Kaira Rouda Books. And, of course, I'd love for you to become a fan. Pick a cover, [...]

8 07, 2008

On being real, even if you’re famous like Heather Locklear, who I spent the weekend with (sort of)

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-07T13:30:00+00:00July 8, 2008|aha, fame, heather locklear, miraval, real|Comments Off on On being real, even if you’re famous like Heather Locklear, who I spent the weekend with (sort of)

Last weekend, I had a fabulous experience.An “aha moment”, as they call it at the incredible Miraval Resort and Spa where we were staying in Tucson, Arizona. (More about the resort in another post.) An “aha moment” is when you have sudden clarity of a thought, an idea, a spark of a dream. Typically, in this blog, I’d relate an “aha moment” to you and your dreams of re-thinking your personal brand, or the clarity to finally go for it and start your business. And that fits. But in this case, my “aha moment” was about celebrity in today’s culture. Authenticity – being real – is an over-hyped term. But at its core, sincerity is still a quality you can feel in others and you know it in yourself. That brings me back to Heather Locklear. It got me thinking about how hard it must [...]