Uncategorized | Kaira Rouda

3 03, 2014

Real You: Cover reveal! IN THE MIRROR is coming out May 1st!

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:49:32+00:00March 3, 2014|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Cover reveal! IN THE MIRROR is coming out May 1st!

Goodreads Book Giveaway In the Mirror by Kaira Rouda Giveaway ends April 30, 2014. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win And to celebrate, my publisher is hosting a Goodreads Book Giveaway! Enter to win by clicking the link, or simply hop over to Goodreads and search giveaways! I'd really appreciate it if you'd add the book to your To Read list! Soon, I'll have more information for pre-ordering - but in the meantime, here is your chance to enter to win a copy for free! What's IN THE MIRROR all about, you ask? The novel revolves around a simple question: If you knew you might die soon, what choices would you make? Jennifer Benson has it all: a successful career, a perfect husband, two kids and abundant friendships. The only problem is she may be dying. IN THE MIRROR is the realistic [...]

27 01, 2014

Real You: Exciting news to share!

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:49:42+00:00January 27, 2014|book, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Exciting news to share!

My third novel, IN THE MIRROR, will be published on May 1st! I'm excited to share it with you and will be able to reveal the cover very soon. For those of you who have waited for this for a year - yes, 2013 was a transition year for me full of floods, and moves, and graduations, and more - thank you!I hope you'll find IN THE MIRROR to be worth the wait! As the publication date gets closer I will let you know about some fun contests and other events I have planned to celebrate with you. Here's what New York Times bestselling author Tracey Garvis Graves says about IN THE MIRROR: "Emotionally gripping and heart-achingly beautiful, this novel will make you think about what's truly important." I very much hope you'll agree! Thank you for reading my work! It means so much! Hopefully, [...]

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, [...]

20 11, 2013

Real You: Making your dreams come true

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:50:02+00:00November 20, 2013|dreams, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Making your dreams come true

Reality check time!Here is the most important notion I've learned during the last five years: you are responsible for making your dreams come true. That's it. The truth. You can wish for help, you can pray for assistance, you can even believe in somebody who says they can make your dream come true. But they won't. They can't. In my first book - a business book for women entrepreneurs called REAL YOU INCORPORATED - I emphasize the fact that to make the business of your dreams become a reality, it all starts with you. Knowing who you are, and what you truly want. Knowing what you are willing to sacrifice to get there, and knowing what you won't. And, I'll tell you what. It's the same whether your dream is to become a small business owner, or a published author, or a (fill in the [...]

25 10, 2013

Real You: Hometown Memories

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:50:05+00:00October 25, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Hometown Memories

A friend of mine from my hometown of Upper Arlington, Ohio, asked me last summer if I would write my favorite memory of my time there. Hmmm. I was stumped. It took me until this fall to finally write the piece. Here's what I came up with. What's your favorite hometown memory? It’s hard to sum up a favorite UA memory, at least it is for me. UA is the place I spent my formative years – from fourth grade at Burbank Elementary through graduation from Upper Arlington High School. It’s the place where all four of my children were born – and it’s the place where my husband was born and raised. It’s also, the place where my father-in-law started his business. There is so much here – so many layers of remembrance on every street, each shopping center, even in the smell of [...]

8 10, 2013

Real You: The long haul

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:50:07+00:00October 8, 2013|Uncategorized, write|Comments Off on Real You: The long haul

That's what I'm reminding myself as I sit down to write this post - finally - after a several-month-long writer's block. It's about the long haul, the sum total of what you've done to make a difference in the world, and not about any one period of muck. Or drought. Or in my case, a flood, followed by a move, followed by a huge asthma attack due to the sealant used on the roads in my neighborhood, followed by a massive construction project RIGHT NEXT STORE that has been in full force every day since we moved into the new house at the beginning of April, just after the flood in our new home. How's that for a sentence? To me, it felt good to finally write because during this time, this time of unsettlement, I haven't been able to write, at least not very [...]

30 06, 2013

Real You: Welcome Author Meg Waite Clayton

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:50:18+00:00June 30, 2013|author interview, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Welcome Author Meg Waite Clayton

I'm so excited to welcome my friend, the New York Times bestselling author Meg Waite Clayton who is celebrating the publication of her newest novel, The Wednesday Daughters, to my blog. Below Meg explains the history of her writing career - and her firm belief in the comfort of writing friends. Take it away, Meg: The history of my own writing starts with a purse. Like the character of Linda in my novel, The Wednesday Sisters, my first writing teacher—at a college extension class—dumped hers out over the table and told us to write for five minutes about anything that spilled out. Ok, wait. The truth, if memory serves, is that my first writing teacher actually brought a brown paper lunch bag full of interesting things. The purse is fiction. But you get the idea. And perhaps I should say I was well into my 30s by [...]

28 05, 2013

ALL THE DIFFERENCE is National Indie Excellence Winner!

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:50:26+00:00May 28, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on ALL THE DIFFERENCE is National Indie Excellence Winner!

I'm so excited to announce that my second novel, ALL THE DIFFERENCE, is a 2013 National Indie Excellence Award Winner, one of four finalists in the fiction suspense category! As the Indie Excellence press release notes, "Not only has the number of entrants increased, but the excellence has risen to a whole new level. Advances in technology and the increase in sophistication of self-publishers has produced a bumper crop of books that stand proudly next those published by mainstream houses. This has created a challenge of unexpected magnitude for the contest judges." "The National Indie Excellence Awards criteria for recognition are stringent and include overall excellence. This award celebrates the highest achievements in small publishing, a sector of the industry that has grown exponentially in recent years." Yay! Here is another reason I'm so excited! ALL THE DIFFERENCE was my first attempt writing suspense, even though [...]

12 04, 2013

Real You: Authors in Bloom Blog Hop! 10 days of prizes, tips and more!

By Kaira Rouda|2023-02-06T23:50:57+00:00April 12, 2013|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Real You: Authors in Bloom Blog Hop! 10 days of prizes, tips and more!

Welcome to my part of the Author's in Bloom Blog Hop Tour! I am happily giving away a signed copy of my debut novel HERE, HOME, HOPE and a copy of my mystery, ALL THE DIFFERENCE! Leave a comment here and then hop to all the other fabulous authors and discover reading and gardening tips galore! For all the contest rules and details, please visit the Authors in Bloom landing page at www.acozyreaderscorner.com. And by entering, you're also be ALSO be eligible for the GRAND PRIZE - a Kindle Fire or Nook (winner's choice) and a $25 gift card for the same. Please leave comments on my blog to win! Winners announced on April 19th, 2013 (US and Canada only)! Here's a tip: Don't ever sign up to be part of a blog tour on your moving day. (My apologies for the late post, Diane!) For a gardening tip: This [...]

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 [...]