Having moved to Upper Arlington in fourth grade, author Kaira Rouda grew up and raised her four kids in UA. Her journey to writing novels was not straightforward, but she has always had a passion for storytelling.
Rouda is now a USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author. After moving to California in 2011, she is returning to Columbus for the Columbus Book Festival on July 12th and 13th.
To learn more about the book festival, click here.
Don’t forget to also check out our Weekly Win for a chance to receive a copy of Rouda’s newest novel, Jill is Not Happy.
Her first chapter
Candice Dartez
For as long as she can remember, Rouda has loved writing.
Throughout her childhood, she remembers instances where her passion for writing shined through.
“I remember so vividly when I was at Burbank Elementary School, my librarian laminated my first book, which was The Adventures of Scooter and Skipper,” says Rouda. “She put it in the school library so people could check it out.”
Rouda went on to study English literature at Vanderbilt University and, after graduation, began writing for publication at local newspaper, Columbus Business First.
Rouda and her husband later started a real estate business called Real Living. The company eventually grew to 22 states.
During that time, Rouda was asked to write her first book, Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs. The book featured national and Columbus entrepreneurs, including local favorite, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.
While traveling around the country and speaking to women entrepreneurs about living the life of their dreams and putting passion into action, someone asked her if she had done everything she had dreamed of. When Rouda answered no, they asked her, “Why not?”
She went home after and wrote her first novel called Here, Home, Hope. The novel was loosely inspired by her first book, as it follows the fictional story of a woman in the suburbs of Columbus as she goes through a midlife crisis and decides to make bold changes to her life.
Amazon
Her books
Rouda has now become a well-known writer of thrillers.
“I grew up loving Nancy Drew,” says Rouda. “I’ve always loved thrillers, and they kind of come naturally.”
Many of Rouda’s books take place in a setting she is familiar with. Her first thriller, Best Day Ever, was set in Columbus.
“Usually, setting comes first. Since I lived in Columbus for so long, often Columbus is a setting,” says Rouda. “Then, I usually have a character pop into my head. Because I know the setting really well, the character can be free to grow and become creepy.”
Jill is Not Happy is her eleventh thriller. The story follows Jack and Jill as they uncover each other’s dark secrets during an intense road trip. The story was inspired by the setting of the road trip she and her husband recently took.
Helping others
Kaira Rouda
Rouda has not only won awards for her writing, but also for her involvement in her community.
Over the years, she has won numerous awards for her community service including the national Kiwanis Service to Mankind Award, the Ohio Sertoma Service to Mankind Award, and Orange Coast Magazine’s Kickass Women award.
“My dad was a professor, and my mom was a school teacher. I was surrounded by books, but I was also surrounded by awareness of a community,” says Rouda.
She has been active in areas of homelessness, food security and women empowerment.
After reading Rachel and Her Children, a book about the plight of the homeless, Rouda was inspired to help families in central Ohio. At that time, Columbus only had separate shelters for men and women, which meant boys over the age of 16 had to go to a men’s shelter with their fathers, and mothers and younger children went to a women’s shelter.
“There was no emergency walk-in shelter for families, and I just couldn’t believe that,” says Rouda. “How are we separating families when that’s all they had left?”
Rouda got a group of volunteers together and raised money to start Columbus’s first walk-in emergency shelter for homeless families called Make Room Columbus.
Currently, she is still active in her community in California. Rouda was appointed to the California Volunteers commission. The goal of the commission is to encourage people across California to volunteer at least one hour a week in their community.
Korrigan Craddock is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
