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Kaira Rouda is the author of The Next Wife, which will publish on May 1st.
Kaira’s novels include The Favorite Daughter, Best Day Ever and All the Difference. A former magazine editor and society columnist, Kaira won the Stevie Award for Women in Business for creating the first
female-focused residential real estate brand, Real Living, and growing the brand to more than 22 states before its sale to Berkshire Hathaway.
Here’s the synopsis for The Next Wife:
Kate Nelson had it all. A flourishing company founded with her husband, John; a happy marriage; and a daughter, Ashlyn. The picture-perfect family. Until John left for another woman. Tish is half his age. Ambitious. She’s cultivated a friendship with Ashlyn. Tish believes she’s won.
She’s wrong.
Tish Nelson has it all. Youth, influence, a life of luxury, and a new husband. But the truth is, there’s a lot of baggage. Namely, his first wife—and suspicions of his infidelity. After all, that’s how she got John. Maybe it’s time for a romantic getaway, far from his vindictive ex. If Kate plans on getting John back, Tish is one step ahead of her.
She thinks.
But what happens next is something neither Kate nor Tish saw coming. As best-laid plans come undone, there’s no telling what a woman will do in the name of love—and revenge.
Let’s get to know Kaira as she talks favorite novels, writing thrillers, favorite part to write and much more!
What are some of your favorite novels?
All-time favorite is The Great Gatsby. I have so many favorites including anything by Eudora Welty, or Shirley Jackson, Susan Isaacs, and of course, Gone Girl. The domestic suspense genre is full of fabulous books and authors and I’m so happy to be a part of it all.
When did you know you wanted to become an author?
In third grade our teacher asked us to write a note to the person who you’d like to become. I wrote to the author of Make Way for Ducklings, my favorite book at the time. I wanted to be an author just like him. Robert McCloskey wrote back and said he was an illustrator not an author, but wished me good luck. This exchange, it turns out, typifies the ups and downs of the writing life.
What do you like best about writing thrillers?
Everything, but I especially enjoy it when my characters surprise me. I’m a pantser, preferring to write without an outline, so it is magical when my character takes over as I’m writing. With thrillers, sometimes, your own characters can scare you as well as surprise you. And that’s really fun, too.
What inspired you to write The Next Wife?
I wanted to explore the all too common dynamics of the first wife and the second, younger wife. Also, in a previous career, my husband and I built a company together. As anyone will tell you, running a business with your spouse is full of challenges, and drama. Add in another wife, and boom, that’s where fiction loves to reside.
Without giving away spoilers, what was your favorite part or chapter to write?
My favorite part was setting some of the novel in Telluride, a town I have so many fond memories of visiting with my family. All four of my kids learned to ski in Telluride. I had fun revisiting the town in my imagination, with John and Tish Nelson. I hope readers will get a sense of the beautiful mountain village. Most of the novel, as with most of my books, takes place in the suburbs where you never really know what goes on behind closed doors.
What are you currently reading and what’s on your TBR (to be read) list?
I plan to start Kristin Hannah’s Four Winds just as soon as I finish a draft of my work in progress. I can’t read while I’m actively writing but I’m excited to get to Four Winds soon. My grandmother lived through the Dust Bowl and I have vivid memories of her descriptions of that terrible time. I actually have an unpublished novel set in the Texas panhandle during the Dust Bowl. Maybe, someday, it will be published but in the meantime, I’ll enjoy Kristin Hannah’s. As for my TBR list, it’s huge. I don’t know about you but I’ve discovered during the pandemic that Netflix and the like have drawn me in, zapping some of my treasured reading time. I need to get back to more reading, less streaming, just as soon as my latest binge show is over!
Click here to order The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda on Amazon.
