Kaira Rouda
Author Interview - Kaira Rouda
Author of The Next Wife and Jill is Not Happy and WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS
About WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS:
Sisters? Forever. Friends? NEVER. Who knew a reunion weekend could be so deadly?
Meet the sorority sisters of Theta Gamma Mu:
Roxy Callahan Gentry, the ruthless former sorority president and current hostess who has painstakingly choreographed every detail of this weekend―even matching the cocktails to her couture―to prove that she remains their undisputed queen
Amelia Dell, the widow drenched in old money and alcohol, with her big pot-stirring spoon and uninvited boy-toy in tow
Jamie Vale, the double-legacy pledge, straight-A student with no sparkle, now a top cardiologist with a picture-perfect family―and a well-guarded bad habit
Beth Harrison, the scholarship student who never quite fit in and was only admitted because her best friend Sunny insisted that the two were a package deal
Sunny Spencer, the carefree and beloved friend to all, or so it seemed―until she wasn't
They've been summoned to Roxy's luxurious Palm Springs vacation home to celebrate the engagement of her son to Beth's daughter. But the refurbished 1920s estate is eerily reminiscent of the hotel where tragedy struck during Spring Break twenty-five years ago. Long-simmering tensions and shocking secrets begin bubbling to the surface like bodies―because while the weekend was supposed to be about celebrating the future, it's not so easy to bury the past…
About Jill is Not Happy:
An ill-fated road trip resurrects a married couple’s darkest secrets in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of Best Day Ever and The Next Wife.
Some secrets keep a couple together.
If you ask Jill Tingley, she’ll tell you she and her husband Jack are college sweethearts living the dream in Southern California. Wealthy, popular and genetically blessed, theirs is an enviable life, though they’ve grown distant in recent years. Newly empty nesting with their daughter Maggie away at college, Jill suggests a road trip to reconnect.
Jack would rather do anything else than drive to Utah with his wife. He’s only stayed in this marriage because of a shared secret, a tragedy in the past he wanted to keep buried. And for his daughter’s sake. But Jack is finished with the charade of his marriage. He’s filing for divorce as soon as they return, no matter what.
About The Next Wife:
“Deception and Betrayal Dark Enough to End a Marriage . . . Or a life.
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. But the truth is, there's a lot of baggage. Namely, his first wife. Maybe it's time for a romantic getaway, far away 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.”
Author Interview - Kaira Rouda
Author I draw inspiration from:
2025: The poems of Dorothy Parker - all of them!
2021: Shirley Jackson among many many others
Author Interview - Kaira Rouda. | Author I draw inspiration from
Favorite place to read a book:
2025: the beach
2021: at night in bed when everyone else is sleeping
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
2021: Alex in Erica Katz's, The Boy's Club
Author Interview - Kaira Rouda. | Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
2025: In third grade when my teacher asked me to write to the person who I wanted to become
2021: I knew when my third grade teacher asked us to write to the person you want to become and I wrote to Robert McCloskey of Make Way for Ducklings fame. He wrote back and explained he was an illustrator not an author, but best of luck.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
2025: I am a print book reader, when at all possible.
2021: hardback or paperback
The last book I read:
2025: Gothic Town by Emily Carpenter
2021: The Last Flight by Julie Clark
Author Interview - Kaira Rouda | The last book I read
Pen & paper or computer:
2025: I write on my computer....and my favorite times, as a pantser, are when the characters take over the story. It's so fun.
2021: computer
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
2025: I read suspense books so most of the characters I like I'd never want to hang out with! Ha!
2021: In my experience, most characters in thrillers aren't folks you want to hang out with but I love to hang out with readers and writers of thrillers
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
2025: I've been a journalist, magazine editor, copywriter, public relations executive, vice president of an Inc 100 franchise company, and started my own business with my husband that grew to 22 states. This is the career of my dreams.
2021: an entrepreneur, although I'd argue that authors are entrepreneurs, too. My previous career was in marketing. I love to create.
Favorite decade in fashion history:
2025: the 70s
2021: the 70s for sure -- I'm a hippie at heart
Place I’d most like to travel:
2025: Italy
2021: Portugal has been on my bucket list but I love to travel so anywhere sounds fabulous right now!
My signature drink:
2025: white wine
2021: white wine
Favorite artist:
2025: Dylan Rouda
2021: Music? Dylan Rouda, my son, who is a singer/songwriter, and just released his first EP
Film? Avery Rouda, my daughter, who's film DREAM CATCHER is winning festivals around the globe
Number one on my bucket list:
2025: Completing my MFA
2021: create a vineyard and make my own wine
Anything else you'd like to add:
2021: Thank you so much for having me!
Find more from the author:
www.facebook.com/kairaroudabooks
www.instagram.com/kairarouda
www.kairarouda.com
About Kaira Rouda:
Kaira Rouda is the USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author of contemporary fiction exploring what goes on beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her suspense novels include Best Day Ever, The Next Wife, The Widow, The Favorite Daughter, The Second Mrs. Strom, and What the Nanny Saw. Her latest, Jill is Not Happy, is out June 10, 2025, and has been named a 2025 Most Anticipated Book by Zibby Media. Her novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and have been selected by Library Reads, Amazon and Apple Books Editors as Best Books of the Month and Strand Magazine’s Best Book of the Year. Her novel Beneath the Surface has been optioned for a feature film and was a Zibby’s Book Award winner. The Next Wife was awarded a Suspense Magazine Best Book of 2021 and won the Silver Falchion for Best Suspense Novel of the Year. She lives in Southern California with her family.
