Guest Post and Giveaway: Kaira Rouda

I am so happy to have Kaira Rouda, author of All the Difference here at The Book Bag today. She also wrote Here, Home, Hope, which I previously read and loved so when I saw that her newest book was going to be part of the CLP Blog Tours, I jumped at the chance to be a part of it! 

My thoughts on All the Difference were posted yesterday
 and can be found here.

Kaira, I have a question that I like to ask authors ~ so here goes!

I have heard other authors say that they 'hear voices in their head' and that is how they write their books: the characters are telling their stories. Not being a writer myself, that concept has always intrigued me.

When some people hear voices, we get them medical attention, others end up becoming writers. Does this happen to you? How do you come up with your stories?

Love this question, Susan!

It does sound really strange when an author talks about the characters taking over and running wild through the manuscript, taking plot twists the author never imagined. How can that be?

How odd that it happens to me.

I wasn’t in school as a novelist. I was an English lit major. I read other people’s famous works, savored them, treasured them – but didn’t have a lot of courses on craft or process. Well, in college, none at all.

As a newspaper reporter and columnist and as a magazine editor, I learned and practiced structure and refinement, ledes and non-thudding endings.

But in nonfiction, the writer is firmly in charge. It begins and ends with you, your notes, your interviews, your research.

Once I began immersing myself in the world of novel writing, I was shocked. It’s true – and weird – and exciting – and well, weird. These characters who are only alive because of you begin to take over. They each have a point of view, a distinct diction, a wonderful will to live. I can’t explain it, but yes, it happens to me every novel. And I love it.

My stories happen in my mind long before they arrive at the keyboard as characters, literally. So far – imagine a woman knocking on the closest table – it hasn’t been a problem coming up with stories. It has only been a problem coming up with time to tell them.

Thank you for asking me here and including All the Difference on your blog.

Other stops on the tour

**Everyone who leaves a comment on the CLP tour page will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! If you purchase your copy of All the Difference before April 23 and send your receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, you will get five bonus entries!**

Author Bio:

Kaira Rouda is an award-winning entrepreneur and author. She lives in Southern California with her husband and four kids and is at work on her next novel. She’s a social media addict and would love to connect with you on:

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

And on her website: www.KairaRouda.com

To purchase All the Difference, 

please visit your favorite online bookseller:

Amazon

Barnes&Noble