Thursday, May 5, 2016

Kaira Rouda is having a year to remember...plus a book giveaway

So glad to have Kaira Rouda back at CLC! Her latest novel, The Goodbye Year, published on Tuesday and I'm already hearing great things about it. My favorite part, without having read it yet, is the acknowledgments section. (Not only for my own name, but also for the other women who have championed Kaira's books, including our blog sister.)

Not only does Kaira Rouda write women's fiction (including Here, Home, Hope and In the Mirror), but she also has a romance series called "Laguna Beach." She is a national bestselling author whose books have won the Indie Excellence Award, USA Book Awards, the Reader’s Choice Awards and honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest International Book Awards. The novels have been widely reviewed and featured in leading national magazines. Kaira's husband and four amazing almost grown children are her biggest blessings and her friends fill her life with joy. Visit Kaira at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

As part of Regression Month, Kaira is here today to talk about the lead character from The Goodbye Year, by taking us back to her childhood days. She has three print copies (US only) and three e-books (worldwide) to give away. 

In the meantime, here's a free e-book, in honor of Mother's Day.


Synopsis:
Melanie, a perfectionist mom who views the approaching end of parenting as a type of death, can’t believe she has only one more year to live vicariously through her slacker senior son, Dane. Gorgeous mom Sarah has just begun to realize that her only daughter, Ashley, has been serving as a stand-in for her traveling husband, and the thought of her daughter leaving for college is cracking the carefully cultivated façade of her life. Will and his wife are fine—as long as he follows the instructions on the family calendar and is sure to keep secret his whole other life with Lauren, the woman he turns to for fun (and who also happens to have a daughter in the senior class).

Told from the points of view of both the parents and the kids, The Goodbye Year explores high school peer pressure, what it’s like for young people to face the unknown of life after high school, and how a transition that should be the beginning of a couple’s second act together—empty nesting—might possibly be the end. (Courtesy of Kaira's website.)

As a child...

What did your character want to be when they grew up?
Melanie always wanted to be a mom. She wanted to marry the man of her dreams and build a family. She wanted to do all of this in the Midwest, where she was born and raised. Everything doesn’t always work out as planned.

What was something your character found funny?
Hula hooping. She was a master. And also the way Samantha always won on Bewitched.

What was your character's favorite TV show?
The Partridge Family and The Brady Bunch. (It’s hard for her to choose!)

What was your character's favorite food?
French fries and popcorn shrimp from Howard Johnson’s on family road trips.

Who was your character's celebrity crush?
David Cassidy and the Bay City Rollers. Swoon.

What was your character's favorite thing to do?
She liked to read. Hang out with her friends and go to the swimming pool in the summer wearing her pink and white dotted bikini.

Thanks to Kaira for visiting with us and sharing her book with our readers. The Goodbye Year is part of BookSparks' "It's Raining Books" tour.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Worldwide (print for US only). Giveaway ends May 10th at midnight EST.



18 comments:

Janine said...

My favorite when I was a kid was ice cream

Unknown said...

When I was a kid, my favorite food was spaghetti.

Jennifer said...

I loved pizza and still do! :)

lbryant said...

Spaghetti... All day, everyday!! It was my favorite.

lbryant said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
traveler said...

I loved Challah with butter.

Tatum Rangel said...

I loved french fries and still do.

Jessica said...

My tastes are the same as when I was a kid. Spaghetti then and same now. =]

Bonnie K. said...

I haven't had this in a long time, but I really loved the fried abalone my mother prepared when we were children.

Liz Parker said...

Chicken nuggets, and mushroom pizza.

susieqlaw said...

I really enjoyed The Goodbye Year. After reading this book, I appreciated the different views presented by parents and children about The Goodbye Year.

Eileen AW said...

Grilled cheese and tomato soup or peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

Rita Wray said...

I grew up in a Finnish household. My mom made delicious Finnish meatballs. I loved them.

Laurice Mcclung said...

Wimpy burgers! (sloppy joes)

Kelly Rodriguez said...

My favorite food when I was a kid was definitely McDonalds and a close second was pizza.

Mary Preston said...

Has to be watermelon. My grandfather grew them on the farm. I could eat as much as I wanted - and I did.

Holly said...

Hamburgers and fries.

Carol D said...

My favorite food when I was a kid was navel oranges. I couldnt get enough of them. I could eat an entire bag of oranges in a day.