It’s still April, which means that we are still all about that Spring Renewal—a.k.a. how to refresh and renew our perspectives on everything from reading, writing, and publishing, to overall personal balance! If there’s a woman who knows a thing or two about all of those things, it’s USA Today best-selling Sparkpress author Kaira Rouda. After spending over 20 years in marketing and perfecting the development of branding through personal awareness, Kaira began writing in order to finally fulfill her lifelong dream of being an author. Since then she has published a number of books including her forthcoming novel The Goodbye Year, coming out May 3 on SparkPress, which explores the lives of parents adjusting to the notion of their children leaving for college (hello, Empty Nest Syndrome).

We caught up with Kaira to discuss her inspiration behind The Goodbye Year as well as her other novels, and how she uses personal experience to reinvent her writing perspective on the page.

You are known for women’s fiction—but specifically, what are the themes closest to your heart?

My stories all have one thing in common: real women dealing with real-life issues, some big, some small. I write stories about the things in life that touch my heart, both good and bad. When we overcome these challenges, that’s when we can find real, true purpose. For me, that’s where the stories are.

How did you originally find your brand based off of what you’re passionate about?

My entire career – in journalism, marketing, entrepreneurism and now publishing – has been about empowering women. From my first nonfiction book, Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs, to my contemporary romance series, my purpose is to encourage women to find themselves and to honor themselves in everything they do. At the heart, my brand is about being real.

How did you channel a vision that is constantly being renewed into a published book, which lasts forever?

I’m not sure I’m renewing my point of view as much as evolving as a person, and an author, over time. Being a writer is being in business. Period. I used to speak to women’s organizations across the country after my business book published, telling women to put the real you into everything you do and to put your passions into action. In 2011, I finally was given the opportunity to follow my own advice. My dream since third grade was to be a novelist and it has been such a fabulous career shift. When I write “career” shift, I mean that in every aspect of the business sense. If you want to write, write. If you want to publish, finish what you’ve written. If you want people to read what you’ve written, prepare to work hard at marketing and selling your books, no matter if you’re traditionally, hybrid or self-published. Bottom line: like everything else in life, if it’s your dream, it’s up to you to make it come true.

The Goodbye Year is a representation of where you’re at in your life. How did that also apply to the book prior to this one?

My books are all a reflection of my life, either by setting or by situation. The Goodbye Year is a clear reflection of my own goodbye year with my youngest son. (Sigh. #emptynestday213 but who’s counting?) That was the starting place for the story. But of course, the characters spiraled out of control from there. The characters in The Goodbye Year were fun for me to spend time with – and I hope readers agree. My last women’s fiction, In the Mirror, tackled the tough situation of a young mother with a serious cancer diagnosis. This story also was triggered by a dear friend’s experience. Here, Home, Hope is about one mom’s midlife, mid-motherhood crisis as her two kids enter middle school and she tries to find purpose. That story was inspired by all the women entrepreneurs I’d met during my career, as well as that highly charged space between “working moms” and “work at home moms”. My other women’s fiction, All The Difference, is a murder-mystery. I love a good suburban mystery, so I had fun stepping into that world.

Where do you think it will lead you next?

I am a fairly prolific writer, and my dream is to create a career that allows me to continue to write the stories I’m inspired to write. The list of ideas bouncing around in my imagination is diverse, but at the heart they are stories about women overcoming challenges to find real, true purpose. And, in my romance stories, a wonderful happily ever after. And isn’t that really what life is about?

How do you feel the process of writing your books transforms and/or reinvents you as a person—and an author?

It’s important to keep your vision updated and clear, for your personal brand and your business brand. As I advised in Real You Incorporated, it’s important to touch base with yourself once a year to reflect on where you’ve been, and where you’re going. What worked, what didn’t. It all starts with you. Are you following your passions? When is the last time you created a vision board for yourself? For your author brand? It’s important to take time to define yourself, because if you don’t, you’ll be defined by others.

Please read my free download: Real You: 8 Essentials for Women Writers. I wrote it and used it as a basis for a talk I gave last summer in New York at the Romance Writers of America National Convention. The tips are genre agnostic, and the process has worked for thousands of women entrepreneurs, including authors.

Just a reminder to authors that a successful writing career should be defined as one that feels true to you. It’s not about chasing the next fad in hopes of making millions. It’s about writing what you’re inspired to write. It’s about taking care of yourself; valuing yourself enough to slow down, take breaks, enjoy the day. Being real is about listening to your deeper self, your inner voice. This is where the soul lies, the real you.