Kaira Rouda: On Writing The Widow

How a major life change led to a novel, becoming a docent at The Library of Congress, and joining a very exclusive club

By Kaira Rouda

Approximately 12,000 Americans have served in Congress…from the beginning of our country’s founding.

When my husband became one of them, I found myself immersed in a world of history, art, culture, and of course, politics. But also, a warm and welcoming network of spouses who didn’t necessarily pick a path of public service, but step into it with grace.

The club that helps them to do so, should they choose, is called The Congressional Club & Museum, and it’s the oldest bipartisan organization on the hill. https://www.thecongressionalclubmuseumandfoundation.org/

I never considered, as much as I should have, the women behind the men serving in congress. I suppose I was more focused on getting more women in office. But the fact is: whoever is serving, their spouse is, too, without most of the perks or thanks. That made me imagine a story about a spouse who had sacrificed so much for 30 years, only to watch everything she and her husband achieve fall apart over his bad choices. 

Before I say more about my new novel, The Widow, a bit about The Congressional Club. It was founded by a spouse whose husband, a member of the senate, was firmly against it so she took him out to lunch and distracted him so he would miss the vote in May of 1908. The clubhouse was dedicated in 1914 with a formal reception with President Wilson as the guest of honor. My first introduction to the club was during freshman orientation, a whirlwind period between when your spouse is elected to congress in November and the swearing-in in January. Stunned and freezing – it’s cold in DC for this California girl – the members of the club welcomed two busloads of new spouses with open arms. 

We’d been in orientation for a couple of months by then, traveling to Boston and Colonial Williamsburg, learning about being in a security detail for the first time, getting badges and pins, and listening to all the scary security debriefs, so it was a relief to step inside a warm and inviting place. Inside the walls of the club, you’ll find a museum featuring a replica of every first lady’s dress, rooms decorated in traditional manner, and so much history. After a full day of sessions on everything including what to wear, what events not to miss, security, who on staff is most important for you to have a relationship with (the scheduler), and carving out time for your relationship, I’d connected with several women spouses who had been on the hill for years and would become mentors and friends. I even joined the First Lady’s Luncheon committee and have been on it ever since. 

 http://www.firstladies.org/blog/lunching-with-the-first-lady-a-congressional-club-tradition/

With such bitter political divides so apparent these days in DC, the Congressional Club is more important than ever. In my opinion, the only way to overcome hatred is through relationships.

The Library of Congress became my favorite place to be during my husband’s time in congress and I was so enamored that I began training to become a docent. The building is stunning, the reading room takes your breath away. I open my novel, The Widow, with Congressional Spouse Jody Asher waiting to meet her husband as they are attending a Congressional Dialogues Dinner, a bipartisan event for representatives and senators, and their guests. The dinners feature fascinating historians and hope to elevate the conversation and understanding between the guests. I loved each dinner I had a chance to attend. Jody, however, is angry at her spouse, 30-year incumbent Martin Asher. She finds him flirting with a staffer in the Members Room of The Library of Congress (one of my favorite rooms). Jody isn’t paying attention to the glamorous historic room, though, she’s focused on Martin. And everything his actions are about to ruin. 

The Widow is based on the tradition of The Widow’s Mandate, a tradition in American politics where women are either appointed or elected to fill their late husbands’ Congressional seats. First, there was Mae Ella Nolan from California who became a U.S. Representative after her husband died in 1922. Then throughout the next century, forty-seven additional American women followed in her footsteps most notably including Mary Bono, Sonny Bono’s wife, after he passed away in a tragic skiing accident in 1998. Their husbands’ deaths made them widows. The “Widow’s Mandate” made them politicians. Statistically speaking, for women aspiring to serve in congress, the best husband has been a dead husband. 

Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. She, the charming wife, would fuel his success. For fifteen congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until he wasn’t.

Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally. But professionally? It’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished.

When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative―but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. And there’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.

I had a blast bringing DC to life in my latest novel and tapping into the experiences I had during my time there. I hope you’ll give The Widow a read. To my delight Library Journal captured it perfectly in a recent review: This is a guilty pleasure read, laden with silver-tongued politicians who revel in their duplicitous dance with the truth. It’s a deliciously diabolical take on marriage, politics, and the lies that bind.

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Kaira Rouda

Kaira Rouda is a USA TODAY, Amazon charts, and international bestselling, multiple award-winning author of contemporary fiction that explores what goes on beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her domestic suspense novels include BEST DAY EVER, THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER, ALL THE DIFFERENCE, THE NEXT WIFE, and SOMEBODY’S HOME. Her latest novel is THE WIDOW. BENEATH THE SURFACE will be out in September, 2023. To date, Kaira’s novels have been translated into more than ten languages. She lives in Southern California with her family.

For more information, visit www.kairarouda.com.

THE WIDOW

A husband with secrets. A wife with no limits. A riveting novel of marriage, privilege, and lies by Kaira Rouda, the USA Today bestselling author of The Next Wife.

Jody Asher had a plan. Her charismatic husband, Martin, would be a political icon. She, the charming wife, would fuel his success. For fifteen congressional terms, they were the golden couple on the Hill. Life was good. Until he wasn’t.

Martin’s secret affair with a young staffer doesn’t bother Jody personally. But professionally? It’s a legacy killer. Soon a reporter gets word of this scandal in the making, and Martin’s indiscretions threaten to ruin everything Jody has accomplished.

When Martin suddenly dies, it’s a chance to change the narrative—but the reporter won’t let go of his lead. As the balance of power shifts in the Asher house and on the Hill, it’s time for Jody to take control. And there’s nothing the ruthless widow won’t do to secure the future she’s entitled to. Even if she has a secret of her own.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing