We're Baa-ack!

(Kitty)  Hello friends! John and I have moved back to LA from Sydney. His job on Happy Feet 2 ended at the end of October, and other possibilities in Sydney didn't pan out. So here we are, staying with our great friend Doug in Riverside County, trying our best to catch up with all of our Southern California friends.

John is looking for a new job but we have no idea yet when or where that might be. Due to the fact that Christmas is just a few weeks away, I think it's safe to say we'll be in the Los Angeles area until at least the New Year. That will be fun.  :)  Meanwhile, he's applied to jobs or been in contact with potential employers from Sydney, London, New Zealand, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago. Whew! Where we'll end up is anyone's guess. But one thing we know for sure: God has always led us into cool new adventures, so we're sure he'll do so again.

I'm working on getting the print version of Little Miss Lovesick ready for sale in the next week or two. Then I'll write a short story that will be published in an anthology in May 2012, and my next romantic comedy novel that will also come out in the spring of 2012. I'm doing my best to re-form my "office" in Doug's computer room, and he's been really generous about sharing his space.  :)  I was freaking out a little about nearly everything being on a ship in Sydney Harbour, but between John and a great sermon at our old church, Bel Air Presbyterian, I've calmed down. I'm trying to buckle down and focus on what I can do today.

We'll do our best to let you know what's going on in our lives. Right now, it's anyone's guess...but we can bank on the fact that God has an awesome plan!

We're Moving Back to LA!

(Kitty) If you haven't heard yet, we are moving back to America next week! John's work on Happy Feet 2 ended and a job he thought was going to happen after that here in Sydney didn't pan out. So due to visa restrictions, we had to hurry and pack up our apartment in TWO WEEKS! Yikes!

The movers left yesterday so now - whether we shipped things we shouldn't have or are paying to take on the plane things that should have been shipped - we are taking a deep breath...and going to the beach!!

Today it is supposed to be 30 degrees Celsius! That's mid to high 80s with a LOT of humidity. John and I took an early morning walk today in our favorite park, Centennial Park, and by the time we got home at 7:45 it was already too warm for my taste. So we're going to Manly Beach one last time with our friends Simeon and Rachel and their 2-year-old Elsie. One more fish and chips meal, one more time frolicking in the waves on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We can't wait!

Today begins the "saying goodbye" phase of our time here. I was already crying about it this morning. John hugged me and told me it was my fault for finding so many great friends. We are enormously excited to get back to California and see all our friends there (and in Arizona and Michigan and...), but it doesn't make it any less painful to say goodbye now. (Okay, no more talking about it, going to cry again.)

We arrive back in LA on November 23, so we'll get to have an American Thanksgiving!!! We're sooo excited about that! LOL! Then...only God knows what happens next. We'll wait and see, and let you know when we find out! :)

Kitty's Book is Out!

(Kitty) At long last, I have reached the next stage of my journey - I have a book for sale! Woo-hooo!!!

Little Miss Lovesick took a long twisty road to get here. A very long time ago - 1997 or so - it was a proposal for an anthology Tyndale House Publishers was putting together. The editor passed, but asked to see more work from me.

I met a Silhouette editor at a Romance Writers of America conference a couple years later and pitched her the idea. She wanted to see it, but by the time I had the proposal polished and ready to send, she wasn't with Silhouette anymore.

I decided that pursuing Harlequin/ Silhouette was still a good idea and did some more work on the story, trying to figure out what line it most closely matched. I read a bit of it to my friends Lauraine Snelling and Kathleen Wright when we were off on a writing week together. They were polite but not overwhelmed. That said to me that it wasn't a very interesting story. Maybe I should just forget it.

Then Lauraine asked me if I had heard of chick lit. I hadn't, so the three of us did some online and bookstore research. I was gobsmacked! This was exactly the kind of voice I'd write in if I didn't have to write towards the expectations of one publisher or another. The next day I rewrote the first chapter into more ore less what you see here in Little Miss Lovesick and read it for Lauraine and Kathleen. THey laughed so much! I was thrilled!

Then Lauraine picked up her cell phone and called her agent. "I'd like you to read something," she said. I didn't know if I was going to throw up or pass out! But chick lit was reaching its zenith and passing away. Though the agent received two "we almost bought it" replied from editors, all the publishing houses we sent it to passed.

And for the last seven years, the book has languished on my computer.

Then I heard about digital self-publishing. Other authors were giving it a try without a publisher behind them, and they were succeeding in varying degrees. I figured, what's the worst that can happen? The book isn't doing me any good on my computer. So when I finished my master's degree in June of this year, I dusted off the book and did a little more editing based on the comments of the editors who had passed on it years before.

I put my entrepreneurial hat back on and filed a DBA ("doing business as") to work as Daydreamer Entertainment, the publisher of Little Miss Lovesick. And voila! A lot of hours later, I had a book! Out in the marketplace! Yay! As a co-owner of our little business, John did the cover design. Lovely, isn't it?

Right now, the ebook is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Smashwords will help me get it into the Apple iBookstore, Kobo and Sony. I'm working on getting it into All Romance eBooks and XinXii this week. Then I'll start working on the print version, which I hope will be available by December 1.

If you don't have an ereader, you can download an ereader app to your smart phone, your iPad or your PC or Mac computer. Or you can check back here or at my web site or on my Facebook page to find out when it is available in print. :)

So that's the story. My career has taken a new direction and I'm loving it! I'm exhausted, but I'm happier than I've been in years! Thank you, God!

Kitty and Mom Arrive in Sydney

(Kitty) I brought my mom home with me, and we've safely arrived in Sydney. We're not sleeping on exactly a normal schedule yet, but we're enjoying hanging out. Yesterday John and I took her to Pancakes on the Rocks in the historic The Rocks section of Sydney. We wandered around the markets there and took pictures of the Opera House. We even ran into some friends there so Mom got to meet some of them.

Today after church we'll have some lunch somewhere in our little suburb of Randwick and then go see Kung Fu Panda 2 at The Ritz Cinema. We'll probably continue with our Harry Potter marathon after we get home. We're trying to watch the last seven movies before we go see the eighth and final one next weekend.

We'll try to keep you updated here and add some pictures later, too. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Kitty's Visiting the U.S.

(Kitty) It's hard to believe, but in less than a week I'll have finished my master's degree and I'll be on a plane to Los Angeles. Woo-hooo! It's basically one HUGE writing trip. The day after I get there I'm going to my local Romance Writers of America chapter meeting. I haven't been for two years so - YAY!

Then the following Thursday I go to an annual writer's retreat for four days. It's my favorite and I haven't been for two years. I'm so excited to see all my friends!

The next weekend is the main reason for the whole trip - the RWA National Conference in New York City!! I've never been to New York - I'm so awesomely excited!! And I haven't been to a national RWA conference in - you guessed it - two years.

I guess I better get back to my homework so I can enjoy that 14-hour plane ride without any guilt about having dropped the ball on the last assignment of the degree. :)

Almost Done!

(Kitty) No time for a long post - ten days left to finish three assignments for the last three classes of my master's degree. Oh my! So much still left to do!

Then the morning after my last class I fly to Los Angeles to see some friends and go to a writer's retreat, and then I'll fly to New York City for a big writer's conference. Again with - so much still left to do!

I'll try to be better at posting after I finish classes. Hope you're all doing well! Talk to you more soon!

Kitty Launches Her Author Web Site

(Kitty) It's official! I've launched my new author web site, KittyBucholtz.com! Yay! I'm so excited! Now I can share what's going on in my writing journey and start developing a following. Take a look and tell me what you think.

Since I'll be blogging more often for professional reasons, I'm going to try to post more often here as well. It may continue to be somewhat sporadic for the next couple months as I finish school, but then I hope to develop a routine that allows me update all the blogs quickly, but regularly, without interrupting my writing. (I can't believe I'll have my master's degree in 5 weeks! Yay! and Whew! LOL!)

Latest development from Dr.D Studios

(John) Well, I guess I'm doing something right here at Dr.D because my contract was extended till end of project. My contract now runs through the 30th of September. What's in store after that? Maybe another movie here, maybe a move to New Zealand, or a move back to California. We'll just have to see on what path the good Lord sets my feet onto next.

Kitty slightly accelerated her degree just in case we move at the end of September. She is now has plans on taking three classes this semester to try and finish up her degree this term.

We'll keep everyone up to date as things develop.

Interesting FYI - On the first Happy Feet, my contract ended around the end of September and had to move back to California by end of October.

School's Out For Summer!

(Kitty) That old song is playing in my head - "School's out for summer!" Next year at this time I'll be able to sing the second part of the chorus - "School's out forever!"

Taking the weekend to relax and chill out, hopefully catch up on some sleep. Then Monday it's back to writing - finishing my superhero book - and starting a diet for a month. It's very weird that it's time to diet a little to look good in my swimsuit, and it's also time to start baking for Christmas! But hey, this is our life right now so I'm planning on enjoying it.  :)

This Christmas will be the first Christmas John and I spend alone together since 1993!! On the one hand, we have no idea what we're going to do. On the other hand, we can't wait to be free to do anything we want - including nothing! LOL! Well, we're signed up to read the Bible readings at church in the morning on Christmas Day, but then - who knows what we'll do?!

I'm also beginning to work on my Kitty-the-author web site so I'll let you know when it's up and ready to read.  :)  We'll try to write here more but if you're on Facebook and haven't friended us yet, that's where you'll find a lot more posts from us.

Talk to you more soon! And Happy Thanksgiving to you U.S. folks!

MOVEMBER

[John]
I have been absent on posting anything for a long time, but I will try to be better!
A lot has been happening so I'll just start by posting my latest cause: Movember!


Every November here in Sydney "Movember" is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in Australia and around the world, with the sole aim of raising vital funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men. My department at job has almost all the men growing mustaches and raising money to help the fund raiser.

http://au.movember.com

Here I am doing my "thinking" face.
Day 1

Day 8

I shall continue to post updates to my progress.
Here is my "MoSpace" page: http://au.movember.com/mospace/742062/


More coming soon!

ONE YEAR?!

(Kitty) I know it's hard to believe, but we've been here in Sydney a YEAR already! Wow! As of July 31 at 7am. I remember because it was a really loooonng day. LOL! And I know for sure now that I was right last year when we got here - it seemed warmer than I thought it should have for winter. In comparison, it is much colder this year! But I love it! Warm blankets, cuddly sweaters and sweatshirts, hot chocolate. Mmmm!

More posts soon on the running and the City2Surf race and more cooking!

Dougie Visits Us!

(Kitty) It's been over a month since he left, but here are a few photos of John and Doug and me having fun together. Doug, you may know, is one of our dearest friends. We've been calling him our adopted little brother for close to fifteen years now. It's his house we go to on all the holidays and his family is our adopted family.



Doug came to visit the week of my final classes, which ended up being not as stressful as I anticipated because he brought homework with him, too. A couple of afternoons we both just sat on the couch and did homework together.


But we all also did a lot of sight-seeing! One of the most fun parts was the first night when we went to the Rabbitohs rugby game. The Rabbitohs are owned by Russell Crowe, and he was there that night too. Made it even a little more fun - aside from the fact that our team won by a huge margin.

We went up to the Blue Mountains, spent a great couple nights taking pictures of a special photography event in the downtown area, and took Doug to a whole bunch of great restaurants.


We did a ton of stuff, but what I remember most is that the three of us spent a lot of great time together just as we did when we all lived in the same area. And every day was just as relaxed and fun as every other day we've had in the last fifteen years. So I think we all thought it was an awesome two weeks!


I have to admit, I like the way these two pictures look together - Doug and Greg laughing at the Rabbitoh's mascot, while John looks scared. LOL! Camera ham! (I love it!)

Kitty is Learning to Cook!

(Kitty) It's true! I know you can't believe it if you've known me for a long time. I'm dedicated to pre-made frozen foods and the very few "cooked" meals I have mastered in the last few decades. But when Doug came to visit last month, he and I watched Master Chef Australia the whole time he was here. I got hooked! AND they actually "teach" you how to cook! In the Friday shows, the professional cooks give a "Master Class" to the contestants and tell you how much of what to use and what to do with it, so you can really just follow their steps and do it!

Plus the local grocery store, Cole's, is a Master Chef sponsor so they have a rack of recipe cards with recipes the contestants have made. AND all the recipes are also on the web site (click here). This past weekend I decided to make John french style pancakes for breakfast (recipe here). I made them as thin as I could, then served them with a variety of ingredients to put on top, then roll up. I had one with lemon and sugar, rolled up, then with a dollop of double cream on the side. I had another with chocolate syrup, then rolled up. John had two with Nutella, one with maple syrup, oh, and I had one with apricot jam. (There were so many that we had them on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.) They were wonderful! My first success!

Updates on Life

(Kitty) I'm going to try to get more updates posted here on what we're up to, even if they are silly little updates like this one. I'm trying to take some pictures of every day things in case any of the every day things looks interesting to you. And I'm going to keep this up as often as possible. But let me warn you - school starts in 13 days! So I'm going to have to do this as short and sweet as possible. (That's one of the things I do like about Facebook - I can put a post up in less than a minute!)

So here is the first picture I took to show you something silly about our life here. You know we don't have a car, so everything we buy needs to be hand-carried to our home and up two flights of stairs - which, because of the way stairs work in buildings, really seems like four flights! That means I have to make decisions when grocery shopping based on weight - which do I need most this week, orange juice or laundry detergent? They're too heavy to carry both.
A few friends have suggested a cart/trolley - which I've always heard called a granny cart. I kept putting it off because of the stigma and because I thought it would make my arms stronger to carry the groceries a few blocks. Let me tell you - it may make my arms a tiny bit stronger, but it pulls the heck out of your shoulders! So last week John and I decided to just get one and be done with it.

Here it is, filled with three bags of groceries that I could never have carried home by myself. This week I went out again and bought four bags of groceries, but without choosing one heavy item over another. I simply bought everything on my shopping list. It was tough to get it up and down the bus stairs, and I had to unload it two bags at a time when I got home because I couldn't get it up the stairs BUT I was able to make ONE trip to the grocery store in a week instead of two. YAY!