What’s New With Katrina Kittle

May 2025

April was a busy month!

Here are some fun things I accomplished:

WROTE FOR ELEVEN HOURS ON A CUTE CITY BITCHES* RETREAT

My writing group met for a weekend-long retreat. The CCBs are: me, Christina Consolino, Meredith Doench, Erin Flanagan, and Sharon Short. Look them up if you’re looking for great reads! We don’t mess around: We set goals and use timers. It felt so satisfying to get back into writing after a loooong break during my dad’s medical drama. We ate a lot of Cheez-Its, drank a lot of coffee, and caught a lot of words. I can’t imagine this crazy writing journey without these incredible women!

*Why are we called the Cute City Bitches? A few years back, returning home after one of our weekend retreats, we all agreed that our group needed a name. As we took our suitcases out of Erin’s car in her driveway, this creepy old guy in a pickup truck stopped and asked where we were going. I normally wouldn’t talk to a creepy old guy but I thought he was Erin’s neighbor so I forced myself to be polite. When I told him we were returning from a trip, he said, “You’re pretty.” Then, he spotted Christina and said, “You’re pretty, too.” When he saw the others on the sidewalk, he declared, “Man. It’s cute city around here.” At that point I turned my back on him, and we all ignored him. Once he drove away, Erin told us she didn’t know him and we all burst out laughing. I think it was Sharon who said, “Well, we do need a name...” And it stuck. I adore these badass bitches.

STARTED GARDEN SEASON 2025

So it begins: Dirt in the house. Stained fingernails. Sore shoulders. Farmer’s tan. My happy place. Even one hour puttering in my garden makes every single thing seem more manageable and wonderful…and that’s saying a lot in these troubling times. I painted and put together two new raised beds and am expanding my edible garden this year (seems fitting as grocery prices continue to climb). Only cold crops (peas and Brussels sprouts) are actually planted so far . I have other seedlings hanging out in the bathtub and on many kitchen counters waiting to be transplanted. This summer I am determined to finally learn to can! Stay tuned. 

CREATED AN EASTER LAMB CAKE WITH MY COUSINS

When I was a little kid, my family alternated most Easters with the “Virginia Kittles.” My cousins Kris and Jen would create elaborate plays in the basement with me and my sister, and our moms would create an Easter egg hunt for us. My mom always made one of those “lamb cakes” with jelly bean eyes and coconut sprinkles on the icing to be the lamb’s “wool.” After a way-too-long hiatus (hey, life gets complicated), Jason and I decided to make a road trip. I took that lamb mold with me to Virginia and we kept that tradition alive. The cake looked great for about half an hour, then the lamb started to slump, and by the time we finished dinner, the lamb’s head had fallen off. It still tasted delicious, and we laughed so hard.

VISITED A FRIEND I’VE KNOWN FOR FORTY YEARS

Forty years? That can’t be true. That’s a math error, right? We still feel young at heart. On our way to Virginia, Jason and I stopped overnight in West Virginia to visit Bill Anderson. I met Bill on my very first day of undergrad at Ohio University. He was my boss in the School of Theatre’s costume shop, where I had a work-study scholarship. That day, he showed me around, then said, “Let’s go get pie and coffee at Frisch’s.” The rest is history. On this trip, we got to meet his newest standard poodle, Magda. (Over the years, he’s had poodles named Zsa Zsa and Eva. I didn’t know there was a third Gabor sister). Magda is amazing: She runs and leaps like a deer and can bound onto the porch without hitting a single step (see video in Reasons to Be Happy). Bill lives in a home that was built in the 1850s, and I love that we went walking on his property along a creek bed to find and pick mint for our cocktails. It was a very windy day when we took this photo, okay? 

FINISHED ANOTHER SCHOOL YEAR

By the time you read this, classes for the Spring 2025 semester at the University of Dayton will be over. All that will remain will be the grading of final projects, a long department meeting, and the English major graduate dinner. Then I’ll be writing, gardening, writing, reading, and writing all day long for the summer.

Both of these books release on May 6. Do yourself a favor and pre-order them now!

HOME OF THE AMERICAN CIRCUS, by Allison Larkin 

Thirty-year-old Freya returns to her hometown of Somers, New York, to live in the house she inherited from her estranged parents and finds her fifteen-year-old niece, Aubrey, secretly living in the derelict home. Freya and Aubrey work to restore the crumbling house and come to terms with the horrible event that pulled them apart years ago. This gorgeous book explores broken families, the weight of the past, and the complicated journey of finding home. The supporting cast of characters is endearing and I wanted to know all of them in real life. This novel is the Book of the Month pick for May, and was included in the Today Show Spring Favorites Box—and that is all so well-deserved. Preorder here.

THE MARRIAGE DEBT, by Christina Consolino

From the outside, Nika’s life looks perfect: two loving kids, a fulfilling job, a wonderful second marriage, to sexy Ethan. The only problem? Nika doesn’t want to have sex with sexy Ethan. Maybe it’s the harrowing hot flashes and fatigue, or maybe it’s trying to juggle the avalanche of responsibilities that have left sex just another chore to cross off the to-do list. This novel deals so open-eyed-honestly with topics that are too often ignored. It’s funny, forthright, and includes a sex therapist, some book banning, a pair of role-playing chaps, and a total meltdown rant of anger that I completely related to! It examines the hard truths about sex that overbooked menopausal women often face, as well as the joys still to come once a woman knows who she is and how to ask for what she wants. This novel was the winner in three categories (Chick Lit, Contemporary Novel, and Marriage) of the Speak Up Talk Radio International Firebird Book Awards—and it absolutely deserves all three! Preorder here.

Christina is a member of the Cute City Bitches, and while I know I might be expected to be a little bit biased, I promise I’d be praising this fabulous new novel even if I didn’t know her. Christina is a generous soul, always the first one awake on retreats, and a coffee maker extraordinaire. She also makes a kickass chocolate peanut butter cake that I still dream about… 

IN ONE SENTENCE, CAN YOU CAPTURE WHAT INSPIRED The Marriage Debt? Conversations I've had with many women about their desire (or lack thereof) for sex during perimenopause/menopause inspired this novel.

I LOVE RESEARCH. I WAS WONDERING WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH YOU DID TO MAKE THOSE THERAPY SESSIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS SO AUTHENTIC? I'm so happy to hear you found the sessions/assignments to be genuine! If allowed, I could spend all day doing research! Sex therapy was unfamiliar to me, so I started my search online. Several reputable therapy sites provided inspiration for questionnaires, discussion questions, and possible therapeutic approaches to what I thought Nika might need. The more I unearthed information, the more my mind spun with possibilities (no spoilers here!). I also spoke with someone who counsels couples on a wide range of issues, including intimacy, to stamp Nika's experience as authentic. 

WHAT ARE THREE THINGS GIVING YOU JOY OR DELIGHT THESE DAYS? Warm sunshine (which is kind of rare here in Ohio right now), my children (three of whom are out of the house—sniff), the comfort my husband provides just by inhabiting my world (it's nice to have a safe space to land.)

WHAT ARE THREE THINGS YOU FIND TO BE PET PEEVES OR LOATHSOME THESE DAYS? Willful ignorance, lack of accountability, social -isms (racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, classism, etc.) 

IF YOU ARE PROCRASTINATING/AVOIDING WRITING, WHAT WOULD WE MOST LIKELY FIND YOU DOING? Cleaning! I enjoy cleaning, partly because I can listen to an audiobook while I perform most of the tasks. I also like the end product: Seeing dust-free and hair-free surfaces is so incredibly satisfying!

The fact that Sweden has a “sourdough hotel,” where people can leave their sourdough starters to be fed and cared for while they are on vacation

The eggplant fries at Wheat Penny Oven and Bar in Dayton

Saying no (especially when it gives you peace and relief)

Cheez-Its, the official snack food of my writing group, the Cute City Bitches (I like any flavor, but I especially like mixing the White Cheddar with the Original.)

The fact that Senator Cory Booker spoke for twenty-five hours and five minutes and defeated the former record of the racist, vile Strom Thurmond

Last day of school and the start of summer break!

Tater tots

Finding cool little independent coffee shops while on a road trip 

Cousins

Watching my friend Bill’s standard poodle skip all the steps and spring onto the porch like Tigger

WHY REASONS TO BE HAPPY?
Making a Reasons to Be Happy list trains you to notice more of them. Like any behavior, happiness can be learned. And we can learn from making these lists.

NOTE: THE JUNE EDITION OF KAT’S PAJAMAS will be released late because of travels. Look for it on June 13.

I’m grateful to you all for subscribing. Be kind and good
to each other out there.

Check out my website to read about 
and purchase my books.