Hi there, past guests of the bnb!

Here’s an update from Hiouchi and bnb hiouchi we want to share.

We sold the property last September and have started in on some extended travel. We’re pretty amazed we did it, too!

Meg and I planted ourselves in Berkeley for two months after the sale and then relocated to Osaka, Japan where we’ve been living since late-November. We figure on a minimum of one more month in Osaka before making a next move, which could be more time in Japan, or maybe Nepal, or maybe Cambodia. I’ve been reading up on Baja California and now that’s on my list, too.

Why’d we sell the bnb? The urge to travel built up over the years in Hiouchi until we felt we really, really wanted to dive in and go. If you shared stories from your own travels with us — over morning muffins or a glass of wine — then you are partly responsible for the wanderlust that motivated us to move on from the bnb. 🙂  Our list of destinations grew exponentially over the years, and for all the beauty we found in the redwoods and on the Smith (which was substantial!), we also felt a tug to explore more of the world’s beauty and grandeur.

So that’s the big news. But there’s bigger news.

Did you know that while Meg was working her shifts at the hospital in Crescent City, she was also working on a book? If you stayed at the bnb early on, then probably not. Those first few years, Meg was wrapped up in her job. But toward the last couple of years in Hiouchi, she was able to allocate more and more time for the book. And the very last year in Hiouchi saw her working exclusively on the book.

Her book is on Amazon (since yesterday) and that’s really what we wanted to tell you about.

Super brief (the Amazon page tells more), Meg’s book, titled Getting Even, is a work of fiction: Mika and Harvey are the protagonists, their love affair goes from north to south, and the fallout is nasty, nasty, NASTY.

For the genre-sensitive, Getting Even falls squarely in the thriller camp (maybe a dash of psychological thriller in there as well). Meg and I immersed ourselves in the gritty worlds of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train so that should give you a hint. The story builds slowly and then accelerates. Be forewarned — it’s a page-turner!

This self-publishing is all new to us (kinda like the bnb) and we can’t be sure everything’s going to go as planned — any blips, let us know; any kudos, let us know, too. Oh, and please write an Amazon review after you read Meg’s book … that’s so very important for independent authors. By the way, Meg uses a pen name, Ayumi Miyama, but it’s really Meg.

It’s probably worth noting that the book can be downloaded from Amazon for free for two days — this Sunday and Monday. That will be important unless you have Amazon Prime (cause then it’s always free).

Please stay in touch. The plan for us is to do some traveling in Asia for a while (along with promoting the book) but to then come back to the states and start more months of travel in a small Casita tow-behind. Just google CASITA and you’ll see. We’ll keep you posted on our route.

Thanks for staying at the bnb those many months or years ago. It was fun, wasn’t it? And for reading Meg’s book. That was also a fun project.

Cheers for now!   Curt and Meg.