Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Before I get started on the photos, I want to let you all know that my new book,  Logged Off , is now available pretty much everywhere for preorder! Use the UBL to find your favorite store--or wait until I get it up on my personal store (see below). Hint: that might actually be a day or so ahead of the official release! Now... back to the Sierra, as we head up and over 12,000' (11,955' to be precise) Muir Pass. My usual early morning sweep for photos revealed that it was a cold morning. Ice on the edges of Evolution Lake indicated it was colder down by the lake than up in our camp. The first light touches the ridge above us. The sun won't reach our camp until after we leave.   I brought a piece of that ice I mentioned back to camp for Petey Possum to explore.  What with the cold and all, we didn't hit the trail until about 9, which in retrospect was a bit of a miscalculation, as we had a lot of trail to cover. Beautiful weather (still a bit breezy, but sunny and clear,...

I ditched NaNoWriMo even before they closed down, but years of using their hype to help myself along have put me on a schedule where November and December are my months to draft new novels. This year is no exception! I have been contemplating the next book in the Seffi Wardwell series for some time, and began getting serious about plotting, planning, and outlining in September and October. Of course, since I was traveling and hiking a lot during those months, I wasn't ready to start writing November 1. I still wasn't ready to start writing Nov. 4, but as usual, I couldn't resist any longer, and jumped in. After all, I knew what the first scene was going to be. So now I'm over 13,000 words into the book, and I'm plotting and outlining just ahead of my writing. Also: I don't know whodunnit. Seriously. Darn near everyone has a motive, some better than others, and no one has a cast-iron alibi (or at least, that's how I see things now. Of course, we haven't e...

Sigh. This was supposed to post last Monday, but I failed to hit the "publish" button. Which was just as well, because I also forgot to let Greg Pattridge know to add it to the hop list. I'm posting this morning with the Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop. The hop is sponsored by  Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.    Thanks to Rosi Hollenbeck and her project of reading and reviewing everything Gary D. Schmidt has written, I'm on rather a Schmidt jag myself. I have to say I love the variety of his stories, from fairly heavy to kind of goofy to just sweet ( A Day at the Beach ). This week's story is more on the goofy end. Next week or thereabouts I'll get to  Orbiting Jupiter  and  Jupiter Rising,  which are more heart-breaking.     Title : Pay Attention, Carter Jones Author: Gary D. Schmidt. Read by Christopher Gebauer Publication Info: Recorded Books, 2019. ...

That's right--I've finally come home and returned to editing photos, so I have another round of pictures from my September backpack trip in the John Muir Wilderness and Kings Canyon NP.   This post picks up with Day 4 of that hike. Days 1-2 are here , and Day 3 here . As we move into the heart of the Sierra, I have too many photos, so I'll just do one day at a time.   Random "on the trail" photo to start with something horizontal since otherwise Facebook will mess up the post.   Mornings are cold, even at a "mere" 9200'. It's always hard to get going, but we were pretty good at being on the trail by 8:45 or thereabouts. It always took a couple of hours to get us all through breakfast, foot care, and packing up, though part of that is time spent hoping for the sun to come and thaw us out!   Breakfast time. Once the sun was on us, it warmed up fast enough. High altitude and dry air means big temperature swings!     Morning sun.   An hour or so late...

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which is IWSG posting  day--and this month, I'm honored to be a co-host! Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting.   Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts (aside from me!) for the November 4 posti...

I originally wrote this one in 2016, though I may have run it again since. Unlike last week's story, this one's not so funny. Have a great Halloween!   Witching Weather   “Fog’s rising.” Jack made the observation in a detached sort of way, not sure if it mattered.   “More fun that way,” Jill answered. If he was unsure about the weather, she was not. She straightened the tall, pointed hat that kept threatening to tumble from her head. “It sets the right sort of mood.”   The boy and girl grinned at each other. Both wore sweeping black robes, dramatically wizardly. A close observer might have even thought they had come from the costume shop, but with the fog settling in and the daylight gone, no one could be sure. Jack wore a silver circlet around his forehead, while Jill sported the afore-mentioned pointed hat.   “At least half the kids will be spooked before we even begin,” Jill said, eyes aglow with excitement.   Jack nodded, seeing ...