Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Last month I enjoyed a girls' weekend on the Oregon coast before heading to the Grand Canyon (and yes, I had to pack for 4 seasons. I experienced them all in 3 weeks). We had scenic weather--rain showers and sun, wind and waves. Here are a few of the scenic highlights. We stayed two nights at the adorable and literary-themed Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, OR. Every room is named for and decorated in keeping with a writer. Our group used the Ken Kesey room--think bunkroom at the asylum only with comfy beds--and Oscar Wilde. The hotel is named for Sylvia Beach, who opened the Shakespeare & Co bookstore in Paris in 1919. The hotel sits on a bluff overlooking the beach. The view from breakfast. Unfortunately, they weren't serving dinner while we were there. It was too cold, wet, and windy for us to sit out, but I'll bet it's wonderful in summer! We enjoyed the usual things--great meals out, walks on the beach, and a massage. Rain just made new magic. My artist friend P

My second of Katherine May's books in just a couple of months, so you know that she's touched something in me. (See review of The Electricity of Every Living Thing ).     Title: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times Author: Katherine May Publication Info: Riverhead Books, 2020. 245 pages (Kindle edition). Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: An intimate, revelatory book exploring the ways we can care for and repair ourselves when life knocks us down. Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a break up, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it offered. A moving personal narrative shot through with

Thanks to an injury to my foot (exact extent of the problem TBD when I see the doctor Thursday), I came home early. Also thanks to that injury, I've been putting in some long hours on the last stages of revision before I send A Coastal Corpse to my beta readers to see how I've done at addressing the issues that sidelined it last year. I'll be sending it out in a few days. If you are willing to read for cohesion, consistency, character, and plot (but not yet polish), let me know and I'll include you. Meanwhile, I wrote 2/3 of a short story while hanging about in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and will get back to that as soon as I get the novel out. I missed the deadline for the original inspiration for the story, but will find other markets when it's ready. I also did a lot of sitting and thinking down there (and a certain amount of just sitting); some of that may come out here and there in my writing as well.   Cloaked Press's Spring into Sci Fi 2023 , contai

For this story from the archives, I picked on of my ventures into a mild sort of horror, or at least the weird. 1132 words The Choker  I was with Brian when it began. I knew something had happened, and I tried to get him to talk about it then, but he would not and I let it slide. That was my first and biggest mistake, but we who have these powers are slow to speak of them, and with reason.   Brian had taken me shopping with him to look for a birthday present for his wife. She liked old jewelry—not necessarily antiques, but old. Brian had seen a shop he thought looked promising. You know the kind: half junk store, half antique shop. A few good bits mixed in with a ton of trash. It just takes patience, to keep looking until you find treasure.   Brian spotted it first, and pointed it out to me, half-buried on a tray with stamped-tin costume stuff: a silver choker, made from four strands of fine chain.   To tell the truth, I didn’t like it. It reminded me o

  Heading home with a bum foot 🙁. But I got in a lot of good Canyon time! 

  Big thanks to Sally Cronin for featuring one of my older posts at her Smorgasbord Blog Magazine . Drop over and see what she selected, and stick around to see what great posts she's found from other bloggers--you might find a new favorite to follow!

Little Shop of Murders is a collection of short mysteries by 15 authors, and we are fortunate to have  Geraldine Moorkens Byrne here to share some background on her musical Dublin mystery, "Requiem for a Violin." Also--be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of the post--four print cozy mysteries! The Little Shop of Murders (Collected Cozy Mysteries) By Millie Ravensworth, ACF Bookens, Geraldine Byrne, Rachel McLean, Diane Kelly, Nikki Knight, London Lovett, Lise McClendon, Flora McGowan, Kathryn Mykel,  J. New,  Eryn Scott, Debbie Young, Victoria Tait, Carlene O’Connor  THE LITTLE SHOP of MURDERS (COLLECTED COZY MYSTERIES) By Millie Ravensworth, ACF Bookens, Geraldine Byrne, Rachel McLean, Diane Kelly, Nikki Knight, London Lovett, Lise McClendon, Flora McGowan, Kathryn Mykel,  J. New,  Eryn Scott, Debbie Young, Victoria Tait, Carlene O’Connor  About The Little Shop of Murders The Little Shop of Murders (Collected Cozy Mysteries) Cozy Myste

Last Friday I shared the first of this pair of stories from 2015. Today we see some more of that multi-faceted cat Dahlia. I'm sharing on Wednesday because there's a logjam of stuff happening on Saturday--I'll be featured again at the S morgasbord Blog Magazine's Posts from the Archives. Much shorter, at about 800 words. Dahlia’s Doorstep The cat known to some as Dahlia sat on the doorstep and surveyed his world. Colorful leaves blew by, and a chill touched the air. It was fall. A general feeling of change ruffled his fur, as the scent of roasting fowls disturbed his magnificent complacency.   He did not, in fact, mind if the turkey was roasted or raw, nor did his friends.   If The Woman wanted it roasted, that was fine with him. Even a cat known to his friends as James Dean could compromise for the sake of a big hunk of turkey.   Killer Instinct arrived first. The dog was looking a bit thin and seedy, and slunk out of the bushes with a war

While I'm off playing in the desert (if I can find it under the snow), I'll share some stories from the archives, starting this week and next with a pair about a cat sometimes known as Dahlia, originally run in 2015. This week's story is a little longer than usual, at 1380 words. Dahlia Sings the Blues On a grey and gloomy day on moderately quiet street in a medium-sized town, a woman of more or less middle age moved from lamp post to lamp post, taping up signs. Each featured a photo of a large marmalade cat and read, “MISSING CAT! Dahlia is lost! She is lonely, cold and scared. Won’t you help me find her?” and gave a phone number to call if the cat was seen. The woman shivered as she worked, and drew her sweater more tightly about her shoulders.   Meanwhile, across town on a rather less quiet street, a large marmalade cat relaxed in a nightclub, enjoying the scene. Word of the notices came by roundabout means. The small furry dog who lived three ho