Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

This story first appeared on this blog in December of 2012. I've touched it up a bit, and wondered about the amount of borrowing from Douglas Adams, but decided to let it stand with the original "reverent apologies to Douglas Adams." I'm not sure about the origins--I'm pretty sure someone challenged me with that title, but I kept no record. About the only thing I can be pretty sure of is that I was rereading the Hitchhikers Guide and sequels. We can probably chalk this one up to fan fiction. Elegant Apocalypse With reverent apologies to Douglas Adams   Sunrise on Planet X-4732B is 7th most stunning and beautiful event in the Universe following, among other things, sunset on X-4732A and the eruption into the sea of an unnamed volcano on an undiscovered planet. This is a well-established fact, determined by a complex algorithm developed by the Ultra-Computer housed on the 4 th Moon of Planet G-7512, known to locals as Home. The lunar location w

I got the idea for this story from a meme a friend posted, about the things you lie awake worrying about. How, he asked, does a dragon blow out the candles on a birthday cake? This is my answer to that vexing conundrum.   How a Dragon Blows Out Candles   There was no way to dodge the problem. Every time one of Flick’s fellow students had a birthday they had a party, and at every party there was a cake. Flick liked cake, especially chocolate cake with lots of frosting. The cake wasn’t the problem.   The problem was the candles. Every one of those cakes came with a bunch of candles burning on top, and the excited birthday ogre, gargoyle, gremlin, elf, fairy, or human child made a wish—and blew out the candles.   Flick’s birthday would be one of the last, but it would come, and he couldn’t concentrate in class on account of the one, all-important question: How could a dragon blow out candles?   Flick sat in a desk an extra three feet away from all his classmates, b

  Before I give you a story, I get my little brag. My story for the February WEP was runner-up in the judging . I think people want humor these days! If you missed it, the story is here .   I wrote this story in 2014. It's kind of a fun venture into seeing the world in different ways :)  I'm reposting it complete with the photo from the original. This was written to a sort of prompt that challenged the writer to turn something very ordinary into a story. What’s for Dinner? Mom’s acting weird.  Well, that’s kind of normal, if you follow me, because she’s always weird, but usually she’s weird like wearing strange clothes and working all night on one of those bizarre sculptures she makes.  I won’t ever tell her this, but I don’t like them.  They have too many jagged edges.  They’ll tear holes in you if you get too close.  I sometimes wonder if she’s out to destroy someone, or if she just sees the world that way, all jagged.  Either way: weird. But what’s really weird is t

    What could be more appropriate for Valentine month than Gustav Klimt’s   The Kiss ? This shimmery, early 20 th  century painting of a couple embracing in a patch of wildflowers has riveted art afficionados  across the world for decades. Use this amazing painting to kick off  a romantic love story of star crossed lovers. Or maybe a much married pair who’ve been together for years. Of unrequited or lost love. Or any love of the other gazillion types. For unValentinish souls, remember that there are kisses other than romantic ones.  The kiss of life, the kiss of death, the kiss of betrayal, the angels’ kiss in spring. The mystical thousand ways of kneeling and kissing the ground. One golden artwork, a zillion directions to go. Pick yours and run with it. We’re cheering for you. And can't wait to see what you come up with! That's the February challenge. And this is my response. I struggled a bit, until I remembered something my boys told me about their experience at 5

 I've been re-reading and working over so many flash fiction bits for the collections I'm assembling, it felt like time to write something! I stumbled on a title generator, and tweaked this a bit from what I got. With wind and talons, it obviously had something to do with dragons. I enjoyed writing it, and hope you enjoy reading it! 967 words Night of Wind and Talons The crowd of young people waited in a silence that bordered on the unnatural, yet was essential. The night when the dragons came in was too important for whispers and nervous giggles, certainly too important for wisecracks and horseplay, however much those waiting and watching might have appreciated the release. Seventy-five young men and woman had spent their lives preparing for this moment. Within the hour, some would be dead, some would be broken and left behind—and some would have achieved the end to which they had been working all their lives. In the center of the crowd, Erlan and Marda stood close together, h

  It's time for the October WEP challenge, and after missing several this year, I'm back with a tentative offering. I couldn't do any of the horror-type stories that the prompt and badge suggest. It's humor, and I hope you all enjoy it as a sort of palate-cleanser after all the spooky stories out there this month. But be sure to pop on over to the WEP and check out the other stories in the hop! As for me--I'm back on the road again, and will be reading the stories when and as I  can, probably continuing into next month. If you leave a comment I *will* get back to you. Just don't hold your breath, okay? I don't want to be responsible for anyone turning blue in the face. 686 words. FCA Grave Mistake “It’s a lovely piece, don’t you think, dear?” “Mmm, yes. Is that the one you want, then?” “I’m not sure. This has a lovely color, and the fine grain would look well, I think.” “WIll it do the job?” “Well, any of them will be cold enough. And I presume we can get wh

That's right--I'm back with a bit of new flash fiction after all these months, and it's everyone's favorite Space Explorer! It ran a little long, at 1175 words, including the title. Xavier Xanthum and the Galactic Sandwich Xavier Xanthum, Space Explorer, relaxed aboard his good ship Wanderlust. Kitty Comet hovered over his lap in the zero-g living space. For the moment, Xavier was content to let Larry drive the ship. Comet mewed, and Xavier stroked the cat’s back, pressing it into his lap. Immediately the mewling changed to a roaring purr. Cat and spaceman alike relaxed, content. “Captain, your presence on the bridge.” Xavier groaned. The AI only got formal when something was wrong. Xavier set the cat gently aside and shoved off toward the control room. Comet continued to float in a curled position, drifting slowly with the air currents until she came to rest against the ventilation grate. Xavier shot into the control room, which Larry had so grandly called the bridge.

Before I get to our Fiction in 50 post, a quick announcement: Watch for the Smashwords End of Year Sale , running from December 25 to January 1. All of my books are enrolled at 50% off--which means that any that are usually 99 cents are free, so when the stockings are empty and no one bought you a book, head on over and check it out. And while you're at it, don't forget to pick up a copy of The Christmas Question, the Pismawallops PTA holiday novella! And have some happy holidays! ### Fiction in 50 has been a regular feature in the last week of every month here for several years now. It was founded by Bruce the Bookshelf Gargoyle , and when he retired from blogging in 2017 I decided to take over the hop. Now, I'm throwing in the towel. I really enjoy writing these ultra-short stories, and reading those Jemima Pett writes. But the hop has no traction, no momentum and (navigating way from hackneyed metaphors to the concrete problem), no members. Today's post is th