Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I'm posting today with t he fantastic Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop hosted by Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.  Since this is Pride month, I'm focusing my MMGM book reviews on middle-grade books about sexual orientation and gender identity. It kind of started with my review of Ollie In Between last month.  A note for those wondering if books like this are appropriate for middle-grade kids: 9-13 is exactly the age when kids are entering puberty and starting to think about love, sex, and increasingly, gender identity. That makes it exactly the age when they need books that openly address the things that happen in middle school besides using a locker and changing classrooms six times a day. If 10-year-olds are old enough to be thinking about kissing their girl/boy friends (and they are thinking about it, so... yeah), then they are old enough to read about it.  Title:  Just Lizzie A...

Last week I shared photos from Day 1 of a 2-night, 3-day backpack into Coyote Gulch. This was part of my larger trip with 2 friends to explore the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument back in April.  Today, we'll cover Day 2, with an 8-mile dayhike to Cliff Arch, and Day 3, the hike out. Despite the rain, hail and even snow the night before we started our trip, we were in early-rising mode to dodge the heat of the day. That country can change at the drop of a hat from cold to hot and back again. Moonset at sunrise. For a while, it's all about the reflected light. We were on the trail before 8 a.m. and soon hiking past lots of places that might have been nicer camps (but wouldn't have divided our days so neatly). I do recommend taking advantage of the wider parts of the canyon to camp away from the trail. About 35 minutes of walking took us to Swiss Cheese Falls, named for the ways the water has eroded holes into the rock. Coyote Natural Bridge was the next special f...

  It's the first Wednesday, and time again for the Insecure Writers' Support Group post. Join and share! 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!   Don't forget you can post your link on the IWSG Facebook page !   Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag ...

Thanks to Great Escapes Virtual Tours for the chance to read and review Campfires and Corpses .   Campfires & Corpses: A Maine Campground Cozy Mystery by Nikki Weber About Campfires & Corpses Campfires & Corpses: A Maine Campground Cozy Mystery Cozy Mystery/ Cozy Animal Mystery 1st in Series Setting – Maine Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (February 24, 2025) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 282 pages ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8311619622 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DS6KRK16 When the campground becomes the scene of the crime, will Noelle’s peaceful summer go up in flames? Down on her luck event planner Noelle Cooper is returning to rural Maine to do the one thing she swore she would never do: run her family’s campground. But it’s only for the summer, and the timing couldn’t be better–she’s lost her job and has nowhere to live. She hopes that a change of scenery will be the thing she needs to regroup and reinvent herself. But Noelle’s plans go up in smoke on h...

Back in April I took a little trip to Utah and visited some cools spots in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument--some old friends, some brand new. A highlight was a 2-night backpack trip into Coyote Gulch, in part because I'd intended to do this in 2023, but was stymied when I broke my foot. It was good to finally get there. As usual, I have too many photos I want to share, and will have to break this into two posts! Day 1 There are at least 3 ways into lower Coyote Gulch (that don't involve boats). Two of them involve a 4WD road (probably mostly passable to sedans) and some moderately unnerving scrambles. We chose the 3rd way, which means a longer hike (and an excuse to stay out 2 nights instead of the one most people gave the area). We dropped in via Hurricane Wash, an easy hike in in the morning's coolness, a bit longer on the way out in the heat. We in fact started about 9:20, by the time we finished fussing with gear. We weren't too worried about...

Book 3 of the Seffi Wardwell mysteries really is coming soon... depending on how you define "soon." I'm plugging away at the edits, and my cover artist has finished the semester and is at work on the cover (Right, Maggie?). I can't believe how long this is all taking. When will I learn that the revision stage is hard, and always takes longer than it should? And why?  Because I avoid it, and because it really does take a long time to work through the whole book so many times. Anyway, here is the blurb, and as soon as I have a cover I will set up pre-orders and give myself a hard and fast launch date! Feel free to offer suggestions on the blurb--nothing is set in stone yet! Who rubbed out the writer?   Winter in Maine is long, dark, and cold, and California transplant Seffi Wardwell is combating the winter blues with a full calendar. Tending the plants at the local bed-and-breakfast, writing reports for the library, and generally keeping an eye on...