Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Title: How to Speak Dolphin Author: Ginny Rorby Publisher: Scholastic, 2015, 264 pages Source: Library Summary: It's been 2 years since Lily's mother died, and though she loves her little brother Adam, his severe autism has made him the focus of all their lives. Lily is frustrated because her step-dad doesn't seem willing to deal with Adam's problems, and she doesn't have any friends. That's a lot for a 12-year-old to cope with. But when Lily makes a friend at last, and Adam seems to respond well to dolphin therapy, it looks like things are getting better. But however much Adam loves Nori, Lily is beginning to see that a dolphin should be wild, not kept in a tank. My Review:  How to Speak Dolphin  is a well-written book that deals honestly with autism. In some ways, it seems a bit piled-on to have all of Lily's other problems, but the author handles it well. For example, my initial reaction to Lily's new friend being blind was that it seemed a bit gratui

Title: Confessions of a Freelance Penmonkey Author: Chuck Wendig Publisher: Terribleminds, 2011. 338 pages. Source: Purchased Summary:  This collection of 50+ essays covers many aspects of writing and the writing life, from why you should never be a writer, to why being a writer is amazing, to how to edit the living daylights out of your MS. It is profane, exaggerated, and totally inspiring. My Review: I guess I gave it away with the last sentence of the summary: the book is motivating. I didn't think every essay in the book was inspiring or fit me and my situation, but in general, when Wendig starts talking about writing, I have to listen--and usually to laugh before I get down to thinking seriously about what applies and how it matters. This book is one of a set of 8 e-books on writing, collections of essays posted on Chuck Wendig's blog, Terribleminds.com, over the years. Many in this book were written when he was just starting out, not as a writer (he clearly had been doin

Chuck Wendig spent all last week collecting first lines from his readers. This week he gave us ten to choose from to write 1000-2000 words. For me the choice was clear. “Of all the things I expected to find in my tomato soup, this wasn’t one of them.” (Stella Wood) I think I ran a few words over my personal word count target of 1000 words. Nonetheless, I give you.... In the Soup Of all the things I expected to find in my tomato soup, this wasn't one of them. I opened the can and mixed it myself, and only turned me back for a minute. Next think I knew I was looking at a little green man doing the breast stroke. My first thought was that I was glad I hadn't heated the soup too hot. My second thought was that I was nuts. I was seeing naked green men in my soup. I had to be crazy. It got worse. I closed my eyes to shut out the hallucination and raised a spoonful of soup to my mouth. "Hey, watch it there, greedy-gullet! Whattaya think yer doing?" Even if I believed there

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means time for the IWSG! The purpose of the IWSG: 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! Fear of Revisions Okay, that header is a lie. I'm not afraid of revisions. I'm just lazy. There. I said it. I'm at that point where I am taking the big globby gloppy mess that is my first draft, looking at it with a cold and detached eye, and considering what must be done to make it right. I got spoiled with my last two books. Those were not only pretty well planned, but things went right with the plan, and the first draft really wasn't too bad. This time, the plan was weak and the execution spotty, and now I'm looking at a lot of work. Work that maybe no one but me cares if I get done, some part of my mind tries to tell me. I'm s

Title: The Turn of the Tide Author: Roseanne Parry Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 304 pages. Source: Library Summary:  (I really didn't like the publisher's summary, which I found misleading), so I'm writing my own this time). Kai has lost nearly everything he cares about in a tsunami. To make it worse, his parents send him from their devastated home in Japan to stay with and aunt and uncle he scarcely knows in Astoria, Oregon, instead of letting him stay to do the honorable thing and help clean up. His cousin Jet isn't too sure she wants him, either, despite her sympathy for him. She has her own problems. Together, the two find their connection through the thing they both love most: sailing. A summer's adventures in their small boat brings them healing and maybe the way to fulfill their dreams. Review: This wasn't a terribly deep or significant book in some ways, but it did offer an interesting take on a number of things (actually, that is my

As a special treat this week, we return to the continuing adventures of Gorg the Troll! Gorg and the Mages Gorg Trollheim stood at the window at the top of the tower and studied the Valley of Baleful Stones. He tried not to notice the scattering of stone trolls. He would bring them back to life if he could. He just had to find Duke Bale, kill him yet again, and force his sorcerer to undo the petrifying spell. Bale wasn’t in his tower. Gorg had found only three empty grey robes, like the one that had failed to stop him from entering. These didn’t speak to him, but they did stand in their corners unsupported, which gave him a creepy feeling. Were they watching him? Probably they were. He couldn’t help that. What he had to do, and do fast, was figure out where Bale and the actual sorcerer had gone. A strange idea was starting to tickle his stone mind, and Gorg didn’t like ideas, especially strange ones. To distract himself he broke a bit of stone off the windowsill and put it in his mouth

    Title: Satellites in the High Country: Searching for the Wild in the Age of Man Author: Jason Mark Publisher: Island Press, 2015. 320 p. Source: Purchase Publisher's Summary:  In Satellites in the High Country , journalist and adventurer Jason Mark travels beyond the bright lights and certainties of our cities to seek wildness wherever it survives. In California's Point Reyes National Seashore, a battle over oyster farming and designated wilderness pits former allies against one another, as locals wonder whether wilderness should be untouched, farmed, or something in between. In Washington's Cascade Mountains, a modern-day wild woman and her students learn to tan hides and start fires without matches, attempting to connect with a primal past out of reach for the rest of society. And in Colorado's High Country, dark skies and clear air reveal a breathtaking expanse of stars, flawed only by the arc of a satellite passing—beauty interrupted by the traffic of

  Title: The Book of Lost Things (Mister Max, Book I) Author: Cynthia Voigt; read by Paul Boehmer Publisher: Listening Library, 2013. Original Alfred A. Knopf, 2013, 374 pages. Source : Library (digital resources) Publisher's Summary:    Max Starling's theatrical father likes to say that at twelve a boy is independent. He also likes to boast (about his acting skills, his wife's acting skills, a fortune only his family knows is metaphorical), but more than anything he likes to have adventures. Max Starling's equally theatrical mother is not a boaster but she enjoys a good adventure as much as her husband. When these two disappear, what can sort-of-theatrical Max and his not-at-all theatrical grandmother do? They have to wait to find out something, anything, and to worry, and, in Max's case, to figure out how to earn a living at the same time as he maintains his independence. This is the first of three books, all featuring the mysterious Mister Max. My Rev

The Perihelix , a new book by Jemima Pett, is launched this week! You buy it at Amazon , B&N , Apple , and Kobo and Smashwords . So, why should you buy The Perihelix ? The Perihelix by Jemima Pett Book 1 of the Viridian System Series Published by Princelings Publications Genre: science fiction/scifi-adventure/space opera (for grownups, although I wouldn't describe it as adult) Words/pages: 83,800 / 360 Formats: all ereaders and paperback Price: ebook currently on special offer at 99c (rrp $2.99): paperback rrp $10.99   The Blurb: Two asteroid miners, three women, one spacecraft, and five pieces of a legendary weapon scattered around the galaxy. Big Pete and the Swede are rich, or so they discover after bringing their latest haul of orichalcum in from the asteroid belt. So some well-deserved vacation awaits them. It starts out just fine, with one of the men winning the big flyer-race of the season, but they start to receive odd messages, and despite the attentions from t