Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

F Following the suggestion of fellow blogger and amazing author Jemima Pett, I'm doing a very simple A to Z with characters from my writing and the books of my author friends! I'm just posting a brief profile, sometimes a quote, and the book cover with links. Though you may also see some of my typical reviews (when I feature other peoples' books) and the usual Friday Flash Fiction.   B is for Big Al Well, of course it is. The heroine of my first book! In a nutshell: Big Al is a tomboy who escaped from misery after her Pa died, and ended up as school teacher in Skunk Corners. She's training under the Ninja Librarian, and between the two of them they keep the town in line. Biggest Secret: Al is scared stiff of Mort Black. Favorite Quote: "I tell you, pockets are the number one reason I dress like a fellow." (Actually, this is just one of many things Al has said over the years that make me smile).   The series is The Ninja Librarian, with three books, suit

Before I dive into my post for the letter "A" I thought I should say what I'm up to this month. In fact, I'll probably pop this onto the top of my post each day! I've struggled some with A to Z in the years I've participated. I don't seem to do very well with prepping in advance, and writing full-length blog posts each day is tough. Last year, I just read and didn't post, which was better than nothing, but I didn't get the participation I wanted on my blog. So I'm back in the game, but keeping it very simple. Following the suggestion of fellow blogger and amazing author Jemima Pett, I'm doing a very simple A to Z with characters from my writing and the books of my author friends! I'm just posting a brief profile, sometimes a quote, and the book cover with links. On Fridays I'll try to throw in the usual flash fiction, using a main character with the right letter (I was excited to see that X is on a Friday, so look out for Xavier Xan

It's Flashback Friday, and time to pull something out of the archives that I think could stand a little more exposure. If you'd like to join the fun, clink on the image above to visit Michael d'Agonstino's A Life Examined blog and see how! I found this lovely number from January 2014. It runs about 1170 words. Millions of Cats Things never work out according to plan when there are cats involved.  I knew that, and I should have known better than to take the job.  But Keelan made it all sound so easy: we just had to pick up the consignment from Alpha-Centauri 4 and take them to Exilion 17.  Four days, max, and two of them in hyperspace. “What could go wrong?”  I should really have run when Keelan said that, because I know darned well that anytime those words are uttered a disaster is sure to follow. Unfortunately, we needed cash, and the cat people had it.  So we went and picked up the load of cats. That was where the trouble began.  They were supposed to be crated, se


 Title: Smugglers and Scones (Moorehaven Mysteries Book 1) Author: Morgan C. Talbot Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, 2016 Source: I was given an electronic review copy by the author in exchange for my honest review. 
 Publisher's Blurb: Pippa Winterbourne runs Moorehaven, the Oregon Coast’s quirkiest bed-and-breakfast and former home of world-famous mystery writer A. Raymond Moore. Guests come there to write their own crime novels. When a real-life murder takes a local’s life and washes a handsome boat pilot into her arms, Pippa is yanked into a deadly plot of her own. A tangle of secrets crashes past into present, and Pippa must uncover clues dating back to Seacrest’s Prohibition days, including a secret Moore himself hid from the world. 
 Juggling her book-writing guests, small-town intrigues, secret club agendas, and a possibly fatal attraction, Pippa must sort fact from fiction to know who to trust before a desperate killer claims a final revenge nearly a century in the mak

This month's prompt is: Lucky Charms Somewhere out there, someone is celebrating their ill-gotten gains. Finding an unlocked bike must have looked like a bit of luck. I wonder if they’ll think so in a day or two. That’s when the charms will wear off and the demon returns. I hope they have asbestos bike shorts.  ### Sadly, this one's inspired by someone stealing my bike this morning.* Just a bit of a revenge fantasy, that's all. Nothing to worry about. *That is, Saturday morning, as I wrote this Saturday night. Here's a memorial photo. RIP, Swift Ripe Banana. For over 24,000 miles my backside was welded to that bike. I wonder how many thousands of feet we climbed together?

  Title: Gangsta Granny Author: David Walliams Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books, 2011. 297 pages. Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: Another hilarious and moving novel from David Walliams, number one bestseller and fastest growing children’s author in the country. A story of prejudice and acceptance, funny lists and silly words, this new book has all the hallmarks of David’s previous bestsellers. Our hero Ben is bored beyond belief after he is made to stay at his grandma’s house. She’s the boringest grandma ever: all she wants to do is to play Scrabble, and eat cabbage soup. But there are two things Ben doesn’t know about his grandma. 1) She was once an international jewel thief. 2) All her life, she has been plotting to steal the Crown Jewels, and now she needs Ben’s help…   My Review:  I got this book thanks to our March 2017 Goodreads GMGR group read. It was a bit different this time: we were all supposed to pick books we thought had a particularly region

Last week the Wendigos invented new monsters . This week, we got to make up some new gods or goddesses. I figured there isn't a lot of demand for new gods, but I found a need. Welcome to Valhalla “Welcome to Valhalla. Is this your first visit to the Halls of the Gods?” “Ah, yes. I’m new.” “Name?” The Welcome Entity consulted a list written on what appeared to be parchment.” “Don’t you have a computer?” “It’s nothing to exclaim over. Just tell me your name.” The Welcoming Entity sounded cross now. “Bob Finklestein.” “No God is named Bob Finklestein. It isn’t done.” The newcomer turned red. “I forgot. Like I said, I’m new. My name is Ai. A-I. I was just an ordinary chap until I was made a god.” The Welcoming Entity made a note. A short one, of the god-name. “We haven’t needed a new god for eons. What makes you so special?” “I never said I was special. Just new.” The W.E. shrugged that off. “Like I said, there’s been no one new since the naked mole rats got organized and demanded a g