Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

NEW RELEASE & GIVEAWAY! Catch the sparks you need to write, edit, publish, and market your book! Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication offers an abundance of data in one handy book. From writing your novel to prepping for publication and beyond, you’ll find sparks on every page, including 100 bonus marketing tips. You’ll also discover how to write specific scenes and characters, adding depth to your work. •        Spark One: Being a Writer •        Spark Two: Story Essentials •        Spark Three: A Book’s Stepping Stones •        Spark Four: How To •        Spark Five: Character ER •        Spark Six: Editing •        Spark Seven: Publishing •        Spark Eight: Marketing •        Spark Nine: Writing About •        Spark Ten: Final Inspiration With so much information, you’ll take notes, highlight, and flag pages to come back to again and again on your writing journey. BUY LINKS: Amazon US / Amazon CA / Amazon UK Barnes & Noble / KOBO / iTunes   A

This book is a great addition to my "Hero Month," because there are a whole lot of heroes in here, mostly people just managing to go on in spite of terrible things. Ordinary heroes, you might say. Title: The War I Finally Won Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Read by Jayne Entwistle Publisher: Dial Books, 2017. 389 pages. Audio book by Listening Library Source: Library digital services Publisher's Summary: When Ada’s clubfoot is surgically fixed at last, she knows for certain that she’s not what her mother said she was—damaged, deranged, crippled mentally as well as physically. She’s not a daughter anymore, either. What is she? World War II continues, and Ada and her brother, Jamie, are living with their loving legal guardian, Susan, in a borrowed cottage on the estate of the formidable Lady Thorton—along with Lady Thorton herself and her daughter, Maggie. Life in the crowded cottage is tense enough, and then, quite suddenly, Ruth, a Jewish girl from Germany, mov

Told you it's Hero Month! That's why today's flash is an excerpt from Halitor the Hero. Isn't that a lovely cover?  Title: Halitor the Hero Author: Rebecca M. Douglass Publication Info: 2014, 159 pages (paperback). Available in paper and all ebook formats Genre: Humorous fantasy Age Level: Middle grades (roughly age 8 or 9) and up   A Fair Maiden who breaks all the rules.   A would-be Hero who fails everything by the book.   It’ll be the adventure of a lifetime…if they survive past breakfast. Blurb: Halitor wants to be a Hero and ride through the world rescuing Princesses and Fair Maidens in distress. Too bad he tends to trip over his own feet and drop his sword when he gets excited! When his Hero apprentice-master abandons him at an inn in Loria, he resigns himself to life as a kitchen boy. But he’s reckoned without Melly, the young kitchen wench. She wants his help finding her father, and she won’t quit until she has it. Soon Halitor is tramping through the m

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! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! If it links to Google+, be sure your blog is listed there. Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back. Let’s rock the neurotic writi

I'm kicking off "Hero Month" with today's post. What is Hero Month? Just me, promoting my backlist title Halitor the Hero. Isn't that a lovely cover?  Title: Halitor the Hero Author: Rebecca M. Douglass Publication Info: 2014, 159 pages (paperback). Available in paper and all ebook formats Genre: Humorous fantasy Age Level: Middle grades (roughly age 8 or 9) and up   A Fair Maiden who breaks all the rules.   A would-be Hero who fails everything by the book.   It’ll be the adventure of a lifetime…if they survive past breakfast. Blurb: Halitor wants to be a Hero and ride through the world rescuing Princesses and Fair Maidens in distress. Too bad he tends to trip over his own feet and drop his sword when he gets excited! When his Hero apprentice-master abandons him at an inn in Loria, he resigns himself to life as a kitchen boy. But he’s reckoned without Melly, the young kitchen wench. She wants his help finding her father, and she won’t quit until she has it. Soo

A couple of weeks ago we drove up to Grass Valley, CA (no jokes, now. At least, no until you realize that CA not only has Grass Valley but also Weed. Some jokes just make themselves) to ride the Gold Country Challenge Century. It's a new ride--this was only the 5th year--so it's not big, but it was worthwhile. It's also a fundraiser for the local Rotary Club, so about 30% of the entry cost goes to local projects (the rest goes to the costs of putting it on). The Gold Country is the Sierra foothills (west side), and my Ninja Librarian books are set in a town that would be something like the little places on the higher end of the area.  A few stats on the course: it is 98 miles, and every bit of it is either up or down, for a total of 9600' of climbing (or more, or less, depending on the mapping software you use). That total had me pretty intimidated, but in fact none of the hills was as steep or as long as many we ride routinely, so I wasn't as slow as I feared. It w

Title: Confessions of a Red Herring (A Red Herring Mystery)  First in series Genre: Cozy Mystery Publisher: Kensington (May 29, 2018) .  Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages ISBN-13: 978-1496716569 Digital ASIN: B075C8FDT5 Publisher's Blurb: As a reporter, she’s used to covering the news. Now she’s the headline. Alex Vlodnachek has been a reporter for 12 years, a P.R. rep for three months, and a murder suspect for all of 24 hours. When her agency’s double-dealing CEO is stabbed, scheming co-workers cast the new redhead as a compelling red herring. The story is media catnip—especially her salacious nickname: Vlod the Impaler. Even Alex has to admit she looks guilty. Out of a job and under suspicion, Alex is running low on cash when she’s visited by a second disaster: her family. Soon her tiny bungalow is bursting with her nearest and not-so-dearest. To keep herself out of jail—and save what’s left of her sanity—Alex returns to her reporting roots. She goes undercover to rec

Fellow Tick Tock Anthology author C. Lee McKenzie has a new book out, and it looks wonderful! I haven't had time to read it, but I want to share it now to help out the release, and I'll do a review when I read it. I just love that title :) Title:  Some Very  Messy Medieval Magic (Book 3 in the Pete and Weasel series) Author: C. Lee McKenzie Publisher: Dancing Lemur Press, May 15, 2018. Pete’s stuck in medieval England! Pete and his friend Weasel thought they’d closed the Time Lock. But a young page from medieval times, Peter of Bramwell, goes missing. His absence during a critical moment will forever alter history unless he’s found. There’s only one solution - fledgling wizard Pete must take the page’s place. Accompanied by Weasel and Fanon, Pete’s alligator familiar, they travel to   1173 England. But what if the page remains lost - will Pete know what to do when the critical moment arrives? Toss in a grumpy Fanon, the duke’s curious niece, a talking horse, and the Circle of S

Fiction in 50 is a regular feature in the last week of every month and I invite any interested composers of mini-narrative to join in!      What is #Fi50? In the words of founder Bruce Gargoyle, "Fiction in 50: think of it as the anti-NaNoWriMo experience!" Pack a beginning, middle and end of story into 50 words or less (bonus points for hitting exactly 50 words). The rules for participation are simple : 1. Create a piece of fictional writing in 50 words or less, ideally using the prompt as title or theme or inspiration. Bonus points for hitting 50 exactly. That’s it! But for those who wish to challenge themselves further, here’s an additional rule: 2. Post your piece of flash fiction on your blog or (for those poor blog-less souls) add it as a comment on the Ninja Librarian’s post for everyone to enjoy.  And for those thrill-seekers who really like to go the extra mile (ie: perfectionists): 3. Add the nifty little picture above to your post (credit for which goes en