Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

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. 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 entirely to ideflex over at acrossthebor

This week’s Friday Flash is truly flash fiction—something I’ve whipped off late Thursday because I’ve been too busy to do anything and now my guys are using my computer to watch Game of Thrones, so I can’t even do a photo page. But I did have dust bunnies on my mind, due to spending the last 3 days packing books. So here you have it... a 20-minute story. In the Kingdom of Dust Bunnies Everyone has heard about the dust bunnies that hold sway under the beds. They are large and fierce, it is true. But the dust bunnies most to be feared are the ones who have build their civilization behind the books on the shelves. ### King Algernon had enjoyed a long and uneventful rule. No one had disturbed the Kingdom of Books for so long that the inhabitants had long since moved beyond the crude dust bunny stage and become sophisticated purveyors of a highly literate civilization. Rather than lurking under a bed, waiting to dodge a dust mop, Algernon lingered over his morning tea and surveyed the town.

Title: Braving It: A Father, a Daughter, and an Unforgettable Journey into the Alaskan Wild Author: James Campbell. Read by Roger Wayne Publisher: Tantor Audio, 2017. Original by Crown Publishing, 384 pages Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb: The powerful and affirming story of a father's journey with his teenage daughter to the far reaches of Alaska Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, home to only a handful of people, is a harsh and lonely place. So when James Campbell's cousin Heimo Korth asked him to spend a summer building a cabin in the rugged Interior, Campbell hesitated about inviting his fifteen-year-old daughter, Aidan, to join him: Would she be able to withstand clouds of mosquitoes, the threat of grizzlies, bathing in an ice-cold river, and hours of grueling labor peeling and hauling logs? But once there, Aidan embraced the wild. She even agreed to return a few months later to help the Korths work their traplines and hunt for c

Title: Granted Author: John David Anderson Publisher: Walden Pond Press, 2018. 325 pages (hardback). Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: Everyone who wishes upon a star, or a candle, or a penny thrown into a fountain knows that you’re not allowed to tell anyone what you’ve wished for. But even so, there is someone out there who hears it. In a magical land called the Haven lives a young fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets. Ophelia is no ordinary fairy—she is a Granter: one of the select fairies whose job it is to venture out into the world and grant the wishes of unsuspecting humans every day. It’s the work of the Granters that generates the magic that allows the fairies to do what they do, and to keep the Haven hidden and safe. But with worldwide magic levels at an all-time low, this is not as easy as it sounds. On a typical day, only a small fraction of the millions of potential wishes gets granted. Today, however, is anything but typical. Because today, Ophelia is go

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

The Wendig Challenge this week was to write a story that had something to do with food. I'm still neck deep in prepping our house for sale (looking at every. single. book. to decided if it goes or stays...), so there was no time or mental energy to write a story. But I remembered this one, which fits the requirement, though it feels a little odd to post humor in response to a memorial sort of thing--Wendig's call for stories was inspired by the death of Anthony Bourdain. Still: food. And I don't think many of you saw if the first time around, in 2013! This one is meant for the kiddies. Well, and the grownups. The Tomb of the Strange Feast Mom never was a good cook, but that night she really outdid herself.  Her smile when she brought in dinner didn't convince even Lily, and she's only five. "Brussels sprout-tofu casserole, with non-fat cheese," Mom announced, all bright and enthusiastic, the way grown-ups sound when they are trying to convince kids of the

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