Posts

Mystery Monday: Burglars and Blintzes

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Title: Burglars and Blintzes (Moorehaven Mysteries Book 2) Author: Morgan Talbot Publisher: Red Adept Publishing, 2018 Source: Publisher's ARC Publisher's Blurb: Moorehaven is swarming with guests during summer’s last hurrah, and Pippa has her hands full at the mystery-author B&B. When her gossip-group connections inform her that a local construction project has unearthed a skeleton with a pocketful of Spanish gold, the news spreads, and treasure hunters flood the beaches. But the skeleton has a more recent connection to the area than anyone suspected, unearthing a shameful secret that hits far too close to home. A marine salvage team rolls into town, seeking the rest of the treasure. When they hire Pippa’s boyfriend, Lake, to be their pilot, the team’s pretty spelunker quickly stakes a claim, rousing Pippa’s jealousy. But Pippa’s been playing tug-of-war over Lake ever since his ex-wife, Mallory Tavish, became the new acting chief of police. When a killer’s strike brings t

#Fi50

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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

And... The Ninja Librarian is out of the mountains!

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To no one's surprise, I don't have a story ready to go for my Friday Flash Fiction. Nor are my photos edited, since I just got home today. But I've picked a few to edit quickly and allow me to share a little teaser. Here's the big story: on July 11, we packed up half our belongings (roughly) to move into storage, part of our plan to be out of our house by sometime in August. We paid our boys to take a couple of days off from work, and drove to my brother-in-law's house about 3 hours away, where we left the stuff. The next morning we sent our boys back home with our car and the U-Haul (because right now a round-trip rental from SF is cheaper by a wide margin than a one-way rental), and my husband and  I borrowed the parental camper van and headed for the hills: the really big hills known as the Sierra Nevada. We spent 4 days dayhiking, to get used to the altitude, then did an 8-night, 9-day backpacking trip (was supposed to be one night longer; that's another sto

Almost done hiking!

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I'll be back soon, and hope to return some of your visits, as well as maybe have a bit of flash fiction to share on Friday. At the least, some current photos :) Kootenai National Park, Alberta Wind River Mountains, Wyoming Floe Lake, Kootenai National Park, Alberta

Still hiking

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The Ninja Librarian is still hiking. Sequoia National Park Spider Glacier Hope I'm doing as much writing and drawing as he does on all our trips! ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2018 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

Gone Hiking

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The Ninja Librarian is taking a couple of weeks off to go hiking. To entertain you while I'm gone, I'll share a few photos on random days :) Spider Meadow Glacier Peak Wilderness ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2018 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

Middle Grade Review: Quicksand Pond

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  Title: Quicksand Pond Author: Janet Taylor Lisle Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017. 240 pages (Hardback) Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle’s gorgeous and profound new novel about a pivotal summer in two girls’ lives explores the convictions we form, the judgments we make, and the values we hold. The pond is called Quicksand Pond. It’s a shadowy, hidden place, full of chirping, shrieking, croaking life. It’s where, legend has it, people disappear. It’s where scrappy Terri Carr lives with her no-good family. And it’s where twelve-year-old Jessie Kettel is reluctantly spending her summer vacation. Jessie meets Terri right away, on a raft out in the water, and the two become fast friends. On Quicksand Pond, Jessie and Terri can be lost to the outside world—lost until they want to be found. But a tragedy that occurred many decades ago has had lingering effects on this sleepy, small-minded town, and especially on Terr