Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Title: Harbor Me Author: Jacqueline Woodson Publication Info: Listening Library, 2018. Hardback by Nancy Paulson Books, 2018. 192 pages. Source:  Library digital resources My Review:  This was a book that announced from it’s opening line that it would be dealing with issues. That can be off-putting, but in this case, it worked well. A lot of the issues had to do with race, and with being Black in America (another character is dealing with fear of deportation, another hot-button race issue). Part of why it was so powerful, I’m certain, is because the author is African-American, and has had to have “that talk” with her own 10-year-old son. No, not the one we all have to have. The one where you explain why he can’t have a toy gun any more, or wear a hoodie in public, and how to act if the police come near you.  To make it more real, the cast reading the book included that son, as well as either another son or a friend (I couldn’t quite get that clear listening to the fascinating interview

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.    This month's fantastic

Title: The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle Author: Christina Uss Publisher: Margaret Ferguson Books, 2018. 320 pages (hardback) Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb: Introverted Bicycle has lived most of her life at the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C. When her guardian, Sister Wanda, announces that Bicycle is going to attend a camp where she will learn to make friends, Bicycle says no way and sets off on her bike for San Francisco to meet her idol, a famous cyclist, certain he will be her first true friend. Who knew that a ghost would haunt her handlebars and that she would have to contend with bike-hating dogs, a bike-loving horse, bike-crushing pigs, and a mysterious lady dressed in black. Over the uphills and downhills of her journey, Bicycle discovers that friends are not such a bad thing to have after all, and that a dozen cookies really can solve most problems.   My Review: I didn’t know what to make of this book at first. The idea of

Since I’m not really even sure what day it is, let alone what month, I’m going to toss out a Flashback Friday today (which turns out to be Friday where I am, though in fact the first of the month, not the last—I know this thanks to the calendar in Blogger). I decided to take a quick look back at my first year of blogging, and stumbled on this post that still seems relevant in most ways. Reposted from Dec. 20, 2012 Take a Zero I've been catching up on some through-hikers I was following last summer.  For those of you who aren't backpackers (in the US sense, not the European sense), through-hikers are people who hike an entire long trail (Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, etc.) in a single season (well, more like 3 seasons, starting very early in spring and continuing until they arrive at the end or snow gets too deep to manage, whichever comes first).  I'd been following a couple of PCT hikers, and got distracted, so I went back yesterday and read the blogs all the way

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  acrossthebored.c

  I am delighted to participate in the launch of the much-anticipated second book in the Viridian System series, Curved Space to Corsair! Curved Space to Corsair by Jemima Pett Book 2 of the Viridian series genre; science fiction/space opera adventure with some romance. ebook: 90,000 words; approx 290 pages paperback: tba Curved Space to Corsair is the second in the Viridian series, a proposed trilogy. It follows on from the events in The Perihelix, and includes references to events in that book. Asteroid miners Big Pete and the Swede deserve a holiday with Maggie and Dolores, but the Delta Quadrant is hardly a vacation spot. Pete has kept secret the call from his home planet, Corsair, to rescue them from disaster. He uses the excuse that Dolores is training to become a pilot and needs more space hours, only to send them through a natural wormhole to an uncharted destination. Meanwhile the Imperium declares war on the Federation, while a little personal business by one of the

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  acrossthebored.c

It’s getting late and I don’t have much wi-fi time left, so I’m going to share just a few photos from my phone—sorry that the good ones aren’t off the camera yet (I haven’t had a chance to either use the laptop or figure out how to load them onto this iPad). My apologies also for the messed-up labeling. If I were better at HTML I could maybe sort it out, but I’m not. We have been having a pretty good time tramping on the South Island of New Zealand (well, except for Eldest Son, who got sick at the start of our first track, and is only just getting fit again). We were rained/sicked out of our Routeburn Track plan, instead staying 3 days in the same hut while he recovered. But we had a successful venture on the Hollyford Track, involving airplane, feet, and jet boat, followed by a lot more feet :) Saturday was the scenic highlight so far, for my husband and me, as we chose to return to the Routeburn from the east end, hiking to the high point and back in one very long day (it included ab

I should have done this last week, but I didn’t think of it in time (I’m still having issues with editing posts on the iPad; apparently it simply can’t be done—another reason to shift to Wordpress, which I may try to do next month when we are more settled and I have access to the laptop a bit more). In any case, this will help you know I’m still alive out here having a blast in New Zealand. Here’s the view from the Glentanner Motor Camp by Mt. Cook, where I wrote this post on New Year’s Day, following a lovely hike. First, I want to say that I have at least made a start on a story for the February WEP Challenge, and should be able to handle producing that much. Now for 2018 in review, as best I can recall: Published: —Death By Adverb , #3 in the Pismawallops PTA mystery series —“The Tide Waits” in Tick Tock, A Stitch in Crime, the 2018 IWSG anthology. Submissions: —Two stories, one several times before deciding it wasn’t good enough for the job at hand. Written: —15 flash-fiction piece