Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Time for another photo essay! This time, we're heading out on the Hollyford Track, in the second week of January.  Background: My husband and I and our 21-year-old son are spending several months traveling and tramping in New Zealand. We arrived on the South Island Dec. 28, 2018, and spent January hiking like crazy with Dave’s brother and his wife, before sending them home and settling into a home base in Christchurch, allowing me a bit more time between adventures to get some blogging and writing done! The Hollyford is an interesting track, because you have two choices: you can do an out-and-back, including a 10-mile stretch along Lake McKerrow which is reported to be awful, with no views to redeem it, or you can get a flight in to Martin's Beach from Milford Sound and hike one way (there's another cheat, which we used, as you will see). Naturally, we chose the flight, and as we had two cars, we managed to set up a shuttle, leaving one at the Hollyford Trailhead and drivin

Time for another review with Great Escapes Tours! Murder Between the Pages (The Nina Foster Mystery Series) Cozy Mystery 1st in Series The Wild Rose Press, Inc. (Crimson Rose) (December 19, 2018) Paperback: 264 pages ISBN-10: 1509223673 ISBN-13: 978-1509223671 Digital Print Length: 190 pages ASIN: B07JKZT5TM Publisher's Blurb: It’s a sad day for librarian Nina Foster when she discovers her good friend, bookstore owner Wildeen Bergman, dead on her office floor. Worse yet, another friend, romance writer Zelma Duke, becomes the police’s prime suspect. Nina knows Wildeen had something on Zelma. Was it enough to warrant murder? Handsome Stephen Kraslow, owner of the local newspaper, joins forces with Nina to find out the truth. The quest takes them on a dangerous journey of twists and turns before they reach the final outcome. My Review:  This was a quick, fun beach read, perfect for my southern-hemisphere summer holiday. It starts off strong, catching the reader’s attention without bei

Background: My husband and I and our 21-year-old son are spending several months traveling and tramping in New Zealand. We arrived on the South Island Dec. 28, 2018, and spent January hiking like crazy with Dave’s brother and his wife, before sending them home and settling into a home base in Christchurch, allowing me a bit more time between adventures to get some blogging and writing done! I thought I had already shared photos of Milford Sound, but it looks like I didn’t. Since it’s a bit too much to add to the Hollyford Track report you’ll see next Friday, it looks like it will get a post all of it’s own! Milford Sound wasn’t really a destination for us, but we did end up passing through three times—once at each end of the Hollyford Track in January, and again last week at the end of the Milford Track. I’m mixing in photos from each occasion. The drive to Milford Sound--a 2-hour dead-end road from Te Anau--has plenty of great scenery, but it reaches it's peak as you near the pass

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 awesome co-hosts  are   Fundy

I’m a little late jumping on board, but my books are all on sale this week only at Smashwords , so jump on over and get them now! The Ninja Librarian Series: Book 1 ( The Ninja Librarian ) is free, and the others are just $1.00! Pismawallops PTA Mysteries: Death By Ice Cream is free; the others are $1.00 Halitor the Hero, A is for Alpine , and the BookElves Anthologies are all free! Just click here to go to my Smashwords author page and find the books you want! And please—if you read them, consider leaving a review on Smashwords, Goodreads, or any other review site. Authors live and die by reviews; it’s the best thanks you can give for an enjoyable read!

Got “home” yesterday from hiking the Milford Track, so there’s no Monday book review or anything. Just a pretty picture (or two). I’ll get around to a full report eventually (after I report on the Hollyford, the Rees-Dart loop, the Gillespie Pass/Siberia Hut trip, and the Angelus Lake trip. And maybe some of our day trips...). Above Mackinnon Pass, Milford Track Day 3. Out the other side of the pass, looking at the emergency hut near the high point of the track.

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 on of the nifty little pictures above to your post (credit for which goes entirely to ideflex over at  acrossthe