Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Portal Point: Seals and Whales Our 4th day in Antarctica was the only one where we didn't get to do two outings, thanks to the weather. But we did get both a landing and a cruise at Portal Point, and had some special wildlife sightings. They split the group so only half of us landed at a time (due to constrained space on land), and I was in the batch that got dropped ashore first. This fantastic duo was there to greet us! Crabeater seals, which do not in fact eat crabs (they mostly eat krill) Seals are very fast and graceful in the water, but even more so than penguins they are at a disadvantage on land. Whenever we were ashore, members of the expedition staff went ahead of us with markers to show where we shouldn't go. Sometimes they wanted to keep us away from penguin rookeries or cranky seals. In this case, it was to keep us from the unstable edges of the snowfield, which dropped off 100' or so into the ocean. Being smart enough to know I don't know everything, I sta

Pu rpose: 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 ! Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.   The awesome co-hosts for the May 6 posting of the IWSG are Feather Stone, Beverly Stowe McClure, Mary Aalgaard, Kim Lajevardi, and Chemist Ken!   Be sure to visit and give them some love! Optional Ma

The long-anticipated IWSG Anthology is here! Voyagers: The Third Ghost releases today, including my story "A World of Trouble." Voyagers: The Third Ghost An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology Journey into the past… Will the third ghost be found before fires take more lives?   Can everyone be warned before Pompeii is buried again? What happens if a blizzard traps a family in East Germany? Will the Firebird help Soviet sisters outwit evil during WWII?  And sneaking off to see their first aeroplane – what could go wrong? Ten authors explore the past, sending their young protagonists on harrowing adventures. Featuring the talents of   Yvonne Ventresca, Katharina Gerlach, Roland Clarke,   Sherry Ellis, Rebecca M. Douglass, Bish Denham, Charles Kowalski, Louise MacBeath Barbour,   Beth Anderson Schuck, and   L.T. Ward. Hand-picked by a panel of agents, authors, and editors, these ten tales   will take readers on a voyage of wonder into history. Get ready for an exciting rid

Title: The Hired Girl Author: Laura Amy Schlitz; read by Rachel Botchan Publication Info: 2015 by Recorded Books; hardback 2015 by Candlewick Press Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb: Ever since the untimely death of her mother, 14-year-old Joan Skraggs has been desperately unhappy. Under the thumb of her cruel father and three sullen brothers, Joan lives like a servant on their farm just outside of Lancaster, forever cooking, cleaning, and attending to the many demands of the home. But she has little freedom and less support from her family for her love of reading and blossoming interest in education. But when her father tells Joan she can't go to school anymore, it sets off a journey that will see her become first a runaway, then a hired girl on $6 a week, and finally her very own young woman. Set in America during the optimistic years before the First World War, and told through a series of journal entries, The Hired Girl is the story of a young g

Zodiac cruise with icebergs--and some wildlife I'm working my way through the Antarctica photos, and I'm kind of amazed to realize from the post numbering that we've been home for 5 weeks. Still have about 5 more posts to do from Antarctica, and then I can get moving on all the hikes in Patagonia.  Today I'm featuring our Day 3 (along the Antarctic Peninsula--it was day 6 of the cruise) afternoon zodiac cruise in Andvord Bay. This was the after-lunch outing following my amazing penguin encounters .   We sailed from Neko Harbor to Andvord Bay while we lunched, and the rain stopped, to everyone's relief. We sailed past lots of these And parked about here  Pile into zodiacs and head out with Rustyn Mesdag at the helm. I snagged the seat by the bows, which can be damp but also allows for some good views. For obvious reasons, I'm not really sure who was on the boat with me!   There's not a lot of narration needed for the next 2 1/2 hours, though that doesn't

Well what do you know? Here it is, Wednesday again, and time for another writer's update. I have sadly little progress to report, on either my writing or editing my photos (and I haven't done my taxes yet, either). I think there's no getting away from the truth: I'm goofing off, procrastinating, and not working very hard at much of anything. I've not been completely idle, though. I *have* been working on my book. I'm not sure it's productive, but I've been producing a very lovely multi-colored outline of the book, tracing the clues leading to the perp, all the red herrings, the distractions, and the secondary mystery. Why? Well, for one thing, it's pretty :D  For another, I'm hoping that seeing how all the bits fit in will help me see where to fit in the bits that got left out. It might even be working. Meanwhile, I'm 1/3 of the way through one of me 2 beta reads, with the second queued up. In fact, I've decided that it's probably mor

Title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Author: Betty Smith. Narrated by Kate Burton Publication info: 2005 Harper Audio. Original publication 1943 by Harper & Brothers, 443 pages. Source: Library digital resources Goodreads Blurb: The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich mom