Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

 I'm pretty sure I'm trying to do too much. At least it keeps me busy! Current word count on the new novel, 15,435. That's not up to NaNo numbers, but I've beaten the 1000 words/day target I set myself as a minimum, even knowing it won't get me a complete draft before I head to the mountains. I'd love to up my game, but while I'm writing, it's still harder than it has been sometimes in the past. I'm also working on applications for Artist-in-Residence spots for next year. This is a new thing for me, so it's hard, and because I need to submit samples of my work I need to beat some stories into submission, in addition to coming up with semi-intelligent prose about what I want to do and why they should pick me to do it.   So: no submissions so far this month. I still want to get the paperback collected collections out, but haven't taken time to work on it yet. That one is probably going to have to wait until September. That's about it.  Here

 I missed Friday's post entirely. I noticed it late in the day, but didn't really feel like rushing something together even for a "photo Saturday" post. Instead, I'm skipping ahead, and getting a start on this week's posts. The thing is--I'm writing! Still, I have a review for today. Title: The Ice at the End of the World: An Epic Journey Into Greenland's Buried Past and Our Perilous Future Author: Jon Gertner; read by Fred Sanders Publication Info: Random House Audio, 2019. 13 hrs. Original hardback published 2019, Random House. 418 pages. Source: Library digital resources Publisher’s Blurb: Greenland: a remote, mysterious island five times the size of California but with a population of just 56,000. The ice sheet that covers it is 700 miles wide and 1,500 miles long, and is composed of nearly three quadrillion tons of ice. For the last 150 years, explorers and scientists have sought to understand Greenland--at first hoping that it would serve as

    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! Every month, the IWSG provides an optional question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!  The awesome co-hosts for the July 7 posting of the IWSG are Pat Garcia, Victori

  Rafting the Grand Canyon, Days 11 & 12. This trip was April 3-18, 2021, with AZRA--Arizona Raft Adventures. See previous reports: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Day 11 This was a lazy day--for we who merely rode the boats, as opposed to those who rowed the boats. Those of us who were recovering from Tapeats Creek-Deer Falls traverse were sorry we were unable to hike (due to other parties beating us to the possible hikes), but we maybe didn't break our hearts as we let our feet rest. Morning in the Canyon We drifted from rapid to rapid, none of them hair-raising, and got a few bonus moments along the way. Bighorn sheep ewe. Lunch was at Ledges Camp, as we had moved into the Inner Gorge, and instead of sand banks the camps were rock ledges. Some of the rock textures were fantastic. Then there was "pig rock". See the pig snout--the second rock? Our camp, 21 miles downstream from the previous camp, was dubbed "Bloody Ledges," as it was similar to The Ledge

 It's Writer's Wednesday again and I'm deep in work on my new novel, so I wanted to share some thoughts about world-building, because essentially that's what I'm working on, and what's being so hard right now. I have this great new character who wants her own mystery series, and I'm doing my best to give it to her. But I have to admit, after 5 novels in one series, I'm a little rusty on starting from scratch. In fact, since that series started from something I wrote before I had a clue what I was doing (and believe me, it showed in the amount of time/effort it took to revise it), I really don't know how to do this. There. That's the truth of it. I'm struggling with a chicken-and-egg problem. How do I know who did the killing and why (and who didn't) without knowing about the whole town and all the history? But how do I know what history is important if I don't know about the murder? So far, in an attempt to get a grip on all this, I&#

  Title: Fighting Words Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. Read by Bahni Turpin Publication Info: Random House Audio, 2020. 6 hours 35 min. Source: Library digital resources Publisher’s Blurb: Ten-year-old Della has always had her older sister, Suki: When their mom went to prison, Della had Suki. When their mom's boyfriend took them in, Della had Suki. When that same boyfriend did something so awful they had to run  fast,  Della had Suki. Suki is Della's own wolf—her protector. But who has been protecting Suki? Della might get told off for swearing at school, but she has always known how to keep quiet where it counts. Then Suki tries to kill herself, and Della's world turns so far upside down, it feels like it's shaking her by the ankles. Maybe she's been quiet about the wrong things. Maybe it's time to be loud.   In this powerful novel that explodes the stigma around child sexual abuse and leavens an intense tale with compassion and humor, Kimberly B

I usually do my flashbacks with fiction, but since I've shared a lot of fiction in the last two weeks, I thought I'd toss out an old photo post from 2014. (For anyone who's wondering, I'm too lazy this week to the Grand Canyon Part 6. Check next Friday!)      This was part of my A to Z which I think was themed around mountains. The trip that is documented here was in summer of 2013. We spent a month in the Banff/Jasper/Kootenai area, all of it camping and backpacking.   Here's the original post: Just a few of my favorite shots from Banff and Kootenay National Parks, and Mt. Robson Prov. Park. The classic view of Moraine Lake, Banff National Park Mt. Robson and Berg Lake, Mt. Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia. Hiking near Snowbird Pass, Mt. Robson in the near distance.  Hoary marmot Some lunch counters are better than others.  The Rockwall, Kootenay National Park Get up early.  No one saw this but us, as the sun rose on Floe Lake, Kootenay National Park What t

Time for a quick reality check on the writer. I haven't reported on submissions for a while, so here goes: May: 2 submissions June: 1 submission 2 rejections, one outstanding. I need to do a reality check on one story, which has about 6 rejections. Might be fine, might be deluding myself. It's SF--if anyone wants to take a read, let me know and I'll appreciate your feedback. I also need to write some more stories just for submission and stop sharing everything here on the blog! Lately the only short stories I've written have been for blog-hop prompts. Writing and planning/plotting: Progress on the new book/series is finally starting to happen, though much of what I'm doing now may just be exercises to get the juices flowing, or even pure procrastination. But the plot/"outline" for the new book is taking shape at least a little. To help matters along (and/or to feel like I'm writing even if I'm not), I've been writing an extensive biography of

Every Thursday, KL Caley at New2Writing shares a photo to serve as inspiration for some kind of writing to be posted and shared by the following Tuesday. Last Thursday, the photo was this peaceful scene of a fisherman. I took a few liberties and came up with my story. The hop is open to all, just write your story and share the link at KL's blog!  Photo by KL Caley   Along the River: A Story in Six Chapters I. Ratty and Mole play in their boat until the ducks, angry at the disruption of their feeding, chase them away. They retreat to have a picnic on the bank of the river, and are joined by the Badger and the Otter. They remain hidden under the drooping willows. II. The miller lets the water through the weir, turns the wheel and grinds the grain for an hour, just enough for his wife to bake the bread for their anniversary dinner. She always makes that from the flour he grinds at the ancient mill. The rest of the time, the wheel sits silent and still, and the water passes around the