Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

A couple of weeks ago I sent my current draft of A Coastal Corpse off to a couple of readers. I didn't feel quite ready to send it to lots of beta readers, but needed some help and/or assurance that I haven't written a complete train wreck. So, the question is, as I wait for feedback, what do I do? I'm kind of flailing around, messing a bit with ideas for the next novel in the series, and another story that might be a long short or even a novel, wholly out of my usual style so I'm not sure if I can do it. I'm also not quite sure it it's historical fiction, fantasy, or SF, so there's that little problem. What do you do when you're at a hiatus in a large project? Take a vacation? Do promotional work (like that's going to happen--I've pretty much proven I'm not going there)? Write short stories?  My instinct is to get to work on shorts and flash fiction, and try to sell some stories. It's getting started that seems hard. Share your strategi

I've had company this last week, so I'm a bit behind with my posts--looks like "Photo Friday" is on Monday this time! In my last few travel posts, I described time spent hiking the John O'Groats trail and visiting Edinburgh. From there I went to spend a few days--while recovering from COVID--in a cabin in Glencoe in the West Highlands. Happily, I felt good enough to do a little hiking, keeping my distance from other hikers, of course. My first outing took me through the village and up to the Glencoe Lochan. The Glencoe museum. I didn't go in, due to my contagion. World War I memorial. I saw many such in villages around Europe, and was struck by how often there were multiple young men with the same last name listed--brothers or cousins, all lost to that insane, pointless war. On up to the lochlan, the large pond or very small lake above the village. A grey and misty day, but without actual rain, as I recall. After strolling around the lake I started back towar

Title: Girl Waits with Gun Author: Amy Stewart, read by Christina Moore Publication Info: Recorded Books, 2015, 11 hours. Original Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. 408 pages Source: Library Digital Resources Publisher's Blurb: In 1914, collisions between motor cars and horse-drawn carriages are an everyday occurrence on the streets of Paterson, New Jersey. But when an out-of-control driver smashes into a buggy driven by Constance, Norma, and Fleurette Kopp, their lives change forever. Constance, the oldest, demands payment for the damages, but quickly realizes that she is dealing with a madman - Henry Kaufman, a silk manufacturer with a drinking problem and a dangerous group of associates. Soon the Kopp home is under siege. The sisters face threats of arson, kidnapping and white slavery. Bricks come flying through their windows, and shots are fired at their house late at night.  Even the sheriff can't solve the case on his own. He issues revolvers to the Kopp sisters

The earlier reports on my trip to Scotland are here and here . I left you with just one more day to hike on the JOG, but it was the longest day. JOG Day 5: Keiss to John O'Groats I started this day back at Keiss Harbour, this time leaving from the other end of the (very small) harbour area and heading north. Happily, the wind cooperated once more, staying mostly out of my face for a hike through sun, wind, and drizzle. My hiking partner was still feeling a bit gimpy, so again met me at some of the more accessible highlights, as well as the end of the trail. One of the first things I encountered was Keiss Castle, old and new. The old castle was built in the 1600s, and apparently didn't last long. The new one (Keiss House) was built in 1755, and is privately owned. I'm not sure who actually owns all the ruins on the headlands! Keiss House on the left, Keiss Castle on the right. The next cool thing was the Nybster Broch. Seeing this on the itinerary for the day had sent me to

  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! Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.   Be sure to visit the awesome co-hosts for the September 7 posting of the IWSG:  Kim Lajevardi,   Cathrina Constantine,   Natalie Aguirre,   Olga Godim,   Michelle Wallace,  and  Louise - Fundy Bl

  Title: Echo Mountain Author: Lauren Wolk Publication Info: Listening Library, 2020. 9 hours 14 min. Hardback published 2020, Dutton Books for Young Readers, 356 pages. Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb: When the Great Depression takes almost everything they own, Ellie's family is forced to leave their home in town and start over in the untamed forests of nearby Echo Mountain. Ellie has found a welcome freedom, and a love of the natural world, in her new life on the mountain. But there is little joy, even for Ellie, as her family struggles with the aftermath of an accident that has left her father in a coma. An accident unfairly blamed on Ellie. Determined to help her father, Ellie will make her way to the top of the mountain in search of the healing secrets of a woman known only as "the hag." But the hag, and the mountain, still have many untold stories left to reveal and, with them, a fresh chance at happiness. Echo Mountain is celebra

Okay, so I'm a little late. It's still Friday! Days 3 and 4 of my John O'Groats trail hike. For the start of the trip, see last Friday's post .  Day 3: Ulbster to Wick Strictly speaking, this should have been Whaligo to Wick, a nearly 12 mile hike by the time we would add on the distance to our hotel. We opted to cut it a little short in the interests of time and preserving my hiking partner's increasingly painful knee. Our taxi driver in fact took us to a start point that was only about a mile up the coast from Whaligo, so we still had a nearly 10 1/2 mile hike! We began at an old farmstead labeled on the map as the Mains of Ulbster. Though the house appeared abandoned, the farm is being worked, and we followed the farmer in his little golf-cart farm vehicle down the road to our start. The farm buildings appear largely abandoned, and the small graveyard (with mausoleum, front left) was not particularly well maintained. The graves I could see dated to around 120 yea