Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Hey, y'all, the Smashwords End of Year Sale kicks off today and runs through the... well, the end of the year. You'll find all of my books at prices between 99¢ and $2.99, with different books being featured with special low prices at different times through sale. To begin with, Death By Ice Cream is always just 99¢. Jump into the Pismawallops PTA mystery series and escape to a beautiful island... in the Salish Sea. Then follow up with book 2, because Death By Trombone is 50% off for the first week of the sale. Then keep checking back for more of my books on super specials, as well as browsing the thousands of other titles on sale through the end of the year!   Check out https://smashwords.com/shelves/promos    Meanwhile, I'm doing my best to get ready for Xmas and to write a short story for a Dec. 31 deadline. Have a great time reading!  

  Photo by KL Caley Participating in the weekly #WritePhoto blog hop at KL Caley's New2Writing blog. This week I did an exactly 100 word drabble (exclusive of the title).   Wreath   “It’s a beautiful door,” she said.   “Historic, if you ask me,” he replied.   “And the wreath—it’s a nice touch.”   “Meant to be welcoming, I suppose.”   “Why don’t I feel welcome?”   They stood in the courtyard and studied the door, wondering what was wrong about the door.   “How do you open it,” she asked.   “There’s a latch thingie in the middle,” he pointed out.   “There’s a wreath hanging over both doors,” she pointed out.   “They open in. Just push it open and walk in.” He demonstrated, stifling cries of pain as his face encountered the prickly circlet of pine boughs.   ###   Hope you enjoyed a little laugh there!     ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2022  As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated. Don'

I'm doing a two-fer here, reviewing Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna and The Other Side of the River together, since having read the first I went and jumped right into the second.      Title: Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna and The Other Side of the River Author: Alda P. Dobbs Publication Info: 2021 and 2022 by Sourcebooks. As ebooks, 264 pages and 242 pages respectively Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb (Barefoot Dreams): It is 1913, and twelve-year-old Petra Luna's mama has died while the Revolution rages in Mexico. Before her papa is dragged away by soldiers, Petra vows to him that she will care for the family she has left―her abuelita, little sister Amelia, and baby brother Luisito―until they can be reunited. They flee north through the unforgiving desert as their town burns, searching for safe harbor in a world that offers none. Each night when Petra closes her eyes, she holds her dreams close, especially her long-held desire to learn to read. A

In Part 1 of this account , we outlined the project and covered our first two days, hiking from Mels to Elm (and taking transport to Braunwald). Part 2 took us on to Klausenpass and to Altdorf, home of William Tell. Part 3 climbed over the Surenenpass and enjoyed rest days in Engleberg. VA Day 6: Jochpass to Engstlenalp (I'm continuing my day count of only the days when we made forward motion, so this skips the two "zero days" in Engleberg.) The uninspiring weather from the day before continued through the night, and we woke to fog--but no rain, so it was an improvement. We had talked of doing the Titlis lift ( see last week's post ) on this very short hiking day, and were glad we hadn't waited! Visibility all morning was, to put it mildly, limited. View up along the Jochpass lift. Those funny chairless lifts are for mountain bikes. It was only a little more than a 3 mile walk from the top of the pass down to our hotel. We took our time, enjoying the mystic look

  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. The awesome co-hosts for the October 5 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Chemist Ken, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine! Be sure you drop in

  Title: A Quick and Easy Guide to Asexuality Author: Molly Muldoon and Will Hernandez Publication Info: Limerence Press, 2022. 72 Pages. Source: Library digital collection Publisher's Blurb: Asexuality is often called The Invisible Orientation. You don’t learn about it in school, you don’t hear “ace” on television. So, it’s kinda hard to be ace in a society so steeped in sex that no one knows you exist. Too many young people grow up believing that their lack of sexual desire means they are broken – so writer Molly Muldoon and cartoonist Will Hernandez, both in the ace community, are here to shed light on society’s misconceptions of asexuality and what being ace is really like. This book is for anyone who wants to learn about asexuality, and for Ace people themselves, to validate their experiences. Asexuality is a real identity and it’s time the world recognizes it. Here’s to being invisible no more! My Review: I picked this book up because I have recently had my attenti

In Part 1 of this account , we outlined the project and covered our first two days, hiking from Mels to Elm (and taking transport to Braunwald). Part 2 took us on to Klausenpass and to Altdorf, home of William Tell. We resume the tale after taking a nice Thanksgiving break, with  Day 5: Altdorf to Engleberg We started this day with a fairly lengthy bus ride which took us a lot of places before dropping us at the base of a very small cable car, where we were to ring the mid-station when ready to go. Happily some other hikers with more German were there and got it all going. At the mid-station we paid for the trip, and continued on to the top at Brusti, about 5200'. That still left us a more than adequate 2500'+ climb to the Surenenpass at just over 7500' .  With the day heating up right from the start (did it ever cool off?), we were happy to skip the climb from 1500' Altdorf, and to jump right into the alpine scenery and alpine temperatures.     Ready to begin. Note th