Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

The #WritePhoto challenge is a weekly bloghop challenge where KL Caley posts a photo on Thursday and you have until Tuesday to write and post a story. I got started on this one and can't seem to let go! Visit the challenge page to join in or to see what others do with the prompt.  For those who haven't read the others, you can find the story in pieces: Parts I to III , Part IV, Part V , Part VI ,  Part VII , Part VIII,  and Part IX .  Or you can go with the simple summary: James Campbell and his rag-tag defenders of a ruined castle have defeated and driven off the aliens who have conquered most of the Earth. Now they have moved on in search of others equally unwilling to serve the alien masters, which involves getting the whole crew up and over the mountains to the sea, without the use of machines or technology--and making contact with the fellow rebels. Photo by K L Caley Part X: Contact “How many have we lost?”   Mercifully Rory MacDonald r

I've been doing a lot of reading about travel, mostly accounts of travel or adventures/exploration. I'm also getting more interested in the philosophy and psychology of an activity that I greatly enjoy and at times feel driven to pursue. Title: The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad Author: Emily Thomas Publication Info: Oxford University Press, 2020. 261 pages Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: How can we think more deeply about travel? This was the thought that inspired Emily Thomas to journey into the philosophy of travel, to explore the places where philosophy and travel intersect. Part philosophical ramble, part memoir, The Meaning of Travel begins in the Age of Discovery in the sixteenth century, when philosophers first began thinking and writing seriously about travel It then meanders forward to encounter the thoughts of Montaigne on otherness, John Locke on cannibals, and Henry Thoreau on wilderness. On our travels with Emily Thomas, we discover the dar

A couple of weeks ago I did a little road trip with my 94-year-old mom and my adult daughter, over the North Cascades Highway and down to visit the history museum in Okanogan, near where my grandmother grew up. Along the way we enjoyed some great scenery, and Barry George at the Okanogan County Historical Society museum went way out of his way to find information for us about the family and their property. We picked up Mom Monday morning and headed north on I5. I was too busy talking and missed our exit, so we took an extra "scenic route" before finding our way onto Highway 20 (the North Cascades Highway). The highway opened in 1972, so it was brand-new when I was a kid, and I remember the excitement of it when we drove it on a family trip. The entrance sign for the North Cascades National Park. I love the "glacier" atop the rocks. We made a couple of stops along the way for scenery, including one where my daughter and I blasted through a half-mile scenic trail, hur

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means time for our monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group post! 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--click the image to find the sign-up page and blog list. Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.   The awesome co-hos

In the last few weeks, in addition to walks in my local park to see the beavers (and to get my exercise), I've done a couple of trips into the actual mountains. Since I haven't been spending the night I don't have any stunning sunrise/sunset photos, but here are a few nice bits, anyway. My local park is a lovely second-growth PNW lowland forest, with a stream. Apparently there are a lot of beavers in the Seattle area who are happy to move into such streams, even with less than pristine water (this stuff includes runoff from the local streets and neighborhoods and signs suggest keeping kids out of even the clean-looking parts).  I'm bemused that the beavers seem to have abandoned the dam in the main stream and have moved into the algae-covered backwater, which they have somehow managed to fill with more water than usual, as well as more algae. Train tracks separate the park from the beach, but with a pedestrian bridge over the tracks it's been converted from a bug to

Sometimes the library really comes through. They got me this March release by Maisie Dobbs author Jacqueline Winspear much faster than I had any reason to expect!     Title: The White Lady Author: Jacqueline Winspear Publication Info: Harper Collins, 2023. 321 pages (hardback or Kindle). Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: The White Lady introduces yet another extraordinary heroine from Jacqueline Winspear, creator of the best-selling Maisie Dobbs series. This heart-stopping novel, set in Post WWII Britain in 1947, follows the coming of age and maturity of former wartime operative Elinor White—veteran of two wars, trained killer, protective of her anonymity—when she is drawn back into the world of menace she has been desperate to leave behind. A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government. The privat

This week's #WritePhoto picture worked for my on-going saga of the Scots rebels and the alien invaders, so we have another installment. For those who haven't read the others, you can find the story in pieces: Parts I to III , Part IV, Part V , Part VI ,  Part VII , and Part VIII . Or you can go with the simple summary: the castle's defenders have defeated and driven off the aliens with a combination of water balloons and dungball bombs, which required a lot of clean-up. Now they are faced with the necessity of moving on to find others equally unwilling to serve the alien masters, which involves getting the whole crew up and over the mountains to the sea, without the use of machines or technology. The #WritePhoto challenge is a weekly bloghop challenge where KL Caley posts a photo on Thursday and you have until Tuesday to write and post a story. I got started on this one and can't seem to let go! Visit the challenge page to join in or to see what others do with t