Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I thought I'd start this post with a gratuitous sunrise photo, to sort of suggest a new year and new beginnings and all that. Maybe something that might let you believe I'm going to get myself sorted out and start blogging on something like a schedule again. That's my hope, atually. I am writing, though I've already distracted myself for a week with a trip south to remind myself what daylight is, followed by a week of being sick. Now I'm working hard on a short story that's kind of grown into almost a novella, so it might need to either get longer or shorter, but I'm not sure which. And I've started, in a tentative and timid way, the revision process for Seffi Wardwell #4,  Logged Off.  I need to get serious about that. As for the blog, which is where I was really heading, I'm going to continue with my Friday/Saturday posts of either photos or flash fiction, and will do my best to resume Monday book reviews, with at least some of them being middle gr...

I've been pretty absent from this blog space through the holidays, and it's hard getting back into the routine, but I'm making an effort! Next week I'll start with some more photos--my August backpacking trip in Montana/Wyoming, but today we have a bit of all-new flash fiction! Just one of my typically goofy little stories. I hope you enjoy it!   Dance Class  Urgle the Andromedan studied themself in the mirror and cringed. “You need to get in shape,” they said. It was a common refrain in all corners of the great space station, since anyone arriving there had been in space a long time. It’s hard to stay fit in space. Urgle considered the equipment in the ship’s exercise room. They’d long since tired of it all, and settled for minimum fitness. Their dominant arms and legs were strong enough to serve, but the lesser limbs were flabby, and their core—no good thinking about the core, which was too complex to understand anyway. While cleaning their ...

Non-fiction biography cover reveal, courtesy of Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours! Marie Conner, A Leading Lady: Her Life and Civic Leadership in a Bygone Era by Elle Mott About Marie Conner, A Leading Lady Marie was born a girl. That was only her first mistake, according to her father.       In an era when daughters and wives are not supposed to be concerned with matters outside the home, Marie is determined to prove him wrong. To do this, she must break down barriers placed on women in society, overcome difficulties that befall her, surpass hardships from the Great Depression, and then face an inevitable relocation.       Marie steps into her community and into the hearts of many people to give her time and help with their needs. She wants nothing in return other than her father’s acceptance as a worthy woman and yet, she gains much in return, even if it is not her father’s praise. This is Marie’s story—of a rise from her girlhood angst...

Welcome to 2026, and the first IWSG post of the year! What's in your plans? 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 (and come on, we're all insecure in some way)! 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 writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a commen...

My poet friend Deborah Bacharach ( check out her work ) suggested yesterday that writing something, anything, was the way to start the new year. I then bethought me of Crimson's Creative Challenge , which I know about because of another writer friend, Jemima Pett , who regularly posts drabbles inspired by the challenge. Time for me to join and get back to writing flash fiction. For the challenge, Crispina Kemp posts 4 photos each week and you can pick one (or more, presumably) as inspiration for a creative response. This week is challenge #67. Word count is supposed to be capped at 150.  My choice of image: A humpback stone bridge with a kiosk and a lot of mist.   I liked the image, and it resonated with the way my neighborhood was blanketed in thick fog on NYE when I got home from my hike (which had been out of the fog and in the sun, when not under the trees).  This was my neighborhood on New Year's Eve. Visibility half a block. Here's my story, for your amusement this ...

The end of 2025 is here--time for my year-end wrap-up! I'm not talking about the wider world--that's too depressing. I'm talking about my writer self, and my traveler self. As a writer, 2025 was about average for productivity. I edited and published a novel, and I drafted a novel. I joined a couple of organizations and started selling books at local events. I didn't do much with short fiction, despite my best intentions. Novels:   I did pretty well in this area, though as always everything was harder and took longer than expected. I edited and published Book 3 in the Seffi Wardwell mystery series-- Edited Out .  That came out at the end of August, and I started drafting Book 5 (I leapfrog--I'll be editing #4,  Logged Off,  starting about now) in November. That ended up being a hot mess, but I think I have something I can work with when I am ready to start edits. Short stories:   I had big ambitions about sending stuff out over and over until it sold, not to ment...

Thanks to the holidays, my weekend photo post missed the "weekend" target.  I hope you all had a great holiday of whatever sort you enjoy. I had a wonderful time with my kids and the rest of the clan.  This is the final installment in my on-going series of photo posts about my trip to Iceland in September 2025, including a  my 2-week  campervan tour of the Ring Road. If you haven't seen the previous posts and want to read them in order, here are the links to post #1     post #2     post #3     post #4     post # 5   post #6    post #7    post #8 and post #9 .    The last couple of days of my trip were pretty low-key, in part because I was getting tired, in part because I'd done all the big stuff, and in part because the weather went absolutely Icelandic on me on the last day.    Day 12 (Sept. 22): Háifoss and history It rained pretty hard overnight, but the morning wasn't bad, ...