Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I first wrote and shared this story in 2016. You can draw your own conclusions about those seven brothers ;)   Blanche and the Seven Brothers   Blanche looked around the dingy cottage and nodded. It was as it should be. Just like in the stories. She’d be all right there.   Blanche had made her escape from the usual home problems. Pa was all right, mostly, but Marjorie—no way was Blanche ever going to call that woman “Ma”—was a real piece of work, and Pa was too weak to stop her. Whatever went on in this cottage, it would be better than staying with her. And the cottage was really rather charming under the dirt. It just needed the touch of a good woman to straighten things up, like the stories said.   The occupants would be laborers, of course. They always were. And there would be seven of them. Always seven—a lot to take care of but Blanche was used to hard work. It wouldn’t be bad at all, if they treated her well. And they would, because that was the ...

I'm posting this morning with the Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop. The hop is sponsored by  Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.    I plucked a copy of Paint the Wind out of one of the dozen or so Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood, mostly because I have read other books by Ryan and liked them, and also because I was in the mood for a good horse story. Title: Paint the Wind Author: Pam Muñoz Ryan Publication Info : 2007, Scholastic. 328 pages (paperback). Source: Little Free Library Publisher's Blurb (from Goodreads) : This epic horse story, in the tradition of BLACK STALLION, marks exciting new territory for one of our most treasured and celebrated novelists. A puzzling photograph, a box filled with faded toy horses, and a single fractured memory are all that Maya has left of her mother. In Grandmother house, she lives like a captive, tethered by rules... until a shocking e...

Well, last weekend I got confused and gave you both photos and fiction ! (I also forgot the title!). This is what happens when I try to get things ready ahead of time, and you can consider it advance payment for the posts I'm going to miss later this month while I'm out hiking. I'd forgotten that after hiking to Laguna Torres, the next day we hiked to a viewpoint overlooking the same lake (Loma del Pliegue Tumbado). It was an incredibly windy day; I remember feeling like I needed to hang onto someone or something to avoid being blown off the summit. We started the day with the fantastic sunrise that features in a number of photos I've already shared. Once the sunrise was over, we raced to the trailhead to get going on the day's hike, which was nearly 12 miles and almost 4000' of gain and loss. I believe we took the next day off! Here are some highlights, again all are Dave's photos: Patagonia has some interesting plants. Dave identified these as Calceolaria...

  It's the first Wednesday of the month again already, and time for my IWSG 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 (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, whe...

I'm posting this morning with the Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop. The hop is sponsored by  Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.    After winning a copy of Kelly's  The Blue Hearts  in a giveaway, I have gone down the rabbit hole, reading my way through her opus. This one comes before the events in  The Secret Language of Birds , and there is some character overlap.   Title : Song for a Whale Author : Lynne Kelly Publication Info: Delacourt, 2019. 320 pages. Source : Library Publisher's Blurb:  From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, twelve-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she’s the only deaf person in her school, so people often treat her like she’s not very smart. If you’ve ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be. When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Ir...

Ha! it took me until well into Saturday, but I have for you an all-new story, the 20th installment in the adventures of Xavier Xanthum, Space Explorer.         Xavier Xanthum and the Unsettling Settlers   “I don’t think this was a good idea.” Xavier Xanthum, Space Explorer, found the words uttered by his ship’s AI to be both true and pointless.   The spears aimed at him from all sides were, alas, all too pointed. Xavier attempted a tried and true approach. “I come in peace.”   “And you’ll go in pieces.” The response came so quickly that Xavier knew it hadn’t gone through the translator box.   “What the hell? You speak Galactic Common? Here?” Oops. Not tactful.   Larry, the AI, gave him a local history lesson. “New Home was settled about ten generations back by a group opposed to all tech. They spent the first two or three hundred standard years eliminating any tech that came with them, even most machinery.” ...

I'm continuing to delve into the archives and pull out photos, mostly my husband's, from our trip to Patagonia in 2020. It's good to let his art out into the world a little, and it doesn't hurt too much.  We spent about 10 days in El Chalten, hiking the hills around Mt. Fitzroy. In past posts I've shared some shots of the amazing sunrise we photographed one morning, but there was so much more. I'll pick out some of the best to post over the next two or three weeks.  Today, we'll see some photos of Chorillo del Salto and a hike to Laguna Torre, with views of Cerro Torre and Fitzroy.  The waterfall. The valley of the Rio de las Vueltas, a classic braided glacial river (thus the color). Another day we did a hike to Laguna Torre. With Dave and his brother, we always started early, and were rewarded with great light and no crowds. That's me on the right.   Dave was a great one for making panoramas, stitched from high-quality individual shots. Reflecting pool....