Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

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.  This week's book I won in a give-away, thanks to author Jamie Sumner and Rosi Hollinbeck for the chance to read this story!     Title : Schooled Author : Jamie Sumner Publication Info: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025. 218 pages Source: Won a paperback in a giveaway from a 3rd party (not the author or publisher) Publisher's Blurb (Goodreads) :  A bighearted, compulsively readable novel from acclaimed author Jamie Sumner about new schools, unexpected friendships, and overcoming loss. Eleven-year-old Lenny Syms is about to start college—sort of. As part of a brand-new experimental school, Lenny and four other students are starting sixth grade on a university campus, where they’ll be taught by the most brilliant professors and given every re...

My sad lack of travel for what is now approaching 3 months (!) means I don't have a lot in the photo department (I could look on it as an amazing opportunity to catch up with photo edits, not to mention the novel edits, which are coming along, thank you for asking!). But spring is starting to spring here in Seattle, so I'll share some flowers, for those who are still in winter, or those who are in our SW states, where you are apparently racing directly to summer. These are in no particular order, and are from walks around my neighborhood or my local park (yes, we have a creek with herons. Also beavers, and salmon during the salmon runs) Okay, not a flower. Also not a flower.    Photos were all shot on my iPhone 15ProMax, and generally improved a little in Lightroom (I typically end up lightening shadows and toning down over-exposed areas, and not a lot else). ☕ Buy me a coffee--or get my ebooks     ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2026  As always, please ask permission ...

Thanks to Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for the chance to review this fun cozy, and to interview the author!   Lies Are Better At The Lake: A Claire O’Keefe Mystery by Cindy Quayle About Lies Are Better At The Lake Lies Are Better At The Lake: A Claire O’Keefe Mystery Cozy Mystery 4th in Series Setting – Arkansas Independently Published Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 24, 2026 Print length ‏ : ‎ 242 pages Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GF38FDVD     Welcome to Osage Springs, where small-town charm meets big trouble. When Claire O’Keefe’s father suffers a stroke, she puts her plans to teach overseas on hold and returns home to Osage Springs, Arkansas. Between caring for her parents and reconnecting with her roots, she expects a quiet few months—until a chance encounter at the grocery store changes everything. An old high school classmate, now an English teacher at Lakeside High, asks Claire to fill in during her maternity leave. It sounds simple en...

I haven't published a story about Xavier Xanthum, Space Explorer, since sometime in 2020, and I thought it was about time. Imagine my surprise when I found that I seem to have a story I wrote and never published (I'm not sure why; evidence suggests I eventually used it as a writing sample when applying for an artist residency). I may simply have given up; 2020 was a difficult year. In any case, I clearly wrote the story to highlight the birds of New Zealand, and it was kind of fun revisiting some of them. I've included a couple of photos at the end to match at least one of the birds mentioned. It's just over 1100 words.   It’s for the Birds   “Larry, are there any unexplored planets in this sector?” The Wanderlust ’s AI took a moment to respond. Even a computer needs time to review all the planets in a sector as crowded as their current location, or so Larry would have him believe. “Negative, Captain. There appears to have been at least a preliminary review of ...

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've been on a bit of a roll with audiobooks by Dusti Bowling ( see reviews)    and ended up listening to yet another last week.    Title: 24 Hours in Nowhere Author : Dusti Bowling; read by Aaron Shedlock Publication Info: 2019, Tantor Media. 5 hours. Original hardcover Sterling Children's Books, 2018, 260 pages Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: Welcome to Nowhere, Arizona, the least livable town in the United States. For Gus, a bright 13-year-old with dreams of getting out and going to college, life there is made even worse by Bo Taylor, Nowhere’s biggest, baddest bully. When Bo tries to force Gus to eat a dangerously spiny cactus, Rossi Scott, one of the best racers in Nowhere, comes to his rescue—but in return she has to give Bo her p...

Thanks to Great Escapes for the chance to read and review the latest in the Accidental Detective series!   Something Prowling in Paradise Park: A Kate Tessler Amateur Sleuth Mystery (The Accidental Detective   Book ) by Kris Bock About Something Prowling in Paradise Park Something Prowling in Paradise Park: A Kate Tessler Amateur Sleuth Mystery (The Accidental Detective Book) Humorous Mystery 7th in Series Setting – Arizona Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tule Publishing Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 2, 2026 Print length ‏ : ‎ 192 pages ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1969218965 ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0G32HDV59 Three cases. One body. Zero chance of staying out of trouble. Kate Tessler may have thought her days of chasing danger were over. But the former war correspondent’s “retirement” in sunny Paradise, Arizona, is anything but quiet. With her eccentric circle of friends and colleagues, Kate has built a new life—full of mysteries, mayhem, and the occasional stakeout—as she works ...