Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Happy New Year! This is my 2024 review of the year's activities, or maybe some of them. Reading I didn't hit my 100-book target for the year--at least, not without including the many old friends I re-read for the umpteenth time, taking comfort in their familiarity like some people take comfort in re-runs of Friends or pots of mac and cheese. Without those, I come in at about 88 books. But--I shall finally jump in and do the "My Year In Books" that Jemima Pett has been doing for several years (see her this year's post here ). The idea is simple: Just fill in the blanks with titles of books I read. This is not meant to be any kind of value judgement on the books; I have included links to reviews where possible (and am shocked at how many I failed to review). So far, I would describe this year as being: Devil's Food I’m tipping that the next big thing in Reality TV shows will be: Time and Tide I could have cried when: West With the Night I would love to have ...

Originally written in 2016, this bit of flash fiction was inspired by a mailbox I saw on a rural road with a winged pig mounted on top. Flying Pig Farm   “I don’t think we’ll ever save enough.” Evelyn didn’t say it to be discouraging. It was a simple statement of fact. That made it worse.   “We’ll find a way.” Barry’s sigh belied his words.   “I do hope so,” Evelyn said with a glance around their cramped apartment. Soot from the trains and factories marked everything, and the street outside was noisy and crowded. “But pigs will fly before we save enough money for even a little farm.”   Barry grinned. “When I prove you wrong, I’ll name our place Flying Pig Farm.” They laughed, and sighed, and Barry took his lunch and went to work.   Barry and Evelyn Thomas were small-town people, but hard times had forced them into the city. After a month or more of doing odd jobs, Barry had landed a place at a factory, and had confidence th...

I'm ending the year with the final photo post from the Grand Canyon--which was also my last trip of the year (aside from that insane drive to CA and back to check out the house my daughter is buying!). Part 1 here . Part 2 here . We quit last week in the middle of Day 4 of the backpack trip, as we lounged for several hours in the shade at Deer Creek. I'm picking up the story at the point late in the afternoon when we ambled up the creek to the last point with water and ate a very early dinner. Looking up at the canyon walls through the last big trees we'll see, and worrying a little about those clouds. We headed up the trail--and I do mean up--about 3:45, figuring just over 2 hours should be enough for the 2-mile, 1400' climb. The trail was worse than I remembered from my 2021 visit. Looking back at the green strip of Deer Creek. Alex is a tiny figure among the rocks. There was a particularly nasty section of rock slide I swear wasn't there before (though I also can...

I'm posting today with t he fantastic Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop hosted by Greg Pattrige of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews. I've been discovering some great reads there--like the one I'm reviewing today.   Title: The Long Way Around Author: Anne Nesbet Publication Info: Candlewick Press, 2024. 185 pages (Kindle edition) Source:   Library Publisher's Blurb:* During a hiking trip with their parents in the mountains of California, cousins Owen, Vivian, and Amy are finally allowed to camp for one night at a little lake all on their own. But when a massive earthquake blocks their return path, there’s only one way: the long way around, through a wilderness filled with fierce animals, raging rivers, unstable weather, and high passes. The hardest challenges the cousins face, however, are the troubles they’ve brought with them: bold Vivian’s fear of starting middle school and of changes she c...

There's been a lot going on at my house lately, but I'm chipping away at editing the photos from the October trip to the Grand Canyon. See last weekend's post for photos of the first couple of days. Today we're looking at another night or two, which (true confessions time!) is as far as I've gotten with the photos. The account left off last weekend as we were settling for the night in our camp at Upper Tapeats Creek.  Day 3 Back on the trail at first light, we studied the creek, which we were meant to cross--somewhere--for the better and easier trail, and decided to stick with the west side trail, which does a lot more up and down, not always on the best trails. I'm no fan of wading fast-moving water, even that shallow enough that getting knocked off my feet would mean a dunking, not a threat to life. Getting my pack wet was no part of my plan, however. Petey Possum enjoying the sunrise from a vantage point high above the creek. Too many bits of trail like th...

I can't believe I lost track and didn't add the start of my virtual book-tour to yesterday's writing post! It has been that kind of a week, or couple of weeks, and I'm very distracted with the House Project (getting housing for my daughter and her friends).  So here is the tour, getting its own post. Please give some love to the bloggers, and be sure to check out the lovely review at Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books !   A Coastal Corpse by Rebecca M Douglass A Coastal Corpse (Seffi Wardwell Mysteries) Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting – Maine Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently Published (August 31, 2023) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 298 pages ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8854581851 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CGN9Z7ZD Just what the doctor ordered: fresh salt air, a garden to tend… and a fresh corpse behind the dahlias? Retired science teacher Seffi Wardwell has moved to coastal Maine looking for peace, fresh air, and an accepting community. So far, she’s enjoying the sea air...