Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

When fellow blogger and author Chris Fey appealed for people to help spread the word about her mom's new book, how could I say no? I mean, you have to support moms! So here's the scoop on the soup... my part of this is to let you know my favorite soup, and the recipe. And it just so happens that I've recently gotten into making split pea soup, just like my mom used to make! I don't really follow an exact recipe... a pound of split green peas, a ham bone, a lot of water, onions, carrots, garlic, and boil until it's soup! Then you can take out the bone, pick off any meat that remains and dig in. I tried for years to make split pea soup without the ham bone, and I'm here to say... just don't. It's not right until you've cooked it with the bone! And now for the book: BLURB: Gregory Green loves his mom’s pea soup, but when he eats it at school, all of his friends make fun of how it looks. He doesn’t think it looks like bugs, and it tastes good! The...

  Flashback Friday is a monthly meme that takes place on the last Friday of the month . The idea is to give a little more love to a post you’ve published on your blog before.  Maybe you just love it, maybe it’s appropriate for now, or maybe it just didn’t get the attention it deserved when you first published it. Thanks to Michael d’Agostino, who started it all, there is a solution – join Flashback Friday! Just join in whenever you like, repost one of your own blog posts , including any copyright notices on text or media, on the last Friday of the month. Use the Flashback Friday logo above, as designed by Michael d’Agostino. Link it back to host Jemima Pett (there's a linky list!) and add a link to your post in the comments on Jemima's post (or mine, or any other participant's). Since Friday is my flash fiction day, I've been sharing stories from the archives. This one dates back to 2013, and since it is a mystery featuring my heroine, JJ MacGregor of Pismawallops...

Title: Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the fate of the American Revolution Author: Nathaniel Philbrick; read by Scott Brick Publisher: 2016, Books on Tape. Original by Viking, 2016, 427 pages. Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Summary: In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental Army under an unsure George Washington (who had never commanded a large force in battle) evacuates New York after a devastating defeat by the British Army. Three weeks later, near the Canadian border, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeds in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have ended the war. Four years later, as the book ends, Washington has vanquished his demons and Arnold has fled to the enemy after a foiled attempt to surrender the American fortress at West Point to the British. After four years of war, America is forced to realize that the real threat to its liberties might not come from...

  Below is the cover on the edition I read. Wonder why they made those small changes, but in any case, I prefer the first one. It's hard to see any of the details on the book I got from the library. It's a nice illustration of how small changes can improve a cover. Title: Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters (Momotaro series #1) Author: Margaret Dilloway. Illustrations by Choong Yoon Publisher: Disney/Hyperion, 2016. 309 pages Source: Library Publisher's Summary:   Xander Miyamoto would rather do almost anything than listen to his sixth grade teacher, Mr. Stedman, drone on about weather disasters happening around the globe. If Xander could do stuff he's good at instead, like draw comics and create computer programs, and if Lovey would stop harassing him for being half Asian, he might not be counting the minutes until the dismissal bell. When spring break begins at last, Xander plans to spend it playing computer games with his best friend, Peyton. Xander's f...

   What is #Fi50? In the words of founder Bruce Gargoyle, "Fiction in 50: think of it as the anti-NaNoWriMo experience!" Pack a beginning, middle and end of story into 50 words or less (bonus points for hitting exactly 50 words). I post a theme for each month's Fi50 here . The rules for participation are simple : 1. Create a piece of fictional writing in 50 words or less. That’s it!  But for those who wish to challenge themselves further, here’s an additional rule: 2. Post your piece of flash fiction on your blog or (for those poor blog-less souls) add it as a comment on the Ninja Librarian’s post for everyone to enjoy.  And for those thrill-seekers who really like to go the extra mile (ie: perfectionists): 3. Add the nifty little picture above to your post (credit for which goes entirely to ideflex over at acrossthebored.com ) or create your own Fi50 meme pic…. and    4. Link back here so others can jump on the mini-fic bandwagon. I'm playing with my...

In honor of Valentine's Day this week, I'll share some of the many flowers that my husband, rather than bringing to me, and gone with me to see. I like it better that way. (I don't promise I haven't shared any of these photos before). First the desert. Most of these are from Death Valley or Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in southern California. Brittlebush, the old reliable. There's usually some in even the driest years. Brown-eyed primrose Sand verbena Phacelia Beavertail cactus. Into the heart of the beavertail Prickly poppy in the Panamint Dunes, Death Valley NP Desert primrose, Eureka Dunes, East Mojave Natural Preserve. On second thoughts, I think I'll let the mountains wait until another time! Have a great weekend, and my the flowers in your life be as nice as these. ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2018 As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

I'm posting today at the Tick Tock blog for our new IWSG anthology. Please jump on over there and see what I have to say about writing my mystery for that collection! Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology The clock is ticking… Can a dead child’s cross-stitch pendant find a missing nun? Is revenge possible in just 48 minutes? Can a killer be stopped before the rescuers are engulfed by a city ablaze? Who killed what the tide brought in? Can a soliloquizing gumshoe stay out of jail? Exploring the facets of time, eleven authors delve into mysteries and crimes that linger in both dark corners and plain sight. Featuring the talents of Gwen Gardner, Rebecca M. Douglass, Tara Tyler, S. R. Betler, C.D. Gallant-King, Jemi Fraser, J. R. Ferguson, Yolanda Renée, C. Lee McKenzie, Christine Clemetson, and Mary Aalgaard. Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these eleven tales will take you on a thrilling ride into jeopardy and secrecy. Tra...

   Just a reminder--I'll be posting the February Fiction in 50 post on the 18th. Grab your blogs and join the fun!   What is #Fi50? In the words of founder Bruce Gargoyle, "Fiction in 50: think of it as the anti-NaNoWriMo experience!" Pack a beginning, middle and end of story into 50 words or less (bonus points for hitting exactly 50 words). I post a theme for each month's Fi50 here . The rules for participation are simple : 1. Create a piece of fictional writing in 50 words or less. That’s it!  But for those who wish to challenge themselves further, here’s an additional rule: 2. Post your piece of flash fiction on your blog or (for those poor blog-less souls) add it as a comment on the Ninja Librarian’s post for everyone to enjoy.  And for those thrill-seekers who really like to go the extra mile (ie: perfectionists): 3. Add the nifty little picture above (credit for which goes entirely to ideflex over at acrossthebored.com ) to your post (or one of them...

  Title: Harriet the Spy Author: Louise Fitzhugh; read by Anne Bobby Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio, 2003. Originally published by Harper & Row, 1964. 298 pages. Source: Library Digital resources Awards: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (1966) , Oklahoma Sequoyah Award (1967) Publisher's Summary: Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best friends. Then Harriet loses track of her notebook, and it ends up in the wrong hands. Before she can stop them, her friends have read the always truthful, sometimes awful things she’s written about each of them. Will Harriet find a way to put her life and her friendships back together? 
 My Review:   Somehow I was never tempted to read this as a kid. Since lately I've been going back and picking up some classics I missed, when I saw this available as an audio book download through my library, I d...

We were back this week to one of my favorite flash fiction challenges, over there in Wendig land: the subgenre mash-up. After a few tries (to avoid some genres I don't deal in), the magic dice gave me "comic fantasy" and "occult detective." That seemed to go nicely with a story I had already begun, based on some half-sleeping idea that came to me early one morning. 1000 words exactly. 333 “Really, 333, you must try harder.” Disturbed from his reading, the demon pushed his glasses up and folded the morning edition of The Infernal Times into a better position for reading. “I must?” “You aren’t half the demon your father was, may he rest in pieces.” 333 raised a chiseled eyebrow. “No one is half the demon Dear Old Dad was.” “But we had such hopes of you! That’s why they gave you that number!”
 “To remind me every day that I’m at best half of what old 666 was?” The Demonic Division Chief ground his teeth. He did that a lot, especially around 333. That was why he had...

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! 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! If it links to Google+, be sure your blog is listed there. Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back. Let’s rock the neurotic writing...

  Title: Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult Author: Bruce Handy Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 2017. 307 pages. Source: Library Publisher's Summary: An irresistible, nostalgic, and insightful -- and totally original -- ramble through classic children's literature from Vanity Fair contributing editor (and father) Bruce Handy. In 1690, the dour New England Primer , thought to be the first American children's book, was published in Boston. Offering children gems of advice such as "Strive to learn" and "Be not a dunce," it was no fun at all. So how did we get from there to "Let the wild rumpus start"? And now that we're living in a golden age of children's literature, what can adults get out of reading Where the Wild Things Are and Goodnight Moon , or Charlotte's Web and Little House on the Prairie ? In Wild Things , Bruce Handy revisits the classics of every American childhood, from fairy tale...

Chuck Wendig challenged us this week to write a story about travel woes. I'm kind of busy working on those pesky novel edits, but I remembered this story, and hunted through the archives to find it. I know I just did a flashback last week, but sometimes you just have to go with it. 853 words. The Devil’s in the Details “Watch your step as you exit the bus. The ground may be uneven or extremely hot. Watch your step…” The guide droned on, words and intonation exactly the same as each person stepped down out of the tour bus. He seemed unaffected by the exclamations of the tourists. “It’s sure hot here!” “Hope the hotel has AC.” “Darling, I don’t know…” “Well you said you wanted to go someplace warm.” The man and woman, dressed in plaid Bermuda shorts (him) and a hibiscus-print sundress (her) clutched each other’s arms as they looked around the blasted volcanic landscape. It all looked very close. “Hey! Keep moving!” Someone behind them called. “We want to get off ...

Title: The Phantom of Oz (5th in series) Author: Cindy Brown Publisher: Henery Press, 2018. 268 pages (paperback) Source: Electronic ARC from Great Escapes Book Tours Publisher's Blurb: Creepy munchkins. A mysterious phantom. And a real Wicked Witch. Are you ready for it? Actress and part-time PI Ivy Meadows has been hired to uncover the cause of the creepy accidents that plague the roadshow The Wizard: A Space OZpera and find out who dropped a chandelier on the Wicked Witch of the East. Was it the ghost who haunts the Grand Phoenician Theatre? A “wicked witch” in the cast? Or is it someone—or something—more sinister? It’s Ivy’s most personal case so far. Her best friend Candy, who’s touring with the show, is caught in a downward spiral of self-destruction, and is in more danger than she knows. To save her friend and the show, Ivy must answer even tougher questions: Do spirits really exist? What is real beauty? What does friendship mean? Ivy needs to learn the answers, an...