Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

  I won't lie--this one's a bit out of my usual, but C.D. and I shared space in the 2018 IWSG Anthology, Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime , and we writers have to stick together. Besides, this looks like a darned good read, when I'm up for horror with my humor (not quite there yet). Anyway, I invited the author over for a grilling, and had a good chat. I'll share, after some of the important stuff about the book.  Newfoundland, Canada, 1992.   Gale Harbour hasn’t seen any excitement since the military abandoned the base there thirty years ago, unless you count the Tuesday night 2-for-1 video rentals at Jerry's Video Shack. So when a dead body turns up floating in the town water supply, all evidence seems to point to a boring accident.   Niall, Pius and Harper are dealing with pre-teen awkwardness in the last days of summer before the start of high school. The same night the body is found, the three of them witness unusual lights in the sky over th...

 Pop on over to IWSG Anthologies Blog and see what I have to say about writing, children's books, and a bit of this and that! Meanwhile, I'm in the wilderness once again. Heading into the Grand Canyon, having had some great fun in the slot canyons in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Peekaboo Canyon Approaching Harris Wash Proper National Park fashion for Ninjas! All images and text ©Rebecca M. Douglass, unless otherwise indicated. As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated!

 I seem to have missed by usual Wednesday update, but that's in keeping with how everything is going. After traveling to Colorado to deliver Eldest Son to start graduate school, I returned home with Second Son. Less than a week later, we left for Seattle, where he is spending his fall quarter (while attending UC San Diego... this is, indeed, a strange world we now inhabit!). Now I'm off again, for some exciting travel, including my first trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I'll share photos along the way, and maybe can come up with a story or two. Amid all that, what of the writing? Well, I've been picking away at the edits on Death By Donut, and have some hopes that I will be able to make it a book. And I'm working away at planning my next novel, which will kick off an all-new mystery series. More on that as it actually happens (NANOWRIMO? Maybe). And I still owe you all photos from the Weminuche Wilderness...  For now, a few bits of travel to and from Seattle....

The long-running Princelings of the East series has reached the final book... and it's coming soon! Before we can tell you about the book, you have to see the stunning cover, by artist Danielle English (kanizo.co.uk). Today is the Cover Reveal for the final book in the Princelings of the East series: Princelings Revolution. Princelings Publications is also kicking off the Launch & Anniversary Giveaway, which will run until midnight on October 23rd, to cover Jemima's tenth blogoversary on 21st October! There may be additional options for entries added between now and then, so check whenever you see it. Jemima Pett has come by to tell us about the Princelings series covers. NL: Cover art is a challenge for author-publishers. How did you managed to get such fantastic art for yours? JP: When I decided to publish the first three books, I needed a cover illustrator. Looking at the lists of people offering their services, I gulped. Then my niece mentioned her daughter was in her f...

 I've been reading and listening to books more than I'm writing, but my writer brain is clearly turned on, because I've stumbled on--or over--some writing mistakes that I certainly felt shouldn't have gotten by the editor.  The worst, a constant irritant in an otherwise pleasant (if somewhat saccharine) series, have to do with what I'd have to classify as info dumps. I'll call this one, "The dog had three legs, he remembered." The particular author I'm listening to (who I see no reason to name) has a tendency that I don't think I noticed so much when it was on paper, to use "John remembered that blah blah" in order to get info dumps out there. To make it worse, some of them don't really even matter to the story at any time.  A subset of this, equally a clunky device for sharing background the reader may need but shouldn't trip over (from a different writer, whose works I also usually really enjoy), is, "She remembered sh...

 I didn't feel like putting together a proper post for this week, so I'm just going to share a few random photos from my recent trip to Colorado (I wasn't traveling frivolously, lest you wonder. I was delivering Eldest Son to Boulder to start graduate school. I admit that while I was there I took the opportunity to do some backpacking, though!). A too-friendly deer One of the millions of Colorado trees killed by bark beetles. Virga--rain shafts that never reach the ground (though some very soon after this made the ground very wet indeed). Nevada sunset More Nevada sunsets A bit of the burn area in Glenwood Canyon along I70 in Colorado. We were lucky that the freeway reopened a day before we headed back west. (Photo on my phone by Griffen Dempsey) Train crossing the Bonneville Salt Flats I promised you random! I think that delivers :) All images and text ©Rebecca M. Douglass, unless otherwise indicated. As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs a...

   It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means IWSG posting!  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! The awesome co-hosts for the September 2 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, J Lenni Dorner, Deniz Bevan, Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, and Louise - Fundy Blue!   Every month there is an OPTIONAL question: September 2 question - If you could choose one author, living or dead, to be your beta partner, who would it be and why?  *** I've had some fun thinking about who I'd like to have as my beta partner. I mean, I already have some of the best, members of this group with a keen eye to plot and prose. But what could I learn from Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie?  Maybe not as much as I think. I love their books, but there's no denying their wr...