Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I had thought to do my usual and post some bits and pieces while I'm out of blogging range. But life has been very very busy, and that's just not going to happen. So... See you in a couple of weeks. Here's a nice tree to look at while I'm away getting more photos (and not doing much writing). See you in a couple of weeks!

I'm taking a break from my writing and packing to give a little report on my time at the Artists' Residency at Playa Summerlake. To see more about that--and if you are interested in applying--check out the Playa website . The residencies are 5, 12, or 26 days. I landed a 5-day visit. While I wanted a longer one, as it happened my schedule this spring barely allowed for the five day version. This was my first residency, and let me say first off that I was over the moon to get it. Talk about validation of myself as a writer! The residency in remote eastern Oregon provided--free of charge--a private cabin with a kitchen, bathroom, etc., and a nice spot to plop my computer for writing, as well as dinner the first night. Every one of the cabins looks out on the playa and the usually-a-lake, so that I was constantly inspired by the scenery and the ever-changing light and weather (more on that later--we got the fullest range of spring possible, I think!).  There we also lots of places...

Title: Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry Author: Rosalie K. Fry Publication Info: Kindle edition, NYR Children's Collection. Original hardback, J.M. Dent & Sons, 1957, 87 pages, as Child of the Western Isles. Source: Library digital editions Publisher's Blurb: Fiona McConville is a child of the Western Isles, living on the Scottish mainland. City life doesn’t suit Fiona and at age ten she is sent back to her beloved isles to live with her grandparents. There she learns more about her mother’s strange ways with the seals and seabirds; hears stories of the selkies, mythological creatures that are half seal and half human; and wonders about her baby brother, Jamie, who disappeared long ago but whom fishermen claim to have seen. Fiona is determined to find Jamie and enlists her cousin Rory to help. When her grandparents are suddenly threatened with eviction, Fiona and Rory go into action. Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry is a magical story of the power of place and family hi...

 ... though somehow a whole week went by without a post. I got back from my 5-day writer residency in Oregon, full of excitement about writing and with a ton of work facing me as the listing date for my house approaches. I want to do a report on the residency and share some photos, but that will come next week. For now, I'll give you another bit of fiction from the archives. This story seems particularly appropriate in these unsettled days. It was originally written to a photo prompt, a picture of a gazing ball on top of a fence post.   The World In the Palm of Her Hand All Lissa knew was that she was supposed to save the world. In point of fact, she didn’t really know even that: she’d had a message from some mysterious old man who refused to show his face, exactly according to regulations. The message read, “She has the world in the palm of her hand. Don’t let her drop it.” In theory that left the field so impossibly wide open that there was little hope of finding the right w...

I am at my Artist Residency with limited internet access, so today I'm doing a re-run. I will respond to comments next week after I'm home. This post will have to do for Monday, too. This story was originally written in 2015. A Minor Navigational Error "I'm cold, dear." "You're always cold. That's the trouble with you females. You can’t handle the weather at all." "It's July. It shouldn't be this cold here. Are you sure we're in the right place?" He made an exasperated noise. "Of course I'm sure." She sighed in her turn. "You're always so certain you are right." "I am Zeus, after all. A god. Remember?" Hera hated it when he brought that up. Anyway, she was a god, too. "Well, yes, dear, but..." She didn't finish the sentence. They both knew she was thinking about Leda. That had taken some tricky explanations on his part, and she had really only pretended to believe him. But ...

I am off in the morning for my very first Artist Residency, at Playa Summerlake in Oregon . I'm excited about this 5-day retreat, and hope to be able to get some good work done. Since I'm making progress (slower than hoped, but not so bad) on my rewrite of A Coastal Corpse (I am starting to bond with that title), I want to keep that up, but I am also committed to a work of short fiction that I have been toying with. Plans for that are still less clear than they should be, but we shall see. Here are the stats: I've written about 1600 words a day on average in the last month, with a couple of missed days. That's got me up to 46K, and right about at the midway point in the novel, so I'll have some pruning to do later. I'd like to up that amount as I'd hoped to have the draft finished by now. Reality has intervened. Most years when I've done NaNoWriMo I've been able to hit something more like 2-3K each day, but life has been busy. Still no submissions fo...

The latest in Rhys Bowen's fun "Royal Spyness" mystery series.   Title: Author:  Publication Info: Source: Publisher's Blurb: Georgie is excited for her first Christmas as a married woman in her lovely new home. She suggests to her dashing husband, Darcy, that they have a little house party, but when Darcy receives a letter from his aunt Ermintrude, there is an abrupt change in plans. She has moved to a house on the edge of the Sandringham estate, near the royal family, and wants to invite Darcy and his new bride for Christmas. Aunt Ermintrude hints that the queen would like Georgie nearby. Georgie had not known that Aunt Ermintrude was a former lady-in-waiting and close confidante of her royal highness. The letter is therefore almost a royal request, so Georgie, Darcy, and their Christmas guests: Mummy, Grandad, Fig, and Binky all head to Sandringham. Georgie soon learns that the notorious Mrs. Simpson, mistress to the Prince of Wales, will also be in att...

A little fun flash fiction this week in response to a lovely picture from KL Caley of New2Writing.com for this week’s #writephoto prompt. Here's the scoop: Every Thursday KL Caley posts a photo prompt, and you have until Tuesday to post. Any kind of writing, poetry, flash fiction, haiku, whatever the photo inspires. Since I'm pretty busy just now, mine's not quite 300 words of pure goofiness.     Saturday Night at the Tidepool Sam the hermit crab was having a great night. He’d headed on down to the Tidepool after work for a few drinks a bit of kootchie-koo, and it was working out as hoped. Heck, he’d even managed to make a date for the following night with a promising she-crab with a suggestive tilt to her shell. For a hermit crab, or really for any sort of crab, Sam was a social being. He loved to hang out with the Limpets, who were surprisingly good company if a bit clingy. The Minnows were chatterers, but made a nice background noise if you just ignored them for the mos...

  What is the IWSG? Read on! 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!   You ready? Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! March 2 question (always optional!) - Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not?   The awesome co-hosts fo...