Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

    Title: The Shadow of the Minotaur (Shadows from the Past #2) Author: Wendy Leighton-Porter Publisher: Mauve Square Publishing, 2012. 234 pages. Source: Purchased from Amazon Publisher's Blurb: Ten-year-old twins Joe and Jemima Lancelot continue the search for their missing parents who are trapped somewhere in the past. Together with their friend, Charlie, and their unusual talking cat, Max, they are whisked back in time to ancient Crete and the palace of Knossos, where the fearsome Minotaur resides in its labyrinth, feeding on human flesh. Can they help Prince Theseus of Athens overcome the terrifying monster before it devours them all? And will the children survive the terrible storm which threatens to wreck their ship as they attempt to flee the island? My Review:  This is such a great series! The adventure ramps up right from the start, and doesn't quit. It helps that this time, the kids know what's happening, and what to expect (they learned fast from the...

Last week our intrepid heroine and her side-kick found a kitten ravaging the tables of the PTA holiday bazaar. This week, they deal with finding the cat a home, against all the odds. I ran a bit over, at 1050 words. A Pismawallops PTA Christmas, Part II I put my hands on my hips and glared at Kitty. The kitty in her arms poked its furry little face toward me and mewed. “How on earth do you intend to persuade Arne Hancock to adopt that creature?” “It’s a kitten, JJ, not a ‘creature.’ And I have about three minutes to come up with the answer to that,” she added. “While we tidy his table,” I pointed out. “I think it will go a lot better if he doesn’t see what the kitten did to his rainbows.” I left her trying to hold the cat in one arm while she moved potholders around with her free hand. Trotting across the gym, I flipped the switch that started the music, then scurried back the other way to open the door. Three PTA parents stood outside with trays and platters of baked goods. I took the...

  I recently ( thanks, Jemima Pett! ) stumbled on the Flashback Friday blog hop run by Michael G D'Agostino , and couldn't help thinking it would be a great help during the summer when I'm often on the road--or the trail--and can't post in the usual way. This is one of those weeks, plus Chuck didn't give us a prompt this week, so I've crawled around in the archives and hauled up and old story. A little dusting off, and here we go. From 11/31/2013: The Cat Did It Now, I’m not saying the cat was plotting to kill me.  But. It started with football practice.  I’m not really supposed to be there anyway, since no one thinks a girl should play football.  Mom says nobody should play football, and she was only letting me play as long as it was flag football.  That gave me one more year.  After that, the only options were to convince her I could play tackle ball or quit.  Maybe I could find a rugby team.  Bet Mom would love that! But at practice last week,...