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 ...

It's the first Wednesday of the Month, and that means time for our Insecure Writers Support Group posts! I'm having to make a fast trip to California this week, so I may be slow responding, but I will get to you if you leave a comment!   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!   Don't forget you can ...

Yes, friends, that's right: today, Washed Up With the Tide is released on the world! If you pre-ordered ebooks, they should drop onto your device today. In fact, they should already be there, and you should be too busy reading the book to read this post. If you didn't pre-order, today's a great day to buy the book. Why? Because a big bump of sales on one day pushes me up the sales ranking and increases the odds the book will be seen. So, yeah, that's totally about me, but since you know you want it, why not click "buy" when it will do me the most good? You can also (finally!) order paperback copies. I sent for mine some time ago, but I guess Amazon wouldn't want me to give any out before they do, so they haven't even shipped them yet. For those who pre-ordered signed copies, I'll get them out as soon as they arrive, apparently along about the end of the week. And for anyone who hasn't seen all my excited posts about this, here's the scoop:...

I've been pretty quiet for quite a while, and it's time I got back on the blogging schedule! I've been enjoying some great trips--I even got to see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS from a perch in the Grand Canyon! And followed it up with several days in the Bay Area with my kids, engaging in some house-hunting on their behalf, which is both fun and stressful as all get out. As a result, very little writing has happened (again). I did work a little on the poor sad short story that keeps getting shunted aside in favor of another hike, and of course, the new book has a cover, is formatted, and--ta-da! -- has a release date! So here it is:  It's available November 18, just in time to give copies as Christmas presents! So that's pretty cool. I still have some tinkering to do with the formatting but it is substantially finished--and I'm really excited, both for the release and to be working on the next book! Edited Out has been patiently waiting its turn for revisions, and Bo...

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and time for another IWSG post, delving further into a touchy topic: AI.   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!   Don't forget you can post your link on the IWSG Facebook page !   Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and ...

After last week's IWSG posts, where many people recommended ProWritingAid as a great way to be sure you have a clean MS, grammar-wise, I decided to give (the free version) a try. I know I have a few issues, many of them about commas. When I get my MS back from my proofreader I typically find I have used a lot of commas that don't belong there. Maybe left out some that do belong.  I loaded in my whole MS for Washed Up With the Tide , and hit go. It came back indicating a LOT of grammar issues, which shocked me, though I soon found that most had to do with those dratted commas. Most of the software's suggestions in that area seem to be valid, as nearly as I can tell. A few reveal the flaws in automated software, as sometimes things aren't quite what they seem to a non-human "reader" . Still, for punctuation and catching things like missing quotation marks, it is doing well. When it starts looking at stylistic issues, it's a different matter. With no ability ...

It has been a while since I had much of a writer update. If you notice I've been a bit thin on the book reviews as well, the two are related. There's been a lot of travel since the first of the year, even for me! The inevitable side-effect is less writing, and a bit of a struggle to get back in the groove now that I'm home for a bit. Here's the current status: Washed Up With the Tide (Seffi Wardwell #2): I'm in the early stages of what I hope will be the final edit (to be followed by polishing and proof-reading). I've been dealing with some plot issues but think I might have a grip on it now. I also met last week with my cover artist and hope to have a cover soon, after which I'll set a publication date and open the book for pre-orders. Short stories: After a long hiatus when I wasn't getting around to finding new places to submit (and the rejections of the last items out), I now have two stories out on submission. Working on the novel makes it hard for...

  It's the first Wednesday of the month--time for the IWSG post.       Why? The IWSG is here to share and encourage, to offer a place for authors to admit their insecurities and offer help and support to each other. How? The official IWSG posting day is the first Wednesday of every month. Hop around the list and see who has worries, triumphs, and news to share.  Every month we have an optional question to spark discussion.  Our motto:  Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.   The awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees,   Kim Lajevardi,   Nancy Gideon,  and  Cathrina Constantine! Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post i...

  It's the first Wednesday of the month--time for the IWSG post.       Why? The IWSG is here to share and encourage, to offer a place for authors to admit their insecurities and offer help and support to each other. How? The official IWSG posting day is the first Wednesday of every month. Hop around the list and see who has worries, triumphs, and news to share.  Every month we have an optional question to spark discussion.  Our motto:  Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.   The awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Janet Alcorn, T. Powell Coltrin, Natalie Aguirre, and Pat Garcia! Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling wi...