Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Since I’m not really even sure what day it is, let alone what month, I’m going to toss out a Flashback Friday today (which turns out to be Friday where I am, though in fact the first of the month, not the last—I know this thanks to the calendar in Blogger). I decided to take a quick look back at my first year of blogging, and stumbled on this post that still seems relevant in most ways. Reposted from Dec. 20, 2012 Take a Zero I've been catching up on some through-hikers I was following last summer.  For those of you who aren't backpackers (in the US sense, not the European sense), through-hikers are people who hike an entire long trail (Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, etc.) in a single season (well, more like 3 seasons, starting very early in spring and continuing until they arrive at the end or snow gets too deep to manage, whichever comes first).  I'd been following a couple of PCT hikers, and got distracted, so I went back yesterday and read the blogs all the way...

Fiction in 50 is a regular feature in the last week of every month and I invite any interested composers of mini-narrative to join in!       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). The rules for participation are simple : 1. Create a piece of fictional writing in 50 words or less, ideally using the prompt as title or theme or inspiration. 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...

  I am delighted to participate in the launch of the much-anticipated second book in the Viridian System series, Curved Space to Corsair! Curved Space to Corsair by Jemima Pett Book 2 of the Viridian series genre; science fiction/space opera adventure with some romance. ebook: 90,000 words; approx 290 pages paperback: tba Curved Space to Corsair is the second in the Viridian series, a proposed trilogy. It follows on from the events in The Perihelix, and includes references to events in that book. Asteroid miners Big Pete and the Swede deserve a holiday with Maggie and Dolores, but the Delta Quadrant is hardly a vacation spot. Pete has kept secret the call from his home planet, Corsair, to rescue them from disaster. He uses the excuse that Dolores is training to become a pilot and needs more space hours, only to send them through a natural wormhole to an uncharted destination. Meanwhile the Imperium declares war on the Federation, while a little personal business by on...

Fiction in 50 is a regular feature in the last week of every month and I invite any interested composers of mini-narrative to join in!       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). The rules for participation are simple : 1. Create a piece of fictional writing in 50 words or less, ideally using the prompt as title or theme or inspiration. 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...

It’s getting late and I don’t have much wi-fi time left, so I’m going to share just a few photos from my phone—sorry that the good ones aren’t off the camera yet (I haven’t had a chance to either use the laptop or figure out how to load them onto this iPad). My apologies also for the messed-up labeling. If I were better at HTML I could maybe sort it out, but I’m not. We have been having a pretty good time tramping on the South Island of New Zealand (well, except for Eldest Son, who got sick at the start of our first track, and is only just getting fit again). We were rained/sicked out of our Routeburn Track plan, instead staying 3 days in the same hut while he recovered. But we had a successful venture on the Hollyford Track, involving airplane, feet, and jet boat, followed by a lot more feet :) Saturday was the scenic highlight so far, for my husband and me, as we chose to return to the Routeburn from the east end, hiking to the high point and back in one very long day (it included ab...

I should have done this last week, but I didn’t think of it in time (I’m still having issues with editing posts on the iPad; apparently it simply can’t be done—another reason to shift to Wordpress, which I may try to do next month when we are more settled and I have access to the laptop a bit more). In any case, this will help you know I’m still alive out here having a blast in New Zealand. Here’s the view from the Glentanner Motor Camp by Mt. Cook, where I wrote this post on New Year’s Day, following a lovely hike. First, I want to say that I have at least made a start on a story for the February WEP Challenge, and should be able to handle producing that much. Now for 2018 in review, as best I can recall: Published: —Death By Adverb , #3 in the Pismawallops PTA mystery series —“The Tide Waits” in Tick Tock, A Stitch in Crime, the 2018 IWSG anthology. Submissions: —Two stories, one several times before deciding it wasn’t good enough for the job at hand. Written: —15 flash-fiction piece...

One last photo tour from our months in Maine! In late October we traveled "down east" (or "downeast" as we saw it on some signs) to the coast of Maine, and on up to New Brunswick, Canada. Our main objective was Hopewell Rocks Park, near the top of the Bay of Fundy, and home of some of the highest tides in the world, with a tidal variation of up to 52 feet. On our way north, we spent the night at Machias, Maine, with visits to Cobscook Bay State Park and the Cutler Coast preserve. Helen's Diner in Machias had the only moose we saw in Maine. Well, there and LL Bean (equally stuffed). Morning at the Riverside Inn in Machias. The Machias river is tidal at this point, so we looked across the mudflats to the stream in the middle. These first 2 photos are shot on my cell phone, which is why the quality isn't sterling. At Cobscook Bay State Park we found a wonderful campground (closed for the season; this was to become a theme on our trip). Also glacially smoothed v...