Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Jemima Pett suggested it, and since there are so many more photos in my Grand Canyon rafting album than I was able to share even in 8 posts on the trip, I'm doing one more, just for some of the pretties that didn't make the cut. Of course, I lost track of the days of the week again, so here's my Photo Friday coming on Saturday again. These are just some random photos from the first half of the trip that didn't make it into the main trip reports, with minimal commentary. Approaching Navajo Bridge, Day 1   First morning on the river Looking for whitewater Some kind of wormish fossil The sandstone and limestone portions of the Canyon are full of fossils. It's not just fossils. The Canyon is full of life.  Humans, too, sometimes being strange. The apex of river fashion Creekside boulder reveals the radical variations in water level in the Little Colorado Keep an eye on the sky. Morning haze. Water color The beautiful green or clear water we had all the way isn't nat...

Today I'm just giving a quick update. One story out on submission was rejected, and is ready to go out again. The novel stands at 38,600 words. After some struggles over the weekend, I had a 2400-word day on Monday, and Tuesday came close to 2K. I won't have a complete draft by the end of the month, or even before heading to the mountains in August, but I should have a significant part of one. Finally, I've been kind of neglecting the Smashwords Summer/Winter sale . It's got a few more days, and I've change a few prices, so head on over and take a look.  While we're at it, I want to remind readers that when authors--not just me, but all the writers offering books at special prices for the sale--give free books are deep discounts, we are hoping you will at the least write a review somewhere. Is it required? Of course not. But it is deeply appreciated. So much depends on reviews, so consider giving that gift if you read and enjoy our books! Today's bonus photo...

As always, thanks to KL Caley of New2Writing.com for the weekly #WritePhoto prompts! A photo and a word, and off we go. Have a look at the other offerings either linked in the comments of the Thursday lunchtime prompt post , or in the round-up this Thursday.   This week's word is Subsea   Photo by KL Caley   Since I'm so deep in working on my novel, I didn't want to write a full-length flash. I came up with a sorta silly hiaku instead. Subsea The rainbow’s end fell Into the fish bowl and spilled. Which fish ate the gold?   Now it's your turn!  

The final chapter! Days 14-16 The previous posts: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Day 14 After the fun splash ride through Lava Falls rapid, it was kind of nice to have a mostly calm drift down the river in the morning. A note on footwear: while bare feet in sandals is probably the most practical on the river, I didn't want to get sunburned. The Sealskinz socks I borrowed proved a good compromise, as they didn't get sodden and stretched out of shape the way normal socks would. They helped some with my cold feet, but I suspect bare feet would have been warmer, as having some hope of drying. As mentioned in Part 7, just above Lava Falls we entered the volcanic portion of the canyon. That made for some great geology, between the intrusions of lava and some beautiful columnar basalt. For those who aren't geology geeks, that's the postpiles of Devil's Postpile, or the pavers of the Giant's Causeway. The columns are formed as the lava cools and shrink...

I just realized this week that I should have signed up for Camp NaNo. Oh well, the words are coming as well as--no, better than I could have hoped. I'm now up to 26,500+, and have sent in one application for an artist's residency. On the novel, I've finally gone back to the outline, realized some important things had gotten left out, and decided to write the missing scenes but worry later about working them in at the right place. Then I carry on from wherever I left off as though it had been that way all along. I suspect editing this one is going to be a tough project. I'm also getting up at 6 or earlier almost every day to hike/bike before it gets too hot, and I'm struggling with the side-effects of that. Napping morning and afternoon feels a bit decadent, but I find it impossible to keep writing when I'm that sleepy!  Finally, watch this space--the blog will be moving soon (probably in September) to a new home on my soon-to-be unveiled author web site! There w...

 Well, maybe not exactly plastic-free, but I'm working on reducing my use of single-use plastics. I began by saving it all for about 10 days (was supposed to be a week but I lost track). I was pretty shocked at how much I accumulated, though it was higher than usual due to a couple of clean-out-the-cupboards projects and some on-line shopping. It's a little hard to see here, because the bags and wrappings are all stuffed into the big wrap that disappears off the top of the photo. But it's just over a pound, some recyclable, more of it not. Here's the breakdown: On the left, we have all the bags, wrappers, and some worn-out ziplocks. None of this is effectively recyclable in my community. Next to it the non-recylable hard bits. l'd been reusing the plastic spoon, but of course it gave up. The Amazon mailer is another that says it's recyclable but I have no place to do so. I reuse a lot of these, but I don't need that many. The other two bags would be nice, re...

Rafting the Grand Canyon, Day 13. This trip was April 3-18, 2021, with AZRA--Arizona Raft Adventures. See previous reports: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Remember how back on the 3rd day I wondered if 16 days was going to be too long? By the morning of the 13th day, with only 3 more real river days to go, I knew it wasn't going to be long enough. It would have been wonderful to have spent more days moseying through the upper parts of the canyon, because now with ocatillo on the shores and lower walls, we could feel the beginning of the end. Still: I thought this would be a final report and cover the last 4 days, but when I looked at the photos... nope. There was still a lot going on, including the exciting passage through Lava Falls Rapid. A big day, it deserves a post of its own. Day 13 There may have been some who felt a little nervous about our 13th day being the one we would run Lava Falls Rapid, possibly the single most famous (after Crystal?). But for most of us, ...