Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

The writer update is pretty short and maybe not so sweet: I'm in the middle of moving from California back home to Washington, and writing... well, it's hard to squeeze it in when you're packing boxes all day and worrying about the effects of the rapid interest-rate hikes on home sales. So I've made only a very little progress on the novel this month, though I did manage to make some good notes and write a few pages. As for the Grand Canyon... I have an awful lot of photos to edit from a 6-day backpack trip to the bottom of the Canyon, so I'm starting with just a few shots from the South Rim, and a few from the trip out to the Canyon. I'll get back to that with more, too--I saw some nice places coming and going. I started the trip with a quick visit to the Bay Area, where I stopped in to see my grandsnake (okay, my son's pet Sinoloan milksnake). I took time for a couple of walks by the ocean, something I've missed while living inland. Then in was on the ...

I'm not participating this month, because I'm away, and I'm moving, and I'm way behind with my novel... so please go visit all the other lovely writers who aren't howling mad right now!  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!   Every month, the IWSG announces a question t...

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 ...