Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I figure everyone is getting a little tired of winter by now, so I've gone about the neighborhood and gathered some photos of spring on its way! Granted, this is Seattle, not northern Minnesota, but if your spring is still a long way off (or if you live in the southern hemisphere and you are anxiously longing for winter), you can still enjoy the photos, and dream about maybe the best time of year. I shot all these on my cell phone while on my daily walks. Some kind of fruit tree. Not sure what this is, just starting to bloom in the park. Daffodils about to burst forth Lenten rose I'm not sure about this. Maybe Oregon grape? I've no idea. I loved the new leaves bursting out around the moss-covered stump. Snowdrops. Embarrassed to say this is in my own yard and I'm not sure what it is. Another tree or bush in the park, starting to bloom. All these blooming fruit trees tell me I should have gotten my new fruit trees last month. I hope this has given you a pleasant break fr

My sifting through the history audio books at the library (Overdrive) brought me this at times painful read about US submarines in WWII.   Title: The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines that Battled Japan Author: James Scott. Read by Donald Corren Publication Info: Simon & Schuster/Blackstone Audio, 2013. 448 p. hardback, 14 hrs 20 min. Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: The riveting story of the submarine force that helped win World War II by ravaging Japan's merchant fleet and destroying its economy The War Below is a dramatic account of extraordinary heroism, ingenuity, and perseverance—and the vital role American submarines played in winning the Pacific War. Focusing on the unique stories of the submarines Silversides, Drum, and Tang—and the men who skippered and crewed them—James Scott takes readers beneath the waves to experience the thrill of a direct hit on a merchant ship and the terror of depth charge attacks. It's a story filled with incredible

It's Read an Ebook Week at Smashwords.com , and there are some great bargains over there. I've created a great deal for mystery fans, with Death By Ice Cream , the first book of the Pismawallops PTA series FREE, just through Saturday! Get started on the series --and follow up fast, because the rest of the books are 50% off--all but but The Christmas Question --which is also free. Read the entire Ninja Librarian series for under $4, or explore my short fiction with Clues, Cops, and Corpses --free this week only. Stinky the Skunk Corners Skunk checks out a bunch of my books.

Last month I combined a couple of #WritePhoto prompts and stories for a single tale of castles and aliens. You can read that here . This week, though I missed Friday (I really missed Friday. Thanks to working on my taxes, it never even crossed my mind about a Friday post), I have another installment for the intrepid defenders of Earth, at the base somewhere in Scotland. That's because last week's prompt (which I missed entirely) was a cannon, aimed out an embrasure. Continuing with my imaginary castle this week, James Campbell and his motley crew are preparing for another attack. Image by KL Caley, New2Writing.com IV   Preparing for a Siege The aliens had gone—for now. James Campbell wasn’t naïve enough to believe that driving them from this one castle one time was enough to save them. What was going on outside—beyond the castle and the village—was anyone’s guess. Radio signals had stopped a few days after they defeated the aliens.   Okay, a few days after Gertrude

    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--and we owe it all to the amazing Ninja Captain Alex ! Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the March 1 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim, and JQ Rose!

 I found this in the archives from 2016. It made me laugh, and I hope it gives you a smile.  Sit back and enjoy a warm vacation as winter continues... 860 words The Devil’s in the Details   “Watch your step as you exit the bus. The ground may be uneven or extremely hot. Watch your step…” The guide droned on, words and intonation exactly the same as each person stepped down out of the tour bus. He seemed unaffected by the exclamations of the tourists.   “It’s sure hot here!” “Hope the hotel has AC.” “Darling, I don’t know…” “Well you said you wanted to go someplace warm.”   The man and woman, dressed in plaid Bermuda shorts (him) and a hibiscus-print sundress (her) clutched each other’s arms as they looked around the blasted volcanic landscape. All that hot lava looked very close.   “Hey! Keep moving!” Someone behind them called. “We want to get off this bus and see too, you know!”   “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” the woman whispered

Okay, not writing as in generating new text, but editing and rewriting, which any writer knows is the real work of writing. Yes, work on the first of the new Seffi Wardwell series has resumed, and I'm diving into what was wrong with my main character and how I can fix that. The woman in my head had definitely not come out on the page, and I had to dive into some hard places to ask myself why not. The answers were complicated, but I think in large part boiled down to me not being ready (when I first drafted it) to deal with some aspects of her backstory.  I think I can handle Seffi's story now, but I have also realized that a lot of it doesn't need to enter into the book at all. Figuring out just what the reader needs to know will be part of my task. I'm also working on moving the narration more into deep POV, something I've been learning about and think would improve the narrative voice. If you are interested in getting a sneak preview--i.e., being a beta reader (po