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IWSG: On the Road

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I'm traveling again, so I may not be able to visit you right away if you comment. But I will get there. And do drop around and visit the other participants!   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 a...

New Release: Spring into SF 2023

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I am very excited to announce that my story "Rerouted" has been included in the new collection from Cloaked Press, Spring into SciFi, 2023. The book is now available on Amazon. I have a copy of the book and have begun reading, and it looks like there are some good stories in here (well, there’s mine, of course!) so take a look.  I’m loving the cover, too.

Off to the Canyon

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 ... To the Grand Canyon, that is. Time for the spring desert trip, and a return to the big hole in the ground. Just for fun, here are a few books I've read about the Canyon, some of which you might enjoy. Oddly, I don't seem to have reviewed many of them. The Man Who Walked Through Time, Colin Fletcher. An absolute classic, the account of the first person to walk the length of the Canyon, below the rim. The Promise of the Grand Canyon: John Wesley Powell's Perilous Journey and his Vision for the American West. John F. Ross.  A good account of Powell's journey and a thought-provoking look at his all-too-accurate assessment of the ability of the western lands to sustain agriculture. The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons. John Wesley Powell. The man's own account of the trip.   The Emerald Mile. Kevin Fedarko. The story of 3 crazy river guides and the fastest trip ever through the Canyon, on the waters of the 1983 flood. Also tells about that flo...

Defending the Castle: Part VI: Breaking the Siege

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Before we get started—note that today is Transgender Day of Visibility. Please take this time to write letter to a legislator, or just talk to people, or join a march. I've been having fun with the adventures of James Campbell with Aunt Gertrude MacDonald at Campbell Castle! Follow the links to Parts I to III , Part IV, and Part V . This week I didn't get any inspiration from the #WritePhoto prompt, so I turned to my own photos of castles in Scotland. When last seen, the motley crew of defenders of the last free castle in Scotland (maybe) were working out how to withstand a siege--or to end it--with a few antique weapons and a set of over-sized chess pieces. Photo by Rebecca M. Douglass About 850 words. Part VI: Breaking the Siege Gertrude MacDonald was peering over the parapet, only half hidden behind one of the crenellations. James Campbell came up beside her.   “Careful of showing yourself. Their weapons have a crazy long range.”   “Perhaps.” ...

Release Day Spotlight: Revelation of Love, by Patricia Josephine Lynne

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  The third book is out at last! Blurb:   Their voices guide us. Or deceive us. But is there more to Light and Dark? Influencers are the voices that whisper in our ears. Tiny Angels and Devils sitting on our shoulders and guiding our choices. They are sworn to thwart the other. It is their duty. According to the angels. Sacrificing his angelic powers, Kemuel becomes a Light Influencer to discover why they are disappearing. As well as securing the mortal’s soul for the war. But with each Light choice, the mortal’s soul grows ever darker. What piece of the puzzle is Kemuel missing? Why would a Dark Influencer choose Light? The truth requires great sacrifice.   Links: Amazon Books2Read   WHAT REVIEWERS SAY ABOUT THE SERIES: Most of us know the concept of having a little angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other, swaying us to do either good or evil. We've seen it in cartoons. Well, Josephine takes that idea and fl...

Audiobook Review: Surfacing, by Kathleen Jamie

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I tend to wander through the non-fiction audio section of my library's Overdrive and tag books that I might enjoy listening to while I do my daily walks. This was one of those selections, an excellent choice for walking.   Title: Surfacing Author: Kathleen Jamie. Read by Cathleen McCarron Publication Info: Books on Tape, 2019, 6h 45 min. Original hardback, 2019, Sort of Books, 240 pages. Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: An immersive exploration of time and place in a shrinking world, from the award-winning author of Sightlines. In this remarkable blend of memoir, cultural history, and travelogue, poet and author Kathleen Jamie touches points on a timeline spanning millennia, and considers what surfaces and what reconnects us to our past. From the thawing tundra linking a Yup'ik village in Alaska to its hunter-gatherer past to the shifting sand dunes revealing the impressively preserved homes of neolithic farmers in Scotland, Jamie explores how the changing natural ...

Visit me at Smorgasbord's Posts from the Archives

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Big thanks to Sally Cronin for featuring one of my older posts at her Smorgasbord Blog Magazine . Drop over and see what she selected, and stick around to see what great posts she's found from other bloggers--you might find a new favorite to follow!