Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

It has been a while since I had much of a writer update. If you notice I've been a bit thin on the book reviews as well, the two are related. There's been a lot of travel since the first of the year, even for me! The inevitable side-effect is less writing, and a bit of a struggle to get back in the groove now that I'm home for a bit. Here's the current status: Washed Up With the Tide (Seffi Wardwell #2): I'm in the early stages of what I hope will be the final edit (to be followed by polishing and proof-reading). I've been dealing with some plot issues but think I might have a grip on it now. I also met last week with my cover artist and hope to have a cover soon, after which I'll set a publication date and open the book for pre-orders. Short stories: After a long hiatus when I wasn't getting around to finding new places to submit (and the rejections of the last items out), I now have two stories out on submission. Working on the novel makes it hard for...

Continuing with the Africa saga, today we are climbing Mt. Meru, at 15,000' the 5th highest Mountain in Africa. This stratovolcano is frequently used as a training/ascclimatization climb for Kilimanjaro, but our ambitions were more modest. The other posts from this trip: Arusha , Tarangire National Park , South Serengeti Part 1 , South Serengeti Part 2 ,  the rest of the Serengeti tour , and Ngorogoro Crater .   Our Mt. Meru climb was a 3-night, 4-day outing, totaling about 22 miles (nearly half of that on summit day) and nearly 9200' up and down.  Entering the park We're going clear up THERE? We saw and heard culebra monkeys, but this was the best photo I got of one. The warm invitation to trek and explore is interesting, as you are required to get a permit and hike with an armed ranger. Because we were a little late, we started with a ride in a jeep, cutting 2 or 3 miles off our first day's hike (to catch us up to the group already hiking with the ranger of the day). ...

I seem to have missed my Monday post. It appears that schedules are becoming less and less something I understand! This post will have to do for Monday and Wednesday. Let's hope I manage the weekend photos before the weekend is over!     Title: Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home Author: Heather "Anish" Anderson Publisher:  Tantor Audio, 2019. 6 hours. Originally published Mountaineers Books, 2019. Source: Library   Publisher's Blurb: By age 25, Heather Anderson had hiked what is known as the "Triple Crown" of backpacking: the Appalachian Trail (AT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and Continental Divide Trail (CDT)—a combined distance of 7,900 miles with a vertical gain of more than one million feet. A few years later, she left her job, her marriage, and a dissatisfied life and walked back into those mountains. In her new memoir, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home , Heather, whose trail name is "Anish," conveys not only her athleticism and wilderness adventures,...

Finishing the Tanzania Safari today, so we can move on to a couple of amazing hikes. So far we have Arusha , Tarangire National Park , South Serengeti Part 1 , South Serengeti Part 2 , and the rest of the Serengeti tour . Today we move on to Ngorogoro Crater, the world's largest caldera* and an area dense with wildlife, including the endangered black rhino (spoiler alert: we only saw these from such a distance that the photos are useless, as you shall see). With the goal of seeing sunrise from the crater rim, we were up and out very early. Our first distraction was the well-chewed carcass of a cape buffalo which something had dragged into the road during the night. Despite that and other excitements, we made it to the perfect viewpoint at just the right time. After all the dirt roads, it was a bit odd to find the road down into the caldera (it's generally called Ngorogoro Crater, but is in fact a caldera**) paved, even with paving stones. It's really too steep to be left as...

  It's the first Wednesday of the month--time for the IWSG post.       Why? The IWSG is here to share and encourage, to offer a place for authors to admit their insecurities and offer help and support to each other. How? The official IWSG posting day is the first Wednesday of every month. Hop around the list and see who has worries, triumphs, and news to share.  Every month we have an optional question to spark discussion.  Our motto:  Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.   The awesome co-hosts for the April 3 posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees,   Kim Lajevardi,   Nancy Gideon,  and  Cathrina Constantine! Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post i...

When I reviewed The Scry's the Limit by this author (#2 in the series), I said I'd be doubling back to start the series at the beginning. So here's #1! In the interests of full disclosure, I am in an author's group with Ada Bell and we have beta-read for each other. That doesn't change my opinion of the book. Title: Mystic Pieces: A Shady Grove Mystery Author: Ada Bell Publication Info: 2021, Empress Books. 256 pages. Source: I bought the book Publisher's Blurb: Future scientists don't have visions. Aly's got enough on her plate, with finishing her degree and taking care of her nephew and starting her new job at the antique store while drooling over the owner's gorgeous son. No visions. Alas, the universe doesn't care what Aly believes. When she turns 21, she starts to feel psychic impressions left on objects. A disorienting power for someone surrounded by antiques. Then cranky customer Earl is killed, and Aly's new boss Olive is t...

 Relevant reading as a response to my Africa trip (including hike around Mt. Kenya). This book was originally published in Italian in, I think, 1947, and soon after translated into English. It has been reissued many times.     Title: No Picnic on Mount Kenya: The Story of Three P.o.W.s' Escape to Adventure Author: Felice Benuzzi. I can't find info about the translation. Publication Info: See note above. My Kindle edition was put out by Quercus in 2017, and has an unknown number of pages, though the paperback appears to have 320. Source : Library Publisher's Blurb (from Overdrive web site): In the shadow of Mount Kenya, surrounded by the forests and creatures of the savannah, life drags interminably for the inmates of POW Camp 354, captured in Africa during World War II. Confined to an endless cycle of boredom and frustration, one prisoner realizes he can bear it no longer. When the clouds covering Mount Kenya part one morning to reveal its towering peaks for the fi...