Featuring IWSG Author Rebecca M. Douglass

Please welcome Rebecca M. Douglass, our featured author! Douglass is a long-time member of our Facebook and Insecure Writer’s Support Group sites. She is a prolific writer who has published many novels as well as stories in collections and anthologies.  

She appreciates the IWSG for supporting her so many years and says many members have really helped her along the way.  Her author's website is Rebecca M. Douglass. 

Rebecca M. Douglass

Currently #38 Rebecca M.Douglass - The Ninja Librarian on Our IWSG Sign-in Page

Rebecca’s latest cozy mystery, published on August 25, 2025, is Edited Out, the third book in her Seffi Wardwell Mysteries. Seffi is a retired science teacher who moved to Maine for peace and quiet, but her curiosity drives her to investigate local deaths instead.

Edited Out (Seffi Wardwell #3)
Rebecca M Douglass - Goodreads

Who erased the writer?

Winter in Maine is long, dark, and cold, and California transplant Seffi Wardwell is combating the winter blues with a full calendar. Tending the plants at the local bed-and-breakfast, writing reports for the library, and keeping an eye on events in Smelt Point barely leaves time for pastry and gossip at Sweet Dreams, the local bakery and heart of the village.

When the participants at an artistic retreat held at the bed-and-breakfast grow combative, Seffi is there to smooth things over, stiffen the spine of the innkeeper, and keep things going. But when a writer turns up dead, Seffi’s called on to wield a different kind of expertise. Then someone lets slip there was poison in a coffee bought at Sweet Dreams, and it looks like Seffi’s favorite source of treats is in real trouble. Can her knowledge of plants save the inn—and the local bakery—before the killer strikes again and tears the heart out of Smelt Point?

Book #3 Seffi Wardwell Mysteries

Rebecca published the five-book, one-novella Pismawallops PTA Mysteries that feature amateur sleuth JJ MacGregor as she solves murders on fictional Pismawallops Island in Puget Sound. JJ is a PTA mom, and she seizes the initiative when mystery and murder roil her personal life and her community. Readers enjoy the tight plotting, well-defined characters, and humor which runs through her series.

 Book #5 Pismawallops PTA Mysteries

Rebecca has also published the entertaining Ninja Librarian Series set in middle-of-nowhere Skunk Corner. Skunk Corner has a library and a history of running librarians out of town, until Tom, the Ninja Librarian, arrives and shake things up. While the series was written for middle grade readers, readers of all ages enjoy it. 

Book #1 Ninja Librarian Series 

Notably, Rebecca’s short stories appear in two IWSG anthologies,  "A Stitch in Crime" in Tick Tock: A Stitch in Time and "A World of Trouble" in Voyagers: The Third Ghost.

 

Rebecca makes the most of life! She has lived in, worked in, and explored the American west, often returning to hike and backpack in her beloved Sierra Nevada mountains and the desert southwest. She has also enjoyed traveling in Maine. After raising her two sons and working as a librarian for seventeen years, she retired to focus on reading, writing, and travel. 

In September 2025 Rebecca explored Iceland in a campervan before returning home to edit her WIP Painted Over.  You can read about her adventures exploring Iceland with Petey Possum on her website.

Hiking the Desert Southwest

Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall)

One of the Spectacular Places Rebecca Visited in Iceland

© Rebecca M. Douglass

You can buy Rebecca's books in a variety of places listed on her author's website:

https://www.rebecca-douglass.com/p/like-what-you-see-here-enjoy-my-stories.html

If you have enjoyed any of Rebecca's books, we'd love to hear in the comments.

📚    📚    📚    📚   📚 

Questions for Our Members:

You may know that I am one of the IWSG administrators.  One thing I think about a lot is how to make our Facebook site and IWSG website more valuable for members.  

I posted a similar article about Rebecca M. Douglass on our Facebook site earlier this week. Then I thought it would be good to post it here as well for two reasons.  First, because Rebecca is a longtime member whose books I have read and enjoyed, and second because I think it would be awesome to get to know our members better.  

What do you think of featuring members in this way?

What would you like to see on our sites?

I'd appreciate your feedback!

Till next time ~ Fundy Blue

 

What is the Point?

An existential undercurrent has been running through books and magazines

I've been reading lately, even in television shows I've been watching.

This undercurrent is the same question in various forms:

What is the point of...?

Brian Gresko in his article about poet Donika Kelly in the current issue of Poets & Writers wrote, 

"As in many conversations among writers during these dark days, we have shifted from craft to the perplexing question of what, in the face of the world's ongoing and advancing horrors, is the point of writing in general, and writing poetry in particular." ("Singing the Sublime" by Brian Gresko in Poets & Writers Magazine, Nov/Dec 2025)

Rachel Barenblat ~ Flickr ~ License

In the Nature Conservancy Magazine people around the world are asked

what is the point of continuing their environmental work against seemingly overwhelming odds.

In Philosophy Now young people are asked what is the point

of moving forward with their lives when the state of the world and their futures appear bleak.

Even in one of my favorite tv shows, Homestead Rescue, 

Marty Raney ponders why he continues to help homesteaders,

returning to some homesteads a second time, during increasingly difficult weather challenges.

What is the point?

Why persist during a difficult time?

The answers provided in my references all touched

on similar ideas to the answers I've found in my own life.

The point is, I persist because:  

Because giving up is giving in, 

and giving in leads nowhere but down.

Because we can find strength and purpose in helping those in our lives.

Because we can feel joy by being present in the moment.

Strength, purpose, and joy are powerful antidotes to despondency and hopelessness.

One person can't save the world, but one person can make a difference in his small corner.

His tool might be a garbage bag, an excavator, a guitar, a pen, even a simple smile,

but it can make a positive difference.

Ordinary people around the world are not giving up or giving in.

They are finding strength and purpose in helping others and improving their surroundings.

By being present in the moment, a person can reduce anxiety and stress.

There is joy in listening to the laughter of a child, in scratching the ears of a purry kitty, 

in baking a berry pie, in watching a cloud drift by, in painting a starry sky, 

in the hug of a loved one, or in a call from a faraway friend.

My Cousin Claire Serves Her Homemade Pie While Martin Anticipates

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 3, 2024

Writers and poets persist in a difficult time by creating,

and their creations have the power to lift their readers and themselves up.

Little is more immediate and present than struggling

with the words in sentence or paragraph

to express what is in your heart and mind.

And the universal themes explored by writers and poets in their works

can inform, inspire, and challenge the readers who engage with them.

The point is to write for the sheer joy of creating,

the point is to escape from worry and stress while creating,

and the point to find strength and purpose while touching the hearts and minds of others.

Love, family, friends, and nature fill my soul.

If I were to give up, give in, I would be giving up on the people I love,

especially all the extraordinary young people in my life.

I'd be giving up on their lives and their futures.

Extraordinary

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved

Family ~ Peter, Martin, Sue, Barb, Donnie, Roy, and Bertie (front)

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 5, 2025

What is the point of your writing?

Why do you persist during a difficult time?

Till next time ~ Fundy Blue

  

Writing Memoir in Flashes

There are many reasons for writing a memoir—from self-discovery to preservation of memories for future generations. Our guest today is Lita Kurth, who has written a book to help you create your very best story. 

IWSG Day In The Beginning

                                          

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! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. 

And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the November 5th posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, Jenni Enzor, Renee Scattergood, Rebecca Douglass, Lynn Bradshaw, and Melissa Maygrove!

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 if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

November 5th question - When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way? 

Are you surprised that you are being asked this question? Are you surprised with your response? I bet it is so surprising. Did I lose that bet? Good thing I didn't put any money down.

Am I surprised? No. Always been the sane kinda crazy sort, so becoming a rhyming cat wasn't all that surprising. Did I really imagine anything? Not so much. Just went along for the ride. I never figured I'd be a millionaire off it. Heck, even a thousandaire. Let's pretend thousandaire is a word, even if google tries to tell us otherwise.

Think up any surprises yet? Have you had any along the way? Are you a sane kinda crazy too? Fun, isn't it?

What is Fair Use and How is it Different from Plagiarism?

First of all, why would you use someone else’s words in what you’re writing? 

Sometimes it’s to show an appreciation and admiration for what someone has written. In other cases, it might be to enhance or expand on what you’re creating.

In non-fiction, citing others lends support to your own argument. 

All reasons are admirable, but just attributing without following some RULES doesn’t get you off the hook for being accused of plagiarism.

Image by Evangelos Evangelou from Pixabay

To ensure you’re complying with Fair Use, review these guidelines.

1. Be sure you're creating something original, not just copying.

In Double Negative, my boys are nothing but trouble, so much like the characters in S.E. Hinton’s Rumble Fish, a book I’ve always loved. In a scene, when the teacher Maggie Scott is trying to show her delinquents they’re not the only bad boys in the world, and perhaps not the best at being bad, she reads from Rumble Fish. Each piece I took from Hinton’s book related in some way to the life of one of my boys. I wanted those lines to prompt them to think that they weren’t alone and that there might be some value in reading after all. 

Here’s a short example of what I used from Rumble Fish in red font. The teacher is reading, the boys are trying to ignore her: 

“The title is Rumble Fish and here’s how it starts. ‘I ran into Steve a couple of days ago.’” 

At first I pretend to follow along in the book, but then because I can remember better if I close my eyes and make pictures inside my head, I let my eyelids come down. I see the kid meeting his old friend after five years, the way things haven’t gone right for him like they have for his friend. 

“‘. . . something that brings back the reformatory . . .’”  When she says that word I look up. 

Meeker’s got his finger moving along the page like he’s really reading, and Moss leans forward, not looking at the page, but staring at Maggie Scott. The priest’s got that vacant look, like, when he told me about his mom and dad being drunks. 

“‘How long were you in for?’ he asked.’” She reads the part of the kid, Steve, with a different voice from the one she used for Rusty-James. An old woman reading two parts as if she’s those kids, as if what’s in the book is as real as what’s in this room.

NOTE: I double-checked with my publisher about my use of Hinton’s material. We took out a few lines to be on the safe side.

2. Be sure what you’re writing won't compete with the source you're copying.

This is really a money question. When you deliberately copy another’s work, intending to divert sales from that author, that’s not Fair Use.

3. Always give the author credit, but don’t think that alone gives you the right to use the work. 

Keep in mind that accreditation and Fair Use are different animals, and follow all the other rules to avoid the accusation of plagiarism. 

4. Don’t be greedy.

Here’s a Rule of Thumb for how much of someone else’s work to use:

DON’T

• quote more than a few successive paragraphs from a book or article.
• take more than one chart or diagram
• use an illustration or other artwork in a book or newsletter without the artist's permission (written is best)
• quote more than one or two lines from a poem.

There’s no exact word count that falls within Fair Use, but there is a vague guideline. For shorter work, use less. For longer, use more. But keep in mind that for fiction (poetry, plays included) there is a greater chance you will be challenged for copying. 

Personally, I love to see authors use others' work. It enhances and often deepens my appreciation for a story in almost the same way allusions do. All you have to write is "We're not in Kansas anymore," and I immediately understand those characters are in trouble.

What's your take on Fair Use?

The Insecure Writers Support Group--Overcoming Procrastination

#IWSG DAY OCTOBER 1ST, 2025

Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Sign Up And Become a Member

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! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the October 1 posting of the IWSG are Beth Camp, Crystal Collier, 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 if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

October 1 question - What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why?

Skipping the question for something different.

Hey Guys, 

This is Juneta. Since Ive been living in a nursing home my days ruN together despite being reminded that Wednesday Oct. 1 is  IWSG Day. Appologies, going up now==and then delayed because of computer problems. This time will be the charm.

My photo of my current coffee cup.

My other cup. I need lots of inspiration.

 

Procrastination and I are old friends—though not the kind you want hanging around when you’re trying to write. One minute you’re opening your document, the next you’re scrolling, cleaning, or suddenly deciding the.Chrome bookmarks needs alphabetizing. Sound familiar? The truth is, procrastination usually isn’t laziness—it’s fear, perfectionism, or overwhelm dressed up as “I’ll do it later.” The good news? You can push past it. Here are ten simple, practical ways (plus a bonus) to get the words flowing instead of stuck in your head.

10 Ways to Overcome Procrastination in Writing

1. Start Small – Commit to just 5–10 minutes. Momentum builds once you begin.
   
   

2. Break It Down – Big projects overwhelm; smaller steps make them doable.
   
   

3. Create a Routine – Anchor writing to a daily habit like morning coffee or bedtime wind-down.
   
   

4. Set Clear Goals – Know what you’re writing each session (scene, word count, paragraph).
   
   

5. Limit Distractions – Turn off notifications, close extra tabs, or use focus tools.
   
   

6. Time-Box Your Writing – Try Pomodoro (25 minutes writing, 5 minutes break) .(Wonderspace Pomodoro online workspace))
   
   

7. Change Your Environment – Switch locations to spark focus (library, café, or a cozy nook).
   
   

8. Accountability Helps – Join a writing group, partner with a friend, or share goals publicly.
   
   

9. Embrace Imperfection – Give yourself permission to write a messy draft—perfection comes later.
   
   

10. Practice Self-Compassion – Don’t guilt yourself; reset and try again tomorrow.
    
    

Bonus Tip: Reward Progress – Celebrate each session, no matter how small. Acknowledge the win and let that energy carry you forward.

  

Truth is I have been procrastinating a lot lately. As of a year ago, I’m living in a nursing home with three other roommates. My journey here is a long story but writing in this environment, loss of home and freedoms, with roomy’s, and a situation that at times can be depressing is challenging for writing.

After a year, I finally wrote a short story for Storytime Blog Hop–a magical romance meet cute. I’m getting there. It's been a process. I have a Star Wars coffee cup and a baby Grogru for ritual inspiration. I started out writing fan fiction.

I utilized from the list below: One, Two (Analysis each scene of my zero draft), Three (Ritual over Routine because of environment), Four (Loose goals because of distraction), Five is out my control, Six, Seven (when cant get past the blank page), Eight, Nine, and Ten (this one is harder than it sounds–remember “Failing is the FIRST STEP in success.) BONUS Coffee, Chocolate, and Cheese and sometimes Online Shopping.

The thing about procrastination is it feels powerful in the moment, but it only has as much control as you give it. Writing doesn’t have to be perfect—it just has to exist. A messy draft is progress. A blank page is nothing. So, pick one strategy, try it today, and give yourself credit for showing up. Your story’s been waiting long enough—it’s time to meet it on the page.

Me & My Social Links