Interview with Rebecca M. Douglass

Published 2019-10-28.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up on Vashon Island, in Washington State. The Island was semi-rural, which meant that my friends lived too far away to just run over and visit. Since you can't always play with older brothers (though I certainly tried, and was a terrific tomboy!), I had a lot of time to fill on my own. I discovered books and the library early, and developed a passion for reading that has served me well all my life. Anyone who wants to write would do well to have been an avid reader as a child!
When did you first start writing?
I began writing stories as soon as I learned to write at all. I can remember in fourth grade writing writing an on-going saga of my future life raising horses and writing books. I believe I was actually turning in weekly installments as part of our writing assignments for class, though I have no idea if we were meant to be writing fiction. Writing stories when I was meant to be writing essays was a habit that never left me.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
It wasn't exactly a story, but my mother cherishes a paper I wrote in first grade. The assignment was to describe our mothers. I wrote that "My mother bakes our bread. My mother does the laundry. My mother makes our clothes. My mother cooks our meals. My mother does not work." I believe she and the teacher laughed so hard over that they nearly hurt themselves! Which goes to show I've always had a gift for writing humor.
Who are your favorite authors?
This is such a hard question to answer, because there are so many! Among children's authors, I love Richard Peck, Tamora Pierce, Karen Cushman, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, and Brian Jacques. My favorite writers of adult fiction include Ivan Doig, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Jane Austen, and a whole slew of great mystery writers: Aaron Elkins, Ellis Peters, Dana Stabenow, Nevada Barr, Rhys Bowen, Peter Bowen, Jacqueline Winspeare, and Charlotte MacLeod, among others.
What's the story behind Skunk Corners and the Ninja LIbrarian?
The simple answer is that the Ninja Librarian is modeled after the very mild-mannered head librarian with whom I worked when I began writing the stories. But after growing from a chance comment into the first story, and then beyond, the characters began to take on lives of their own, as did Skunk Corners. To me, it is a place where in spite of everything, society works the way it's supposed to. People think creatively to solve problems, and no one is turned away from an education. But Skunk Corners is also the home of tall tales and a wild imagination, so it's never dull there.
What motivated you to become an indie author?
I became an author-publisher because, after many years of writing and not publishing, I knew I had the right book with The Ninja Librarian. But I also knew that it would be a very hard sell to a publisher, because the audience is mixed. I like to say my audience is 4th grade boys and their grandparents, and that's really pretty true. The book is not at all written down to or simplified for children, but they love the silliness that pervades the stories, and the sometimes slapstick humor. My older readers see more of the values that underlie the tall tales, and appreciate seeing how the denizens of Skunk Corners deal with tough situations and the creative methods they come up with for solving their problems.
What are you working on next?
Even as I am publishing the 4th book in the Pismawallops PTA murder series (Death By Library), I'm already starting work on #5, tentatively titled Death By Donut. In addition, I have a novella, a special Christmas story about JJ and the rest of the PTA crew, which is being shared with my newsletter subscribers before the holidays, and will go on sale to the general publish soon after. And, of course, I'm always playing with short fiction, some of which I publish on my blog at www.ninjalibrarian.com and some of which is out for publication elsewhere.
When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?
In addition to writing, I have a passion for the outdoors, and spend a lot of time running and biking, working on my garden, and backpacking and hiking. My husband retired in 2018 and we have been exploring the world, which sometimes interferes with my writing but has done wonders for my photography.
Describe your desk
My desk is probably a microcosm of my mind. It is much messier than I am comfortable with, and I don't seem to be able to keep it tidy. It is currently just a small card table in the corner of the guest room, which at least forces me to clean it up when company comes.
What is your writing process?
My writing process is evolving. For many years I wrote with no plan, just a general idea of where the story was going, and let it happen as it happened. But as I've moved into writing closer to full-time and professionally, I have learned the value of plans, outlines, and character charts. I am becoming a writer who can make an outline--and can ignore it completely at any time.

Once I have a draft, I re-read, outline again, sort out what major changes are needed, and edit the dickens out of it. Then I send it out to my editor, and repeat step one as needed, until I can move on to fine-tuning the prose (this includes one of my least-favorite steps, reading the MS aloud to myself), and finally I advance to proof-reading. I proof the MS myself, then give it to a proof-reader to do a final clean-up. Then after it is published, my husband points out the things we missed.
What's the story behind the Pismawallops PTA mysteries?
As budding writers we are often urged to "write what you know." Well, when I decided to write murder mysteries, I decided I wanted a sleuth who was like me and my fellow PTA mavens. So I created JJ MacGregor, her sidekick Kitty Padgett, and the rest of Pismawallops Island. The island's name is a mouthful, but it's a bit of a play on some of the silly place names around Washington State--Humptulips and Dosewallips have long been a couple of my favorites, so I just played with some of the sounds. The legend is that the name means "useless pile of gravel in the water." JJ sometimes thinks that it's accurate, even if not true.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
I love the feeling when a story emerges from nothing to give pleasure to others. For myself, the feeling when it comes together and comes right is pretty much perfect.
How do you approach cover design?
I have a wonderful cover artist, who is able to take my vague descriptions of what I want and start sketching until we have something wonderful. I usually think about what element of the discover of the corpse will make a good visual, and say something like "I want a pair of feet sticking out from under a pile of books in the library." We go back and forth until we are both satisfied. Danielle English (kanizo.co.uk) has done all my covers except the photo cover of A is for Alpine.
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Libraries: where all the words live. In this collection of tales about books and libraries, we meet dragons and wizards who run some unusual libraries, and bibliophiles who are willing to go to great extremes to visit them. And perhaps some cautionary tales about what can happen when we love books not wisely, but too well.
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When a prominent Pismawallops Island businessman drops dead at JJ’s feet in the Have-A-Bite Bakery, there’s more on the line than catching a murderer. Can JJ save the bakery—and maintain her supply of espresso brownies?
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Seven delightful, heartwarming, or spooky stories of the midwinter holidays, collected here for the first time.
The Christmas Question: A Pismawallops PTA Novella
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The Christmas Question is a sweet holiday story featuring the familiar characters from the Pismawallops PTA Mystery series. Take a look to see how they all solve their gift-giving dilemmas!
Death By Library
Series: Pismawallops PTA Mysteries, Book 4. Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 88,940. Language: English. Published: December 6, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Cozy, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
An earthquake… a pile of books… and a corpse. JJ McGregor and the Pismawallop PTA are back on the job, desperate to find the killer before the library takes the fall.
Death By Adverb
Series: Pismawallops PTA Mysteries, Book 3. Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 86,350. Language: English. Published: March 28, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Cozy, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Women Sleuths
JJ MacGregor hates working for Wilmont Charleston-Rutherford, but she doesn’t want him dead. Someone did, though, and JJ’s life won’t get back to normal until she and her best friend Kitty figure out who killed the most annoying man on Pismawallops Island.
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Series: The Ninja Librarian, Book 3. Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 57,480. Language: American English. Published: November 28, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Children’s books » Historical / United States / 19th Century, Fiction » Humor & comedy » General
The Ninja Librarian and Big Al are back in action, making sure Skunk Corners is in good shape for whatever happens!
View their profile to see all of their books