A Midsummer Day’s Dream

Donna Fletcher Crow @DonnaFletcherCr

I first heard of the Ashland [Oregon] Shakespeare Festival in the mid-1960s when some of my fellow drama students at the college I was attending in Idaho spent the summer as interns at the festival. I recall that one budding actor spent his entire summer carrying a banner on and off stage in one of the historical plays. Even attending the festival seemed like an adventure beyond dreams.

We fulfilled that dream four or five years later, when my husband and I returned to the west after graduate school (for him) and teaching (for me) in New England. We managed time to make the pilgrimage to Ashland and were totally captivated by this small town nestled in the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains that was completely given over to Shakespeare and all things Elizabethan.

For many years thereafter a summer trek to the Shakespeare festival was a yearly event. For a few years we hired babysitters so we could take our growing family (eventually 4 children) with us and still attend all the plays on offer. When the children were old enough, we took them to the plays, too. Early education that has led to lifetime appreciation for all of them.

In those days it was “Stay 4 days, see 5 plays.” Even that left one’s head whirling. Today the schedule offers ten plays, with often 3 or more on the boards every day.

The classic outdoor Elizabethan stage began life in 1893 as a Chautauqua Arena and its ivy-covered walls still surround the theatre.

Beautiful Lithia Park is behind the theatre and spreads for miles along a babbling stream into the mountains.

The festival also has the state-of-the-art Angus Bowmer Theatre, named for the energetic young drama teacher at Southern Oregon Normal School (now Southern Oregon University) who founded the festival in 1935. There is also a smaller, more flexible performing space in the Thomas Theatre.

Through the years my husband and I have attended Shakespeare performances in England, Canada and many venues in the States, but we never tire of returning to Ashland where the dream is re-ignited every season by actors, directors, technicians and young interns who may spend the summer carrying banners.

It was a natural, then, that when I came to write my Elizabeth and Richard literary suspense series based on my favorite authors that Shakespeare would be one of my first. AMidsummer Eve’s Nightmare was first published in in 2010 (although written in 1992—the history of many novels often wanders, too). It has just been re-released in an all-new edition.

And so the story goes on. The love of literature and the dreams it creates never die; they are born anew in each generation and in each reader.

You can see all of Donna Fletcher Crow's books and more photos in her Research Albums on her website

Lisa Harris's Stolen Identity

No, Lisa Harris hasn't stolen anyone's identity. That's the title of her new book! Lisa describes herself as “a wife, mom, [homeschooling] teacher, author, dreamer, photographer, but most importantly a follower of Christ Jesus.” She’s also a regular blogger for International Christian Fiction Writers—one of our own.

Lisa’s new romantic suspense, Stolen Identity, is out this month. Here’s what the publisher says about it: Danielle Corbit doesn't understand why someone would want to steal her identity. A single mother running a small business—nothing special, right? But after discovering a dead body on the Oregon coastline, she's attacked by a dangerous hacker who will stop at nothing to frame her. Only her former fiancé, Jason Ryan, is willing to help. Years ago she broke his heart, but he can't walk away from a woman in need. He'll do anything to protect her from their unseen adversary. But is there enough time to work together and untangle this twisted web of fraud and deception?

  LeAnne Hardy: My eighty-seven-year-old mother-in-law had her identity stolen this spring. Someone tried opening a dozen credit card accounts in her name using various family phone numbers and addresses. He even knew what kind of car my mother-in-law drives. So how did a stranger get all that information? It’s scary to think that the scenario of Stolen Identity is not all that far fetched! Lisa, what made you think of turning identity theft into a thriller?

Lisa Harris: Wow, that is scary about your mother-in-law, because you're right, identity theft is real. Which is one reason I wanted to write this book. I remember getting my first scam letter a number of years ago. It made me angry when I found out what people were trying to do and how many people had been scammed, and continue to be scammed today. As a romantic suspense author, it also became the perfect backdrop for my story. So while I hope to entertain--and know that what happened to Danielle in this story probably will never happened to anyone--I hope it also educates people to be careful. Here are some practical ideas from the US Department of Justice to avoid being a victim of identity theft.

  LeAnne: You live in Africa near the Indian Ocean, and some of your books have been set there. Others are set in North America where you grew up. Are there common themes that run through your books regardless of setting?

Lisa: One, I like to take a real-world situation, like identity theft, or human trafficking, or refuge camps, and use those issues as the backdrop for my story. These are real issues, but they are also the perfect setting for ordinary people to face tremendous odds and have their faith challenged. On a spiritual level, I want to then use this situation to show how even when life is spinning out of control, our only hope can still be found in our heavenly Father.

LeAnne: How do your faith and your own past experiences of pain and infertility affect the way you approach your writing?

Lisa: I think having faced some difficult issues in my own life, like infertility and a miscarriage, helps me be able to relate to some of the emotions of my characters. I know what it is like to love, and to lose, and yes, even to question God. While I always want the spiritual thread in my stories to be natural and not forced, it is very important to me to have my characters grow or be challenged in their faith. I often find that my character's spiritual struggles and growth mirror my own.

LeAnne: You and your husband are church-planting missionaries. Your blog and website describe some of the major projects you are involved in. You’re also a homemaker (in a challenging environment!) and school your own kids. How do you find the time to write? 

Honestly, it's not always easy. I am blessed because my family is very supportive, and help out whenever I'm on a tight deadline. My twelve-year-old has even been known to cook dinner for us to help out in a pinch--there is no fast food where we live--but I also strive to put my family and our ministry first, which means I have to be careful and realistic with my writing schedule. I also know how fast these years with my children slip away, and I don't want to sacrifice them for a career. So the balance isn't always easy, but I'm always trying to adjust and be better organized--aren't we all?--and enjoy life as much as possible.

Lisa will be giving away a signed copy of Stolen Identity to a lucky reader of this blog. An e-book is available if the reader lives outside the US. Leave a comment with a disguised e-mail (to phoil phishers!) by Saturday to be entered in the drawing. The odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Void where prohibited by law.

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LeAnne Hardy used to live in Mozambique so she follows Lisa Harris with special interest. LeAnne's juvenile fiction The Wooden Ox is set there. Learn more at www.leannehardy.net .