Julie Hammonds's Blog: Author Q&A for the creator of "Blue Mountain Rose"

I’ve visited 13 Shakespeare festivals so far this year, in places ranging from a park lawn in Seattle, Washington, to a re-creation of Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia.

Arriving at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City last month, I felt like a wanderer coming home after a long journey.

Utah isn’t where it all began for me, this love affair with the performance of Shakespeare’s plays. That distinction belongs to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where I saw Hamlet when I wa...

Review by Julie Hammonds, author of Blue Mountain Rose: A Novel in Five Acts, published by Soulstice Publishing.

The Play: The Two Gentlemen of Verona Hot Quote: “They do not love that do not show their love.”  ~JuliaThe Company: Bard on the Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaThe Stage: An elaborate set in a walled circus tent, with a view of distant mountains and sky. The audience sits comfortably in padded chairs on risers, with excellent sightlines.Run Dates: June 1...

Review by Julie Hammonds, author of Blue Mountain Rose: A Novel in Five Acts, published by Soulstice Publishing.

The Play: Much Ado About Nothing Quotable: “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swears he loves me.”  ~BeatriceThe Company: Island Shakespeare Festival (Whidbey Island, Washington)The Stage: A two-story set, outdoors beneath an open sky, on the grounds of a school. Plastic chairs on risers make for excellent sight lines.Run Dates: July 18–August 31, ...

Author Julie Hammonds is on a quest to complete Shakespeare’s canon in calendar year 2025. In these pocket play reviews, she records brief impressions of each show she sees.

The Play: Richard III (“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”)The Company: GreenStage Shakespeare in the Park (Seattle, Washington)The Stage: a grassy field surrounded by conifers in Lincoln Park, on the western edge of SeattleRun Dates: July 20 to August 16, 2025, in various parks around townMemorab...

Author Julie Hammonds is on a quest to complete Shakespeare’s canon in calendar year 2025 (or at least to see a lot of Shakespeare). In these pocket play reviews, she records brief impressions of each show she sees.

The Play: The Merchant of Venice in a modern verse translation by Elise ThoronThe Company: Portland Shakespeare Project (Oregon)The Stage: indoors in a black box theater with stadium seating facing a stageRun Dates: July 10–20, 2025Memorable for: The accessible st...

Author Julie Hammonds is on a quest to complete Shakespeare’s canon in calendar year 2025… and this play brought her one step closer. In these pocket play reviews, she records brief impressions of each show she sees.

The Play: Love’s Labour’s LostThe Company: Lanes Coven Theater Co. (Rockport/Gloucester/Cape Ann, MA)The Stage: a raised platform outdoors beneath a tent roof at Windhover Center for the Performing Arts, a collection of cedar-shake buildings on more than four acres of wo...

Q: The subtitle of Blue Mountain Rose is “A Novel in Five Acts.” Where did that come from, and when in your process did you select it?

A: In January 2023, I began looking for an idea I could develop into a book. Ideas flew into my mind, stayed there for a day or three, and then lost steam. But in mid-March, my writer’s log says, I started working more intentionally with an idea then called “The Summit Theatre.”

Writer’s log 3/12: Wrote intro to a scene for Summit Theater. 51 min

Throug...

Author Julie Hammonds is on a quest to complete Shakespeare’s canon in calendar year 2025… and this play definitely counts. In these pocket play reviews, she records brief impressions of each show she sees.

The Play: A Klingon HamletThe Company: Ronin Theatre Company (Phoenix)The Stage: I saw it at the Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival’s Beaver Street Theatre; it’s also playing in GlendaleRun Dates: May 30 to June 1, 2025 (Flagstaff) and June 20~29 (Stage Left Theatre in Glendale, A...

Q: Is there an independent bookstore in your hometown of Flagstaff? How is your relationship with them? Do they carry Blue Mountain Rose?

A: Bright Side Bookshop is Flagstaff’s independent bookstore. They have a lovely mission statement: “To be a gathering space for community, connection and a civil exchange of ideas.” They host book clubs and author events, and invite authors into the store on Flagstaff First Fridays. I’m delighted that I get to present Blue Mountain Rose at a special event ...

Author Julie Hammonds is on a quest to complete Shakespeare’s canon in calendar year 2025. In these pocket play reviews, she records brief impressions of each show she sees.

The Play: HamletThe Company: Nevada Shakespeare FestivalThe Stage: Inside a bigtop tent at Cornerstone Park in Henderson, NevadaRun Dates: May 8–17, 2025Memorable for: The wedding reception line dance, whose joyous energy gives stark contrast to Hamlet’s grief.The Most Creative Use of a Zipline Award...