Set backstage at a fictional Shakespeare festival in the mountains of Arizona, Blue Mountain Rose: A Novel in Five Acts is an engaging story that’s certain to appeal to anyone who wants to experience life in a working theater.
Launched nationally on Shakespeare’s birthday, April 23, 2025, Blue Mountain Rose is available from the publisher and everywhere books are sold. Order links are on our homepage.
BlueInk Reviews gave the book a coveted starred review and featured it as a top summer read in its newsletter. “In this clever novel, characters staging a production of Hamlet find that their lives coincidentally mirror many of the famous play’s themes. The plot’s the thing, and there’s plenty of the standard elements—romance, secrets, intrigue—to carry readers to a satisfying conclusion.” Read the BlueInk review here.
Want to peek between the covers? Read an excerpt (or two!) here.
Blue Mountain Rose is a story of love, fame, family, loss, and healing.
Richard James Aloysius Keane is a lion of the theater—and a weary man. His outdoor Elizabethan stage, the Blue Mountain Rose, lures theatergoers from around the world with its memorable productions. But after 40 years of service in all weathers, this grand “wooden O” in the Arizona mountains is showing its age. Tossed about by the financial storms of 2009, how will the Rose survive?
Company manager Kate Morales believes in this dream of a great theater in a small town. Richard says he might close down the Rose and retire, but Kate just can’t say goodbye. She has been Richard’s loyal understudy for a decade. Is she ready to step into the leading role?
When the unknown actor Peter Dunmore catches their attention with a star-worthy audition, Richard and Kate sense an opportunity. Maybe this “cross between Sir John Gielgud and the young Ken Branagh” can attract a new generation of fans with his powerful Hamlet. But Peter is haunted by a secret sorrow that could bring an end to all their dreams.
As they try to save the Rose, Richard, Kate, and Peter must ask themselves questions worthy of a Shakespeare play. What does it mean to belong to a family? Who do we mourn, and why? And what does it cost to wear a crown?
Author Julie Hammonds fell in love with Shakespeare on a school trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Learn more about the author.
Blue Mountain Rose combines the eternal fascination of Shakespeare’s plays with the delicious thrill of a peek backstage to create a story that has been described as “an absolute valentine to Shakespeare and theater.” We believe it will especially appeal to readers who enjoy seeing plays. What about you? Are you ready to attend the Blue Mountain Rose Theatre Company’s 2009 production of Hamlet?
Buy yours today!
