Press Kit
About the Author
Donna Fletcher Crow is an author of historical novels including the epic Glastonbury, A Novel of Christian England, which was awarded First Place in Historical Fiction by the National Federation of Press Women. Donna lives and writes in Boise, Idaho. She has four adult children and 10 grandchildren. Her newest book, A Very Private Grave, will be released in 2010.
Press Release for A Very Private Grave
Video Trailer for A Very Private Grave
Endorsements for A Very Private Grave
"With a bludgeoned body in Chapter 1, and a pair of intrepid amateur sleuths, A Very Private Grave qualifies as a traditional mystery. But this is no mere formulaic whodunit: it is a Knickerbocker Glory of a thriller. At its centre is a sweeping, page-turning quest - in the steps of St Cuthbert - through the atmospherically-depicted North of England, served up with dollops of Church history and lashings of romance. In this novel, Donna Fletcher Crow has created her own niche within the genre of clerical mysteries."
--Kate Charles, author of Deep Waters
"History and mystery and murders most foul keep the pages turning in A Very Private Grave. Two scholars, Felicity and Antony, embark on an unusual spiritual pilgrimage, following the journey of Saint Cuthbert from Lindisfarne to Whithorn, even as they're pursued by friends and foes, who don't reveal their true colors to the very end. Seldom does one find a whodunit with such a thorough grasp of ecclesiastical history. A fascinating read."
--Liz Curtis Higgs, bestelling author of Thorn in My Heart
"I always admired [Donna's] work and her fastidious attempt that dogs us all to practice our art with creative defiance."
--Calvin Miller, Author of The Singer Trilogy
"As in Glastonbury, Donna Fletcher Crow's descriptions of the English and Scottish settings in her new mystery, A Very Private Grave, are drawn with real artistry. Lovers of British history and church history will be impressed by her grasp of both. Still, it's a grisly murder in a monastery that brings the conflicts faced by men and women in the church today into thoughtful focus as the two major characters, Felicity and Father Antony, struggle to find direction in their own lives."
--Sally Wright, Edgar Award finalist author of the Ben Reese Mysteries
"Donna Crow's A Very Private Grave is full of past and present, faith and frailty, murder and mystery. Highly recommended."
--Gayle Roper, A Stranger's Wish
"A Very Private Grave by Donna Fletcher Crow is not to be missed. I loved getting to know Felicity and Fr. Antony as they journeyed through remote places and islands in England and Scotland in pursuit of clues. The author skillfully weaves past and present with a cast of wonderful and sometimes quirky characters."
--Linda Hall, author of Storm Warning and On Thin Ice
"Like a P. D. James novel A Very Private Grave occupies a learned territory. Also a beautifully described corner of England, that of the Northumbrian coast where St. Cuthbert's Christianity retains its powerful presence. Where myth and holiness, wild nature and tourism, art and prayer run in parallel, and capture the imagination still.
"A pair of elderly religious are murdered, but why? An American student and her young history teacher are determined to find out. Donna Fletcher Crow sets them in pursuit of St. Cuthbert's bones and treasure. Also his faith. She knows her theology like the lines on her palms, the fortunate and the unlucky leads, the truths and the errors, taking us to them by the local train and bus services, the hospices and by foot. All this with a cinematic skill.
"Did Henry VII manage to get all the treasure from Cuthbert's shrine at Durham? Might what remains of it not be sent to the African Children's Fund? Old Brother Dominic and Sister Elspeth thought so. But they are murdered. A thrilling amateur investigation follows in which the northern landscape and modern liturgical goings on play a large part. The centuries between us and the world of Lindisfarne and Whitby collapse and we are in the timeless zone of greed and goodness. A Very Private Grave is an exciting thriller with a fine sermon attached."
--Ronald Blythe
Endorsements for The Shadow of Reality
"In The Shadow of Reality, Donna Fletcher Crow engages the reader with a lively dialogue between the two protagonists, Elizabeth and Richard, as they participate in a murder mystery vacation week at a resort in the Rockies. When reality blurs with fiction, the reader is taken behind the scenes into a darker drama that Elizabeth is drawn into and compelled to solve at her own peril. The characters are well developed and the action flows at a rapid pace that makes it impossible to put the book down. It is a thoroughly satisfying read and an intriguing idea to mix the roles of actor and audience, a complex dance of relationships that keeps the reader wondering what is true and who is real."
--Gwyneth Bledsoe, Death Before Breakfast
Honors:
The Banks of the Boyne, Silver Angel; First Place Historical Fiction, 1999 National Federation Press Women
The Fields of Bannockburn, First Place Historical Fiction, 1997 National Federation Press Women
Professional Achievement Award, 1994 Homecoming, Northwest Nazarene College
Glastonbury First Place, Historical Fiction, 1993, National Federation of Press Women Award of Merit, Juvenile Books, Idaho Press Women, 1990
Pacesetter Award, Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference, 1990
Outstanding Historical Fiction, Idaho Press Women, National Fed. Press Women, 1989
Idaho Writer of the Year, 1988
Best Inspirational Novel, Finalist, 1985, Romance Writers of America
Writer of the Year, 1983, Mt. Hermon Writers Conference
Listings:
Historical Fiction: A Guide to the Genra, 2005
To Be Continued: An Anotated Guide to Sequels, 2000
The Company of the Creative, 1999
World Historical Fiction: An Annotated Guide, 1998
The New Arthurian Encyclopedia: Updated Edition, 1995
Contemporary Authors, NRS 1996
Something About The Author, 1986
Contemporary Authors, 1983
Who's Who of American Women, 14th edition
The World Who's Who of Women, 8th and 10th editions
Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors & Poets, 3rd edition
International Authors and Writers Who's Who, 11th & 12th editions
Notable American Women, 1st illustrated edition 1988
Biography International, 1986
Dictionary of International Biography, XXI edition
Five Thousand Personalities of the World, 2nd edition
Personalities of America, 5th edition
Outstanding Young Women of America, 1972
Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, 1964
Memberships and Professional Organizations:
Society of the Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham, 2009
Companion, Fraternity of the Resurretion, 2004
Sisters in Crime, 2009-present
Partners in Crime, 2009-present
Idaho Press Women, 1987-1999
National Federation of Press Women, 1987-1999
Arts Centre Group, UK, 1994-present
National League of American Pen Women, 1988-1995
Idaho Writers' League 1985-1992
Romance Writers of America 1982-1993