The Crickets Dance

The small town Angie Lawrence is from was inspired by Deborah Robillard's home town although the story is fiction. The characters of Mrs. Claudia and Janice are from the authors imagination, and are a tribute to some of the qualities she admired in several women who the author knew and loved that influenced her in her in her formative years growing up in the rural Georgia. Most of the character names come from either Deborah Robillard's family tree or beloved friends, except for Ophelia. Her name comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet, one of the authors favorite plays. While Shakespeare's Ophelia character is complex and multifaceted she is held in high esteem by her father as a virtuous woman whose values and morality are meant to show the characters potential to be both a dutiful wife and an exemplary mother. Ophelia is also a French name meaning 'helper' and is a tribute to the authors French roots. Angie's last name of Lawrence is the first name of Deborah's beloved grandfather, where Deborah's French lineage comes from. While the story is fiction Deborah wanted to pay her respects to both literary characters and authors that she admired and those around her who helped shape own life.