To celebrate the release of Perchance to Dream, I’m interviewing some of the authors featured in the anthology. Our last interview is with Allan Davis.
Tell us a little bit about your story, “A Midwinter Night’s Brainwashing.”
“A Midwinter Night’s Brainwashing” is one part Shakespeare, one part Inception, two parts the Matrix… and four parts Groundhog Day. It’s all built around what Puck did in the original, and how a similar series of mistakes, misunderstandings, and technical mishaps could happen in a science fiction virtual reality world.
What drew you to A Midsummer Night’s Dream for this project?
Macbeth and The Tempest were already taken…? No, seriously, as one of the first Shakespeare plays I ever read, I’ve always had a soft spot for it. I once wrote a paper for English class entitled “A Reconsideration of the Effects of Faerie Love Potions on Mortal Females.”
Shakespeare wrote for everyone. He didn’t write material that only a highborn noble would comprehend; he made sure that the drama and the humor would be there for everyone. If he were alive today, he’d be writing cable drama series during the week, network sitcoms on weekends and huge Hollywood blockbusters on holidays, with four of every award on his mantle—Hugo, Oscar, Golden Globe, Razzy, they’d all be there. Shakespeare’s themes, plots, and especially quotes, are everywhere.
Are any of your other Shakespeare-inspired stories available online or in other anthologies?
Well, “Shakespeare…With Zombies” is the one you mentioned above, and can be found on Shards and Phractures. And I tweaked a Shakespeare quote into the title of my own anthology, Perchance to Scream.
Have you written any other young adult books or short stories, or do you plan to?
No, I don’t have anything else out yet. We will have to see what comes crawling out of the twisted backbrain, demanding to be written…
I hope you enjoyed this interview with Allan Davis! You can read his story, “A Midwinter Night’s Brainwashing,” in Perchance to Dream, which is available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other major retailers. If you’d like to learn more about Allan, you can visit his website, or connect with him on Twitter at @AllanDavisJr.