Lori Benton (51 page)

Authors: Burning Sky

BOOK: Lori Benton

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My heartfelt thanks to the following authors for the books I found most indispensable during the writing of
Burning Sky
. Without their scholarship and expertise, my desire to write stories set on the eighteenth century American frontier would have gone unfulfilled.

Barbara Graymont,
The Iroquois in the American Revolution

Timothy J. Shannon,
Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier

Isabel Thompson Kelsay,
Joseph Brant, Man of Two Worlds

Alan Taylor,
The Divided Ground

Joseph T. Glatthaar and James Kirby Martin,
Forgotten Allies, The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution

Samuel Kirkland Lothrop,
Life of Samuel Kirkland, Missionary to the Indians

Richard Berleth,
Bloody Mohawk: the French and Indian War & American Revolution on New York’s Frontier

James E. Seaver,
A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison

E. Wilder Spaulding,
New York in the Critical Period 1783–1789

In addition to the above titles, for help with Kanien’keha, the language of the Mohawk people, I’m indebted to the works of David Kanatawakhon Maracle,
Kanyen’keha Tewatati
and
One Thousand Useful Mohawk Words
, as well as to Kelly DeLisle Johnson, who graciously fielded my questions about her language and provided many more resources besides. I’m grateful to Catherine MacGregor, Catherine-Ann MacPhee, and Iain MacKinnon for their translation of the passage of Gaelic that appears in the story. In the case of both of these beautiful languages, neither of which I speak, any mistakes in their rendering on these pages are mine alone.

It was my mother, Jeanette Puryear Johnson, who related to me the story of my great aunt, who loved to read books as a girl, and my great-grandmother, who hid them. Thanks for passing down that bit of family history, Mom.

My thanks to Pat Iacuzzi, Lynn Leissler, and Debbie Sitter for their feedback about the Mohawk Valley and southern Adirondack setting of the story, and to Pat Iacuzzi as well for reading an early chapter of the work in progress. My other gracious readers of the early chapters were Jim Sitter, Laura Frantz, and J. M. Hochstetler. Thank you all.

And to the writers who frequent the Books and Writers Community online, especially Diana Gabaldon, I couldn’t have asked for more gracious mentors over the past fifteen years than you have been.
Thank you
doesn’t cover it!

My gratitude to my agent, Wendy Lawton, for her enthusiasm and skill in helping books find homes, and to my editor, Shannon Marchese, who made this a stronger story in so many ways, as did Nicci Hubert and Laura Wright. My appreciation belongs as well to Kendall Davis, Amy Haddock, Lynette Kittle, and the whole WaterBrook Multnomah staff. Kristopher Orr and Mike Heath, I want to hug you both for finding Willa. You made this writer very happy.

Lastly, especially, thank you, Brian, for supporting me and believing in me for … well, we probably shouldn’t count how many years it’s been. God knows. He also knows that anything I’ve accomplished as a writer is because of you.

Readers Guide

Heroes and heroic characters abound in
Burning Sky …

1. Describe Willa Obenchain. How did her years with the Mohawks prepare her for the challenges she faced upon her return to Shiloh? How does she change over the course of the novel?

2. Neil MacGregor and Joseph Tames-His-Horse are very different men, each with their own brand of heroism. Each helps Willa in her time of greatest need. Compare their actions and their heroism. How might the story have unfolded had either man not followed that still small voice in the end?

3. Neil sees himself as one of the “weak things of the world,” yet knows he serves a mighty God. Have you ever faced a challenge in which you let God be strong in your weakness?

4. Had Francis Waring lived today, he would undoubtedly be diagnosed based on “his odd ways,” as one character describes him. What do you think that diagnosis would be? What was your reaction to this unlikely hero?

5. Anni Keppler is the first to welcome Willa back to Shiloh—a brave act, considering how most frontier settlers viewed anyone suspected of British or Indian sympathy—though at times the person Willa has become is hard for even Anni to accept. What do you think of Anni? Is she a good friend to Willa in the end?

War, and the damage it inflicts upon the soul, is a theme that permeates
Burning Sky
.

1. In the early chapters, Willa is a woman on the brink of giving up, feeling crushed beneath the weight of her losses. What was it about
finding Neil MacGregor that helped her summon the strength to keep living? What does she recognize in him?

2. Contrast Neil’s response to brutality with that of Richard Waring or Aram Crane. Do the differences in these men’s wartime experiences give clues as to why each became the man we meet in
Burning Sky
? In what ways?

3. Do you think Willa is correct in surmising Colonel Waring is too close to Richard to be objective about the psychological damage his son has suffered? Have you ever failed to see someone clearly because they were close to you?

4. Were you previously aware of the hostility endured by those who didn’t declare themselves Patriots during the Revolutionary War? What was the most interesting or surprising thing about this time period you learned from reading this story?

Loss is an inescapable reality of war, as each character in
Burning Sky
experienced
.

1. Examine the different types of loss the characters suffered. Do you identify with one character’s loss more than others? In what way?

2. Neil’s injury-induced dyslexia is crippling to his desire to become a noted botanist, yet God doesn’t take away that desire. Looking back on the story, is God’s strengthening hand upon Neil visible as he steps out in faith? In what ways? In times of testing, from where do you draw your strength?

3. Willa suffers tremendous loss, including her identity—twice. Much of her journey centers on discovering who she is after these losses. Is she successful in this? Have you ever been forced to redefine yourself after a significant loss?

4. Joseph enters this story nursing a hope but is eventually forced to relinquish it. Have you had to give up a dream or a hope when it
was clearly not part of God’s plan for you? What did that teach you about trust? about God’s nature?

Home and family, and how one defines them, is another theme of
Burning Sky
.

1. After losing two families, Willa fought hard against accepting Neil and the children into her heart. What is the turning point for her regarding each of them? Can you find a specific scene or moment?

2. Many impediments stood in the way of Joseph’s heart’s desire, including the traditions of his Iroquois clan and family. Have you had to choose between a cultural or family tradition and pursuing a personal desire?

Glossary

Scots words and dialect

forby
— besides, as well

canna
— cannot

blethering
— blathering

kent
— knew

dinna
— do not

ken
— know

havena
— have not

didna
— did not

isna
— is not

willna
— will not

bautie
— rabbit

wouldna
— would not

verra
— very

doesna
— does not

hadna
— had not

couldna
— could not

gomeral
— fool, simpleton

braw
— brave

bairns
— small children, babies

wasna
—was not

fash
— to fret or make a fuss

wame
— stomach

Mohawk words

Onerahtókha
— the budding time, April

tohske’ wahi
— it is so

Kanien’kehá:ka
— (Ga-nyen-gay-ha-ga) People of the Flint; the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois

hen’en
— yes

hahnio
— come on

Kanien’keha
— the Mohawk language

Sekoh
— a greeting (say-go)

Onyota’a:ka
— People of the Standing Stone; the Oneidas, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois

Okwhaho
— wolf/Wolf Clan, one of the three Mohawk clans, Turtle, Wolf, and Bear

nia:wen
— thank you

wa’kenhaten
— I am sorry

yah
— No

se’nikònrarak
— be careful

aki
— ouch!

satahonhsatat
— listen

tha’tesato:tat
— behave

awiyo
— good

Onerahtohko:wa
— time of big leaf, May

Ohiari:ha
— the time of ripening, June

istah
— mother

Ohiarihko:wa
— time of much ripening, July

Seskeha
— time of freshness, August

Seskehko:wa
— time of much freshness, September

About the Author

L
ORI
B
ENTON
was born and raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American and family history going back to the 1600s. Her novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history, creating a melting pot of characters drawn from both sides of a turbulent and shifting frontier, brought together in the bonds of God’s transforming grace.

When Lori isn’t writing, reading, or researching eighteenth-century history, she enjoys exploring the mountains of Oregon with her husband and their dog.