I’ve  been captivated by Lori Benton’s writing since the release of her award winning debut novel, Burning Sky. Lori infuses her books with authentic and fascinating historical detail, wonderful characters, and deeply moving circumstances and scenes. Each of her stories are worthy of your time and money, so be sure to get your hands on The King’s Mercy and her entire backlist. Lori’s creative talent isn’t limited to her storytelling, either! She’s a wonderful photographer and her Instagram pics are stunning.

Enjoy this chat with Lori and enter the giveaway below, thanks to her publisher, Waterbrook Multnomah.

Bookchat with Lori

Please share a little about your characters, Alex and Joanna.

Alex MacKinnon is a warrior, a leader of men. He’s also a rebel who has turned his back on his gifts and calling in life—a man God is far from finished using to guide and nurture others. But first it’s Alex who needs the balm of healing.

Joanna Carey is a misfit. A mistress with a servant’s heart, she longs to dole out kindness to those around her—slave and free—along with the clothing she stitches and the orders she must give. As a woman of the eighteenth century she has no power to effect the changes she longs to see in the harsh methods her stepfather’s overseer uses to run their plantation—much less to implement the life-altering vision she has for those within her care. Or does she?

What draws you to write about this era in history?

I’m irresistibly drawn to settings where cultural intermingling occurred, complete with all its conflicts and, at rarer times, surprising harmony. Settings like the 18^th century frontier (western New York; the Ohio country; the Overmountain country of Tennessee) or as in The King’s Mercy, the backyard, fields, and forests of a rural southern plantation.

The cultural collision that happened due to the African slave trade and the proliferation of slavery in 18^th century North America—and those who pushed back against it—presents as endless a variation of gripping story possibilities as does the collision that happened between white settlers and Native American nations on the frontier. Stories of hope, redemption, triumph, and reconciliation amidst tragedy and injustice. I’m as excited to continue exploring this setting in future novels as I am the forests and mountains of the 18^th century west.

Where does your writing usually begin? With characters you can’t shake, or a plot or theme you want to pursue?

Themes in my novels tend to emerge from the characters and their story as I write. Usually what comes to me first (often while researching some aspect of this era) is a character caught in a situation in which their world has just been turned upside down, most often by contact with a person from a different culture or social strata. This usually proves to be the inciting incident, what gets the story rolling. It might take months or years of simmering on a mental back burner for that character and situation to bloom into a story with a novel-worthy plot, so I’ll start a file for her (or him) and add to it as ideas begin attaching themselves to the initial story kernel.

Describe your book in 5 adjectives

I find this hard to answer (the word pink came to mind!) so I read a few early reviews of The King’s Mercy on Goodreads. Here are five adjectives I ran across more than once:  Heart-wrenching; hopeful; intense; romantic; satisfying.

As a 21^st century woman, how do you immerse yourself in the Colonial era?

Your use of immerse is spot-on. That’s what it takes to thin (I wish I could say entirely remove) the modern world-view filter through which I see the 18^th century. The best way is to read letters and journals written at that time so that all the filters (except my own inescapable one) are removed. Second is to read what others who have studied the era have written, book after book after book. Third is to read novels and watch films set during the era.

What are the major themes in this story?

As the title suggests, mercy—the blessings of bestowing it and the price paid when it isn’t given or received—is a main theme. Another turned out to be the contrast of earthly freedom with freedom in Christ, which in my mind is closely connected with another theme in The King’s Mercy, one that shows up faithfully in all my stories. It’s that universal struggle all Christians wage: surrendering our will and yielding to God’s, and discovering that in so doing we are set free from so much of what weighs us down and holds us back: fear, pride, our idols, and rebellion.

Lori’s writing space – isn’t it amazing?

Which character did you enjoy writing most?

A secondary character—the young, often cheeky, slave Jemma—leapt off the pages for me and tried to steal every scene she was in. She helped form so much of this book and it was a joy to write her story arc despite its truly heart-wrenching moments.

Which character gave you the most grief?

That’s a twofold answer. During the writing it was a challenge—often an unpleasant one—to craft the overseer, Phineas Reeves. I’ve never written a character quite like him before. But during the editing it was Joanna’s character that underwent the most refining. I love Joanna’s tender heart and steadfast strength. Striking the right balance between those aspects required some deep and searching revision on mine and my fabulous editor, Shannon Marchese’s, part. All worth it in the end.

Did a character or event in your story surprise you in a way you weren’t anticipating?

Absolutely. His name is Demas. I can’t share more than that, for fear of spoilers.

What emotions did you experience while writing this story?

Writing a novel is a long and challenging process with plenty of opportunity to experience every emotion under the sun, from joy to despair—sometimes on the same day! The King’s Mercy was no different. What set it apart for me, emotionally, is its setting. Digging in deep to research antebellum slavery as practiced in the American colonies/states isn’t for the faint-hearted. There were times I had to put down a book and walk away, overwhelmed with grief, outrage, or disgust over the accounts of what was done in those backyards and fields.

In the 1930s the Federal Writer’s Project collected thousands of interviews with emancipated slaves. Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves is available online. I think we all have a sense of the national tragedy of slavery, but it’s in the details of individual experiences that I find myself most deeply moved. As I’ve felt while reading “Indian Captivity” narratives and researching the lives of those who lived on the 18^th frontier, I see stories here that should be told; stories of suffering and triumph—stories of hope, redemption, and faith amidst oppression.

Do you prefer writing standalone novels to series? Why, or why not?

I like both equally, but will admit that writing books with the same characters, such as the duology from a few years back, The Pathfinders (The Wood’s Edge; A Flight of Arrows), does come a little easier because I know the characters so well. I enjoy delving deeper into their lives beyond the bounds of a single novel. But not all stories need a sequel.

How did writing The King’s Mercy impact your own life?

It’s the story behind the dedication—to my pastor Jon Courson—that is most life impacting, personally, about The King’s Mercy. The spiritual themes in my stories would be a shadow of what they are without Pastor Jon’s faithful teaching through the Bible, chapter by chapter, book by book, over the past forty years. We uprooted from the east coast 25 years ago and moved to Oregon to be part of the body of believers to whom he ministers in Bible teaching twice a week. Much of the practical, liveable truth that flows from the character Reverend Pauling in The King’s Mercy comes straight from Jon’s teachings, filtered through my own experience in living them out, or failing to do so and observing the consequences. That holds true for every book I’ve written.  Readers can find Jon’s teachings through the Bible online at www.joncourson.com.

What is in your writing pipeline now?

I plan soon to revisit the mid-18^th century frontier with a new group of characters. I’m also working on a duology focused on a setting and characters readers will encounter in The King’s Mercy, the first of which I wrote 15 years ago, before my debut novel, Burning Sky. I have an idea for a novella. There are a number of character/situation scenarios simmering on my hard drive that could become novels, but I’ve learned it’s no use predicting which will rise to the surface first.

Thank you, Lori – always so wonderful having you visit!

LORI BENTON was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American history going back three hundred years. Her novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history. When she isn’t writing, reading, or researching, Lori enjoys exploring and photographing the Oregon wilderness with her husband. She is the author of Burning Sky, recipient of three Christy Awards; The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn; Christy nominee The Wood’s Edge; A Flight of Arrows; and Many Sparrows.

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Buy from Amazon: The King’s Mercy or Koorong

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