by Lori Benton
To write Mountain Laurel, still no more than a group of characters and a vague idea of their conflict and connection, I had to first learn a great deal about a time period I knew very little about. (I couldn’t have told you then what years the Revolutionary War spanned, much less what people wore, ate, drank, read, built, drove, or sang during the eighteenth century.) Between giving myself a crash course in this fascinating time period through reading many dozens of books and retraining my chemo-damaged brain to write again, it took four years to finish a first draft of what I’d working-titled Kindred (now the title of this two-book series). It took a couple more years to edit it into something marketable. My agent signed me on the strength of the novel, but there proved to be no market for it a decade ago. We went on to sell six other eighteenth-century novels starting with Burning Sky in 2013 . . . until last year, when we decided to give the Kindred books, Mountain Laurel and its forthcoming sequel, Shiloh, one more chance to find a publishing home. Which, of course, they did.
Looking back on this novel’s long journey to the book you hold in your hands, I see how the timing for its publication is fitting in a way I could never have planned. While it isn’t a sequel to my 2019 release, The King’s Mercy, readers of that book will recognize Mountain Laurel’s main setting, as well as some of its characters. If you read that book, then you’ve had a glimpse into Hugh Cameron’s, Malcolm’s, and Naomi’s life some forty-five years prior to meeting them in these pages. And then there’s Burning Sky; over the years I’ve had requests from readers for more of certain characters’ stories. But no character has been the subject of more such requests than Joseph Tames-His-Horse, introduced in Burning Sky. Well, dear readers, if you’ve been wishing to see more of Joseph’s story, then you won’t want to miss Shiloh. While it primarily continues Ian and Seona’s story, it could be considered a sequel to Burning Sky as well. If you haven’t yet read Burning Sky, now would be the perfect time to do so.
I suspect my next most frequent request will be for a flowchart to show where and how all my novels are connected in this sprawling eighteenth-century world I’ve been weaving, book by book. That’s not a bad idea. But when it comes to threads that weave through all my novels, the most important to me are the threads of God’s unfailing mercy when we stumble, His grace for every challenge and trial, and a love so boundless He paid the ultimate price—dying in our place—to set us free from sin and bring us into fellowship with Him. For this life and for His Kingdom that is coming soon. My prayer for you is that you’ve drawn closer to Him as you read this first part of Ian and Seona’s story.
I hope we’ll all meet again in the pages of Shiloh.
Lori Benton
LORIBENTON.COM
Acknowledgments
Along with my appreciation for author Diana Gabaldon, who has made herself available online at TheLitForum (thelitforum.com) for readers and writers alike to conversate with and learn from for well over twenty years, I have many to acknowledge for their contribution to a novel that has taken nearly a twenty-year journey from conception to publication. Some of them, like Lauri Klobas, are no longer with us. Lauri, also recovering from chemo fog at the time, taught me how to self-edit my work and helped me in the initial stages of trimming down a first draft of Mountain Laurel that had clocked in at 300,000 words. I honestly don’t believe I’d have ever published at all without her thorough, valiant, and patient red pen. I learned to love the editing process because of Lauri. Thank you also to Beth Shope, Jo Bourne, Janet McConnaughey, Kathleen Eschenburg, Julie Weathers, Amarilis Iscold, Barbara Rogan, Carol Krenz, Marsha Skrypuch, KC Dyer, Elise Skidmore, Linda Allen, Sallie Blumenauer, Claire Greer, Allene Edwards, Bridget Eyolfson Courchene, Wayne Sowry, Ron Wodaski, Rafe Steinberg, and many others from TheLitForum for countless questions answered and guidance given when I was still new at this writing thing—and ever since. If you remember my writing this book, and we talked about it, I’m thanking you.
As this book’s dedication reads, my agent, Wendy Lawton, never gave up on this manuscript but held these characters in her heart for nearly ten years. Thank you, Wendy, for believing they deserved a second chance. You’ve helped make so many of my dreams come true. This was a big one.
Jan Stob and Sarah Rische (editors), Libby Dykstra (designer), and everyone at Tyndale, thank you for welcoming me into the fold and for taking Ian and Seona into your hearts and lending your considerable talents and insights into the creating of this book. I’ve said in the past that I do some of my best writing during the editing stages and this time was no exception. Jan and Sarah made it possible for me to take this story to a deeper level, and their contributions shine. I look forward to doing it again with Shiloh.
About the Author
Lori Benton was raised in Maryland, with generations-deep roots in southern Virginia and the Appalachian frontier. Her historical novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she expertly brings to life the colonial and early federal periods of American history. Her books have received the Christy Award and the Inspy Award and have been honored as finalists for the ECPA Book of the Year. Lori is most at home surrounded by mountains, currently those of the Pacific Northwest, where, when she isn’t writing, she’s likely to be found in wild places behind a camera.
Discussion Questions
At its core, Mountain Laurel is a story of choice and consequence . . .
1. Ian tells his neighbor John Reynold that he hopes to settle to a life that will atone (for past mistakes and failures, particularly in his father’s eyes). In what ways does he try to do that? At what point in the story do his choices begin to lead him down a different path? Do you think he ever could atone? Does he even need to? Why or why not?
2. Seona’s and Ian’s artistic outlets are an early point of connection. Ian even unwittingly plays a part in Seona’s childhood choice to pick up a slate and draw a picture. Is it a kind or a thoughtless impulse when he provides Seona a new outlet for her creativity? How does this choice complicate Seona’s life? Does it enrich it as well? How so?
3. Hugh Cameron’s choice to suppress the truth of Seona’s parentage and “leave things as they be” (in Naomi’s words) is typical of eighteenth-century slaveholders in such circumstances. How does this choice shape him as a man? What effect does it have on Lucinda, Rosalyn, and Judith? In what ways might his choices contribute to his physical and mental decline? Does Hugh make any good choices in this story?
4. Judith often finds herself caught in the middle: between her mother and Seona, between Ian and Seona, between Ian and her mother and sister. Does she navigate those relationships well? How does she respond to situations of injustice, to others and to herself? Did you sympathize with her choices? Did she surprise you in any way?
5. Perhaps the most difficult choices in this story are Ian’s. First, the choice to remain at Mountain Laurel as his uncle’s heir or leave and go back north. Second, the choice between Seona and Judith. What makes these decisions so difficult? Do you believe he makes the right choice each time? Why or why not?
A story of bondage and freedom . . .
6. Thomas Ross risks not only his friendship with Ian but his very life in order to aid slaves to freedom. Is he ever needlessly reckless? How do his choices clash with Ian’s? Did you agree with his assessment of the man Ian becomes at Mountain Laurel? At what point might Thomas’s perception of Ian have changed for the better?
7. Malcolm’s words “Every man makes himself a slave to someone or something” leave a strong impression on Ian. Are they true? How does this idea play out for different characters?
8. An imbalance of power and agency exists between Ian and Seona as an eighteenth-century man and woman, even more so as free and enslaved. Does Ian misuse his greater power and agency, even without meaning to? In what ways? Who helps him understand that Seona’s perception of their relationship and his own might very well be different?
A story of family and faith . . .
9. As the story b
egins, Ian views himself as a prodigal, a misfit, and an outcast—from family and from God. Did you see him in that light? In Ian’s search for belonging and redemption, Malcolm, John Reynold, and Lily are examples of steadfast faith in God. What specific truths does each character speak into his life? What truth does Seona speak?
10. As an enslaved person, Seona’s choices are limited, but she has the freedom to choose what she thinks and believes. How is her faith in God’s sovereignty challenged? Who models trust in God for her? Who sows seeds of doubt? What is Seona’s most difficult choice to make? In what ways does her faith grow because of it?
11. Mountain Laurel’s past is still alive in many ways. What reminders do we witness of Hugh’s long-dead son, Aidan? How did that death affect various characters? What other characters, either dead or gone, have bearing on Mountain Laurel’s present?
12. Mountain Laurel and its upcoming sequel are joined under the series title Kindred—a word that can refer to family relationships or to similarity in character and nature. How do you see the themes of kinship and of kindred spirits woven through this story? What do you imagine is ahead for Ian? For Seona? For Mountain Laurel itself?
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Lori Benton
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