by Burning Sky
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
LORI BENTON 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.
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