It is with the greatest of pleasure that I welcome Historical Fiction author, Paul
Bennett onto the blog to talk about his inspirations behind his latest book…
Clash of Empires
A Novel of the French Indian War (The Mallory Saga Book 1)
In 1756, Britain and France are on a collision
course for control of the North American continent that will turn into what can
be described as the 1st world war, known as The Seven Year’s War in Europe and
The French and Indian War in the colonies. The Mallory family uproots from
eastern PA and moves to the western frontier and find themselves in the middle
of the war. It is the story of three siblings, Daniel, Liam and Liza and their
involvement in the conflict and the emotional trauma they endure. The story
focuses on historical events, such as, the two expeditions to seize Fort
Duquesne from the French and the fighting around Forts Carillon and William
Henry and includes the historical characters George Washington, Generals
Braddock, Forbes and Amherst. The book also includes the event known as
Pontiac’s Rebellion in which the protagonists play important roles. Clash of
Empires is an exciting look at the precursor to the events of July 1776; events
that will be chronicled in the second book as I follow the exploits and fate of
the Mallory clan.
“Clash of Empires swept me along into a brutal frontier war of honor
and vengeance…”
Rob Hagar Bayliss – author of The Sun Shard and The Dead Gods
“Bennett shows
understanding and sympathy for a disappearing world in this tale of war-torn
frontier America…” SJA Turney – author of
the Marius Mules series, The Ottoman Cycle and Tales of the Empire
“A storming triumph – war, love, honor, betrayal and
loss, Clash of Empires has it all”! C.R. May – author of Sorrow Hill, Nemesis and Fire
& Steel
Author’s Inspiration
The inspiration to write was, in the
beginning, merely to see if I could do it.
I had written short pieces over the years but to tackle a full blown
novel was a daunting prospect. Once the
seed was planted I came up with a rough idea of telling the story of three
siblings living somewhere in colonial America.
Choosing that general locale was a natural fit for me as I’ve been a
lifelong student of American history and I felt that if I was going to write a
historical fiction novel, it might be prudent to choose a subject I knew a
little about. I picked The French and Indian
War as the starting point for what was now becoming a possible series of books
that would follow the Mallory clan through the years. That war intrigued me and I saw a chance to
tell the story through the eyes of the Mallory family. It also provided me with the opportunity to
tell the plight of the Native Americans caught up in this conflict. The French and Indian War paved the way for
the colonies to push further west into the Ohio River area. It also set the stage for the events of the
1770’s. Britain incurred a huge debt
winning that war and looked to the colonies for reimbursement in the form of
new taxes and tariffs. Well, we all know
how those ungrateful colonists responded.
An inspiration for the last couple of
chapters in Clash came about because I grew up in Detroit, MI. the site of
Pontiac’s Rebellion. When France lost,
the tribes that sided with them found themselves under the thumb of the
British, a situation that became intolerable due to the harsh methods of
Jeffrey Amherst. A coalition of tribes
arose under the Ottawa chief Pontiac so even though the war was over, conflict
continued. That was too good a setting
to ignore so I made sure my protagonists were part of the action.
As to the name Mallory – I have a
photo hanging on my living room wall of my great grandfather, Harry
Mallory. I got to know him when I was a
young boy and was always glad when we visited him. He lived a good portion of his life in
western Pennsylvania which is where much of Clash of Empires takes place. So, as a gesture to my forebears, Mallory
became the name of the family.
Now that Clash is complete I am at
work on the second book in the series, Sundering of Empire – Dissension. This one will cover the years 1767-1776. The third book will cover the war years and
the making of a government. I’m also
working on a set of three short stories; one each for the three siblings that
give a little more insight into their characters. The stories are interconnected and cover the
3 days following Liza and Henry’s wedding.
A word of thanks for encouraging me
to do the deed must go out to the many friends I have come to know via the Net;
among them, but certainly not all, Simon Turney, Martin Lake and Gordon Doherty
were unbelievably helpful in the creation of Clash. Also, I cannot thank my editor, Marguerite
Walker II, enough for her hard work in making me a better writer.
Links for Purchase
Paul’s
education was of the public variety and when he reached Junior High he
discovered that his future did not include the fields of mathematics or
science. This was generally the case throughout his years in school as he
focused more on his interest in history; not just the rote version of names and
dates but the causes.
Paul studied Classical
Civilization at Wayne State University with a smattering of Physical
Anthropology thrown in for good measure.
Logically, of course, Paul spent the next four decades drawing upon that
vast store of knowledge working in large, multi-platform data centers, and is
considered in the industry as a bona fide IBM Mainframe dinosaur heading for
extinction.
Paul currently resides in the quaint New
England town of Salem, Massachusetts with his wife, Daryl. The three children have all grown, in the
process turning Paul’s beard gray, and have now provided four grandchildren;
the author is now going bald.
You can find Paul:
Email: mallorysaga@gmail.com
“…well-told story
with a witty heroine, a noble-yet-flawed hero, and a colorful set of secondary
characters. And a dragon! Let's not forget the dragon!” –Tegan Wren, author
of Inconceivable
