Celebrate Blood and Silver by Vali Benson's 5th book birthday with us plus a giveaway #yahistoricalfiction #yalit #historicalwestern #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- Apr 3
- 7 min read
It’s been five years since Vali Benson published her book, Blood and Silver. It’s still one of the best we’ve ever read. Since it was published, it has received several literary awards. Vali teamed up with us to bring readers an inside look into her writing, her book, and there’s a giveaway too. Keep scrolling…
Vali Benson grew up in the Midwest. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Vali started and sold two successful businesses before she decided to pursue her real passion, writing. She published several articles in a variety of periodicals, including History Magazine before she decided to try her hand at fiction. In April of 2020, Vali published her first novel, “Blood and Silver”. In the five years since its release, “Blood and Silver” has been honored with several awards including the top prize at the 2021 Arizona Literary Awards and the 2024 Great Southwest Book Festival. Vali happily resides in Tucson, Arizona with her husband, two sons and grandchildren.
An approach to research from a historical fiction writer
Hi, my name is Vali Benson, and I am a writer of historical fiction. Today, I would like to talk about my approach to research and why it is so important. Once when I had severe writers block, a great teacher told me, “Write about what’s in your own backyard”. I took my teacher’s advice and turned in an award-winning essay. That was the inspiration in writing my 2020 book; a young adult historical fiction novel called Blood and Silver. The story takes place in Tombstone, Arizona. For thirty years, I have lived in Tucson, Arizona. Tombstone is only forty-five minutes down the road, practically backyard distance.
Most people associate Tombstone with the shootout at the O.K. Corral but, as I found out, that one event hardly defines the place. Tombstone was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco in 1884, with over 150 businesses, including 100 saloons, and a thriving red-light district. Apparently, this arid little tourist trap, only forty-five minutes from my hometown, was more important than I thought! This information began to spin my inquisitive wheels. I began to wonder what it would have been like to live in this obscure place in 1880. I had a premise that sparked my interest. Now, it was time for the part of the writing process that gives life to the story, research.
Research is pivotal no matter the genre. It allows the author to properly prepare the reader so that they are engaged in the narrative. One needs to look in unusual places, not just the top three Google hits. I love sourcing museums, libraries, newspaper archives, and even historical homes. Don’t rely on your computer only. Everyone can get that information. Not only is it not original, but it is also not interesting. One tip that I would like to emphasize to a burgeoning writer is to seek out primary sources whenever possible. If you can work from the original source, it falls on you to interpret the story. This way, you do not have to depend on someone else’s version of the truth.
As I began to delve deeper into the true story of Tombstone, I also uncovered unexpected angles. The most prominent of which was the effect of the Chinese population. The result of this research led me to a real person whom I could never had made up, a woman named “China Mary”. This woman lived in Tombstone from 1879 – 1906 and essentially ran the town. In addition to operating a gambling hall behind her general store, she was also the preeminent broker for opium, laudanum, and Chinese prostitutes. After I discovered the real-life splendor of China Mary, I made her one of my central characters and twisted my fictional story around her actual exploits. None of that could have been possible without an extensive research period.
It is important to realize that research is a never-ending endeavor; one can’t ever learn everything there is to know. However, at some point, you just have to make up your mind that you have enough to craft the story you want to tell. This is why research is so important. When I can understand the period in which my characters live, I can shape their circumstances and attitudes into the narrative. With Blood and Silver, because I had taken the time to ensure that every aspect of my world would be historically accurate, the attitudes and tones of my characters occurred organically. I simply placed my fictional characters into actual settings and let them take me where they wanted to go.
Thanks for reading!
Best wishes, Vali
Title: Blood and Silver
Author: Vali Benson
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Book Blurb:
What is a twelve-year-old girl to do when she finds herself in the silver boom town of Tombstone, Arizona, in 1880, and her only home is a brothel, and her only parent is a drug-addicted mother? If she is Carissa Beaumont, she outsmarts the evil madam and figures a way out.
With a host of colorful characters and meticulous attention to period detail, Blood and Silver is a story of the best and worst of human nature, the passion for survival and the beauty of true friendship.
"What an incredible adventure this book is! The story of Carissa is fraught with emotion, drama, suspense, intrigue, mystery, danger, and fun. Part a little girl, part super-girl for the work she can do and part Lara Croft - this girl is a heroine every reader can root for! This book is a great book for kids and adults alike. My Rating: 5+ stars" - N.N. Light's Book Heaven
"Blood and Silver is an absolute treasure, packed with a wealth of inspiring characters!" - Indies Today
"Blood and Silver is a fantastic book - well written with attention to detail and timeline, with great characters and an interesting plot. I recommend this amazing story a hundred percent!" - BooksShelf.com
Excerpt:
The girls enjoyed exploring the hotel when they could. The only place they didn’t like was the damp, dark basement, but occasionally they were asked to go down there to fetch something from the supply room.
The handyman, known only as Joe, had his bedroom down there. Unlike most of the nice people who worked at the Grand, Joe was a strange fellow, secretive and surly. He told the girls several times that they were not to go near his room in the basement, which of course stirred their curiosity.
One day when they were especially early, the head housekeeper asked them if they would go down and bring her more linen.
“I wonder why he forbids anyone to go in his room,” Mai-Lin wondered.
“Let’s find out,” Carissa suggested.
“Oh no, Callie, I am too frightened!”
“Okay, you just watch the stairs and let me know if he comes down.”
Before Mai-Lin could stop her, she picked up the lantern and ventured in.
With Mai-Lin watching the stairs, Carissa checked the room. The man’s bedroom was little more than a hovel. A quick glance told Carissa that there was nothing exciting about his spartan quarters. But as she turned to leave, she noticed that he had a curtain on the back wall. That’s odd, she thought. Why would he tack up a curtain on the wall? She touched the curtain and, feeling only empty space behind it, moved it aside. Her breath caught in her throat.
Old Joe had dug a tunnel from his bedroom into the silver mine! Carissa looked into the tunnel, which was about fifteen feet long. Shaking off her fear, she peered into the tunnel and discovered that there was a shiny stripe down the wall that could only be silver. Someone, most likely Joe, had been digging it out. It was horribly dank and it stunk in there. Suddenly, her fear at being found was so great, she nearly dropped the light.
She rushed out, her heart pounding. Mai-Lin, watching the stairway, asked her what happened. Carissa grabbed Mai-Lin’s hand and pulled her upstairs and then up the back stairs to the third floor and their little room before she was even able to speak.
*****
Carissa headed into the little bedroom and pushed back the cloth that covered the opening of the tunnel. She pulled out the tool that China Mary had given her and, unconsciously, rubbed it between her fingers. It was kind of creepy that, beyond the tunnel old Joe had so painstakingly carved, she could actually hear the activity of the miners in the tunnels on the other side. She heard a constant clink-clink-clink of the pick axes. It was comforting in a way. Perhaps her efforts wouldn’t be heard.
The dark stripe gave way, and some of the metal fell into her hand. Suddenly, Carissa was manic. She gouged and gouged in a frenzy, not even bothering to pick it up after a bit. It seemed only a few minutes, although it had been nearly an hour, when Mai-Lin called out from nearby.
“Callie? We need to be upstairs soon. Did you find anything?”
When Mai-Lin saw what lay on the ground, she exclaimed something in Chinese. Carissa looked at her, half-crazed.
“Callie, this is much! Help me pick this up, and we are finished!”
Carissa held her little pick in mid-motion.
“Callie! Come! Help me!” Mai began to fill her pockets with the dark gray metal at her feet.
Carissa realized that every stroke she had made was a strike in the heart of Miss Lucille. She had been completely lost in her mind, and, in doing that, she had endangered herself and Mai-Lin.
Suddenly, Carissa was afraid.
“Mai, I’m so sorry! Go back and watch. I’ll get it.”
As Mai-Lin backed out of the tunnel, Carissa knelt to pick up the rest of the raw silver, stuffing it in her big pockets. She froze as she heard Mai-Lin scream. Screaming had not been in the plan.
She ran out of the tunnel and saw old Joe lurch into his room.
“What the hell, girl? I have to kill you too?”
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Giveaway -
In celebration of the 5th book birthday of Blood and Silver, Vali Benson is giving away a signed print copy.
Runs April 3 - April 10, 2025
Drawing will be held on April 11, 2025
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@BensonVali
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