Behind the story of Devil’s Kiss by Michelle Bennington

Born and raised in the beautiful Bluegrass state of Kentucky, Michelle Bennington developed a passion for books early on. In addition to her love of books, all things British and historical fascinate Michelle. Devil’s Kiss is her first Small Batch Mystery.

Blame it on the bourbon

Michelle said that this book was supposed to be set at a university and the main character, Rook, was supposed to be an adjunct instructor. As the saying goes, things change. “I’m a plantser (plotter and pantser hybrid). I always start with a plan but, inevitably, my characters take me in a different direction. The original plan morphed into something different when I attended a ghost tour at the Buffalo Trace bourbon distillery. Buffalo Trace is one of the oldest distilleries in Kentucky, with a history dating back to the late 1700s, so it was a perfect place for a ghost tour. The evening set a  mysterious and spooky mood, which worked on my imagination, and on the way home, a plot for a murder mystery began to unfold in my mind. But at first I couldn’t solve the questions: who would get murdered at a distillery? How? And why?”

The ideas percolated for a few months until Michelle found an article about the Pappy Van Winkle heist. ‘Pappy,’ as it’s commonly known, is a rare, expensive bourbon and the oldest (23-25 year old) is worth thousands of dollars per bottle. “Voila! I had the crime to my mystery. But I should note that while the real-life heist only lightly inspired my book, the story has little resemblance to what actually happened. Once I had the crime in place, I had to figure out who my criminals were, what their motives were, and how they were going to commit the crimes.”

Personal challenges while writing

“I had a lot of personal challenges while writing Devil’s Kiss. My beloved father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, my husband with diabetes, my step-dad received a trifold diagnosis of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Lewes Body Dementia, and my biological father was having some personal crises. That was a lot to process. And I was working on another book, a historical mystery, Widow’s Blush (set to release October 2023). Meanwhile, I was working full time, writing, and dealing with personal obligations in my own life. It was pretty intense for a while. Unfortunately, before I was published, my step-dad had declined severely, my father-in-law passed away, and I became estranged from my biological father; so I never got to share the big news with any of them, but I know they would’ve been thrilled—especially my father-in-law, who had been an English teacher and loved books. I tried so hard to finish the book and get published before he died, but it just didn’t work out that way. That’s a huge regret for me, even though it was completely out of my hands.”  

Devil’s Kiss theme—staying resilient 

Michelle said that a theme she discovered while writing the story is resiliency. “No matter how much the storms of life batter us, it’s important to keep going, keep pushing through. I’m a little like Rook in that I’m resilient and always find ways to come back fighting after a disappointment.”

Eighteenth and nineteenth century British Literature has been a favorite subject of Michelle’s for many years. “The history of that era fascinates me. And that fascination began when, at age 19, I read Lord Byron’s poem, ‘She Walks in Beauty’ (which I can still recite from memory). The Great British Baking Show, one of my favorite shows, makes me cry. The reasons why are complicated.”

Sometimes, research is just fun

”For this Small Batch mystery series, I attended a lot of bourbon distillery tours. I can’t say any of it was wild-n-crazy, but it’s always a good time at a bourbon distillery. Now I have a Bourbon Trail passport and am working my way through the trail, collecting stamps. It’s turned into quite a hobby. This year, I’m hoping to go to Scotland and I’m definitely booking a distillery tour and ghost tour on that trip. Now that I think about it, I might need to have a Scottish character in  my 3rd book of the small batch series (Unbridled Spirits)!”

Learn more about Michelle Bennington at www.michellebennington.com. Did you like this interview? If so, click here to read more Behind the Story interviews from your favorite authors or follow me on Twitter.