Career Authors welcomes the wonderfully versatile Sarah Stewart Taylor upon the debut of her new historical mystery series. With the publication of AGONY HILL, Sarah brings her remarkable gift for writing sympathetic characters and rural settings to bear in this nail biter of a novel, set in Vermont in the turbulent 1960s–a stand-out addition to her exemplary body of work.
1. What’s the title of your book? And was that always the title?
Agony Hill. It usually takes me time to figure out the title of a book, but with this one, the book came out of the title! Many years ago, I saw a road sign for an Agony Hill, and I tucked it away, vowing to write a book with that title one day.
2. Who’s the main character of your book—and was that always their name?
I have two main characters. The first, Franklin Warren, did have another name at some point, but I can’t remember what it was. I looked up names from the time period in phone books to find his! My other main character, his next door neighbor Alice Bellows, had been knocking around in my head for a long time and had a different first name. Then we named our daughter that name, and I couldn’t use it anymore! So I came up with Alice, which I now love, and seems perfect for her.
3. At the start of the book, what’s the character’s goal?
Franklin Warren’s goal is to leave behind a tragedy he experienced in Boston and make a new start in the little town of Bethany, Vermont. He’s taking a job with the Vermont State Police and he really needs to show that he can do a good job in his new role. He also needs to awaken to life again. He’s been in a fog of grief, and though he doesn’t know it, his new home in Vermont will allow him to become human again.
Alice Bellows also needs to be shaken up a bit. After her husband’s death, she’s returned to her hometown to live and she’s perhaps a bit — or more than a bit — bored with her role as a pillar of the community. And then a man from her late husband’s past in the intelligence world appears in Bethany. When he asks her to take on a job for him, Alice sees possibility and danger.
4. What was the core idea for this novel—a plot point? a theme?—and where did it come from?
This one came from a few different places. One was thinking about this period of the 1960s in Vermont history. So many things were changing. The interstates were bringing new people and new opportunities, but also new tensions. The Vietnam war was changing things, as were, the impacts of the civil rights and women’s rights movements. I also really began this book thinking about Alice and women like her, who were born just a little bit too early to have the careers they might have had otherwise. She is brilliant and competent and could have done anything. During World War II, she got involved in intelligence gathering because of who her husband was. Back in her hometown, she pretty much runs the town, but in the roles that women have always taken on. I was just really interested in her as a character.
5. At what point did you come up with the final version of the first line?
I feel like I wrote the prologue pretty early and it — unlike other parts of the book — didn’t go through a ton of revisions. So probably pretty early in the writing process.
6. Did you know the ending of the book when you started?
I knew where the characters would end up emotionally, but I wasn’t completely sure about the solution to the murder mystery. But I did have a very strong sense of where each of the main characters would be, and what they would be doing when we see them on the last page. I definitely had in mind the character arcs that I hope to be able to complete for each character over the course of a series too, but of course you always want each book to feel complete in case you don’t get to write the next installment. It’s that balance between wrapping it up in a satisfying way and leaving enough threads to pull at for a sequel.
7. What’s something in this book that you’ve never done before?
I wrote poetry! One of my characters is a poet, and I had to write some lines that she might have written. I am still extremely insecure about this!
8. What part of your tour (or launch week) are you most excited about?
Just getting into bookstores and meeting booksellers and readers. Later in the fall, I’ll be visiting a lot of libraries and giving some lectures on this period of history in Vermont and I’m so looking forward to that too. Writing is such a solitary job and it’s always so amazing to get out and meet with the people on the other side of the process, to remember why we do what we do. I’m also heading to Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, in Nashville next week. It will be good to see crime writer friends and talk about all things mystery. I always find myself inspired and ready to write when I get home from these gatherings.
9. Who in your #writing community deserves a special shout-out for supporting you in writing this story?
My agent and editor, who were both enthusiastic about a completely different book, not just a different setting from my Maggie D’arcy series, but a different time period. They really embraced my fictional Vermont town and its cast of characters. And my husband, who has been just incredibly supportive on so many levels, from answering my questions about Vermont history and telling me interesting stories, to supporting me through the awful ups and downs of the publishing business, to putting up with a spouse who is on book deadline once a year. Say a prayer for the partners of writers — it’s not easy!
10. How do you want readers to feel when they close the book?
I want them to feel like they’ve been invited into the life of Bethany, Vermont. I want them to feel part of the humanity that exists there — the grief and sadness but also the joy and pleasure in everyday things. I want them to feel curious about where these characters will go next and anxious to return to a now familiar place in the next installment.
11. What did you learn from this book?
I learned a lot about following my passions and paying attention to stories that won’t let you go, even if they’re not the ones that seem popular or on trend. This book did not make sense on many levels, but I loved it and I wanted to write it and I think when you feel that way, it shows to your readers and it makes the book better.
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SARAH STEWART TAYLOR is the author of the Sweeney St. George series, set in New England, the Maggie D’arcy mysteries, set in Ireland and on Long Island, and Agony Hill, the first in a new series set in rural Vermont in the 1960s.
Sarah has been nominated for an Agatha Award, the Dashiell Hammett Prize, and the MWA Sue Grafton Memorial Award and her mysteries have appeared on numerous Best of the Year lists. A former journalist and teacher, she writes and lives with her family on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and grow blueberries. You can visit her online at www.SarahStewartTaylor.com
