There was a point during Eugenia Lovett West’s freelance journalism career that she came to a realization.
“I got tired of 300 words. I thought why not 300 pages?” West said.
So she started writing books. Her first go at it turned into “absolute trash,” West said. But her second attempt at a novel, The Ancestors Cry Out, was published in 1979 and began what has been a unique path for West. Now at the age of 96, West is set to have two books released this year, starting with Sarah’s War on April 16.
After her first book, a historical thriller set on a sugar plantation in Jamaica in the 1870s, there was a long lull, almost 30 years, without getting a single thing published. Then she got the break she needed. After self-publishing her first attempt at mystery writing and giving it to family members as presents, she got the push she needed to try and get it published professionally. So she submitted it for a mystery contest sponsored by St. Martin’s Press, and even though she didn’t win the contest, West landed a two-book contract.
She published her first in the Emma Streat series, Without Warning, in 2007. Followed that up with Overkill two years later and No. 3 in the series, Firewall is expected to be released later this year.
“Over time, you learn a lot about evolving your voice,” West said.
Sarah’s War is really a journey back to her roots. When West began writing in the 1990s, her focus was more on historical accounts. She loves the research side of it, and dove headlong into the Revolutionary War archives for this one.
“For some reason, I felt like coming back to Sarah’s War,” West said. “When I first started writing this, there was no internet so you had to go to libraries for your information.” She even spent four days near the Brandywine Creek immersing herself in the history of the battle.
That attention to detail is what West tries to convey to readers. She wants them to be immersed in the time when the country was at war for America’s independence. West centers the book around three characters, but use historical figures and events to give validity to the book.
“I wanted to give the readers the feeling of living in that time,” West said.
It’s the winter of 1777, and the Revolutionary War is raging on. George Washington’s untrained militia is struggling to survive at Valley Forge. The 13 states have been torn apart by politics, but in Philadelphia, British officers are enjoying lavish lives in their winter quarters.
“I never realized how close we were to losing that war,” West said.
Sarah Champion, a young Patriot living in a small Connecticut village, the daughter of a parson whose twin brother was killed in the war, is sent to live with her aunt in Philadelphia who is poor and in need of help. Unbeknownst to Champion, her aunt is neither poor or needs help – and is in fact a rich loyalist. So why did she need her small town niece to come to the big city?
Champion is thus introduced to a life of intrigue and deceit as she must live among the people she hopes one day will be on the losing side of the war. She’s a beautiful young girl and attracts men, especially one high ranking British aide. It turns out it’s the perfect way for Sarah to learn about the opposition’s plans, including a plot to kill Washington.
“He was in danger all the time,” West said.
Ultimately, Sarah must overcome extreme obstacles and deadly threats all in an effort to do what she feels is right. She wants nothing more than to aid the efforts for a new, independent country. How far will she have to go to achieve that?
While the characters are her own, the events and happenings are historically accurate.
“The events and facts are there, even so, I had to leave out so much good research,” West said.
For West, it’s nice to have two books coming out in the same year, but at the age of 96, she does this for the pure enjoyment of it. It’s more about the process, the development of characters and the creation of something that people will one day read.
And she points to her days as a freelance writer in New Jersey as the perfect segway into a career.
“I covered everything from the sewage meeting on Thursday night to national politicians,” West said. “Starting as a reporter is such good training.”
West, a summer resident of Holderness who spends her winters in Connecticut, has been coming to New Hampshire for almost her entire life. Five generations of her family have been in the Holderness area, including two children who live there. She considers New Hampshire home.
And these days what West likes to do most is embrace her work and continuing on that creative journey. She may have started much later than most, but to be still churning out books at her age, West is a prime example of why age is really just a number.
“I’m 96 and still writing,” West said. “I just enjoy it.”