By Curt Peterson
Twenty-five people, fans and the curious, gathered at the Hartland Library Sept. 12 for Sarah Stewart Taylor’s introduction of her new crime novel, “Agony Hill” (Minotaur Books, 2024).
The first in a new series by Taylor, “Agony Hill” has a local setting — Bethany, a fictional village in Vermont’s Upper Valley in 1965.
She’s been hosting signings at libraries and book shops in the region for about a month. “Agony Hill” is the first to go to print, and there will be at least one more — the next is in the hands of her editor.
Without giving away too many details, Taylor described a plot involving a suspicious fire, a body discovered among the ashes, and a Vermont State Police detective who identifies the victim, discovers his “not very nice guy” image and several motives for his murder.
This story takes place coincident with arrival of Interstates I-91 and I-89 and the self-immolation of farmer Romaine Tenney, who refused to sell his land for part of the route of I-91, locked and burned his house down, dying in protest. As Taylor was a toddler at the time, she doubts the Tenney story was direct inspiration for the plot of “Agony Hill,” although, when she was editor at the Valley News, she wrote up the Tenney story for the paper, admitting “It did involve a fire death.”
Her research revealed a pervasive fear of the changes in culture and population that might come with the new highways.
Taylor provided insight into how her writing progresses, starting with the general concept of a story, or plot.
“It isn’t inspired by a single event,” she said.
Her journalism background had trained her for efficient and meaningful research for each book, and the story fills in as she absorbs the atmosphere, conditions and events of the story’s era.
For “Agony Hill,” Taylor spoke to a lot of people who were adults during the ‘60s and found those conversations “were chock full of information about that period.”
She also dove into archives of daily and weekly newspapers of the time — a kind of “immersion” — revealing “colloquialisms, current prices (milk, four cents/gallon), early gerrymandering, national news, the Vietnam war, unrest in Los Angeles”, etc.
She said there were two waves of “back to the land” migrants who came to Vermont — the first in the ‘30s, and, including her grandparents, a second in the 1960s and early ‘70s. “They had a huge influence on Vermont politics,” she noted.
Taylor smiled when asked, “How do you come up with names for your characters?”
“It gets more difficult as you write more books,” she said. “I found the Social Security database a great resource, just scanning names until I find one I feel is just right. Names are complicated.”
But, she added, editors sometimes reject names, possibly because they find someone living in the book’s current environment with the same name.
The “Agony Hill” crime series is her third to date, following four Maggie D’Arcy novels, and four Sweeney St. George Mysteries.
“Series are fun,” she said, adding that it’s the publisher who decides how many books in a series will be financially successful.
The Mountain Times asked Taylor how hard it is to balance writing, raising her three children (ages 19, 16 and 14), raising sheep and chickens, and participating in the community.
“I often feel that I am out of balance. I think that it’s a constant battle to put the important things first,” she said. “Family is always the highest priority, though it’s healthy for kids to see parents enjoying their work, hobbies and friendships.”
“I love writing, and feel lucky I get to do it as my job. But publishing can be cruel and capricious!” she added.
