West graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1944, then immediately got hitched to her sweetheart, a dashing fighter pilot. They had four children, which kept her busy for a decade or three.
West did some local newspaper work during that time, but “got tired of covering the new sewage plant.”
WEST PUBLISHED HER FIRST NOVEL IN 1979 AT AGE 56
That book, a historical gothic entitled The Ancestors Cry Out, sounds fascinating:
“In 1880 a young woman has mysterious reasons for visiting a sugar plantation on a lush Caribbean island, the site of a violent and bloody slave rebellion in 1831” (description from Augustine Funnel Books).West then spent almost 30 years “switching genres until I found the one that was right for me.” She finally fell for mystery.
WEST PUBLISHED HER SECOND NOVEL IN 2007 AT AGE 84
Emma Streat, the protagonist of Without Warning, is a former opera star in her late 40s. Her husband, a high-tech exec, dies under mysterious circumstances. Emma realizes that he was involved in a high-stakes weapons project and goes on a hunt for his killer.Dominick Dunne called the book “...a fast-paced page turner...strong characters...interesting backgrounds with international flair. An engaging read.”
Yet no one would touch Without Warning at first, so West self-published. She eventually entered the book in a contest, and one of the judges sent it to St. Martin’s Press.
“I’ve come to love Emma, and I want readers to care about her as she digs deep to survive; we are all, I think, reaching for ways to live our daily lives with strength and courage. This becomes even more of a challenge when one reaches the mid-eighties in age.”
Overkill, the follow-up to Without Warning, was published on November 24, 2009. Let's hope Eugenia West will be writing sequels for decades.WHAT LATER BLOOMERS CAN LEARN FROM EUGENIA WEST:
- Explore every facet of your creative passion - find the aha! moment.
- If the corporate machine doesn't get your work, bypass it. Don't doubt your creativity - DIY. Publish it, post it, record it, display it - do it yourself.
Eugenia Lovett West’s website
Miranda Literary Magazine Interview
The Ancestors Cry Out at Augustin Funnel Books
