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Arts & Entertainment

Author Series Features Journalist Turned Best-Selling Author

Angie Fox, author of the "New York Times" best-selling series Accidental Demon Slayer, will speak at Chesterfield Arts Wednesday night.

St. Louis novelist Angie Fox will speak at Wednesday night as part of the River Valley Authors Series. Fox, author of a paranormal fiction series about a demon slayer, will talk about her journey from journalism school to the New York Times Best Sellers list.

Fox studied broadcast journalism at the University of Missouri. She worked in advertising for a few years before setting her sights on fiction. She had always thought about writing a book, she said, so one day she decided to go for it.

Three manuscripts and many rejection letters later, Fox had learned a lot about the business but was still unpublished. One particular rejection letter, from literary agent Donald Maass, inspired her to change her direction. Maass said that while her third manuscript was publishable and would probably sell, it would not make her stand out as a debut author. He recommended that she should stop holding back and not be afraid to do something different.

"I had been writing these serious mysteries because I thought that to be taken seriously I had to this serious mystery. But I had been sneaking off and reading vampire books on the side," Fox said. "So I thought, 'I'm just going to write what I love. I'm going to write this crazy book, and it's not going to sell, but it's going to teach me about writing and I'll have fun doing it.'"

When she finished her fourth manuscript, five of the six agents she sent it to offered to represent it, and it was sold to a publishing house in just four days. Less than a year later, Accidental Demon Slayer was on the New York Times Best Seller list.

After her second novel was published, Fox was able to become a full-time writer and follow it up with three more. She is now working on her sixth volume of the series, which is about a preschool teacher turned leather-clad demon slayer and a band of "geriatric biker witches."

Fox will be at Chesterfield Arts Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to talk about her personal experience in the publishing world and what the first year between getting a book contract and seeing your book on shelves is like. She will also answer plenty of questions, both from readers and aspiring writers.

Fox is the sixth featured author in the River Valley Authors Series, which began in November 2010. Next month's guest is Candace O'Connor, an award-winning freelance writer and editor based in St. Louis.

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