Sharing writing wisdom
According to her mom, author Emma Fox wrote her first book when she was only 4 years old.
As soon as she could form words, she began writing adventure stories, mysteries and fantasies. She would read her stories to her younger siblings and loved having an audience that gave immediate feedback.
Fox, a resident of Meadow Brook, said her parents read classic children’s literature books to her and her siblings and described them as “seeds in the garden of my mind, which helped a lot.”
Growing up in Savannah, her dad would take Fox and her siblings to historical locations filled with rich stories and that’s where she fell in love with history and fantasy.
Fox obtained an undergraduate degree in music education with a minor in art. She ended up loving art so much that she decided to take her studies further and obtained a master’s degree in art history.
“What I love about art history is it showed me how to look for stories,” she said. “Renaissance art works are like books for their time period. There are layer upon layer of stories and symbolism, and if you look closely at something, you can read the story. I’ve realized, too, that my years as a musician have helped me to ‘listen’ for cadence and rhythm in my sentences. So, nothing is wasted.”
Fox said she turned to writing as a career about six years ago. She was expecting her third child and needed a more flexible job option. She had taught music for Westminster and from her home for about 10 years until she realized she couldn’t keep up that schedule.
Her debut novel, “The Arrow and the Crown,” a young adult fantasy set in medieval Germany, was released in the summer of 2019. Published through Amazon Kindle, Fox said the book has been in the top 500 in fairytale and fantasy for the past three years and has received several regional and national awards.
Her second book that was co-authored with other writers, “The Lost Tales of Sir Galahad,” was released in May. The group project focuses on Sir Galahad, one of King Arthur’s knights. Fox said it’s probably the most delightful project she’s ever gotten to work on.
She said she wrote about the same amount during the pandemic, but it reignited her purpose for writing.
“I realized all over again the power of story and the way stories give us hope,” she said. “They help us see ourselves and our place in the world and introduce us to a bigger world.”
Fox has been teaching writing workshops at the North Shelby Library for the past few years. She started during the fall of 2019, and once the pandemic set in, she continued to teach the workshops via monthly Zoom meetings.
After two years of online meetings, the workshops will begin meeting in-person at the library this month, and Fox said she is excited to meet her students face-to-face.
“There’s nothing I love better than connecting with readers of all ages, as well as aspiring authors who have stories burning inside them but aren’t sure where to start,” Fox said. “Through my writing workshops, I’ve met many kids and adults who dream of being a published author but don’t know if they have what it takes or where to begin. I hope that my story and experiences can give them helpful insight and encourage them to keep taking that next step toward fulfilling their dream.”
Fox is currently seeking publication for her latest trilogy novel, “Stone Flower,” a historical fantasy that draws on Slavic folklore. She also homeschools her children ages 12, 10 and 6.
“I would like to continue this for the rest of my life,” she said.
For more information or to purchase Fox’s books, visit emmafoxauthor.com.