Maplewood Library Holds Book Signing for Author Viets

Author Elaine Viets has lived in Fort Lauderdale, FL, since 1997, but that doesn't mean she forgot her roots. A St. Louis native, Viets chose to make Maplewood the home of her main character in her widely popular humorous "Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper" series.

The  hosted a book signing last night, where 46 fans came to meet Viets.

"People really seem to enjoy Elaine," Library Director Terry Donnelly said. "Someone even brought her a gooey butter cake."

Viets was born in Florrisant but spent the majority of her life in south St. Louis city, not far from Maplewood. She was a regular columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and hosted Viets Beat, a local "light news" television program that she won two Emmy awards for in 1989 and 1990. Viets later moved to Washington, D.C., and wrote a syndicated column for United Feature Syndicate.

Viets has been living in Fort Lauderdale since 1997 where she works on two successful mystery series: the "Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper" series and the "Dead-End Job" series, which is set in Florida.

Viets chose Maplewood as the home to character Josie Marcus because Viets believes it's a "hip" area of St. Louis.

"Maplewood is full of good businesses and great restaurants," Viets said. "[Maplewood] seems like a place that someone young and hip would live."

In the series, Josie frequents places like  and , some of the businesses Viets herself enjoys visiting.

"When I come back to St. Louis I always go to the Bottleworks because they have good food and I like their beer," Viets said.

Viets admits that while she can't cook, she loves going into Penzeys simply to sniff. 

Viets said that many Maplewood residents have helped her as she writes the series. The city responded by declaring Oct. 21, 2005 as Elaine Viets Day.