Rising Stars: Meet Jeff Zentner

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Zentner.

Hi Jeff, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I began my creative life as a musician in Nashville, playing as a solo act and with a band. As I passed the threshold of age 30, it became clear that I was not destined for fame and fortune as a musician. I wanted to help others live the dream I couldn’t, so I began volunteering at a Tennessee rock camp, teaching teens how to play guitar.

I fell in love with the way that young adults love the art that they love and how they make it part of their identity. It made me want to create art for young adults. So, I looked around for a way to create art for young adults. And I realized there was this big new category of books called young adult books. I also realized that you can start writing a lot later in life than in music. So I wrote a young adult book called The Serpent King and sold it to Random House.

I published three more young adult novels before writing a novel for the adult market called Colton Gentry’s Third Act, a love story centered on a country musician who loses his career after an onstage meltdown and moves back home to his small home town in Kentucky, where he reconnects with an old flame.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I had a full-time day job the whole time I’ve been a musician and then an author. I wrote most of my first four books with my right thumb on my bus commute to and from downtown Nashville.

For the last four years of my writing career, I’ve worked on a master’s degree in information science in addition to working a full-time job and writing two books that will be published in 2024.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an author. I’ve written and published four young adult novels, entitled The Serpent King, Goodbye Days, Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee, and In the Wild Light.

On April 30, 2024, I’ll be releasing my debut for the adult market, Colton Gentry’s Third Act. On July 9, 2024, I’ll be releasing another young adult novel called Sunrise Nights, which I coauthored with Brittany Cavallaro.

My books have won numerous awards, including the ALA’s William C. Morris Award and the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award twice, and I’ve been longlisted twice for the UK’s most prestigious youth literary award, the Carnegie Medal. I’ve also been a Southern Book Prize finalist twice.

My work is largely set in rural Tennessee. My readers praise my authenticity, the depth of my characters, and the depth of the emotion I bring to my stories.

Networking and finding a mentor can have a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My recommendation for networking is to never approach people as networking opportunities but as friendship opportunities.

People will be able to sniff out when you’re using them as a stepping stone for something better, and nobody likes that. So obviously, you only network with people you have a genuine interest in befriending.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jeffzentnerbooks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffzentner?igsh=cnJqcXpmODZ5azNq&utm_source=qr
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffzentner?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor