The Serpent King(85)
Acknowledgments
From the bottom of my heart, I wish to thank the following people who made this book possible:
My amazing agents: Charlie Olsen, Lyndsey Blessing, and Philippa Milnes-Smith. My brilliant editorial team: Emily Easton and Tara Walker. Isabel Warren-Lynch and her talented design staff—Alison Impey for her incredible artistic vision for the book jacket, and Trish Parcell for the amazing interior design. Phoebe Yeh, Samantha Gentry, and everyone at Crown Books for Young Readers, and Barbara Marcus, Judith Haut, John Adamo and his marketing team, and Dominique Cimina and her publicity team at Random House Children’s Books.
My awesome readers: Joel Karpowitz, Shawn Kessler, Sean Leslie, Heather Shillace, Amy Saville, Jenny Downs, Sherry Berrett, Valerie Goates, Ben Ball, and Dr. Daniel Crosby.
SWAB.
The Bev boys: Jeremy Voros, Rob Hale, James Stewart.
My Guru: Fred Voros.
My fantastic bosses: Amy Tarkington and Rachel Willis.
Lindsay Reid Fitzgerald, for telling me I should write more.
David Arnold and Adam Silvera, for welcoming me into the brotherhood.
Dr. Ma?gorzata Büthner-Zawadzka, the first to call me a writer.
Jarrod and Stephanie Perkins, for always being there for me and for being such inspirations.
John Corey Whaley, for being all that I hope to be someday. The only thing rivaling your incredible talent is your generosity of spirit.
Natalie Lloyd, for constantly making me laugh and for Midnight Gulch and the magical worlds you’ll yet create.
My real-life Lydias: Tracy Moore and Alli Marshall.
Denise Grollmus, I will ever be in your debt. This book would not exist without you.
My fourth-grade English teacher, Lynda Wheeler, who made me believe I might be a storyteller.
Joe Bolton, for your poetry.
Everyone at Tennessee Teen Rock Camp and Southern Girls Rock Camp.
Everyone who said, even sarcastically, that I should write a book someday, because I generally understand even sarcastic compliments to be sincere.
Everyone who ever listened to my music and supported me. This book would not exist without the stories that began as songs. Those songs would not have existed without you.
The city of Nashville, Tennessee, for welcoming us back. The Nashville Metro Transit Authority for making your buses such a great place to write. Most of this book was written on your buses.
The Nashville Public Library system, Parnassus Books and Rhino Booksellers in Nashville, and Riverbank Books in Sparta, for existing.
My mom and dad, who instilled in me a lifelong love of books. Who read to me. Who dropped me off at the library with a quarter for the pay phone so that I could call for a ride when I was done spending hours there. You made this book possible.
My beautiful wife and brilliant best friend, Sara. Without your encouragement and support, I could not have written this or anything else. You are my world. You bring music to my life. And to my beautiful son, Tennessee. Thank you for being the perfect son and making me so proud always. I’ll never forget the mornings we spent both working on our books.
Love deserves monuments, and this is the only kind I know how to build. I’ll keep building them as long as I have strength enough in my mind and hands. I love you both. Thank you.
About the Author
JEFF ZENTNER is a singer-songwriter and guitarist who has recorded with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, and Debbie Harry. In addition to writing and recording his own music, Jeff works with young musicians at Tennessee Teen Rock Camp, which inspired him to write a novel for young adults. He lives in Nashville with his wife and son. The Serpent King is his first novel. You can follow him on Facebook and Instagram, and on Twitter at @jeffzentner.
About The Serpent King, Jeff says, “I wanted to write about young people who struggle to lead lives of dignity and find beauty in a forgotten, unglamorous place. Who wonder what becomes of dreams once they cross the county line. This book is my love letter to those young people and anyone who has ever felt like them, no matter how or where they grew up.”