Reading a story is a magical experience. Learning the research and inspiration behind the story can be life-changing. At the Delaware County District Library, we’ve been lucky enough to hear many authors tell their stories, and we hope their visits have left audiences inspired.

This summer, the library has a handful of opportunities for you to see authors in action. Tonight at the Liberty Branch Library you may be one of the lucky few who snagged a ticket to see Lisa See, author of New York Times Bestsellers like “The Island of Sea Women,” “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane,” and her newest release “Lady Tan’s Circle of Women.” See’s visit is presented by the Friends of the Delaware County District Library.

In just a few weeks, on Saturday, July 8, mark your calendars for a visit from author Jeff Zentner. Zentner has penned New York Times Notable Books like “The Serpent King” and “In the Wild Light,” as well as “Goodbye Days” and “Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee.” His visit begins at 2 p.m. at the Liberty Branch Library, and tickets are completely free. Register your seat at www.delawarelibrary.org/author-visits.

Zentner’s stories are heartbreakingly beautiful. They display a “moving testament to love, loyalty, faith, and reaching through the darkness to find light and hope.” (Publishers Weekly) His mixture of humor with harsh realities does not take away from the story or somehow add a false “Pollyanna” attitude, but instead drives home the truth that sometimes our most painful moments are coupled with our deepest belly laughs in order to keep ourselves from falling into complete darkness.

In case you’re not a fan of the YA Fiction genre, a tease on www.jeffzentnerbooks.com mentions that a forthcoming title, “Colton Gentry’s Third Act,” will be Zentner’s debut for the adult market in 2024. Or perhaps attendees might find themselves interested in one of Zentner’s additional careers. Before becoming a writer, he was a musician who recorded with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, and Debbie Harry.

Zentner’s visit will conclude the 2022-2023 author visit tour that has made its way to the Delaware County District Library. Future visits will collaborate with the Friends of the Delaware County District Library or the greater library community of central Ohio. I hope you’ll join us in a few weeks. If you’re the type who likes to read an author’s repertoire before you meet them, check out one of the titles below – and get a synopsis of the titles releasing in 2024.

“The Serpent King” by Jeff Zentner. Struggling through his senior year of high school, where he is targeted by bullies because of his father’s extreme faith, Dill teams up with fellow outcast Lydia, who is determined to escape their tiny town by pursuing a career in fashion, and Travis, whose obsession with an epic book series and a fangirl turns his reality into real-life fantasy.

• “Goodbye Days” by Jeff Zentner. When a simple text causes a fatal crash, ending the lives of his three best friends, a guilt-ridden Carver becomes subject to a criminal investigation and receives support from a few loving people before his friends’ families ask him to share a goodbye day with them.

• “Rayne and Delilah’s Midnite Matinee” by Jeff Zentner. Co-hosting a campy weekly cable program during their high school years, two best friends face tough decisions about their futures as graduation approaches and one of them considers leaving the show.

• “In the Wild Light” by Jeff Zentner. When his best friend, Delaney, gets them both full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash must choose between his need to love and protect Delaney and his loyalty to his grandparents and their small Appalachian town.

• “Colton Gentry’s Third Act” (Coming on April 30, 2024) by Jeff Zentner. A rising country star returns home to rural Kentucky to rebuild and rekindle old relationships after he drunkenly speaks his mind onstage about gun violence, effectively ending his career and marriage.

• “Sunrise Nights” (Coming June 2024) by Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro. Tells the story, in verse and dialogue, of a boy and a girl who make a connection on Sunrise Night – a final-night tradition at an arts camp that gives campers free reign to roam the campus and town until dawn – and make a pact not to communicate until the next Sunrise Night; instead, for one night each summer, they learn, and then re-learn, who they are and who they could be to each other.

If you have a question that you would like to see answered in this column, mail it to Nicole Fowles, Delaware County District Library, 84 E. Winter St., Delaware, OH 43015, or call us at 740-362-3861. You can also email your questions by visiting the library’s web site at www.delawarelibrary.org or directly to Nicole at [email protected]. No matter how you contact us, we’re always glad you asked!