Evergreen Park YA Author Pens First Adult Novel About Supernatural Chicago Pizzeria

EVERGREEN PARK, IL—Evergreen Park author Zachary Jeffries, the darling of young adult literature, will host a free book launch party for his first adult novel, “Evil Eye & Pizza Pie,” from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 30, at Bookies, 10324 S. Western Ave., Chicago. The event will feature a reading, book signing, refreshments, and a silent auction raising funds for the Evergreen Park Public Library. Admission is free and open to all.

Jeffries has penned nine science fiction novels for the middle school set under the pen name “Z Jeffries,” about kids who suddenly find themselves with supernatural powers in his “Hide and Seek Chronicles” series and “Pro Wrestling Saves Earth.”

Now, writing under his real name, “Zachary Jeffries,” he’s penned his first adult urban fantasy novel, “Evil Eye & Pizza Pie,” about a seemingly normal Chicago pizzeria that is actually a secret haven for magical misfits.

“The bartender is a vampire, and all prep cooks are witches because they’re so good with recipes,” Jeffries said. “Sea monsters in hiding are the servers.”

Unlike epic fantasy, where worlds are completely unlike our own, urban fantasy is a subset of the fantasy genre that takes place in more familiar settings.

“That’s what I read for fun. I read three to five books a month, mostly urban fantasy,” Jeffries said.

“Evil Eye & Pizza Pie” follows the exploits of a young woman named Honor “Judge” Jones, who thinks of herself as “normal” but is gifted with an intuition that can tell if someone is lying or keeping secrets.

“Upon researching the book, I realized that most cultures have a version of the evil eye bestowing a curse on someone and different ways of lifting it,” Jeffries said, who reads three to five urban fantasy novels per month. “Honor Jones receives the evil eye curse inside the pizzeria. The misfits have to figure out which evil eye curse they’re dealing with.”

Jeffries draws upon his experiences working in restaurant kitchens across the East Coast and Chicago. He keeps Zero’s Pizzeria and Bar’s location in Chicago vague but envisions it somewhere near Wrigleyville.

“I do it on purpose for my writing,” he said. “I know exactly the place and cross streets.”

Having written books for middle schoolers and young adults, he appreciates the opportunity to write a fully developed adult romance.

“I love writing romantic subplots,” Jeffries said. “There’s romance and crushes in young adult fiction culminating in the big kiss. In this book, I can write a complete adult relationship with ups, downs, secrets, messiness, breakups, and makeups.”

“Evil Eye & Pizza Pie” is the first in his new urban fantasy series for adults called “Nightly Pizza Specials,” where the witches, vampires, wizards, werewolves and sirens at the pizzeria are referred to as “specials.” Throughout the series, there’s a slow burning romance between Honor Jones and the pizzeria owner, the cursed-but-compassionate Ted Balthazar. He’s almost finished the second book in the series.

“Each book will follow a different group of supernatural people who have to lift a curse, and they have one day to do it, or everyone at the pizzeria will be cursed,” Jeffries said.

The launch celebration at Bookies—an independent bookstore and community cornerstone of Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood—will give readers a chance to hear Jeffries read from Evil Eye & Pizza Pie, meet the author and have their copies signed. Refreshments will be provided, and guests are invited to participate in a silent auction, with all proceeds benefiting the Evergreen Park Public Library.

“The Evergreen Park Public Library is my family’s and community’s library,” said Jeffries. “Being able to celebrate this book while raising money for the library felt like the perfect way to launch a story that’s all about the magic hidden within the real world.”