Author’s Biography

Zeno D. Edwards grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from North Carolina Central University and an MBA from City University of Seattle. As a former corporate executive (e.g., SVP/ Bank of America), his diverse career has led him to serve at five Fortune 500 companies (nationally and internationally) and now as an author and adjunct professor at Meredith College, a prestigious women’s college in Raleigh, North Carolina. He utilizes his real-life experiences to tell stories of captivating protagonists from marginalized communities dealing with the vagaries of life in America.

In addition, Zeno is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the first Black Greek fraternity in America (1906), with numerous prominent men, most notably Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights activist; the honorable Judge Thurgood Marshall, the first Black U.S. supreme court judge; W.E.B. Du Bois, author, and writer; sports legend Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, obliterating Adolph Hitler’s notion of Black people being an inferior race; and many other notable men who are still making a huge impact on American society today.

My Personal Story

In grammar school and high school, I excelled in mathematics. At that time, I preferred numbers over words. When my mother asked me if I had completed my homework, I would emphatically reply, “Yes!” Then, she immediately asked me a follow-up question: “Did you do anything besides math?” I would sheepishly respond, “No and retreat to my room to finish my homework.

That paradigm shifted during my junior year in high school when I found myself in jeopardy of failing my English class. My classmates and I were given a special written assignment to be completed within six weeks on any topic related to the study of English. This assignment accounted for thirty percent of the final grade for the semester. As always, I procrastinated and waited until the last minute to decide what to write about. I stared at a blank notepad the night before the assignment was due.

Desperately, I finally developed a plan. I decided to write a poem— which I had never done before— about a girl in class with whom I was secretly infatuated with. I thought Mrs. Sewell, the English teacher, would give me a passing grade if I made the poem long enough (at least twenty verses). At a minimum, I had hoped she would give me credit for being creative.

To my and the other classmate’s surprise, Mrs. Sewell made a special announcement: “We have only one A on this assignment. I want Zeno to read his beautiful poem to the class.” At the end of the year, Mrs. Sewell wrote in my yearbook, “Never stop writing.” That was the inspiration that I needed. I started dreaming of becoming a writer.

As a North Carolina Central University student, I majored and minored in accounting and mathematics, but I continued to write poetry.  I joined the school’s newspaper staff to write a weekly column with soap opera-type poems about a mysterious girl on campus that I liked. My column was a big hit on campus, especially with the coeds who wondered who the mysterious girl was.

So many years later, I have become an avid reader, —a book a week—and I love to write. After an amazing corporate career, I plan to utilize my real-world experience to complete my legacy by becoming an accomplished author.

Note to the Readers

Thank you for reading my first novel, The Foundation: We Are Our Own Worst Enemy. As an ex-corporate executive and now a college professor, I am often asked to share my stories. In addition to The Foundation, I have completed two more books that form a trilogy: SEPARATED BY AN OCEAN and MY SURROGATE SON, each poised to continue this compelling narrative. Stay tuned; I plan to publish them very soon.

Zeno D. Edwards