Jeff Keene II

Jeff Keene II (born September 28, 1970) is an American author known for his award-winning biblical historical fiction novels and a revealing true crime story about the famous ruby slippers.
==Biography==
Keene was born Jeffrey Charles Keene II in Freeport, New York, United States. His father, U.S. Army veteran Jeff Keene Sr., served in the Vietnam War and later became a professional optician. His mother was a home health aide and nanny for several families over the years.
As an early teenager, Keene had aspirations of becoming a fighter pilot for the U.S. Air Force but he developed myopia in his senior year of high school which derailed hopes of a military career. Instead, he joined the local volunteer fire department of his home town. After only a year, he suffered a line-of-duty crushing and degloving injury that resulted in the loss of his right foot below-the-knee. After extensive rehabilitation, Keene chose to continue to serve as a firefighter for another eight years before moving to Florida in 1998. 
Keene received his BS degree from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York in Biology with an undeclared minor in Chemistry. He also studied foreign language, linguistics, and semantics. While in college, Keene grew to love literature and the written word.
In 1998, Keene accepted a paid internship at Disney's Epcot as a horticultural science and hydroponics technician. There, he worked both behind the scenes and in the greenhouses at the Land Pavilion caring for the hydroponic plants and giving "Behind the Seeds" tours for Disney guests.
One year later, in February 1999, he became a public school teacher in Central Florida. He has taught 8th grade science of varying subjects including forensics and physical science. He also taught ecology, astronomy, biology, marine science, and chemistry at the high school level as a veteran teacher.
He began writing professionally in 2016 after having attended the Evangelical College & Seminary in Plant City, Florida. It was there that Keene was tasked with writing a textual criticism arguing for the inclusion of the story of the adultress in the Book of John (John 8:2-11). After researching, Keene was preoccupied with this unnamed woman's mysteries and began writing a fictional novel about her life.
==Career==
Keene penned the manuscript that would become Pericope: a novel of an adultress in 2016. After learning about Word Weavers International, he served as president of both the Tampa and South Florida Chapters. With their guidance, he crafted his first novel into something worthy of his readers' attention. It was published by WordCrafts Press in April 2022. Pericope also gathered the attention of the Christian Small Publishers Association winning the 2023 Christian Indie Award for first place in historical fiction. Pericope also took 3rd place at the BookFest Book Awards in 2023.
 
After experiencing success with Pericope, Keene went on to write a second award-winning biblical fiction novel titled Yamin: a novel of a demoniac. A third book is expected to close out the trilogy of novels that serve to bring unnamed biblical characters to life.
During this time, Keene explored several other genres of writing including nonfiction, Christian devotional, and memoir-anthology. 
His true crime book Under the Rainbow, tells the story of how the famous ruby slippers, the most expensive Hollywood prop in history, were stolen and then recovered 13 years later. It was released by WordCrafts Press in October 2022. It garnished an award in the category of nonfiction at the Florida Christian Writers Conference in the same month. 
In 2021, Keene made a deal with the historical and cultural preservation non-profit entity Long Island Traditions to give his first publication, From the Edge of the Marsh away as a gift to new members. From the Edge of the Marsh is a memoir-anthology that explores growing up at a bay house on the salt marshes of Long Island's southern shore. This humorous, wisdom-filled collection of stories and memories from a by-gone era is told from the unique perspective of a bay house.
Keene's devotional, also published by WordCrafts Press, entitled When the Other Boot Drops was created to help those who have suffered traumatic injury and are attempting to return to a new normal life. In it, he shares wisdom through his own personal experience of being injured while fighting a fire in New York. 
==Recurring Themes==
Keene's historical fiction is known for his ability to arouse all the senses and have readers feel the authentic portrayal of unnamed biblical characters. Reviewers praise his well-researched and beautifully accentuated descriptions of ancient life in first century Israel. His other genres are consistently praised for their ability to keep readers turning pages well beyond their bedtimes.
==Personal Life==
Keene lives with his wife Andria and adult daughter in South Florida. His son and daughter both attend college in the field of performing arts. In addition to writing books, Keene still teaches high school science. He spends his free time exploring the outside world with his wife.
==Bibliography==
==="Go and Sin No More" Series===
* Pericope: a novel of an adultress, 2022, WordCrafts Press
* Yamin: a novel of a demoniac, 2023, WordCrafts Press
===Other Genres===
* From the Edge of the Marsh, 2021, Long Island Traditions
* Under the Rainbow, 2022, WordCrafts Press
==Awards and Recognition==
* 2017 Florida Tapestry Award (Pericope: a novel of an adultress)
* 2022 Christian Indie Award (Pericope: a novel of an adultress)
* 2022 Florida Christian Writers Conference (Word Weavers International) Award (Yamin: a novel of demoniac)
* 2022 Florida Christian Writers Conference (Word Weavers International) Award (Killing Jesus (unpublished))
* 2022 Florida Christian Writers Conference (Word Weavers International) Award (Under the Rainbow)
* 2023 The BookFest Book Awards ((Pericope: a novel of an adultress)
Category:1970 births
Category:American authors
Category:American people
Category:Teachers