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Bio
Beck McDowell is a former high school AP English teacher who lives in Huntsville, AL. Her YA thriller THIS IS NOT A DRILL will be published by Nancy Paulsen Books of Penguin Group, USA in Fall, 2012. THIS IS NOT A DRILL tells the story of two teens who must protect the first graders they’re tutoring from a soldier, just returned from Iraq and suffering from PTSD, who pulls a gun when he’s not allowed to check out his son. Beck also previously wrote a non-fiction book LAST BUS OUT, the true story of Courtney Miles, a boy from the projects who “stole” a bus and drove over 300 people out of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, which is sold as a print-on-demand and e-book.
As a teacher, she helped promote good books through a website she built with her students called NotRequiredReading.com – with student reviews of over 50 books and student-made trailers linked to a NRR YouTube site. Her mission in life is finding "the right book for each reader” and nothing makes her happier than for a student to say, "This is the best book I ever read," or "I never liked reading until I took your class." She feels very lucky that her former students still chat with her about books on Facebook and Twitter (almost 2000 of them) and stop by her porch (not all at one time) to talk about life and love and literature.
She started writing years ago for junior high, high school, and college newspapers, but began her first book, strangely, while completing the tough requirements for National Board teaching certification. Writing creatively late at night was her way of winding down after teaching all day, then working on a structured 200 page document about her teaching techniques. Now she’s writing, traveling, and talking about reading at high schools, libraries, and conferences. She especially loved speaking on a panel this summer at the American Library Association conference in New Orleans. It’s her hometown and still her favorite place on the planet (especially during Mardi Gras when she turns into a total bead maniac). |
