DR. RANDY OVERBECK, Educator/Author (12-6-23)

DR. RANDY OVERBECK, a retired educator and now author from Ohio, will join us to discuss his career as an educator; how he uses his career experience to serve as tools for his writing; and all of his books. FROM HIS WEBSITE: "Before becoming a best-selling author, Dr. Randy Overbeck served a children for nearly four decades as a teacher, college professor and school leader, a career he cherished. This extensive and in-depth experience has infused his writing with a rare authenticity about the world of education, even as the protagonists of his tales tackle daunting, out-sized challenges.​ In his career, Dr. Overbeck has held a wide range of positions and has brought this knowledge and insight to the characters he has created. For example, he began his educational career as an English teacher and student newspaper adviser, much the same as Dee Dee Sterber, the heroine of Leave No Child Behind. (Leave No Child Behind, a thriller about the takeover of a small town school by a terrorist cell and the teacher who confronts the intruders in her own hallways, was published in 2011). Then, like Ken Parks, the assistant superintendent and protagonist in Cruel Lessons, Overbeck has also served in the role of school investigator, interrogating students and teachers in order to uncover the truth behind a crime at school. (Cruel Lessons, an atmospheric, amateur sleuth mystery about the death of four elementary students from a rogue hallucinogenic drug and the drive to uncover the murderer and drug dealer, is his newest work, released fall, of 2023). His doctoral studies instilled in Dr. Overbeck an enhanced skill set for research and analysis that inspired him to imbue the character of Darrell Henshaw, a history teacher and amateur researcher of the Haunted Shores Mysteries with similar abilities. This award-winning series includes Blood on the Chesapeake (2019), Crimson at Cape May (2020) and Scarlet at Crystal River (2021). A fourth installment is scheduled for release in 2024.” www.authorrandyoverbeck.com