Life & Work with Randy Overbeck of Lebanon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Randy Overbeck

Hi Randy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
For 40 years, I served children as a teacher, college prof and school leader, earning rich experiences and collecting stories along the way. As an educator, I earned several state and national awards including National Teacher Leader Award from Reading Recovery of North America.. Near the conclusion of my academic career, I turned to my earlier passion, storytelling, which migrated to second act as a novelist. Since 2010, I have focused on this endeavor with some success. To date, I’ve had five books published, all by small presses. I have been humbled and thrilled by the reception my fiction has attained. Collectively, these five titles have earned twelve national awards including Thriller of the Year from ReadersFavorite, Best Book from Chanticleer Reviews, and the Gold Award from Literary Titan, Mystery of the Year from ReaderViews. Two of my novels have achieved bestselling status. BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE became the #1 Bestseller on both Amazon and B & N in 2021. A month later, the second book in the series, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY became the #2 bestselling ghost story in the US. My newest work, ABIGAIL TRENCH, REBEL SPY has been picked up by the WordWise Media Literary Agency, who is currently shopping it to major publishers.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
None of the accomplishments I have achieved have occurred without having to overcome challenges. In my career in education, I have lost my job twice, a not uncommon fate when you speak truth to power. As difficult as this was–at one point I had a wife and three young children and no projected income–I found each time this obstacle led me to a better, more rewarding position, though I don’t want to diminish the anxiety and angst I had to manage to get to the other side.
As a writer, I’ve had more than my share of challenges as well. My first attempts at fiction were all met with failure as my work was turned down by agent after agent. Even the books which did find their way to print had to overcome significant obstacles.. BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE, which won three national awards and became a #1 bestseller, was turned down by 100 agents! Talk about dealing with rejection. I had confidence in the story and kept pushing forward and the novel eventually found a home with the Wild Rose Press of New York, after 18 months of trying. It took me almost twenty years to bring my newest work, CRUEL LESSONS, to print, in part because my earlier attempts weren’t good enough and publishers and agents weren’t interested. Then, once finished and perfected, the novel became the Mystery of the Year!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For years, my work was school and everything associated with this. Besides teaching high school and college students, I spent 28 years running four different school districts as superintendent or assistant superintendent. In each role I was committed to doing everything I could to enrich the lives of children and my community. In my second act, as I like to say, I’m a full fledged novelist with six completed novels and one on the way. But I also found out I have to do all my own marketing and promotion for my works. As such, I maintain a very active social media presence (X, Facebook and Instagram, mostly) and do a considerable amount of personal promotion as well. In the past four years, I’ve done more than 300 book events and have become a speaker in much demand. In 2024, 33 groups and organizations hosted me at a get-together or meeting. I have been asked to speak all over the US, from Michigan to Florida and New Jersey to California..My latest effort at building my brand has been my podcast, Great Stories about Great Storytellers, where I share the unusual and sometimes strange backstories of famous authors, directors and poets. Since 2022,,the podcast has been climbing in popularity, now with thousands of downloads.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Through my five decades of work, I’ve discovered there is always more I need to learn. Each time I reach a peak and achieve some goal, I learn there is another, higher goal to work for.
In my work as an educator, I learned that children are our community’s most valuable resource and investments in them are never wasted. A dollar spent to help a first grader learn to read will pay society back 400% in dollars saved in welfare and prison expenses.
At each level and for each endeavor, I discovered I must work my own plan and commit myself to my goal, whether that be raising the math scores of a district or getting my next novel published. Although I recognize and value of the collaboration and support of those I work with, it is my drive and my dedication which will largely decide my success….or failure.
I never stop at “No.” It is really true that when God closes a door, He opens a window–though you may have to shimmy and squeeze through the opening. I’ve come to learn one rejection is just one step closer to a “Yes.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.authorrandyoverbeck.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorrandyoverbeck/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorrandyoverbeck
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/OverbeckRandy/media