Makayla Heckman

Makayla Heckman was born and raised in Cedar Knolls in the west end of Houston, Texas. At a very young age she was naturally an elementary school teacher and, by 9th grade, was a grade school principal. When it comes to reading she’s an active reader. The thing that I love the most about her is that she doesn’t mind reading for pleasure. She likes to read and will talk about the books she reads the most. Her reading tastes are very varied but she strives to read in whatever genre is a current bestseller. In her spare time she loves yoga and going to the gym. She’s a redhead and she’s very adventurous about her clothing choices. She considers herself to be healthy, well balanced and has no chronic illness that she’s currently battling.

She lives with her husband Steve and her three kids.

What did you do before you became a professional writer?

I started with the idea of being a cartoonist and I got to the point where I really got my voice and my way with words by going to 3rd grade, when I started drawing a picture for my science teacher. My art teacher at that time was Ms. Wosea Sutton, and she gave me this drawing and said that I looked like a cartoon and she gave me the confidence to go on through elementary schools. I taught fifth grade spelling arts for three years before I went to University to be in the school of hard knocks. To say I was a good student would be an understatement, because if I could’ve gone there I would’ve gone crazy.

The good thing is that my high school teachers never criticized me for being different or for making my decisions by myself. Sometimes I did get suspended or had a student who was on special education. But the main thing was I never got hurt. They were pretty hard-hitting on me too and I got them to give me a little grounding in trying new things, but they also had great teaching careers that they wanted to teach. I like that. Being smart but also loving it wasn’t only about hard work and responsibility, it’s just about something that has a lot of value in life: working hard.

What is the name of your first publication?