Today we’d like to introduce you to Beck Leavesley.
Hi Beck, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have grown up surrounded by the stories of bestselling authors; stories that usually start with “I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a writer …” That is not how my story started. Being homeschooled, I was an avid reader growing up, but I never thought to put pen to paper until I read the book, “‘Til We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis. When my long distance friend told me she was writing a book for one of her classes that year, I decided it might be a good idea to try my own hand at writing, channeling the adventure and drama that I loved from Lewis’s work. That book I started writing in 2019 would later become my debut novel, Noontide.
For the next three years, writing was my hobby, but never my craft. I took college classes in high school for Graphic Design, not English. I started my career as a piano teacher, not an author. I wrote six days a week, every week, for almost three and a half years straight. Noontide went through multiple drafts and dozens of rounds of reader feedback, but it never saw the light of day.
However, I graduated high school in the spring of 2023 and decided to take a gap year. Not only to figure out my future academic plans, but specifically to self-publish my book. That year, I downloaded Instagram for the first time and put my Graphic Design skills to use by teaching myself social media marketing, video editing, and how to grow an audience for my unreleased novel. My first social media post was in the Spring of 2024. Since then, my audience has grown to 60k+ followers across platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
In the Spring of 2024, I decided I was done writing my book, I wanted to publish it. However, I needed a professional editor to ensure my manuscript was actually fit for the public. I applied to the Sunset Project’s Sawyer J. Boyd Creatives Grant and won the full $2k scholarship to hire an editor for my novel. The editor that I reached out to and wanted to work with me is the same editor who worked on popular YA series such as “The Hunger Games.”
I published my debut novel “Noontide” in June 2025. It was a whirlwind of emotions as I saw the sales climb and my precious work reach Number 1 New Release on Amazon in multiple genres and categories. Since then, I’ve continued my work on social media and am in the middle of readying the sequel, “Isolate 44”, for publishing.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Learning to self-publish my debut novel was extremely difficult. There were moments, all the way up to release day and even during the launch, that I questioned if any of it was worth it.
While I love everything about the act of writing, learning the ins and outs of independent publishing was the most difficult part of the process. My book almost didn’t even go live on release day because of complications with Amazon! I spent hours on phone calls, Google, and reaching out to other professionals to try and prepare myself for launch day, but even the utmost amount of preparation is not always sufficient. Even with everything on my checklist, there were still things I missed and had to do without on launch day.
And beyond the technical side of publishing, nothing prepares you for the moment your book is finally open to the public. I wish I had known just how bittersweet that would be. Seeing something I quite literally spent years on, now living in the public sphere of criticism and consumerism, is a strange feeling. Though it sounds a little deranged to say it, part of me will always have my own personal version of Noontide that never got published living in my mind. I see my book in readers’ hands, in their social media posts, and on Amazon, but even months later, it doesn’t truly feel like my book. One of the most difficult parts of being an artist is learning to let go, and I still find myself clinging to a time when the book was never published. I would never change a thing, but I do wish I would have known just how difficult the aftermath would be.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an author, which means I get the special privilege of weaving words together to transport readers to another time, place, and adventure. Specifically, I am known for my stories being full of adventure, secrets, magic, and light summer settings.
The thing that I am most proud of, and what sets my books apart from others in the same genre, is my commitment to keep my books clean. If I am writing a book that is targeted to the Young Adult audience (ages 13-17), that story will not feature explicit sexual content. I even stray away from any vulgar or shocking material that might be common in books for that age range. I enjoy writing stories that draw readers in to the characters’ lives, motivations, and beliefs, in the hopes that I can challenge their thinking about themselves, others, and the world they live in. I believe in letting the themes of the story speak for themselves and I place a high priority in a story’s ability to practically apply itself to real world issues.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Anyone who knew me growing up will tell you two things about Beck Leavesley:
1. She is stubborn.
2. She is passionate.
When I was a kid, I was loud, talkative, and oftentimes abrasive. While I enjoy my alone time (and more so now than when I was a child), I am an extrovert at heart. I’ve always enjoyed leading group projects, giving my two cents on anything resembling a topic of opinion, and sharing what I’m passionate about.
Not many people would have expected that my extroverted nature would have chosen to pursue a career in writing, a craft that is extremely isolating. But I have found quite a large community in my hometown through the Sunset Project and with my online audience through my work on social media. When I was a kid, my two biggest interests were art and people. Now, with my work in writing and social media, I get to work in a beautiful landscape of both.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beckleavesley.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckleavesley/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572562653573
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beckleavesley
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@beckleavesley
