An Eagle Scout and veteran science teacher, Derrick Neill was born in Tucson in 1958 but considers Sierra Vista, Arizona, his hometown. He has a B.S. from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and an M.A. from United States International University in San Diego. From playing the lead in dinner theater comedy and leading a month-long wilderness backpacking expedition for the National Outdoor Leadership School, to studying wild killer whales in the Puget Sound and scaling the heights of Califor...
 

An Eagle Scout and veteran science teacher, Derrick Neill was born in Tucson in 1958 but considers Sierra Vista, Arizona, his hometown. He has a B.S. from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and an M.A. from United States International University in San Diego. From playing the lead in dinner theater comedy and leading a month-long wilderness backpacking expedition for the National Outdoor Leadership School, to studying wild killer whales in the Puget Sound and scaling the heights of California's Mt. Whitney, he enjoys a wide variety of pastimes. A SAMLA Middle Level Educator of the Year and NAU Distinguished Education Alumni Award winner, he still makes Sierra Vista his home base where he teaches in a public middle school. His first novel, "Adventures In Spacetime," was published by Dan River Press in 1996. His second novel, "Duck Egg Blue," was published by Prometheus Books in 1999. Since that book’s release, Derrick has been busy with speaking engagements from California to Texas, across the Southwest, educating groups about First Amendment issues including censorship, religious discrimination, and the creationism versus evolution controversy. His latest adventure was cage-diving with great white sharks for the launch episode of Dreamchasers, a new reality TV series on A&E. And oh yes, he also loves photography.