Michael McDowell – författare

Reclaim student attention with interval-based instruction

Struggling with student disengagement and dwindling attention spans in your classroom? You're not alone. To meet the needs of today’s learners, teachers must find ways to transform instruction into a more dynamic and engaging experience.

In The Attention Gap, author Michael McDowell tackles these urgent challenges head-on, proposing a new, actionable framework—the Interval Instruction Approach (IIA)—to reshape the rhythm of your classroom. Inspired by interval training and grounded in cognitive science, this approach alternates short bursts of direct instruction with immediate, active student practice to build focus, boost motivation, and make learning stick.

This book will help you:

Discover how to create a classroom where all students can improve, not just in effort or engagement, but in actual growth. This innovative guide will help you invigorate your instruction, get you and your students working in tandem, and transform your classroom dynamics for lasting student success.

Author Michael McDowell, known for his chilling Blackwater series, left behind the unfinished manuscript of Candles Burning upon his death in 1999. His close friend, Tabitha King, has taken up where he left off, weaving a Southern gothic fabric of murder, guilt, innocence, corruption, and survival, in the voices of the living and the dead.

Seven-year-old Calley Dakin is daddy’s little girl, but her well-born mother persists in her contempt for the Dakin name. When her daddy is tortured and murdered by two women with no discernible motivation, Calley and her mother find themselves caught up in inexplicable events that exile them to Pensacola Beach. There, another woman awaits their presence, a woman who knows what Calley is and who seeks to control her—for Calley is no ordinary little girl.

Brought to you by Penguin.Discover the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies soldAs the dark and menacing waters of the local river submerge Perdido, a small town in the south of Alabama, the Caskeys - a family of rich landowners - must confront the tide of damage caused by the flood. Led by Mary-Love, the powerful matriarch, and by Oscar, her devoted son, the family must pick itself back up. But what they haven''t anticipated is the sudden appearance of Elinor Dammert - a mysterious but seductive young woman with a troubling past. Her sole ambition appears to be to infiltrate the very heart of the Caskey clan...''RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT'' STEPHEN KING''Beyond any trace of a doubt, one of the absolutely best writers of horror'' Peter Straub''One of the genre’s most underrated writers'' Poppy Z. Brite‘His wonderfully conversational style made it feel as if he was imparting a terrible piece of gossip while describing all manner of disturbing events…. his wonderful six volume ''Blackwater'' saga chronicles a fifty year period in the lives of the Caskey family, whose women bear a strange affinity for running water, and whose vengeance knows no bounds…constructed for maximum page-turning efficiency’ Christopher, Fowler© Michael McDowell 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Brought to you by Penguin.The second book in the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies soldPerdido, Alabama, has scarcely recovered from the floods that devasted the community. Now a scheme to build a levee is dogged by a series of mysterious events: unpredictable currents in the river, worrying disappearances. Meanwhile in the Caskey family, Marie-Love, the matriarch, continues her machinations against Elinor, her strange daughter in law. Plots, unholy alliances, sacrifices - in the struggle between them, nothing is off limits. In Perdido, the changes will be profound; the consequences irreversible.''RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT'' STEPHEN KING© Michael McDowell 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Brought to you by Penguin.The third book in the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies soldPerdido, 1928. Torn apart by the continuing tensions between Mary-Love and her daughter-in-law Elinor, the Caskey family must also confront other crises. As the economy plummets and relationships sour, something sinister is prowling the darkest recesses of the Caskey household. Patient, implacable, waiting to catch its next victim in its deadly web…''RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT'' STEPHEN KING© Michael McDowell 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Brought to you by Penguin.Discover the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies soldA new era has begun for the Caskey family.Elinor’s relentless determination and the years of struggle are finally beginning to bear fruit: old hostilities have faded and the town is ripe for change. The conflict in Europe has brought new blood to Perdido, men arriving from far afield wanting to ingratiate themselves with the powerful family.But tangling with the Caskeys comes at a cost, and soon they must ask themselves how close is too close…''RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT'' STEPHEN KING© Michael McDowell 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Brought to you by Penguin.The fifth book in the gothic horror phenomenon that is sweeping across Europe, with over 2 million copies soldIn Perdido, Alabama, the Caskey family have endured; some face death whilst others welcome new life. Unexpected alliances have formed, bitter conflict divides former friends. Hardened by years of experience, Miriam, now head of the family business, is relentless in her pursuit of wealth. And when she makes a surprising discovery beneath their lands, it is not just the Caskey family that benefits, but the whole town.But will this sudden fortune be enough to lay to rest the ghosts of the past? And how long before nature comes to reclaim its debt?''RIVETING, TERRIFYING...JUST ABSOLUTELY GREAT'' STEPHEN KING© Michael McDowell 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024