After growing up in the Midwest, Mecklin enrolled at Indiana University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
He then matriculated at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, graduating in 1993 with a master's degree in public administration.
Mecklin became consulting executive editor for the launch of Key West Magazine from December 2005 to March 2006.
[4] Under his guidance, journalists of the publications he managed won: During his tenure at SF Weekly, Mecklin began working on his roman à clef High Stakes Texas Bingo.
Bush, focuses on the machinations of Jackie Belfast (real name: Terry O'Rourke), a Democrat and attorney who, after a stint in President Jimmy Carter's White House and a subsequent period in California, returned to Houston to face off with his rival, Bingo Satwell (real name: Harris County Commissioner "Boss" Bob Eckels).