Rick Ainsworth was born and
raised in Denver, Colorado. A writer
from a young age, he wrote stories about what he saw around him, until his
mother told him not to say those things about the neighbors!
He was a restless youth and
joined the US Navy at 17, serving as a signalman in the Pacific Fleet. Rick had always wanted to be a “blue-water
sailor,” and being assigned to the South China Sea, visiting islands in the US
Trust territories, and spending his 21st birthday ashore in Hong
Kong fit that description. We hope
someday to persuade him to write an account of that evening.
After four years in the Navy,
he settled in Southern California and was educated at Citrus College and
LaVerne College (now University of LaVerne). After many years in the mortgage
business in Orange County, CA, where he was president of the Orange County
Mortgage Brokers Assn, he and his wife moved to the wide open skies of
Nevada. It was here he published his
first two novels, both based on his experiences as a young man in the Navy. His first novel, Thunder and Storm: The
Haverfield Incident, was awarded the 2007 Indie Excellence Award for Historical
Fiction and was a finalist for the Best Books 2006 Historical Fiction award.
Mr. Ainsworth’s second novel, Murder on Pratas Reef, was released September,
2007 and was a finalist for the Best Books 2007 Historical Fiction award.
Rick
has written 20 novels, including a series of detective/police procedural
stories called the Deavers Files, a political thriller, American Dictator, a
trilogy, and several other exciting stories. He has also written several essays
on lessons of American history, geared toward younger readers.
He currently resides in
Henderson, NV with his wife, Therese, and their dachshunds. Rick enjoys cooking, reading and playing with
the dogs, as well as watching football – especially Notre Dame!