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!