RICO AUSTIN - INTERVIEW

Q - Rico, you are a man of many passions-an awardwinning Author, hold a PHD, travel non-stop and now a new business venture. How do you do it all?

A - Answer – Yes, I do like to keep moss from gathering on my boots. Well, the short answer is I’m a Gemini, born on the 4th of June which is ultimately the center of the Gemini chart and, no I’m not one of those star / galaxy guys who reads his horoscope every morning before shaving. I’m not even sure what my birthstone is??? Something blue or white, clear or turquoise maybe? Now for the long, windy answer: as a child my world was pretty limited growing up in the small town of Marsing, Idaho along the banks of the Snake River. I was the oldest of five boys and my Dad wasn’t around much, and then he unfortunately died at a very young age, so my mother pretty much raised us by herself. In order to pay the trailer house rent, the propane, put food on the table, all of us boys started working at an early age – milking cows, mowing lawns, feeding cattle, selling greeting cards, flower and garden seeds, shining shoes, sorting pop bottles, stocking shelves late at night, detasseling corn, changing sprinkler pipes, rolling bales of hay, picking up rocks out of fields, sacking groceries, picking fruit in the orchards – basically anything we could do, we did it. If anyone needed anything done, they would hire one of the Austin boys. So, all I wanted to do when I grew up was to see the world, get a college education, someday own a company or land and move to a warm state where in the winter I wouldn’t have to slip on ice and land on my ass and most of all, to make my mother proud of her eldest son. After my mother met a good man and remarried, I enrolled in college. I have been blessed to have earned my first degree at the age of 26 – an associate degree in Sales and Marketing from Boise State University and of getting to play one year on the Boise State Football team as a walk-on player, a year before the famous Blue Turf of which there is a full chapter on that subject in my bestselling novel, MY BAD TEQUILA about a Spring Break Trip gone bad that spans for 50 years of poor decisions. I continued my education over the years including earning an MBA from Thunderbird, American Graduate School of

International Business and YES, finally a PhD in Tequila! Yes, that is a real thing of which less than 800 people in the world have. My motto, “I wasn’t drinking, I was studying,” when I’m asked about how much tequila I drank to get that degree. So, in finale, the answer is that I want to experience life to the fullest and feel thankful and blessed, and I thank GOD for this crooked road that led to one of the most incredible adventures I could not have imagined.

Q - What started you on the book journey?

A - As a child I’ve always loved to read. The books I read took me too far away lands and introduced me to people I had never heard about and worlds I had never dreamed about. I liked to write and to take photographs, but it was always a hobby as I was told by my mother that it would never pay the bills when once in a great while I might mention my dream of becoming a writer or a photographer. I was able to satisfy my writing and photography hunger by being elected the 4-H Reporter of the Eager Beavers and serving as the Reporter all three years in FFA (Future Farmers of America). Then many years later in 1996 while attending graduate school I was frustrated by the horrible method of how enrollment was being done and wrote an article about it in the school newspaper – Das Tor and it was put on the front page. The editor asked me if I wanted to write for the paper and I told him I already had two jobs, but he convinced me that I could write as little or as much as I wanted and would get paid by the article of which I could choose – voila, thus began my love again for writing and late one night after drinking mucho tequila on December 18th, 2007, I saddled up and began writing my first novel MY BAD TEQUILA of which a memorable Spring Break in 1986 occurred. My one and only Spring Break Trip for a cost of $200 included the bus trip from Boise, Idaho to San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. It was the first time I’d ever come through Arizona and seen a live cactus and fell in love with the beauty of the desert.

Rico with his first book and New BAJARRIBA Tequila

Q - You have published a wide-variety of books-How does someone go about publishing a book with today’s technologies?

A - Yes, I have several genres of books I’ve written and luckily in today’s world many writers have the opportunity to self-publish their books or to find small publishers who for a fee will do the work for the new author. Years ago, writers were at the mercy of the big publishers and if the person reading the manuscript did not find it interesting or entertaining then the manuscript was never heard of or printed. It was a lousy system that only a handful of persons controlled what was published and again everything favors the publisher, so it is extremely rare for anyone to make the big bucks or get the million-dollar contract such as my fellow author friend Diana Gabaldon – wrote the Outlander Series which was picked up by SHOWTIME. So proud of her and her art of writing.

Q - How do you decide when you have an idea worthy of a book?

A - I believe if I find something interesting and present it in a well written form that others too will find the same thing worthy of their interest. There are so many ideas I have for books, just don’t have the time with my full-time Sales Manager position covering the 13 Western states and El Paso, TX. I do try to write at least every other night or third night when on the road in my hotel room, it does help keep me out of the honky-tonks every other night.

Q - You’ve had a few folks look to option your work to create a screen play for the movies. How does that work?

A - In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a production company, a movie studio, or an individual) and the author of the material such as a book or screen play for an exclusive, but temporary, right to purchase the screenplay, given the film producer lives up to the terms of the contract for a specified time frame, let’s say two years and if nothing moves forward then author / writer keeps the option money, usually a few thousand dollars and her / his work is now free to seek other alternatives or another option. I have written a couple of screen plays from my books as continued on page 48 someday my dream will come true of having one or more of my books adapted onto the silver screen.

Q - Tell us about your newest book-

A - It is titled BOY to Successful MAN, a Roadmap for Teens & Young Adults and was just published this last June 2021. I began writing this project late 2011, nearly 10 years of writing, rewriting, adding chapters, etcetera. It was quite different writing for me as this was not a fun write, but one that I felt like I needed / obligated to pen as a pay-it-forward sort of contrivance because I’ve been blessed as a human being and man to be living such a grand, beautiful life with many great friends and family. Growing up I always wondered why I was born into a poor family. I didn’t envy my friends, just puzzled and wanted always to better myself. This book was written to help anyone who feels misunderstood, for anyone who feels angry, for anyone who feels lost – this book is for you. There is no shame in feeling trapped or confused by the expectations for you to grow from a boy into a man. This book is a tool to give young men great lives, no matter their circumstances. For instance, the chapters consist of everything from Chapter One - Accepting Responsibility; Chapter Four - Common Sense; Chapter Eight - Manners; Chapter Eleven – Education; Chapter Fourteen – Bathroom Etiquette; Chapter Twenty-Two – Get Involved and Volunteer; Chapter TwentyFour – Attitude and Gratitude; Chapter Twenty-Five – Proverbs Remembered and Restored. Basically, this book is everything I wished that I had been told while growing up, some of it I was taught, some I was not. “A grand life is when you assume nothing, take responsibility, do more, need less, dream large, laugh often and realize how blessed YOU are!” – Rico Austin

Q - You have won several awards as an Author. What is your secret?

A - I write about what I know, what interests me, and I do my absolute best to offer the best novel, book, short story there is. I want my readers to feel that they chose the right book to read after finishing one of my stories. I am proud of the writing awards I’ve won, including being chosen in 2016 as “one of the top 50 great writers you should be reading,” but what brings me the greatest reward if when I read a 5 Star Review about one of my books or someone comes up to me at a book signing or at a restaurant and tells me that my book or story was one of the best they’ve ever read. Now that warms a writer’s heart. If you don’t mind, I’d love to offer this excerpt from a short story I did several years ago since this is a horse magazine and it fits the narrative: “I have always longed to live in a time and place where if you had a quick gun and an even faster horse, your chances of surviving the hot, desert climate, renegades and outlaws were greatly increased. I am living that dream: where cowgirls, horses, saloons, cacti and tequila abound. When my time on Earth is no more, I want to be buried in my boots, six feet under, covered with Arizona soil that is warm to the touch.”

Q - A new project you have been working on is a boutique brand of Tequila. Please tell us a bit about this new project.

A - YES, so pleased you asked about this as I am over-the-top intoxicated (pun intended) about our new BAJARRIBA Tequila which translates loosely to Bottoms Up! Our three founding partners, Jay Nance, Michael Hill and I – Tres Cabo Amigos are extremely excited to share our love for Baja in a bottle which has a unique design of the shape of the Baja upside down, so when pouring or drinking out of the bottle, the tequila is coming out of the southern-most tip – Cabo. This tequila represents many good times amongst three friends who have Cabo San Lucas, México in common and a passion for some of the most exquisite tequila available in the world. If the term “Caboholic” resonates with you, then you too will understand what it is like to bounce around on the Baja roads visiting some of the most popular beach locations designated on our front label. Whether you are a cowboy, fisherman, farmer, an off-road racer, a traveler of dirt roads, a sailor, surfer, or just a fan of great tequila, we welcome you to share the exceptional taste of BAJARRIBA Tequila! Since our inception we have taken on two other minor partners (no, not that kind of minor, they are both over age of 21) – Mr. Jim Riley, a former Baja 1000 winning racer and he had his own tequila line in the past. The other newest partner is a Cave Creek, Arizona local celebrity and former All-Star Basketball Player – Mr. Tom Chambers who had his number retired with the Phoenix Suns. We are planning and hoping to launch in Cabo San Lucas on Saturday, February 5th through the 12th at various venues. Then again, we will introduce it locally, here in the Phoenix / Scottsdale / Cave Creek areas in March and April 2022. You are all kindly invited to attend.

Q - Deploying social media is harder than it looks. What tips can you offer folks trying to promote themselves online?

A - Social-Media is an incredible tool for authors, artists, real estate agents as well as businesses and non-profit organizations if used correctly. I actually wrote a couple of personal how-to marketing books about this very subject – Author, Artist & Anyone’s Personal Marketing Guide, Financial Success with 11 Proven Promotions including Blogs and Social-Media, the other book is tailored more toward Entrepreneurs and Realtors. I believe one of the most important things to remember is to be yourself. Don’t try to be that gal or guy that you believe everyone tries to emulate. Be true to yourself and don’t be fake. There is only one you, perfect yourself because everyone else is taken. Secondly, I would advise that self-promotion should not be uncomfortable. Don’t push your product or service. Use it as a tool to help others while smiling and having fun. Thirdly, value matters most, not how many years you’ve been in the industry. One of the worst things a person can do when selfpromoting is to tell about all the past experience and years they’ve been in the biz. Self-promotion is about value not experience. And these last two tips of which I absolutely live by, (1) is to be excited about your product, your service, your art. If you’re not excited about it, how can you expect others to share in the excitement. (2) Do not take yourself too seriously and give your ego a rest. Have fun with your interactions, not only sharing serious articles, but also fun, entertaining stories and photographs. No one wants to purchase a boring butler’s artwork or book. Make fun of yourself once in a while. Heck, I make fun of myself and post some of the most unflattering photos of moi. It tends to make you more approachable and likable.

Q - Where can one find out more about Rico Austin and his books?

A - I want to Thank You and Bridle and Bit for this interview and the opportunity to mention where your loyal readers can find more about our BAJARRIBA Tequila at www.bajarriba.com and where to purchase on-line, in stores or ….. My novels and books can be found on my personal website www.ricoaustin.com which will take them to my Amazon site. And www.brileybaxterbooks.com/ author-rico-austin/ Also, available on-line at www.BarnesAndNoble. com ; www.BooksAMillion.com ; and www.Target.com ; Rico Austin PhD, author, writer, philosopher, free spirit and tequila connoisseur.