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WILMINGTON, NC, -- Rico Austin, author of 'My Bad Tequila', has been named as a finalist in the '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' Book Awards Contest. His honors came as a result of his appearance on The Authors Show. Rico Austin was chosen from a field of hundreds of authors through a public voting process. 'My Bad Tequila' details one man's epic journey across two continents and four countries with 50 years of adventure. But 1986 changed everything forever, when one event devastated the lives of 19 students, three chaperones and one bus driver. Was it the tequila?

"I wrote this book," Austin stated, "because I had to purge myself of this fateful Spring Break trip of 1986. I felt the need to share the perils of binge drinking, engaging in irresponsible sex and what happens when college and high school students don't think twice about what happens when bad decisions are made and acted upon."

"Thinking about sending your 'Kids' to paradise unsupervised? THINK AGAIN."

"You'll see the true reflection of me when the tequila bottle is empty." - Rico Austin

Austin has won numerous writing awards throughout his writing career:

50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading - Winner 2016 of The Authors's Show 
Hollywood Book Festival - Honorable Mention (Wild Card genre 2011)
Readers Favorite Book Awards - Silver (Fiction - Mystery - General genre 2011)
Amazon eKindle - #1 Top Rated Kindle eBooks (Mexico Travel genre 2011)
"Five Parrots in a Palm Tree" - Superb Island Reading award 2011
#1 Book to Read, June 2011 - NY Professional Reviewer, Fran Lewis
Readers Favorite Book Awards - Finalist (Fiction - General genre 2011)
Arizona Authors Association - 3rd Place (Fiction Book of the Year 2011 - 2012)
London Book Festival - Honorable Mention (Wild Card genre 2012)
Los Angeles Book Festival - Honorable Mention (Wild Card genre 2011-2012)
New York Beach Book Festival - Honorable Mention (General Non-Fiction genre 2012)
New Mexico - Arizona Book Awards - Finalist (Fiction - Mystery genre 2012)
Bibliocracy.com - Author of the Month (June 2012)
Suspense Magazine - Review & Article (July 2012 issue)t
Book Town - February's Book of the Month (March 2013)

Austin is also the author of a number of other books:

'In the Shadow of ELVIS, Perils of a Ghostwriter' - Autobiography, Memoir; This is the true story of how and when Rico met the legitimate, illegitimate son of the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Mr. Elvis Presley. These are the trials and tribulations of ghostwriting John Dennis Smith's epic and incredible mystery of being adopted and discovering his birthright.

'ARIZONA Is Where I Live' - Children's book; ARIZONA Is Where I Live is a masterful and learning display of the Sonoran Desert, the mountains, the lakes, the Grand Canyon and of the animals that make Arizona one of the most unique and interesting states in the Union.

'Son of the KING, an ELVIS Paradox Unveiled' - Biography; This biography is the true story of Elvis the King of Rock n' Roll and his legitimate, illegitimate son. This book explores the relationships of those closest to Elvis Presley and the influences each of them had that kept Elvis from claiming his first born John Smith Presley.

'MEXICO Got LUCKY' - Non Fiction; Lucky, the most famous dog in all of Sonora, Mexico was dog napped on March 1st, 2014. Was it a prank gone bad by teenagers? Did it involve the ruthless, Sinaloa Drug Cartel, deadliest in the world? Or was it just a lowlife dog thief?

'Author, Artist & Anyone's Personal Marketing Guide: Financial Success with 11 Proven Promotions Including Blogs & Social Media' is Rico's sixth book.

'Entrepreneur, Realtor & Anyone's Personal Marketing Guide: Financial Success with 10 Proven Promotions Including Blogs & Social Media' was Rico's seventh book published.

'BAJA LOCO, 4 Racing Days & Tequila Nights on the NORRA Mexican 1000' - Memoir: This is the true adventure of the Azunia Tequila / General Tire race team and author Rico Austin's journey of the 2014 Mexican BAJA 1000 which was published this last November 2016.

"BABY TENDERLOVE" - Memoir; co written by Connie Austin & Rico Austin;  This is the true story of a young girl (Connie Turner Austin) & her doll by Mattel - BABY TENDERLOVE growing up and their adventures on a 600 acre farm in Northern Minnesota that her grandfather homesteaded over 100 years ago.  BABY TENDERLOVE won 3rd place in the Short Story / Essay category at Arizona Authors' Association 40th annual Literary Awards in 2018!

Members of the public who want to vote for Rico Austin in the '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' Book Awards can access his entry and vote at The Authors Show site at http://www.TheAuthorsShow.com. Rico Austin is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below, or by email at rico_thunderbird@yahoo.com. All of Austin's books are available at online retail book outlets. More information is available at Rico Austin's website at http://blog.mybadtequila.com.

Rico Austin earned an Associate Degree in Marketing and Sales from BSU. Rico moved to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and continued his education receiving a Bachelors of Business Administration in International Business at Grand Canyon University, named the "Outstanding International Business Graduate of 1995." That same year he was also selected as "Mr. Future Business Executive" at the State Leadership Conference which included all universities in the State of Arizona.

The summer before graduating, Rico went to Vilnius, Lithuania, and taught English (ESL). During fall semester of his senior year at GCU, Rico attended Staffordshire University in England where he also started on the American Football Team for the Staffordshire Stallions. Rico finished his Masters, an MBA in International Management at Thunderbird School of Global Management with a focus on the Latin America Region and the Spanish language. He appeared in a cameo appearance on Baywatch where he played the role of a drug lord.

Rico was selected for the May 19th, 2013 issue to represent Arizona in fellow author, Annette Synder's popular blog, Fifty Authors from Fifty States, which spotlights writing professionals across the Fifty United States. He was again chosen to represent his home state of Idaho on March 23rd, 2014, and was named for writing about Arizona on January 17th, 2016. Rico was also chosen from among several hundred writers and bloggers to help compile a booklet with 13 other prominent authors. 'How to Create Credibility as a Freelancer - 70 Tips from a Collection of Experts' was published in December 2009.