Born and raised in Chico, California, Ricky Hayes holds degrees in Journalism and Graphic Design, and has worked on the creative side of Web Development and Marketing for well over a decade. He is an award-winning poet and has been self-publishing for numerous years, even before Amazon acquired CreateSpace. He is the owner of Publisher's Brew, an aspiring author alliance established in 2022 for self-publishing authors, but he also maintains his passion for designing beautiful websites for clients.In January of 2009, Ricky's mom passed away from ALS, which he believes marked his life to begin pursuing writing more passionately, as she remained his greatest encouragement until leaving this world behind.Some of Ricky's favorite authors are Jules Verne, R. A. Salvatore, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Kenneth Grahame, and Paul Zindel.