About Rick
Rick Marcum’s prior business experience includes financial advisor, real estate consultant and government liaison in Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. His experience with government included downsizing initiatives at both the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Energy. During his capacity as executive director of the Northern New Mexico Regional Development Corporation, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he became immersed in the multicultural aspects, history, and politics of northern New Mexico. His organization’s mission was to manage a U.S. Department of Energy federal grant to promote economic diversification. During a visit to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, he met a scientist who made some dramatic claims regarding artificial intelligence. That meeting was the genesis of WEST TEXAS CRUDE, A NOVEL, published in 2016.
Rick holds a bachelor’s degree in banking and finance from Texas Tech University. Rick was once an avid Scuba diving instructor and eventually became a partner with a dive operation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. While teaching Scuba, he had a student who became his best friend forever, and now wife, Johnene. After living in Rosarito, Mexico for 20 months, they returned in November, 2022 to reside in Panama City, Florida.
They have traveled extensively throughout the world, mostly in South America, but also Europe, South Africa, China, and Russia. From those travels Rick and Johnene have many amazing experiences and memories. Rick has developed a page within this site that list the link pages so the viewer can see these amazing places and cultures. One of Rick's favorite authors, Mark Twain is quoted as saying, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness."
(To view videos of tour travels, click here.)
Rick’s first novel, MESSAGE OF THE LOCUST, was published in 1988 and like his novel, WEST TEXAS CRUDE, A NOVEL published in 2015, is available online. (see MENU below, "Contact and autographed purchases").
Early in 2017 while attending the Miami Book Fair, Rick met up with Ana Benitez and Ron Karasz, developers of a new website, https://www.StoryRocket.com. The site strives to connect movie producers and agents to new writers. Both of Rick's books and full feature film script, titled, BLUE BAYOU, are listed on the StoryRocket.com site, in numerous genres.