Rick Shaw

About Rick Shaw

I tell lies to strangers and kill people for their entertainment. It took a while to come to terms with that. By day I’m a husband, a father of four, and a semi-retired technology executive who spent more than 35 years in higher education and publishing; by night I write science fiction, alternate history, and post-apocalyptic thrillers.

I believe, deeply, that everyone needs a cathartic release, something completely different from what pays the bills. For some it’s hiking, running marathons, or the rumble of a Road King with fellow bikers. A few years back, I turned to writing. Late in the evening, when the house is quiet, I slip on my headphones, turn up the music, and immerse myself in worlds, characters, and stories I hope will entertain you.

The Books

Published by 2FBooks.

Cover of The Tunguska Deception by Rick Shaw
Cover of Genesis Renewed by Rick Shaw
Cover of Oaths and Odysseys by Rick Shaw
Cover of The Gathering by Rick Shaw
  • The Tunguska Deception (2023): a stand-alone, cross-genre action adventure about what really happened over Siberia in 1908.
  • The Genesis Renewed Saga: a post-apocalyptic pandemic story set on the North American West Coast. Genesis Renewed (2023) and Oaths and Odysseys (2024) are out now, and Book 3, The Gathering, is coming soon.

My short fiction appears in Contact This! and From The Ashes from Bayonet Books, and in The Fifth Fedora. All of it is listed on my Books page. The novels are on Amazon in Kindle, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited. If you read one, please leave a review; it matters more than you’d think.

My Writing Communities

I owe a lot to other writers. Early on, the SFF Online Writers Workshop gave me an active, supportive place to grow, and I recommend it to any writer of science fiction, fantasy, or horror.

The Santa Barbara Writers Conference is the friendliest community of writers you’ll ever find. I attended for years before joining the faculty in 2024, where I offer indie publishing consultations and facilitate read-and-critique sessions. If you go, don’t miss Matt Pallamary’s Phantastic Fiction, or come find us among the Pirates.

I’m also part of the 20BooksTo50K community and its annual Vegas conference, now known as Author Nation, which draws close to 1,500 generous writers who want to see everyone succeed. Through it I found the International Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Authors (IASFA): no drama, just education and support for indie authors.

The Day Job

This domain was once home to Rickshaw Consulting, which became 2FTech.us under Flattened Flamingo LLC. I retired from full-time roles in January 2023, shifting to short run projects and engagements through 2FTech.us. If I’m not the right fit, I’m sure know someone who is — please hit the link and reachout.

Stay in Touch

Join my newsletter, where I write about what’s caught my interest in the indie world, what I’m reading, and how my current projects are coming along. You can also find me on Amazon and Goodreads.

Thanks for dropping by.

Feeding My Writer’s Brain
– Podcasts & Other Stuff