Ricky Castorena

Ricardo Marcello Castorena II (born 10 July, 1995 in Visalia), typically called Ricky or Ricky Potter, is an American fiction writer. At the age of 18, Ricky Castorena has published his first book, The Marked, which is the first book in the similarly named series.

Personal Life
Ricky Castorena was born in Visalia, California in 1995. He has two older sisters and an older brother, making him the youngest of four. During his elementary and middle school years, he was constantly bullied at school for the simple fact of liking his hair long. During his eighth grade school year, his mother puiled him out of public school and had him attend Independant Studies.

It was suring this year that he began writing out the plot for "The Marked" and the entire series. Before returning to public school in Paso Robles, California for his high school years, he decided to cut his hair short and has since kept it short to avoid bullying.

During his high school years, while writing the story "The Marked", he studied American Sign Language on his free time to the point he can sign and read sign fluently, and thus considers himself bilingual in both English and American Sign Language.

His family has given him the nicknames "Ricky Potter" and "Potter" respectively due to his immense liking in the Harry Potter book series.

His favorite music artist is Lindsey Stirling, his favorite song being Master of Tides by Lindsey Stirling.

The Marked Books

 * The Marked (published September 2013)
 * The Ephemeral Line (expected to be released in 2016-2017)

Trivia

 * He studied American Sign Language just as a hobby but he was also born hard-of-hearing from fluid being trapped in his ears, causing a strain on his hearing.
 * He began planning "The Marked" and its entire storyline when he was around the age of 13-14, taking an entire year and half to just plan it. At the age of 18, it was finally published.
 * The author recently created a Twitter page which can be visited here: https://twitter.com/TheMarkedAuthor
 * He does have a Facebook Page, as well as an Instagram, which can be visited by clicking the following link: https://www.facebook.com/rickytan.potter?fref=ts