Ricardo completed his PhD in Design and Technology in 2009. Whilst at Loughborough he joined the Roleplaying and Wargames Society. In 2015, Ricardo and some friends he met whilst at Loughborough started a small indie press under the name of Inklings Press, alongside their day jobs. The group started the press company to create an outlet for their science fiction, horror, and fantasy stories.
The venture started off with an eBook that included five stories and has since expanded and has published 10 anthologies under the “Tales from...” series which have been both printed and released electronically. The press is currently working on their 11th anthology which has received over 200 submissions, including stories by screenwriters and award nominees.
In addition to his work for the Inklings Press, Ricardo has had over a dozen of his own short stories published, two of which have been recognised by The Wicked Library Podcast. In addition to his short stories, the alumnus has been working on his novel series, Tempest Blades published by the New Mexico based publisher, Artemesia Publishing. The third book in the series,The Magick of Chaos is set to be released on 13 June 2023 and the series will conclude with a fourth book, which he is currently writing.
Alongside his Science Fiction and Fantasy (SFF) series, Ricardo has co-authored a book on Emotional Design which is due to be published in Spanish by Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. He is also editing pages of a book which explains Sustainability through SFF. The foreword was written by Dr Vicky Lofthouse, a Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design at the Loughborough School of Design and Creative Arts. The book will be published by a UK based independent press, Luna Press Publishing, with whom Ricardo had previously worked with on an essay for the book, Worlds Apart: Worldbuilding in Fantasy and Science Fiction, which recently won an award at the British Science Fiction Association. Ricardo’s contributions have allowed him to join the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) as associate member.
Ricardo shared the impact that his writing work has had on his life. He said:
“I just hope I can keep doing this for several more years as it has literally changed my life, by allowing me to meet awesome fellow writers, keep in touch with the friends I made at Lboro, and provide an outlet for my imagination, as well as helping me with my mental health (like a form of occupational therapy) and fulfilling a childhood dream of creating stories.”