Rita M M RealiRita M. Reali has been in love with words for as long as she can remember. She taught herself to read at the age of four and has been stringing words together ever since. Immediately prior to moving to Tennessee in 2013, Rita spent four and a half yers writing website product descriptions for globally recognized brands including Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Crayola and Hershey's. In the '80s, she worked as a radio announcer, where - as she puts it - she spent her time in a little room, talking to people who weren't there. An award-winning author, journalist, visual artist and photographer - and a sought-after editor and proofreader - Rita has been a presenter at multiple writers' conferences. She belongs to the Association of Publishers for Special Sales, Tennessee Mountain Writers and is a certified Master Gardener (and member of the Cumberland County Master Gardeners Association). An excerpt from her novel, Glimpse of Emerald placed third in the Tennessee Mountain Writers 2016 adult fiction contest. She's currently working on three additional novels, The Unintended Hero, Second Chances and Keeping Hope Alive, along with a second draft of her memoir, Confessions of a Reluctant Goddess. Rita lives, gardens, designs jewelry, makes soap and writes on several wooded acres in Cumberland County with her husband, Frank, and a lively assortment of quirky fictional characters. Glimpse of Emerald is her second novel. Read More Read Less