Rita has been a professional editor and writer for over 35 years, having graduated from New York University in creative writing. When she was younger, she trained as an opera singer at the Juilliard School and at Eastman School of Music.
In 1997, when she took a ride on Jingle Baba at Fear-No-More Zoo in California, she fell in love with the camels. In her spare time she started photographing and spending a lot of time with Jingle Baba and his growing family. She couldn't help but tell her young grandchildren and other children about them. Soon Rita found herself writing a children's book about her experience.
She's published a second children's book called The Story of Yaneshwari and is at work on a third.
Originally from Long Island, New York, Rita now lives with her husband and dog Roxanne in Northern California, where she still volunteers as much time as possible at Fear-No-More Zoo. She has 7 grandchildren who are her inspiration.