Books

Sheldon Family Saga

Since then, though, she’s taken a more conventional approach and has published her next three books – The Unintended Hero, Second Chances and Tender Mercies – in order.

The Sheldon Family Saga centers around Gary Sheldon, his family and circle of friends and coworkers at a fictional Connecticut radio station. It was meant to be a trilogy: Glimpse of Emerald, Second Chances and Full Circle. But along the way, Rita’s characters commandeered the process.

Marc, the protagonist in Diagnosis: Love, showed up uninvited one afternoon and demanded she tell his story. He strongly refuted Rita’s claim of being in the midst of writing another character’s story, saying Marie (the other character) merely thought it was her story when it was, in fact, his. As it turns out, both characters were right… it was both their stories.

So many readers clamored for the rest of Marc and Marie’s story – and a followup to the romance begun in Diagnosis: Love – Rita had to write The Unintended Hero, which led the pair on an international adventure neither of them will ever forget.

While she was writing Second Chances, the story line took a left turn, evolving into a separate plot and necessitating Tender Mercies.

And then in September 2020, while she was still writing Second Chances, Gary’s half brother showed up and warranted his own story, resulting in Brothers By Betrayal.

So, what was initially destined to be a wholly manageable trilogy has gone horribly awry and ballooned into a seven-volume literary behemoth. While these books are part of a series, they’re all standalone volumes and may be read and enjoyed in no particular order.

The Purringest Kitty

Rita never intended to venture into writing children’s books. But in late July 2021, a sweet young butterscotch tabby appeared on the front lawn of her house in rural Tennessee. The apparent victim of a “we’re moving and you can’t come” dumping, the cat quickly worked his way into not only Rita and her husband’s home but their lives as well.

Partway through 2022, an idea for a children’s story shimmered into view in Rita’s mind. She engaged a talented local illustrator to make her words really come alive and The Purringest Kitty Finds His Home – which tells how Tab wriggled and purred his way into their hearts – is scheduled for a March 2023 release. Other tales in The Purringest Kitty series will be published in 2024 and beyond.