Rita Mace Walston was born and raised in Michigan. After moving four times in five years without staying the same time zone, she and her family settled in rural northern Virginia. She and her husband have a small homestead with extensive gardens and a greenhouse, as well as a dog, cat, two beehives, and a dozen-plus chickens. Rita loves experimenting in the kitchen with ingredients from her gardens as well as foraging. She is also an avid reader, and her first novel, Paper & Ink, Flesh & Blood, was published in 2020. Rita is a graduate of the Queens University MFA program in Charlotte, North Carolina.