Biography 

Rita E. Rippetoe was born in Susanville, California. She grew up in the Roseville and Sacramento area and attended Folsom High School. She continued her education at the University of California at Davis, majoring in Anthropology. She worked as a retail clerk, a substitute bus hostess, a Xerox technical representative, a construction company office manager, a seasonal tax clerk, a bank teller and a substitute teacher before resuming her education. She earned a Master of Arts degree in English at California State University, Sacramento and completed a Doctorate in English from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2003. 

Rita's doctoral dissertation "' . . . sober and I didn't care who knew it': Alcohol and the Hard-Boiled Detective's Code" was published by McFarland and Co. as Booze and the Private Eye: Alcohol in the Hard-Boiled Novel. This book was nominated for an Edgar award by the Mystery Writers of America, 2004 in the Critical/Biography category. For a complete list of Rita's publications click here. 

Rita has also presented at a number of academc conferences, including Popular Culture Association, Western Literature Association and the First International Robert Graves Conference. For a look at her curriculum vita click here.

Rita is currently researching a book on the supernatural in detective fiction while working on a number of other writing projects. Watch here for link to her business page for Rippetoe Writing Services. 

To visit her  Blog, Brain KnickNacks  click here.