Rita A. Clark was born in the United States of America while her father was in the Navy. Rita often said that she was created in the Republic of Panama because that was where the place where she was conceived, and even after birth, she awas enculturated by her mother, a Panamanian, born in La Boca. She is Panamanian first and American second. Rita Ann was born in Champaign, Illinois two months after her mother arrived in the U.S. The April born, second child was raised in New London, Connecticut and California, but her early formative years was stimulated by the semi-rural New London and the cold winters which kept them inside. That is where she had developed her storytelling skills starting at the age of six, but did not write "real" stories until she was in the seventh grade. Her first story: The Winter Hater, in which she had funneled cultural differences under the guise of "winter." Before the short story, she had written poems - as early as the third grade - and little stories with the help of her mother. Rita had a creatively stimulated childhood in literature. Her mother was a natural story-teller - almost like the Africans of West and East Africa. Her mother, Carmelita, the former Mrs. Warren Clark, fed Rita and her sisters creatively, nourishing stories. Rita, often said her mother's stories were believable; but with her naivite, she believed and had embellished when she had retold the stories of her youth. Rita had continued with the story-telling tradition but only she had taken it one step further: she had become a publisher of her stories truly to be remembered by her family. Rita's father, Warren R. Clark, III, was a country boy full of laughter and inexperience. A lot of his adventures got him into trouble with women, and although it was painful growing up to find out that her father was very weak (maybe even a womanizer). Rita had absorbed the one fascination that she really liked about "daddy" - his country boy wit that were purged out of his experiences and the crazy episodes of his life that made him Warren Clark. He was quick, with an unmistaken southern drawl, and his beautiful, white Colgate teeth turned out short, unrehearsed stories - quietly all about the ladies' man. He was very natural with words. His stories were dynamic and engulfing. Rita and her family, mystifiyingly so, shared both innate abilities, from both of her parents (whom she now shares that spirit-filled place with - Heaven): storytelling and writing with a passion. The original Merchant Writer was a skilled artist who had learned her craft naturally. She was an accomplished director of student plays. She had received two masters at different periods in her life: English and Psychology. Earlier in life, while in high school, Rita had won an award for a mixed media painting at the Barnsdall Competition in Southern California. She had painted every decade of her life; even just weeks before her leaving this earth plane. Her best media that expresses the flavor of her art - is Ubutian, to her, it means with wind and power. Rita had loved the paintbrush as much as the pen. Together the love of brush and pen "built" models of expression. Now, even though she is beyond this earth, she will share with you her experiences that lead the way for her to convey thoughts and enrich lives in literature and painting. Rita the Artist, Rita the Writer…. Rita A. Clark had often said, with fervor, when asked how she started and it is always the same, "New London is where my writing formed the ideas and the basis to create stories, but California is where the illumination and desire to write and paint entered into my life; I write by faith and spirit." Rita was the inspiration for all the Merchant Writers. We honor her and still are amazed by the legacy she leaves for all Merchant Writers. Writing has not changed, nor the components of literature. What has changed is the visual aspects of literature converted into a film piece. Visual Arts really enhances our reality and stirs us into the different realms of magic and manipulation of what we see on screen. Visual Arts leads us to our fantasies – perceived or unfolding. We become addicted to the genre that most satisfies us whether it is a shocking, or a recurring theme, forbidden love, resolved, or chased after. Film goers are children who look for that story from their childhood. And there are millions of stories worth watching. We are responsible for the life of the Arts. This is why Rita A. Clark developed the Merchant Writer Publication website to offer good reading and assist those in need of editing and writing services. MerchantWriter was established in 2002 and our purpose is to create good literature