Phoenix Writers Club Author Profile

Rita Hanner-Ward

Rita Hanner-Ward is a contemporary American writer and poet whose insights are reflected in her short essays and poems. Colorado-raised and now residing in Arizona, she divides her time between writing, volunteering with hospice, clay hand-building, and caring for her loyal companion, Zorro.

Her journey into writing has spanned 30-years. Under the pseudonym Kiva Wolfe (TM), she writes international romantic‑suspense adventure steeped in the intrigue, danger, and allure of the precious‑gem trade. She published her debut novel, Red Flash, in 2005 and republished it independently in 2025. Having just completed Tears of Iemanjá, the sequel to Red Flash, she has begun writing the third and final book in the Gem Provenance Legacy series, The Price of Fire. A new mystery trilogy is also in the works.

Her literary repertoire extends beyond novels, essays, and media contributions to include poetry, where she explores themes of memory, grief, redemption, and the celebration of life. The release of her collected poems, Her Inconvenient Elegy: A Life in Fragments and Her Song of Sorrows: A Quiet Mourning in Verse, is the first two installments in an expanding poetry series, Her Poetic Awakening, that explores memory, grief, resilience, and the quiet beauty of being alive.

Online retail platforms will be expanding to include Amazon, B&B, Google Play, Apple Books, Kobo, and Lulu. Memberships include Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Poets & Writers, Alliance of Independent Authors, Arizona Authors Association, and, more recently, Phoenix Writers Club.

Useful Links

• RitaHanner-Ward.com

• KivaWolfe.Net

• Rita on Instagram: @rhannerward

• Rita on BlueSky: @rhannerward.bsky.social

• Rita on X: @RHannerWard2025

• Rita on Facebook

Select Publications

Red Flash

Book 1 of 2: Gem Provenance Legacy

Written as Kiva Wolfe

Recipient of the Manhattan Book Award Silver Seal, Kiva Wolfe's Red Flash is a suspenseful romantic thriller that delves into the dangerous underworld of rare gemstones, betrayal, and desire. When a mysterious red stone disappears deep in the Brazilian rainforest, its disappearance sets off a deadly chain of events that reaches from the jungles of South America to the opulent mansions of Denver, Colorado.

At the heart of the intrigue stands Sërg Stanovic, a powerful gem dealer whose empire is built on deception, and Dominick, his idealistic younger brother, who becomes entangled in a web of corruption, murder, and forbidden love. Torn between loyalty and conscience, Dominick must navigate a perilous path where beauty and greed collide, and where the shimmer of a gemstone hides a darker truth. Blending mystery, romance, and international suspense, Red Flash explores the brilliant and brutal world of high-stakes gem trading, where every sparkle has its shadow and every secret its price.

Tears of Iemanjá

Book 2 of 2: Gem Provenance Legacy

Written as Kiva Wolfe

In the world of diamonds, betrayal runs deeper than blood. Dominick Stanovic has lost everything: his family, his business, and the woman he once loved. But when a mysterious package from Brazil arrives, buried secrets and dangerous truths threaten to tear his world apart. Haunted by the past, he is plunged into a high-stakes game of deception, where every choice could mean life or death. As he hunts for answers about the disappearance of his fiancée, Mala, he must face his darkest fears and a brutal truth: is the woman he loved really gone, or is someone playing a deadly game with him?

With Tears of Iemanjá, prepare yourself for an emotional rollercoaster filled with twists, heart-stopping suspense, and an unforgettable race against time. This is a story of love, loss, and redemption that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

Her Inconvenient Elegy: A Life in Fragments

Book 1 of 2: Her Poetic Awakening

A poetic meditation on the messiness of memory, the weight of grace, and the quiet rituals of survival, through deeply reflective pieces—a collection of poems charting the contours of real life: its pain, its absurdity, its tenderness, and its fleeting moments of redemption. Each poem is a vessel, shaped by grief and humor, filled with the residue of what’s been lost and the fragile hope of what remains. Whether sifting through the detritus of a loved one’s belongings or kneeling on the bathroom floor, these works invite the reader to witness sorrow not as spectacle, but as a shared inheritance. This is an elegy without ornament—unapologetically inconvenient, achingly human, and quietly transformative.

Her Song of Sorrows: A Quiet Mourning in Verse

Book 2 of 2: Her Poetic Awakening

A lyrical exploration of mourning in all its forms. Each poem becomes a song—tender, unguarded, and profoundly human—sung by a writer who understands that grief is not only an emotional landscape but also a creative one. Here, the end of a story, the closing of a book, or the death of a character echoes the ache of real-world partings. The writer’s loss becomes a mirror for the reader’s own. With clarity and compassion, this collection traces the arc of sorrow and the unexpected beauty that emerges when we allow ourselves to feel it fully. These poems speak to anyone who has lost or is losing someone they love, offering not answers but companionship, resonance, and the gentle reminder that moving forward is its own kind of grace.

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