Patricia Oliver, born a Britisher but now a self-styled Texas native, has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and teaches English at the university level. She grew up in Argentina and Uruguay, speaks Spanish, and loves horses, cats, gardens, and books. Her Regencies have been Golden Heart and RITA finalists, appeared on Dalton's and Waldenbooks' bestseller lists, and have been listed as a Publishers Weekly Recommended Read. The Scandalous Wager won the 1993 Romantic Times Award for Best First Regency Romance. Her Roses for Harriet won the 1995 Romantic Times Award for Best Regency Romance. An Inconvenient Wife, May 1998, recently won the National Reader's Choice Award. Her books have been published in Italy, Germany, and Russia. Her latest Regencies from Signet include The Lady in Gray, February 1999, Scandalous Secrets, December 1999, and Lady Jane's Nemesis, July 2000.