Patricia Wood was born and raised in Seattle, Washington She has served in the U.S. Army, has worked as a Medical Technologist, horseback-riding instructor, and most recently as a marine science teacher working with high risk students in Honolulu. Patricia is an avid SCUBA diver, has assisted with shark research, won the Hawaii State Jumper Championship with her horse Airborne, crewed in a 39-foot sailboat across the Pacific Ocean from Honolulu to San Francisco, and is now an author. Her debut novel LOTTERY was published by Putnam August 2007, and was named a Book Sense notable for October of that year. LOTTERY has been included in the Washington Post's Best Fiction 2007 list and is short listed for the 2008 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.
Currently a PhD student at the University of Hawaii, Patricia is focused on education and the study of disability and diversity. Patricia lives with her husband, Gordon aboard ORION, a 48-foot sailboat moored in Ko`Olina, Hawaii. She has one son, Andrew.