Patricia Rippetoe, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and fantasy writer. She obtained her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Alabama, and her research on protection motivation theory and breast-cancer detection was named the psychology department’s outstanding dissertation for 1985. As an assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center’s department of psychiatry, she taught psychology students at the graduate level, as well as psychology interns and psychiatry residents. For the last 18 years, Dr. Rippetoe has treated hundreds of adult patients in solo practice using cognitive therapy techniques. In 2005, she was admitted to the annual Viable Paradise Workshop for writers of science fiction and fantasy. She is available for consultations at St. Mungo’s (send owls to office, please) and hopes one day to find her way to Platform 9 3/4.