Kathleen O'Neal Gear received her B.A., cum laude, from California State University in Bakersfield, and her M.A., summa cum laude, from California State University in Chico. She conducted Ph.D. studies at UCLA and did post-graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.
She resides in Thermopolis, Wyoming and is married to fellow writer and co-author W. Michael Gear.