Louis Owens was born in Lompoc, CA on July 18, 1948. He was one of nine children born to Hoey and Ida Owens. His heritage included Choctaw and Cherokee ancsetors. He grew up in rural Mississippi and California. His first job, at the age of nine, was picking beans. From 1969 - 1974 Owens worked as a forest ranger and firefighter for the United States Forest Service in Washington State. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his Ph.D. in 1981 from the University of California, Davis. Owens taught at the University of California, Davis and at University of California, Santa Cruz, California State University at Northridge, and the University of New Mexico. Owens wrote five novels in total, often featuring the relationship of Native Americans and contemporary American society, and exploring identity and mixed ancestries. He had reputation for combining thriller plots with more universal themes. He also completed five collections of essays and literary criticism and was one of the leading American scholars on Native American fiction. Owens was also considered an expert on John Steinbeck's work.