Bernard Schopen enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school and then earned his BA and MA in English from the University of Washington. He completed his PhD at the University of Nevada, Reno and went on to teach at several universities and colleges. He was a recipient of the Alan Bible Teaching Excellence Award in 2007. Schopen has published seven novels, including The Iris Deception: A Jack Ross Mystery. He was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 2000.