Ian Irvine was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, in 1950. He was educated at Chevalier College and the University of Sydney where he received a PhD in marine science, studying the management of contaminated sediments. During 1987 Irvine began writing the first in his The View from the Mirror series. He continued authoring this series until 1999 when the final chapter was released. After his first series was published he remained an author. He is currently married and lives in the mountains of northern New South Wales.