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.
Setting up his own environmental consulting firm in 1986, Irvine received contracts in Australia as well as international locations such as Mauritius, Bali, Fiji and Western Samoa. During the course of his career he played a role in developing Australia's national guidelines for protection of the oceanic environment.
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.
The Three Worlds series will continue with a trilogy entitled The Fate of the Children, which is yet to be written. It chronicles the story of the children of both Karan and Maigraith after the end of The View From The Mirror. The Runcible Jones Quintet has three unfinished novels: The Frozen Compass, The Backwards Hourglass, and The Electric Labyrinth.