Lyn McConchie was crippled in an accident in 1977 and forced to take medical retirement in 1988. She became a professional writer in 1991. Since then, she has published a many short stories in at least six countries, and 18 novels. She owns and runs a small farm in New Zealand, where she breeds coloured sheep and tends her free range geese and hens. She has received the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel in 2003 for Beastmaster's Ark, in 2005 for Beastmaster's Circus, and 2006 for The Duke's Ballad, all three of the books having been co-written with Andre Norton.