Have you finished writing the sequel to the trilogy?
No, right now I’m working on the first book. This one’s going to keep me busy for a few years to come!
Does the Australian geography and environment impact how you write in any specific way?
Not in a direct way. I prefer to invent new cultures and lands based on mixing and matching what I know of this world. They’re ‘inspired by’ rather than ‘based on’ anything here. I do have a young adult horror novel waiting in the wings which is set in drought-wracked country Victoria. I just need a time machine...
You seem to have a knack for writing in threes; you've written a second trilogy, Age of the Five, and seem to have another called The Traitor Spy in development. That's a good number for you then?
When I wrote the Black Magician Trilogy I was sure it would be a single book. Halfway through I realised it was getting a bit big and figured I had a duology on my hands. Then, when I’d finished, I looked over the story and realised I had two obvious minor story conclusions about a third and two thirds through. I swear it wanted to be a trilogy!
With more experience behind me, I could see that the Age of the Five story was even bigger, and was easiest shaped into a trilogy. But The Magician’s Apprentice was definitely not big enough, and had no logical break point in the middle either, so it suited the stand-alone single book format. Making the Traitor Spy Trilogy a trilogy was a more deliberate decision however – I wanted it to reflect the style and pace of the original series.
In the current economic climate, how encouraging can you be toward unpublished authors who want to succeed in mainstream fiction?
The information I’ve been hearing on the state of publishing is contradictory. On one hand some companies are cutting costs, jobs, etc.. On the other some are still doing well. The odds of being published have always been pretty challenging to an unpublished author’s determination. But if you don’t get your work out there, you’ll never get published - low odds are still better than none! And I do remember hearing that in the depression entertainment industries like film and publishing do okay, because people still need a cheap way to cheer themselves up.
Does writer's block really exist?
Probably. I suffer more from occasional ‘writer procrastination’. I never have trouble writing, it’s just that sometimes a gadzillion blog entries are easier to write than the next scene in the latest book...
If you could invite any three authors (living or dead) to a dinner party, who would they be? What would you ask them?
J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Jennifer Fallon to make sure we all have a good laugh.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Practise makes perfect. Learn to not just accept feedback, but crave it. Don’t ever assume you know everything – there’s always more to learn.
Trudi Canavan talks about inspiration and her literary influences
Lynne Jamneck - Lynne Jamneck lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Short listed for the Sir Julius Vogel and Lambda Awards, she has published short fiction in ...
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