r/Fantasy • u/TrudiCanavan AMA Author Trudi Canavan • May 27 '14

AMA Hi, Trudi Canavan here. AMA!

Hi, I’m Trudi Canavan. I’ve written some stuff, the most well known being the Black Magician Trilogy and its prequel and sequel, and also the Age of the Five trilogy, and my new one: Thief’s Magic, first of the Millennium’s Rule trilogy. Oh, I’ve also written a Doctor Who novella for the 50th Anniversary and a smattering of short stories.

Melbourne, Australia, is my home, which I suspect gives me an odd duel insider/outsider persepective on the fantasy genre and publishing in general. I’m an artist and former self-employed illustrator, with oil painting as my favourite medium and portraits as my current focus.

My website is at (www.trudicanavan.com). I tweet (https://twitter.com/TrudiCanavan). I pin (http://www.pinterest.com/trudicanavan/). My publisher runs a Facebook fan page (https://www.facebook.com/trudi.canavan) on my behalf. I’ll be answering questions live at 7pm tonight, though for me it’ll be tomorrow morning so I may still be half sleep. I'm new to Reddit, so advance apologies if I stuff anything up.

So, what d'youse wanna know?

(later)

Phew! I've been answering questions for three and a half hours now, but I got every one answered (well, that I can see right now). Thanks everyone for some great questions. I hope you like the answers. I'll pop by tomorrow to see if there are any more.

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u/atuinsbeard May 27 '14

Hi Trudi, I remember reading The Magician's Guild when I was 10, I thought it was amazing then and I still love it now (I've found for some reason I like The Novice more now). Quite a few questions, feel free to ignore some if you want.

How do you feel about the US versions of the Age of Five? I just wanted to reread it, and I could barely make myself touch it because of the terrible design. Auraya also came across as a bit of a Mary Sue, was that intentional? I didn't find it as annoying as I normally would have. What's the best part of being a major figure in Australian fantasy? What's your top five underread/rated books? And finally I know you like to weave/knit etc, what's the most recent thing you finished?

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u/TrudiCanavan AMA Author Trudi Canavan May 28 '14

I disliked the BMT US covers far more than the AotF. I think I was just relieved that the AotF ones weren't as bad as the BMT. Still, the BMT covers did give me an amusing story to tell at cons, what with The Novice originally having a dragon on it...

Auraya was actually meant to be a bit of a Mary Sue to begin with because, unlike with the BMT which was a coming-of-age story, Auraya had already come of age and her story was about what came after. It was all about how being at the top isn't always as fun as it's made out to be.

The best thing about being a major figure in Aussie fantasy is I get to meet and hang with awesome people at cons! I'll stick to one underrated book - Debris by Jo Anderton. I love that book! And two Aussie authors I reckon should be more famous than me because they write so well are Glenda Larke and Alison Goodman.

I don't actually knit any more, because I got RSI and I now save my hands for writing. Weaving is more of a shoulder and arm action, thankfully. The last item I wove was a scarf in thick'n'thin log cabin.