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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSWill there be more books set in the world of the Black Magician Trilogy?Yes. Go to The Magician's Apprentice and The Traitor Spy Trilogy When will The Magician's Apprentice and The Traitor Spy Trilogy be released?I would love to be able to post accurate and specific publication dates on this site, but I'm afraid that is not possible. Why not? Because of two reasons. Firstly, publishing companies don't always remember to tell authors what their book's publication dates are, or if they have changed. Heck, I've signed contracts for foreign language editions, and received the advance, but never seen or heard anything since - not even a copy of the book let lone a publication date! Secondly, I am not psychic. I can't actually tell the future (and believe me, if I could I'd be looking to find out a lot more than just when my books actually will be released). For books that haven't been written yet, especially those some years away from being written, there's a good chance any publication date I put up is a vague stab in the dark. While blindfolded. With my hands tied behind my back. What I put here is all that I know. Sending me an email asking for more details will not actually make those details miraculously exist. If it did, I'd be begging people to email me. For confirmation of the dates I've listed, please check publishers' websites, ask your friendly local bookseller, or see what Amazon has it down as. What is the Age of the Five trilogy about?Go to The Age of the Five. My parents have heard that there is sex in the Age of the Five trilogy. Is this true?Yes, it is true. I was aiming for an older audience with this series. There isn't a lot of sex, however. Tell your parents to find a copy in a bookstore or library and read the first half of chapter 20 - just a few pages. If they feel that scene is too adult for you, then you had best wait until you're a little older before reading the trilogy. Will there be more books set in the Age of the Five trilogy?I don't have any plans to write a sequel, yet. Maybe once I’ve written the prequel and sequel to the BMT and the series I have planned after that I’ll have come up with a good idea. Do you have any other books planned?Yes. Go to Future Worlds. Do you want to know about typos/errors in your books.Yes, please. Out of the hundreds of thousands of words in my books, despite rigorous editing processes, it's inevitable that a few mistakes will make it to printing. Corrections can be made to reprints. However, if the edition you are reading was printed a few years ago, those corrections have probably already been made. And, of course, bear in mind that there are spelling differences in different regions. No, I don't wish to get into a debate about whether that is a good or bad thing. Do you need proofers or readers?No, though the enthusiasm of those who offer is appreciated. Publishing companies arrange proof reading, so it's not something I get to decide. It also happens at a stage in the process where there is no time for outside proofers to have a look at it. As for test readers, no, I don't need any. I'm very choosy about who I seek feedback from. As you can imagine, I only want to give messy, unpolished versions of my books to those I know and trust! Will you read my manuscript/story idea/shopping list?No. My reasons are explained on my Writing Advice page. Can I have some tips on writing?Yes. Go to Writing Advice. Will there be a film of the Black Magician Trilogy?Though I have a film agent, and there has been some interest, no producers, directors or other investor in the film industry has yet bought rights to make one. I have no intention of making a film myself, though I'm always flattered by the innocent exortations by fans that I should try. Since I lack the training, experience, connections and funds to do it, and I firmly believe that nobody would like to see a film made with a cheap hand held camera on shonky sets in my back yard with my friends as actors, I'm happy to wait and see if someone with the right credentials comes along with a serious proposal. It would be wonderful to see my stories made into films, and even better if they were made into good films. But let's be realistic. Few fantasy series have been, and those were considered classics (Lord of the Rings) or are immensely popular children's fiction (Harry Potter, Narnia – which is both children's lit and a classic). Compressing the Black Magician Trilogy story into one film would be difficult. Still, it's great to hear readers think it is worthy of the Big Screen. And if someone undertakes to make films, believe me I'll be blogging about it! Where do you get your ideas from?Ah, the question most authors loathe. Really, you're asking what inspires me? Lots of things do: books I've read (fiction and non-fiction), the news, tv, radio, films, music, people I talk to — be they friends or just some stranger I struck up a conversation with. There are stories everywhere. I think the key is: most stories are about people — what happens to them and what they do in reaction to it. What inspired the Black Magician Trilogy?Strangely enough, the Barcelona Olympics inspired the first chapter of The Magicians' Guild story! I was watching late night news and saw a report on how the city authorities had sent trucks around the city, into which all the homeless were loaded and then taken them to other cities. That night I dreamed that I was one among hundreds of people being driven out of a city... by magicians. We started throwing stones and instead I threw magic. I woke up and wrote down the dream, sure that in the morning I'd read it and laugh (most dreams make for bad stories). But I didn't. Later it fit with a world I'd created where magic was latent and required expert tuition, so the teaching of it became a priviledge only available to the rich. What inspired the Age of the Five?I have to dig a long way back into my memories to answer this one, as the original story was sketched out when I was about 14 or 15. The most obvious source of inspiration was classical era mythology. I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in a world where gods were real, had bad tempers and tended to interfere in human affairs. At the same time I was inspired by science, especially biology. I tried to imagine what a mermaid would really look like or if it really was possible for a horse to have wings. Not all of these imaginings have ended up in the trilogy, but I've tried to incorporate magic into the ecosystem as if it was just another force upon which animals and plants — and humans — could call upon for survival. Are any characters based on yourself?No. In many ways Sonea is what I'd like to be. She's smarter and stronger. Never assume that a character's story reflects the author's life. Even if the author has put bits of themself in, you can't be sure which bits they are. Are any characters based on people you know?No. I use character types but not specific people. A friend of mine once begged me to put him in my book. Eventually I gave him a choice: he could be the gay mage or the guy who didn't get the girl. He declined both. Did you base the Black Magician Trilogy on an era or culture of this world?Not really. I find it very wierd that some people think the Black Magician Trilogy is 'Medieval' (as in European Medieval) fantasy because I deliberately set it in a more technically advanced era. I'd have thought the printing presses would have made that obvious! Sonea's world lies somewhere between late Medieval and Victorian times, with the development of technology skewed by magic: the lack of warfare for a few hundred years and the presense of powerful sorcerers negates the need for guns and cannons. A rich intellectual elite control knowledge, so those printing presses come in handy. For the architecture, food and furniture I took inspiration from Japanese culture. How are the names/landmarks pronounced?I really don't mind how other people pronounce the characters' names. Every person who reads the books automatically decides how the names sound as they read them, and correcting that would only change their experience of the book. Why all the invented words for animals, etc.? Why not call a cow a cow?Because it's not a cow. It's an animal that fills the same ecologial niche. Naturally, humans are going to domesticate animals that
are useful to them, so those animals of another world who happen to be used for fur or meat or transporatation will seem be similar to
those of our world used for the same purpose. What amuses me about this question, is that nobody ever asks me why I didn't call a llama a llama. The assumption that all made up animals are like European ones points to the same sort of ignorance and/or bias that leads to people thinking all fantasy worlds are "Medieval'. Was The Black Magician Trilogy influenced by Harry Potter books?Actually, nobody has ever asked me this, but having stumbled on a few amusing reader reviews on the internet, I thought I better point out the obvious: The Black Magician Trilogy was written in 1996, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was first published in 1997. I didn't read HP1 until my agent told me all about it, in 2000. I loved it. JK Rowling has done all writers a great favour by encouraging a whole new generation to read - which can only be a good thing for the rest of us! Could you recommend other authors?Yes. I have Recommended Reading pages. Could you recommend other Aussie authors?Yes. I have Recommended Reading pages. Why isn't x, y or z author in your recommended reading lists?The answer is on my Recommended Reading pages Was x, y or z supposed to be a surprise, because I guessed it would happen?When it comes to people predicting how something turns out, somebody will always expect things to turn out the way they do. I call these outcomes '50/50 twists'. (50/50 as in there are two possiblilities, and so you always feel 'half right' when you find out the answer.) So, unavoidably, I get a few people emailing me who guessed everything and feel cheated. Don't be. You're a rare and clever reader! I can't find your books anywhere! What should I do?Unfortunately, I have to say first that you really shouldn't hassle me about this unless you've looked in more than two or three bookshops. Maybe even four or five. But if you've searched high and low with no luck I can only suggest two things: a) Find a bookshop that will order them in for you. If they won't, they don't deserve your money. Often they don't realise that the stock has run out. They can't rely on their databases to tell them they have none left if the books have been stolen. Sometimes (annoyingly) my publisher hasn't done a reprint yet and has run out. The best part about you asking a bookshop to order in my books is that they'll often decide to order a couple more at the same time. b) Order from a general online bookstore like the Book Depository in the UK, or Fishpond and Australian Online Bookshop in Australia. c) Order from the Australian bricks'n'mortar specialist stores listed below. Where can I mail order books from Australia?According to websites your latest book has been published, but I can't get it in my country. Why not?This confused a lot of people with the Black Magician Trilogy (including a few irate readers who will not be named from a country that will not be named who seemed to think nothing exists outside their country. Ahem.). The Black Magician Trilogy was published first in the 'Australasian' region. This is because I am Australian and I live in Australia. It is much easier for Australians to get published locally. The US market was known to be notoriously difficult to crack if you lived overseas at the time I was looking for a publisher. So my books had been published here for a few years before a US and UK publisher took them on. The advantage of this was that, since the books had already been written and edited, the US publisher could release them within three months of each other. This was not an issue with the Age of the Five trilogy, but there was still a difference between the release dates in the three regions. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the Australian publisher undertook the editing process, then the US and UK publishers bought the edited manuscript from them. This meant that the Australian publisher was a little ahead of the US and UK publishers in the process of editing, printing and shipping the book. But this was not as great a factor as the simple fact that different publishers work in different ways. Some markets respond well to short gaps between books being released, some don't. Publishers don't tend to publish all of their titles at once, but spread the workload out over the year, so they plan release dates based on that. The prequel and sequel of the Black Magician Trilogy will be published by a single UK publisher, and I don't yet know how this will affect the release dates. They may try to have the books simultaneously throughout the world. They may stagger the release dates for the different regions. We'll just have to see what happens. Do bear in mind that complaining loudly and obnoxiously about Australians getting to read the books first isn't going to go down well with an Aussie author. A little grumpiness is okay, however. I do like that people are keen to read them. Will there be editions of your books in other languages?So far the Black Magician Trilogy has been released in so many other languages now that I've lost count, and The Age of the Five is out in German. Are there audio editions of your books?There is a unabridged version of The Magicians' Guild, and The Novice published by Bolinda, and an abridged version of the Black Magcian Trilogy and Age of the Five published by Time Warner Audio Books. Are there electronic editions of your books?I know there's been some action in this area, but I'm not sure yet of the details. Can I write a screenplay/roleplaying game/computer game based on your book/s?I have received several emails in the last few years from enthusiastic amateurs wanting permission to write a screenplay, make a roleplaying or computer game, or other creative projects using my worlds. While I do like to see other creative people inspired by my work, I can't give such permission. I probably shouldn't even encourage anyone to do it as a 'hobby', because the rights for these sorts of things have either been sold already (as part of publishing contracts), or are part of a package someone else is selling on my behalf (my film agent, for example). If you are considering creating something based on my books, or anybody else's, you owe yourself and the author the time and respect to research international copyright law. (Two things you might want to note are these: from what I understand, putting something on the web is classed as 'publishing'; changing things a little bit does not mean you'll avoid breaking the law.) You won't know if you're crossing the line if you don't find out where it is. And remember, it probably won't be me sending a lawyer around to your door, but the big, powerful companies that publish my books. Can I use images or text from your site?The answer depends on what text and images and what use you wish to put them to. A bookstore, for instance, is welcome to use the blurbs and cover images. The bio and photo is available to publishers and event organisers for publicity purposes. But extracts, sketches, maps, paintings, notes, lists etc. about the books, including everything on the pinboards, is not available unless by prior arrangement. I’ve set up a forum for discussion on your books. Do you mind? Could you come and visit?You’re welcome to start a forum to discuss my books. I’d love to visit, but I’m afraid I don’t have time to visit all the forums out there dedicated to my books. There are also legal reasons why I avoid reading other people’s story ideas relating to my books. Good luck with the forum, anyway. I hope it is a success. Why don't you set up a forum on your website?Because I don't have time to maintain it. (And I'm not insane!) What is your stance on fanficGo to Fan Fiction. Can I have an autographed photo?I used to offer this service, but I don’t any longer. I found that nearly all emails requesting a signed photo were from collectors of signed photos, not people who had actually read the books. I have no desire to be a celebrity and find the idea of people wanting a photo of me quite weird. Can I send books to you to sign?I used to sign books posted to me, but I don’t any longer. I’m afraid I’d end up spending more time going to and from the post office than writing. I do occasionally sign books at bookshops, so keep an eye on my blog for notifications of such events. THE FOLLOWING ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ARE SPOILERS - WHICH MEANS THEY'LL GIVE AWAY THE PLOT OF THE BLACK MAGICIAN TRILOGY IF YOU READ THEM. IF YOU OPEN AND READ THESE PAGES, DON'T COMPLAIN TO ME THAT WHAT YOU READ SPOILED THE PLOT FOR YOU!!!This can be read only after reading The Novice This can be read only after reading The High Lord
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