Hello dear Michelle!

I hope you and your mother are both doing well. And happy new year to you!

I was just browsing through some museum collections the other day, and I came to wonder about whether you had any specific sets of prehistoric clothing (or modern art pieces!) that you drew inspiration from for any of your characters. It's maybe a bold question also, but do you have any book covers of yours that you're extra fond of?

Thank you and have a nice week!

Hello, Sofie.  When I was on my travels researching the Wolf Brother books, I picked up various bits and pieces that helped me imagine what Torak and his people would have worn.  These were mostly from the Inuit, or related peoples, as well as some of the First Nations of Canada’s Pacific Northwest.  But they were mostly smallish items, such as a Dene birchbark basket, a pair of Inuit snow goggles made of reindeer antler, or Inuit reindeer-hide mittens – not whole items of clothing.  And of course, nothing from Torak’s time!  I got most of my inspiration from specialist books on traditional clothing: mostly Arctic, or Native American (particularly in the Pacific Northwest).  I also used books, of course; especially Arctic Clothing (edited by King, Pauksztat & Storrie, British Museum Publications 2005; you might be able to get a secondhand copy online).  As for covers of the books, I’ve always  really liked the Japanese and the Swedish covers (you might be able to see them on my website or elsewhere online).  They’re very different, but I think both approaches capture the feel of the books.  I hope this helps a bit – and thanks for getting in touch!  With best wishes, Michelle