Ask Michelle
Here are Michelle’s most recent answers to the questions and messages readers have submitted.
God’s and Warriors
Julia writes...
Hey Michelle,
It's me Julia again ( I'm sorry for asking you so many questions!) I also understand your reply to me , thank you .
I wanted to ask you if anymore God's and Warriors books will be coming out since I'm so exited to read more .Also because Chronicles of Ancient Darkness was a series , and you added another three books , I was hoping you could write another one or two books about God's and Warriors ! I understand that there wouldn't be pretty much anything more to write about since Hylas defeated the Crows but Im hoping for another book to come out ! Michelle your the best author I've ever read , your books are so amazing and I'm very glad you replied to me so fast !!
From Julia❤️
Michelle Replies...
Hello, Julia. Nice try, and I love your enthusiasm, but Gods and Warriors was always intended as a five-book series, and I think I gave Hylas and Pirra a good send-off, so I've no plans to write more about them. I'm sorry to disappoint you! However you seem to have a lively imagination, so I suspect that you can make up some stories of your own. And there's always re-reading, which you're very good at. I've got to go and do some more writing now, so I'll say goodbye. Thanks for getting in touch again. With very best wishes, Michelle
Wolf Brother Book
Julia writes...
Hello Michelle ,
I wanted to write to you of how such an amazing author you are! Most of all , I love your Wolf brother series , there so entertaining and enjoyable to read.I also really hope you write more books about Renn ,Torak and of course Wolf I saw your message with someone else that you won't be writing anymore books about Chronicles of ancient darkness , but please!!! You have to , your such an amazing writer!! I keep re-reading your books because of how good they are and I just never get bored! Please Michelle think about this . I also had an idea about what the book could be about ! Like for example: Renn and Toraks ' child gets spirit walker abilities?? Or even that a Demon/ Tokoroth steals their child.( These are just some ideas !)But please I'm on my knees! You have to write more wolf brother books there just so good!!
I really hope you read my message and that you think about this ! ❤️
Julia-
Michelle Replies...
Dear Julia, thank you so much for your heartfelt and expressive message! You really do seem to love the Wolf Brother series, and I'm delighted about that. You also have some interesting ideas about what might happen to Torak and Renn in the future. However, I'm afraid that what I've said in answer to other questions like yours remains the same: I'm afraid I'vve no plans to write another sequel, so the nine existing books - ending with Wolf Bane - complete the series. You see, I feel that I've developed the characters and taken them to adulthood, and it's now for them to take their stories forwards in my readers' imaginations. I'm sorry if this is hard to bear, but I'm also pretty sure that you wouldn't want me to write further books that sort of fizzled out, which is what might happen were I to try. Thank you again for getting in touch. And since you are already a skilled re-reader, I'd like to wish you many happy hours with Torak, Renn and Wolf in the Forest! With very best wishes, Michelle
Whispersync
Joyce writes...
Good morning Michelle
Firstly, I must thank you for writing such an amazing series of books. I have loved reading them and they were instrumental in getting my first grandson addicted to reading.
In my role as an educational psychologist, Wolf Brother has been instrumental in not only opening the door to the world of literature to countless struggling readers, but also in stimulating the development of their word recognition skills. This has been because the children have been able to listen to the rich text in the story whilst following along with the printed version thanks to the Whispersync technology (and of course the glorious expressive reading by Sir Ian McKellen). As a result, their sight vocabulary developed by stealth and did, for many of them, develop to such an extent that they were then able to read the rest of the series from hard copy.
My latest convert is another grandson, Yerin, - this one lives in Australia. Yerin is dyslexic and so I persuaded his mum (my daughter) to get the Kindle and Audible versions of Wolf Brother so that he could listen and follow along to see if this would help his reading skills to develop. He was instantly hooked - and we were all delighted. But - and this is the point of my email to you, I didn't realise that books 2, 3 & 6 of the series do not have the Whispersync facility. We can buy a Kindle version and an Audible version of these books, but it is not possible to snyc the two versions together, so the text is not highlighted as the books are read. This means that the opportunity for the stimulation of Yerin's sight vocabulary is lost as he listens to the stories.
Do you know why it is that these books have missed out on the technology? Would it be possible/easy to make Books 2, 3, & 6 as accessible as Books 1, 4, 5 & 7?
With best wishes
Joyce
Michelle Replies...
Dear Joyce, Thank you so much for getting in touch, and it's amazing to hear how Wolf Brother has helped struggling readers. I was also fascinated to learn about Whispersync, which I hadn't heard of before (although that's not surprising, as I'm in the Stone Age when it comes to technology). I'm afraid I can't help you as to why certain of the books miss out on this technology, while others are ok with it. It's something for the publishers to tackle; and you might like to contact them, as they may listen to you more than they would to me. But I'll raise it with them too, of course. Thanks drawing this to my attention - and thanks too for getting in touch. I hope that Yerin goes from strength to strength with his reading! With best wishes, Michelle
A Recent ReReading
Evan writes...
Hi Michelle, when I was twelve-or-so years old, I wrote you a letter detailing my favourite characters and asking a few questions. I thought maybe, about fifteen years later, I’d do the same now.
I’ve recently (just this morning) finished reading the entire Wolf Brother series. I read books 1-6 as a child, though stubbornly refused to finish Ghost Hunter as I so desperately didn’t want the series to end. Here I am, now, 27 and somewhat less stubborn, and I’ve come up against something I haven’t felt since I was a kid - a desperate wish that the series wasn’t over! I devoured books when I was younger, but as I grew up, undiagnosed and thus unmedicated ADHD took away my ability to focus on reading for any length of time. I always knew I missed it, but I never realised how deep a hole it had left in my heart until I decided to start re-reading the CoAD as audiobooks.
Rereading the series as an adult has been incredibly refreshing, and exhilarating. I’ve found myself having to pull over on the drive to work and catch my breath at certain parts that have absolutely floored me. The ending of Spirit Walker... the section in Oath Breaker where... The ending of Wolfbane... - I know that gender doesn’t matter much when it comes to crying, but to see myself as a twenty seven-year-old man sobbing...
As someone who lost my father right around the time I finished reading the original series (...) felt raw, painful, uncomfortable - which, of course, is how these things do feel, don’t they?
Aside from gushing, which I hope you’ll pardon me for, I had a few questions - you mention in the author’s note of Wolfbane that the world of the CoAD is based on Scandinavia, which interests me - did you have specific influences for all/most of the clans in terms of their culture that extends past Scandinavia? One could draw relatively understandable comparisons between the Wolf Clan and some Native American tribes, what with their tanned skin and high cheekbones; the Ice Clans have some - I think - quite obvious Inuit influence, as well.
I also wondered, and you may not wish to delve into politics, which is perfectly fine - did you receive any pushback with regard to (...)
To sign off, I simply wanted to express thanks again - for a final time, I promise - for reigniting that fire in me. A really good book, or indeed a good series, can make a world of difference, and as someone who adores writing and hasn’t had the time to delve into it recently, the CoAD have inspired me to finally sit down and start typing away again.
Apologies for the length! May the guardian run/fly/swim and suchforth with you.
Michelle Replies...
Dear Evan, thank you so much for getting in touch. Here's the reason for the delay: as your original message of 30 April contained some very big spoilers, I couldn't post it on my website, so when I answered it on 1 May (and I did, at length), I got my agent to email you, rather than posting it in the usual way. Clearly you never got that email - or those we re-sent, twice, this week. So now we've gone to some lengths to remove the spoilers from your message - hence this post!
With that out of the way: Thank you so much for your very moving message - and there's no need to apologise for its length, either. I'm so glad that re-visiting Torak's world has helped re-connect you to reading, and that Ian's magnificent recordings did the trick. I was also fascinated to learn which bits you found particularly moving and/or shocking. The scene you mentioned from Oathbreaker was one I found very satisfying to write. That might sound odd, but as a writer it's great when you realize you can achieve a strong emotional effect in a scene because of feelings which you've laboured to depict over several books; in this case, Renn's love for her bow.
Concerning my influences for the different clans, you're correct in that the White Foxes are heavily influenced by the Inuit. And I've drawn a lot on the indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest, such as the Haida and the Kwakiutl (more details are in the Author's Notes at the end of each book, particularly the last three). And I've taken customs, attitudes and beliefs from the San of South Africa, the Ainu of Japan, the Indigenous Australians, and many more. Then I've tweaked them to suit the stories.
As for the Dark/Kujai storyline, I'm happy to say that I've not received or been aware of any negative pushback. Instead I've had lots of generous comments and thanks from people in the LGBTQ+ community. Seveal readers have also written rather wistfully to say that they wish they'd known that Dark was gay when they were younger, when Ghost Hunter first came out. I wish that too, but in case you're wondering, although I'd always known that Dark was gay (and he was one of the first characters I thought of when I was originally planning the series), I found when I came to write Ghost Hunter that there simply wasn't room in the story to do this justice; and I didn't want to trivialise it by simply mentioning it. So I was delighted when I had the idea for the final three books, because I knew that I could now develop Dark's arc properly.
I'm going to have to sign off and do some writing now. Thank you again so much for writing. I hope you continue to find pleasure and solace in reading - and as for your writing: go for it! With very best wishes, Michelle
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness on Screen
Harry writes...
Hi Michelle,
My name is Harry, a 29 year old from London. I’ve only very recently discovered the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series and it reignited my love of reading. What amazing imaginative stories captured from such a magical world within our own history. It was gripping from start to finish!
My question is, I know you’ve been trying to get a Wolf Brother to series or movie in the works. How is that going, can we expect to see something in film or TV from this incredible world?
Michelle Replies...
Dear Harry, I'm absolutely delighted that my books have reignitedy our love reading! I wish I could say that a film or tv series is imminent, but I'm afraid that the latest project (Kindle/Lionsgate) isn't going to come off. It certainly wasn't for want of trying on the part of the producers, but unfortunately making a major tv series (or film) is so expensive and difficulty that it is very common for such projects not to get off the ground. As and when there's any more positive news, however, you may be sure that I'll announce it on my website. In the meantime, thanks again for getting in touch - and may the guardian run with you! With best wishes, Michelle
Tour
Lauren writes...
Hi Michelle
I absolutely love your books especially the dark chronicles series and dark matter. FANTASTIC. It was because of you that got me into writing. Wondering when are you going to be touring? as i would love to come and meet my writing hero and i know many others would love to see you too.
Many thanks
Lauren
Michelle Replies...
Hello, Lauren. It's so nice of you to get in touch, and I'm delighted that you've enjoyed my books! As for touring or events, I'm afraid I've no plans to do any this year, mostly due to family demands. I'm hoping that will change to some extent next year when RAINFOREST comes out, and of course as and when it does, details will be posted on my website. In the meantime, I'd like to wish you the very best of luck with your own writing. With best wishes, Michelle
RE: A Recent ReReading
Evan writes...
A few months ago I asked a question subjected "A Recent ReReading", and a little while afterwards I got an email saying my question had been replied to, but on the email the "Michelle replies" section was blank, and I haven't been able to find it on-site. I hope it's not annoying of me to chase this up, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything! All the beet.
Michelle Replies...
Hello, Evan. I'm really sorry that you got a blank answer; I must have pressed the wrong key by mistake! As records don't go back that far, would you mind repeating the question? Again, my apologies. Michelle
Gods and Warriors
Kay writes...
I'd like to say how much I enjoyed the Gods and Warriors series. It always seems underappreciated compared to the Wolfbrother series (which I also really enjoyed, incidentally)
In both series - but particularly G&W- the style of writing, the density of information and the creation of atmosphere were masterly.
I know the books are meant for children/teenagers but there is never anything patronising in them . I'm 65 and I get just as much out of the series as a 15 year old would ! Especially as I'm a keen amateur egyptologist ( loved The Crocodile Tomb...brilliant!)
My question is, will there be any more Audible recordings of G&W books? Toby Stephens made an excellent job of Book 1 and I would be delighted to collect the others .
Anyway, thank you for providing many enthralling hours .
Kay Cooper
Michelle Replies...
How very kind of you, Kay, and I'm so glad that you like Gods and Warriors! I'm also delighted that you liked The Crocodile Tomb, as I particularly enjoyed writing it - having been, like you, an amateur egyptologist for years. You're right that the series hasn't received as much attention as the Wolf Brother books, and I've always thought that this may have something to do with the fact that they have different publishers. I also agree that Toby Stephens gave a terrific reading of the first book. Sadly, though, the publishers decided not to record any more. I don't know why, and I do think it's a pity, but it can't be helped. Still, at least they're still publishing the books! Thank you so much for getting in touch. With very best wishes, Michelle
Croniques des Temps Obscurs
LAURENT writes...
Hello Madam, please can you help me; I can't find Tom 1 of Chroniques des Temps Obscures In French; thank you for your writing which takes us to periods where the sun lights up my moments or the desire to escape the monotony of the days that pass cordially Guy Calixte LAURENT
Michelle Replies...
Hello, Guy. I'm so sorry that you can't find the first volume of Chroniques des Temps Obscures. I'm afraid the only thing I can suggest is that you look for it on the internet, for example, on abe.com or one of the other websites that sells secondhand books - or else write to Hachette, the publishers. Sorry I can't be of more help - and bonne chance! With best wishes, Michelle
Dark Matter
Helen writes...
I’m just back from a trip to Svalbard, all because I read and loved Dark Matter a couple of years ago. (I bought all my family a copy too.) Notice I went when it’s 24 hour daylight, not winter 😂.
Michelle Replies...
Dear Helen, I'm so very glad that you've been to Svalbard! And of course I'm delighted that you enjoyed Dark Matter. Excellent choice to go in the summer. For one things there's lots more wildlife; and for another, it's rather less alarming. I do hope you had a good time - and thanks so much for getting in touch. With best wishes, Michelle