Karolina and Iza writes...

Dear Michelle Paver,

We (together with my sister) would like to thank you for the series of books which you have written ‘Chronicles of Ancient Darkness’. We read this series when we were children and it is like the ‘Harry Potter’ series for us - we grew up with it and it had a big influence on us.
Especially the advice that Torak heard from Fin-Kedinn, when he was overthinking about his problems, to focus only on one mesh at a time, during the process of making a fishing net. This advice we still apply now in our own lives and advise it to others.
We hope that you will read this message.

Thank you.
Karolina and Iza from Poland

Michelle Replies...

Dear Karolina and Iza, Thank you so much for your lovely message, and  I'm absolutely delighted that you've enjoyed my Chronicles of Ancient Darkness stories!  I'm particularly pleased that you liked and have been helped by Fin-Kedinn's advice to Torak.  Fin-Kedinn has always been one of my favourite characters, and I often think about the various things he has told Torak, Renn and Dark, over the course of the series. (That might sound a bit weird, given that I created him; but it's true.)  Thank you both again so much for getting in touch - and may the guardian run with you!

With very best wishes, Michelle

Daniel writes...

Hi Michelle

I first read Dark Matter sometime ago (maybe 6/7 years ago) and I remember not only at the time what an unbelievable chilling read it was, but how it haunted me with my own imagination and imagery thereafter. I've not been able to read it since yet it remains in my top 10 books of all time.

I have now just finished Wakenhyrst. Long overdue I'll admit as life gets in the way but a week away and you've drawn me in again. Your writing is fantastic and eloquently broken down in its structure of prose and diary entries.

I guess part of this is praise, a hope one day I can get the time in to get a signed copy from you, but really the question is how do you build suspense on pages?
In other media forms, music, acting, lighting, words (or the absence of) do so well, but you seem to do this phenomenally well I'm sure many of your readers agree.

I have read many many books across a broad spectrum and I liken your story telling to the Eddings fantasy tales and the twists and turns of Dean Koontz ,but neither and beyond have captured the chilling imagery you seem to put into my brain, and the satisfaction having not read cover to cover in a while that you have delivered.

Whilst I haven't read your teenage fantasy I encourage my girls to read them and I hope they see the same art that I do.

Bravo. I hope I can maybe catch you in the lake district or Lancaster once upon a time. I look forward to your next tale.

Michelle Replies...

Dear David,

What a wonderful message to receive!  I'm delighted that you've enjoyed not only Dark Matter, but Wakenhyrst, too; and I'm particularly pleased that my imagery has proved memorable.  Your question about how I build suspense is an excellent one, but I find it very hard to answer.  For me, building suspense is partly objective, that is, planning what the reader should be told and when, as well as what questions to raise in the reader's mind, and when. But then the subjective bit comes in.  By that I mean the imagery and the other details and events which just seem to well up from the unconscious, particularly as one gets deeper and deeper into writing the story, and identifies more strongly with the characters.  You can't plan for that, and it's my favourite part of writing; but it's also the most mysterious.

There you go, I've had a stab at answering you.  Thank you so much for getting in touch - and I really hope that you continue to enjoy my stories.  With very best wishes, Michelle

August writes...

I have recently finished Ghost Hunter and I am loving every book, I finished outcast in 3 days and it will be my favorite book forever. I thank you for the amazing journey you have given and are still giving me, your creativity is unmatched. Now I was wondering if there will be more content on this series, I am aware at the attempts of the TV series and we can all hope it works out. I also know Wolf Bane is the final book, I have yet to reach it but I will get there pretty soon I am sure. But will there be anything else? Anything like a board game or some additional art (Just examples)? I and probably many other people never want it to end ha! Thank you for reading and have a great day!

Michelle Replies...

Dear August, it's brilliant to know that you're loving the books so much!  You are quite right that Wolf Bane is the final book - and I'm afraid that I don't have any plans to write more Wolf Brother stories .  I explained why in a previous answer to a reader (Josiah, back in February), but briefly, I feel that I've reached a natural end, and that in Wolf Bane I've given Torak, Renn and Wolf a good send-off. As for the proposed tv series, sadly, that isn't going to happen (for more on that, see my answer to Tereza, back in May), and there are currently no plans for adaptations.  If that changes, I'll post on my website.  Nor are there any board games or additional content - although there's lots of fan art online (see my website wolfbrother.com for some amazing stuff).  I think the thing to celebrate, though, is your response to these stories, which is clearly heartfelt and intense.  Relish that.  Not everyone has the ability to get so involved in a story.   And remember, you can always experience it again by re-reading the books.  They'll always be with you.  Thank you so much for getting in touch.  With very best wishes, Michelle

Joseph writes...

I love your books, I have dearly since a tender age, and when I found out later in life they were narrated by Ian McKellen I was flabbergasted and went to listen to them and was in awe at the first books narration. But for some reason Spirit Walker and Soul Eater aren't available in the US (?) or for some reason they can't be found, bought or streamed anywhere online. The 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th+ etc. are available but not Spirit Walker and Soul Eater which are ones I have a lot of nostalgia for. Frankly it felt like a miracle when I found out Ian McKellen narrated the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, and it feels as though two different childhood wonders collided together, I'm in love with his readings of all the other books. Is there anyone you can talk to or anything you can do to make the Spirit Walker and Soul Eater audiobooks available? Is there a reason why these two audiobooks aren't available or is it just some kind of marketing error we can't have those 2 books but all the other ones? I hope so, I really want to hear them. It's heartbreaking I can't get them and I'm desperate, lol. I would pay a lot of money to just have the two in audio form but I literally can't get them anywhere.

Michelle Replies...

Dear Joseph, I'm delighted that my stories have meant so much to you, and I do really feel for you about not being able to get hold of the Spirit Walker and Soul Eater audiobooks . You're not the first reader to point out this anomaly. Unfortunately, I can't explain this, and to date,  I haven't been able to get an explanation (or remedy) from my publishers.  I can only suggest that you write to them and add your voice to those of the other readers who have asked about this.  I'm so sorry that I can't help - and thank you again for getting in touch.  With very best wishes, Michelle

Valentina writes...

Dear Michelle,
I’m writing from Italy, my name is Valentina and I’m 28 years old. Like other young people around the world, I grew up with the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. I was 7/8 years old when I read Wolf Brother for the first time, I fondly remember the moments when, impatient and excited, I would wait for the bookstore clerk to give the new book of the Chronicles to me...strictly always pre-ordered. I would caress the cover and foretaste the return to the Forest, beginning to read it already on the way home. I have always loved reading, but the Chronicles have a very special place in my heart. When I heard that three more sequels were coming out, I immediately got copies in the original language, and I just finished reading Wolfbane: the ending moved me, and left me with an unspeakable nostalgia... it's impossible to let go of stories and characters that are so beloved. In fact, I have reread the first six books almost 15 times up to now....

I think there is no higher and more satisfying goal for a writer than to touch people's hearts with their stories. You have done that, and I would like to express all my esteem and appreciation to you. Now that I have grown up (and become a biologist!) I appreciate even more the care, the deep research and practical experience behind each and every book. The reconstruction of customs and traditions, the flora, the foods, the techniques of manufacturing weapons, shelters and clothing, the hunting techniques...the Forest, and all the places that are the background to the Chronicles, feel like real places because of the care and mastery with which they were written. The people who populate it, like those in the real world, are good, not so good, people who grow and improve, or people who are firm in cultivating their dark side with no possibility of redemption. Dealing with such diverse cultures, with themes that even touch on misogyny or religious extremism, and with brotherhood among the nations always being the winner, makes these books 9 little treasures in which the reader grows along with the protagonists. That's another reason I love your books so much: I've seen Renn, Dark, Wolf and Torak become themselves. Renn is my favorite, an example for all young girls, for me the character who has grown the most and found inner peace by embracing herself and accepting her gifts. That’s so wonderful.

Books have always been my best friends. If I could get into one, I would certainly choose the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness saga. I know that for you 9 books are enough and that you are satisfied with the ending, but I hope that sooner or later there will be space for more stories. I would like to see what Torak's life would be like without Wolf, who won't be a young wolf anymore in a few years, to see Torak and Renn grow up further. I am grateful to you for not making them parents, and I agree with the motivations behind this choice...I can imagine them, at most, as foster parents. There is always an ambivalence in Torak between belonging to the human world and loving Renn and belonging to Wolf and his world. Which would he choose if he were forced to make a choice? If he had not met Torak, would Renn still have ended up walking away from life with the Ravens in favor of a more solitary one? I would love it if you wrote about this. I always hope for a comeback, as do so many other fans. Never say never!

With all my esteem and affection,

Valentina

Michelle Replies...

Dear Valentina, What a marvellously uplifting message to receive when I sat down to check my messages after a rather long and wearisome day!  I'm absolutely delighted that my books have meant so much to y0u (I love the idea of you as a child, stroking the cover of each story when it came out), and I'm glad that Wolfbane proved a fitting end.  I agree with you that there's nothing more satisying for a writer than to touch people's hearts with their writing - although in my case, it's not something I ever set out to to.  I simply write because I have to.  Having said that, though, it's marvellous to know that my stories have affected readers so deeply.  As for future stories, you know the characters so well that you've raised some really thoughtful and tempting questions about what might happen next.  For now, though, I shall have to leave them to readers to follow up.  Again, thank you so much for your perceptive and deeply considered comments - and I hope you continue to enjoy being in the Forest.  With very best wishes - and all possible good fortune in your career as a biologist - Michelle