Sari writes…

I'd like to inform you that there has been a correction to the text of the email I sent you earlier. I mistakenly wrote "What do you think about their names?", but the correct question is about how to name the characters. I'm not confident in my English and relied on a translation app, so I'm sorry if it sounds strange! I look forward to hearing from you.

Michelle Replies…

Dear Sari, Konichiwa!  Thank you very much for both emails, and I’m delighted that you have enjoyed my books since you were at school.  If I understand your (corrected)  question, you want to know how to pronounce, or say, the characters’ names – so here’s the answer.  Torak: the “o” is short, like the 1st “o” in the Japanese name “Toshiro”; the “a” is short, like the “a” in “Rashomon” (you can tell I’m a Kurosawa fan!);- and the stress (emphasis) is on the 1st syllable.  Renn: the “e” is short, as in “yen”.  As for Okami (Wolf), you know how to say that better than I!  You also asked about the origin of Torak’s name.  Well, the short answer is, I made it up.  But in doing so, I thought about sounds from old languages, particularly Old Norse (the language of the Vikings).  So when I came up with “Torak”, I was pleased, as I thought I’d invented a good, strong name.  I was suprised when I went to Greenland to research the second book, Spirit Walker, and an Inuit girl told me that in her language, Greenlandic, it means “perfect”.  I thought this was great – even though Torak, being human, is not perfect.  I told the Inuit girl that it also felt a bit spooky that I had happened across that name, but she wasn’t surprised.  She said, “Oh well, you must have been Inuit in a previous life.”  I hope the above answers your questions, and that you continue to enjoy the stories.  Thank you so much again for getting in touch.  With very best wishes, Michelle