Correct the contents of the e-mail

Ask Michelle Anything

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


Upcoming Live Events With Michelle

Incredible… Inspiring… In Person!

Only 49 days to grab your ticket!

Wimbledon Book Festival

October 17, 2025
Festival patron and Sunday Times bestselling author Michelle Paver will talk about her latest supernatural fiction in this live recording with Always Take Notes, a podcast for and about writers and writing.

Michelle will discuss her incredible career, from finding inspiration for Wolf Brother on Wimbledon Common to her latest novel Rainforest, which weaves Mayan culture with themes of obsession, gender and rebirth.

Only 52 days to grab your ticket!

The Witching Hour with Bridget Collins, Michelle Paver and Laura Shepherd-Robinson – Waterstones Canterbury

October 20, 2025

Join Bridget Collins, Michelle Paver and Laura Sheperd-Robinson as they discuss their stories in a brand new collection of ghostly tales called The Witching Hour.

In this dazzling collection of original haunted tales, thirteen bestselling and much-loved authors bring the old superstition of the witching hour to new and vivid life.
Transporting you from the smog of London to the freezing mists of Svalbard, from an Irish town riddled with rumour to a sinister English boarding school, these thirteen stories will serve as your spine tingling companion to the long hours of winter.
So curl up, light a candle, and wait for the clock to strike . . .
Only 57 days to grab your ticket!

Yeovil Literary Festival

October 25, 2025

An experience like no other. From a writer like no other...

Successfully published as an adult author, the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (“Wolf Brother”) were her first books for younger readers, followed by her brilliant 5-part series set in the bronze age, Gods and Warriors. On the adult side, her first ghost story, Dark Matter, was a UK bestseller and won massive praise from reviewers and readers alike, as did her second ghost story, Thin Air.

Oxford Literary Festival 2026

March 29, 2026

The Oxford Literary Festival takes place in venues across central Oxford, such as Blackwell's bookshop, the Bodleian Library, the Sheldonian Theatre, the Weston Library, and Oxford colleges such as Christ Church and Worcester College. The festival includes international authors, journalists, intellectuals, historians, and poets.