Michelle Paver's Blog, page 3

Books like Wolf Brother and Gods & Warriors

Hey! It's me again. I talked to you awhile ago asking for book recommendations that were like wolf brother and you recommended gods and warriors LIKE OMG ITS SO GOOD, but I was wondering if you could recommend me more books like that? I know it's too much to ask for but… Yeah. I've ordered the witching hour your new book, but when I finish it I'll get the books you recommend.
you're literally my idol tho

Michelle Replies…

Hello, Maryam.  Thanks for both your messages – and I’m so glad that you enjoyed my Gods and Warriors as well as the Wolf Brother books!  I’m afraid I can’t think of similar books to recommend.  There may be many which you’d like, but I don’t really keep up with what’s being written, as I’m too busy writing my own stories.  Maybe you could take a look on some of the good book websites such as Goodreads, and see if they (or Amazon and the like) can recommend similar books to mine?  That might produce a few leads to follow.  Sorry I can’t be of more help, and the best of luck with your search… With best wishes, Michelle

Thank You for the Wolf Brother books (*Spoiler Alert* to those who haven’t read Wolfbane!)

Hi Michelle, this isn't a question, but a sincere thank you. I read COAD for the first time as a nine-year-old, and while I'd always loved playing in the woods and had an interest in bushcraft (and wolves!), your series got me truly obsessed. In large part because of your books, I have learned over the last 15 years as many ancestral skills and primitive technologies as I can get my hands on. I now brain tan deer hides, knap flint, practice archery, build friction fires, and practice many other methods Torak and Renn would have used. It kicked off my wolf obsession, which led me to volunteer at Mission:Wolf in Westcliffe, Colorado, a captive bred wolf sanctuary very similar to its Berkshire cousin. I would write my undergraduate thesis on wolf reintroduction in the American West, and interned at University College Dublin's Center for Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture to learn about Irish bushcraft and archaeology. If you happen to know Dr. Theresa Emmerich Kamper at University of Exeter, she taught me how to make buckskin when I was a teenager. Today at work, I tracked snakes and minks through my employer's horse pastures and thought of Torak's tracking trance. Adulthood is wonderful, but hard, and reading your books brings me back to the primal joy of being a human in the forest. I can't tell you what an influence COAD has been, and continues to be, on me as a writer, person, and practitioner of ancestral skills. These books are part of me. Thank you for sharing them with the world.
I also want to thank you and celebrate you for giving Dark a mate in Kujai. First off, I love Dark and was so happy to see him get a happy ending! But more importantly, thank you for making their relationship just like any other in the COAD universe. I'm American and queer, and my current government is actively trying to demonize my community as an aberrant thing, as are plenty of other backwards people in this world. But as you, I and countless indigenous cultures worldwide know, queer people have always existed, even in the Stone Age, and always will. Thank you for representing that truth in print, especially during such dark times. It means a lot.
I could gush about these stories until the wolves come home, so I'll leave by saying I hope I can meet you in person some day and thank you face to face. In the meantime, thank you for these wonderful books that have helped make me who I am.

Michelle Replies…

Dear Kai, thank you so much for this wonderful message.  I’m delighted that the Wolf Brother stories inspired your wolf studies – not to mention your pursuit of bushcraft, archaeology and conservation – all of which are truly impressive for one still so young! And thank you for sharing that gorgeous picture!  The black wolf strongly reminds me of one I got to know well during my research at the Wolf Trust in Berkshire (apart from the different eye colour, that is); and it’s such a vivid close-up that I want to reach out and stroke her paw!  Finally, I’m really pleased that you liked the storyline of Dark and Kujai.  You’re not alone in this.  I can well understand that these feel like dark times, particularly given how some are trying to demonise different parts of society.  But personally, I take heart from the fact that since I was a child back in the 1960s, things have, in the main, improved for those in the LGBTQ+  community – although not worldwide, of course.  And I hope and trust that this improvement won’t prove easy to turn back.  But enough of that.  Thank you again for getting in touch – and may your studies and your wolf work go from strength to strength!  With very best wishes, Michelle

Kindle!

Hello! I have been reading your Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series since I was a kid! I’m 24 now, and recently decided to reread the series! I chose to get the kindle versions, and have managed to finish the first four books in about five days. I’m messaging not only to tell you how much this series means to me, but also to ask if you know if/when the last five will be available on kindle? I love these books so much and want to finish them as soon as possible. Thank you for your time, and for writing a series that has touched me to my core. You bring these characters and this story to life with your writing. Much love!

Michelle Replies…

Dear Abby, I’m so glad you’re enjoying re-reading COAD as an adult!  As for the availability of the last five books on Kindle, they used to be available, so I’m not sure why you’re having difficulties, but your best bet would really be to contact the publishers yourself – for instance, Harper-Collins in the US, Hachette Children’s Books in the UK, and so on. That would be the quickest and most effective way to get an answer.  I really hope you’re able to get hold of them – and that you enjoy the journey right through until Wolfbane.  May the guardian run with you!  With best wishes, Michelle

Fan art: a picture of Torak

Hi, as an aspiring illustrator/writer I've loved your work since I was in Year 5 of primary school, and have reread the Wolf Brother series at least once a year (it is definitely my comfort series). I think what draws me to the series is the authenticity of the characters, they aren't always likeable or kind, but instead feel like real human beings, which has inspired my own character writing. I just wanted to thank you for writing this series, as though I already had a great appreciation for nature and animals, I gained a much greater respect for them after reading Wolf Brother. So, thanks for that. Attached is some fan art I drew of Torak (the chapter art from the Wolf Brother series was also a great source of inspiration for me). I hope one day to see a graphic novel version of the series.
– Evan

Michelle Replies…

Dear Evan, I’m delighted that the Wolf Brother book are your comfort series, and I was particularly pleased to learn that it’s because the characters feel real.  I worked hard on that when I was writing them, creating biographies for the main characters and for many of the minor ones too; so it’s good to know that all that effort paid off!  Thank you too for sharing your picture of Torak, looking suitably intense.  I wish you all possible good luck with both your writing and your art: may both go from strength to strength!  With best wishes, Michelle

Wolf Brother Fan Art

Kay writes…

Hi Michelle.

We love your work! The Wolf Brother series remains one of my sons' favourites works of literature.
For his recent 15th birthday I made him some book art to celebrate the series. I have included a picture for you.

I have taken a video of the book also but can't upload it – If you would like it I can send it on to you.

Thank you for sharing your writing with us.
Kay Blackshah

Michelle Replies…

Dear Kay, it’s brilliant that your boys like the series – and thank you so much for sharing that stunning picture!  I’d never heard of the term “book art” before, but I love it; and your wolf is really something special.  The boys are lucky to have such a talented mother.  As for sending the video, I’m afraid my tech skills are very limited (Stone Age, you see…) but I’ll have a word with my agent, in case he can work something out.  In the meantime – thanks again.  With very best wishes to you all, Michelle

Gods and Warriors series on Audiobook?

Kaida writes…

Hi, I was wondering where I can buy the complete gods and warriors series on audio.
Or if it’s completed yet?
I can only find book 1 on audible and Spotify

Thanks

Michelle Replies…

Dear Kaida, I’m afraid the answer is that books 2-5 of Gods and Warriors aren’t available as audiobooks, as Puffin decided not to record  them.  They didn’t go into details as to why, they simply made the decision, and I didn’t have any say in the matter.  You’re not the only reader who has asked about this, and I’m so sorry to disappoint you.  However I hope you can still get hold of the books in hard copy or e-book, so that you can follow Hylas and Pirra’s adventures to the end.  With very best wishes, Michelle

Gods and warriors series on Audiobook?

Kaida writes…

Hi, I was wondering where I can buy the complete gods and warriors series on audio.
Or if it's completed yet?
I can only find book 1 on audible and Spotify

Thanks

Michelle Replies…

Dear Kaida, I’m afraid the answer is that books 2-5 of Gods and Warriors aren’t available as audiobooks, as Puffin decided not to record  them.  They didn’t go into details as to why, they simply made the decision, and I didn’t have any say in the matter.  You’re not the only reader who has asked about this, and I’m so sorry to disappoint you.  However I hope you can still get hold of the books in hard copy or e-book, so that you can follow Hylas and Pirra’s adventures to the end.  With very best wishes, Michelle

Thank you: survival in the Stone Age.

Emils writes…

Thank you for your work! I have read some of your articles on your website and they truly mesmerize me, especially the one about survival in the stone age. I am not going to go into the modern world and it's differences, but as i read the article i realized that people lived much differently than how we live today. Everything from sleeping to eating, hunting and crafting, we've gone from that to almost like this imaginary world of unhealthy foods, TV's, internet, heaters, microwave's, cars and escalators. If some higher power would just take these away and just drop us un the wild, we would be nothing, unknowing, confused and naked. Those people thousands of years ago knew the actual game, the real world, they knew everything or at least the majority of it. They knew how to hunt, gather, sleep in the cold, craft boots from sticks, fish, even hunt whales, which was a suprise to me, knowing how big those animals can get. But on the other hand i am a 21 year old living in city where the nearest whale is probably hundreds of miles away from me, somewhere in the vast ocean. Anyways I learned a lot from that article, i am now hooked on this topic because of you, so thank you, thank you for what you do and have a blessed day!

Michelle Replies…

Dear Emils, I’m so glad that my writings have opened a window onto the past for you.  It can be quite a revelation to realise that, for all our civilised ways (or rather, because of them), we wouldn’t manage in the wild nearly as well as our Stone Age ancestors.  Of course, there are advantages to living in the twenty-first century, such as modern medicine, to name just one.  But we’ve lost something too.  Anyway, I’m really delighted that you’ve become interested in this, and thanks again for getting in touch!  With best wishes, Michelle

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

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 . . .

Wolf brother – will there be another series?

Joe writes…

Hi Michelle Paver, justed wanted say a massive thanks for the Wolf brother cronchiles. I love wolves. And loved the books. Iwas a member of the pack at the Wolf conservation trust uk. Which I heard you visited to see Torak. I’m sorry I was unable to meet you in person .What a beautiful wolf as they all are. Michelle my question is would you be writing another series based on the Wolf Brother chronicles and about Wolves ?
Michelle, a huge thanks for the Wolf brother chronicles. I wish you all the best. Keep beginning creative. Speak soon Jo Newgrange

Michelle Replies…

Hello, Jo (or Joe?) – how nice to hear from a fellow frequenter of the UK Wolf Conservation Trust!  And I agree, Torak was a particularly beautiful, and charismatic, wolf; although each one of them had their charms.  I’m so glad you liked the books; but in answer to your question, I’m afraid I’ve no plans to write another series, or even another sequel.  I just feel that with the ninth book, Wolf Bane, I gave Torak, Renn, Wolf and the others a good send-off, and I prefer to end the series on what I hope is a high note.  And although readers have wondered whether I might write something about that world, but with different characters, that’s not something which appeals to me – I think because my conception of that world is so closely bound up with the three main characters. I hope that’s not too much of a disappointment – and thanks again for getting in touch.  May the guardian run with you!  With best wishes, Michelle