Come & explore the real worlds that underpin Michelle’s writing…
In addition to the trips which I made specifically to research the books, I have over the years made many trips which I have used in writing the books.
The Shetland Isles: in 1988 I rented a remote cottage on Unst, the northernmost island in the British Isles. My notes on…more
To research OATH BREAKER, I needed inspiration for the Deep Forest, which had to feel utterly different from the Open Forest where, until now, the story had been set. So I travelled to the last remnant of primeval lowland Forest in Europe: the Bialowieza Forest in Poland.
In Bialowieza I saw…more
What sort of research about the world’s wildest places could you possibly do in the middle of the world’s biggest cities? In fact, you can do a lot of research without leaving town… in your library.
In addition to location and wolf research, I also did lots of library research. What…more
For GHOST HUNTER, I needed inspiration for the Mountain of Ghosts, and to refresh my memory on what the Forest is like in winter.
I visited Finnish Lapland in midwinter, where, in the Urkho Kekkonen National Park, I snowshoed for miles through the silent forest, following the tracks of a female…more
This is an eclectic list of books which have in some way influenced my writing, and/or how I perceive the natural world. All are beautifully written. If you don’t know them, I’d urge you to try one or two.
1. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Fresh, vivid and unpatronizing, this…more
1. The Mind in the Cave by David Lewis-Williams
A persuasive account of the origins and purpose of the great cave-paintings of western Europe. Drawing evidence from neurology, anthropology and archaeology, Lewis-Williams proposes that the ancient shamans entered caves in order to interact with the spirit world. The…more
The Forest is central to Torak’s world, and it has always struck me as a bit ironic that in order to make the paper to bring readers Torak’s story, masses of trees have to be cut down.
However, some forms of paper are more environmentally friendly than others. For instance, some…more
Michelle, the setting for The Shadow Catcher is a new one for you… much of the story takes place in colonial Jamaica. How did you go about researching that period?
First of all I had to do masses of reading in the British Library, and the Colindale Newspaper Library – which…more
