95 Quotes by Michelle Paver

When my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1991, I asked him if he had any regrets, and he said no. I was a burnt-out litigation solicitor in my thirties, hating my life, and his cancer made me re-evaluate it all.

To experience the northern forest in the raw, I went to northern Finland and Lapland, travelling on horseback, and sleeping on reindeer skins in the traditional open-fronted Finnish laavu. I ate elk heart, reindeer and lingonberries, and tried out spruce resin: the chewing gum of the Stone Age.

I think true wilderness can still be found, but it's hard to reach and dangerous when you get there, which is probably why it still exists.

I've climbed Stromboli when it's erupting, which is quite a heavy climb: three hours with a helmet to get to the top. When you're there, and it's dark, and you can see this eruption and feel it, it's quite different to watching it on TV.

In a ghost story, usually you've got to hang on until daylight, and you'll be alright. But if daylight's four months away, then you have a problem.

A lot of my writing is wish-fulfilment, making things the way I want them to be.

All stories come from the subconscious - which is why it doesn't make sense to over-plan.

Even if you plan your book, the actual writing is unplanned.

For a child, reading a book can be such an intense experience.