Authorgraph No.257: MG Leonard

MG Leonard interviewed by Joy Court

‘Beetles made me a writer’ is the instant response that M.G. Leonard gave to my traditional opening question, before describing how education had convinced her that she could not write. Instead, she had turned to the theatre, where her writing was liberated by discovering that the greatest storyteller of all ignored grammar!  It was when attempting to describe a setting populated with the creepy-crawlies she feared that she began investigating insects, realising the depth of her ignorance. She was particularly struck by the heroism of beetles and searched for books she could share with her 7-year-old son, so that he did not inherit her phobias, and found none. This was the lightbulb moment for what would become the Branford Boase Award-winning Beetle Boy, although it took 10 years of research and 14 rewrites before she felt she had a story worthy of the subject matter. Thinking it would be a ‘niche’ product, she worked hard to make it ‘so compelling, funny and appealing that the reader would be dragged in and made to like these creatures’.

But she ‘had no idea what [she] was doing’ and wrote the complete story all in one go. A newly employed editor friend told her that, at 250,000 words ‘nobody would read it’. Luckily this is where her theatre experience paid off. She was able to think in the familiar three act structure, with her focus being that her conclusion to the trilogy would have to have ‘proper final-actness’. Having read ‘every trilogy going’ and often finding herself dismayed by the ending, she did not want her readers left with any sadness or questions. She still thought her beetle story could ‘bomb’ so was delighted to be able to negotiate a 3-book deal with Barry Cunningham at Chicken House, which meant the whole story would be published. Triumph was followed by dismay when she discovered how quickly Chicken House would need the finished text for The Beetle Queen and then Battle of the Beetles, when she had a one-year-old baby and full-time job!

The idea for her next venture had popped up and been ‘pinned’ before Beetle Boy was published. Trains were another topic Maya knew literally nothing about, yet every male member of her family was completely obsessed with them. Once again, she searched for something that would appeal to her eldest reluctant reader son and found nothing. ‘This was either a terrible idea or an opportunity’. She was working with Sam Steadman at the National Theatre at the time and when she described her concept, ‘He exploded with ideas’. If Sam could bring the fanatical train knowledge, she could bring her childhood Nancy Drew obsession and desire to be a detective, to the creation of this very successful ‘Agatha Christie for children’ series. Her only proviso being that the final last edit ‘would be mine’ but the process has been ‘a real pleasure’ and The Highland Falcon Thief went on to win The British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year, with the final sixth book in this bestselling series, The Arctic Railway Assassin, just published.

The breakneck pace of the Adventures with Trains journey meant that any solo work ‘felt like an extra special treat’ and when Walker Books invited her to join them to discuss ideas (a meeting which also led to her first picturebook The Tale of a Toothbrush) they were very keen on another ‘pinned’ idea inspired by children she met during Beetle Boy tours. Many of these nature-loving children were birdwatchers. One child asked if she would write about birds one day and in another lightbulb moment, she looked at this child and noticed that his bird watching paraphernalia was just what a detective would have – the notebook, camouflage, observation skills and patience.

But the other inspiration for what would become Twitch was much more personal. Her late mother-in-law was an inspirational primary headteacher and a keen advocate of her books but, when asked if there was anything she didn’t like in the books, replied that actually there was! The bullies in the Beetle Boy trilogy remained bullies throughout and were never given the opportunity to learn to love insects. ‘I felt so told off- she was 100% right’. That shock realization meant that this book would have to have a bully so she could try again. She already had Twitch, the bird watching loner detective and she knew that the relationship between the boys would be at the heart of the story. Both characters had a ‘lot of me’ she says, ‘I was an oddball, but I was fine with being weird, I never minded not fitting in, I was never insecure.’ But she also moved around a lot with her father’s job and knew how Jack felt as a newcomer. ‘There is something really isolating about looking out at a playground, seeing everyone in their groups and knowing that you don’t fit in to any of them.’ Jack is very insecure, he has an information deficit, he knows nothing about the countryside, he feels stupid and that makes him mean. ‘I don’t believe in bullies. All behaviour has a context.’ is something her mother-in-law said that really resonated and teachers have told her how much they value the way that bullying behaviour and the friendship which develops between the boys, is explored in Twitch.

Having only just got into insects (by now vice president of the insect charity Buglife and with a tank of exotic pets) she was determined birdwatching would be a hobby too far. It was important that the setting would be realistic and in Cromwell Bottom Nature Reserve in Yorkshire she found just the place, with mixed habitats and in the middle of a working-class area. These books may be her ‘homage to the Secret Seven’ but they were not to be some idealised middle-class way of life. Realising that birdwatching is a very seasonal activity, with the type of birds seen and their type of activity varying, she wanted to be completely accurate. Twitch takes place in the summer and the whole family spent several days at the nature reserve with every bird spotted featuring in the book. But it was also this trip which presented her with a ‘spark moment’. An early morning encounter with kingfishers ‘felt like witnessing real magic. The world seemed to get bigger, and time slowed down’. This ‘changed the world for me’ and now a self- confessed bird nerd she wants children to seek that moment and realise there is magic to be found.

Spark, just published, very properly takes place in the autumn, and takes its title from that ‘spark’ moment for Jack, whose insecurity is still showing. Compared to Twitch’s birdwatching knowledge, he feels a bit of a fraud and still an outsider. Instead, he tries to prove himself the top detective in the Twitchers group. Pursuing the mystery attacker of neighbourhood cats leads Jack to uncover the darker side of grouse shooting and the danger presented to birds of prey.  The Twitchers have certainly moved on from pursuit of the classic ‘robber’ figure in Twitch, although that very deservedly won the Crimefest Award for Best Crime Novel for Children, to a very serious, contentious and current issue. ‘The idea that wealthy people breed one particular bird just to kill it and that birds of prey also get killed needs to be addressed’. Yet she also says she has no wish ‘to wallop children over the head with an eco- message’ but they do need to be aware. Jack’s transformation to ‘birder’ obviously mirrors her own experience and there is no mistaking the author’s passion. Character names always have a significance in all her books and while some are obvious like Corvus Featherstone or Darkus Cuttle, others are more subtle. ‘Names ooze with the right kind of vibe to give the story a layer that is possibly invisible to anyone but me’. Jack is synonymous with Everyman and if he can become a birder, then anyone can, being the underlying message.

The seasonal nature of birdwatching meant that she realised very early on that she wanted to write a quartet reflecting the seasons – ‘a nice structural conceit’. Although each book stands alone, ‘If you read all four you will get a rich feel of the ornithological world’. Tying in real world publication schedules can be trickier hence, Clutch, the next to appear in April 2023 will be set in spring to be followed by winter in February 2024 by Feathers.  The Twitchers will be on the track of respectively egg thieves and a daring feather heist from the Natural History Museum. Now the train series is finished she looks forward to spending more time with the birds. Books she is ‘fiercely proud of’ and which she describes as ‘the best books I’ve written’, multi-layered, with fast paced adventure and great detective plotting, it is the humanity and emotional truth that does indeed make this series outstanding. I think her mother-in-law would be very proud!

Joy Court is a trustee of The United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA), co-founder of All Around Reading and Conference Manager for CILIP Youth Libraries Group. She is a Past Chair of the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals.

Books by MG Leonard

Beetle Boy, Chicken House, 978-1910002704, £7.99pbk

Beetle Queen, Chicken House, 978-1910002773, £7.99pbk

Battle of the Beetles, Chicken House. 978-1910002780, £7.99pbk

The Highland Falcon Thief, with Sam Sedgman, Macmillan, 978-1529013061, £7.99pbk

The Tale of a Toothbrush, illus by Daniel Rieley, Walker, 978-1406391817, £7.99pbk

Kidnap on the California Comet, with Sam Sedgman, Macmillan. 978-1529013085, £7.99pbk

Rex the Rhinoceros Beetle, illus Duncan Beedie. Scholastic, 978-1406391817, £6.99 pbk

Murder on the Safari Star, with Sam Sedgman, Macmillan. 978-1529013108

Twitch, Walker, 978-1406389371, £7.99pbk

Danger at Dead Man’s Pass, with Sam Sedgman, Macmillan, 978-1529013122, £7.99pbk

Sabotage on the Solar Express, with Sam Sedgman, Macmillan, 978-1529072655, £7.99pbk

Spark, Walker, 978-1406389388, £7.99 pbk

The Arctic Railway Assassin, with Sam Sedgman, Macmillan, 978-1529072761, £7.99 pbk