MG Leonard introduces her Time Keys adventures
About Author
MG Leonard's new Time Keys series takes us into the world of time-travel and ancient mysteries. She is also the author of bestselling series including The Twitchers, Beetle Boy and Adventures on Trains.
MG Leonard is an experienced producer, director and actor, and worked in theatre for over ten years, primarily at Shakespeare's Globe, The Royal Opera House, and as the Senior Digital Producer for The National Theatre. She now writes fulltime and lives in Brighton with her partner and two sons.
You can find MG Leonard at www.mgleonard.com and on X @MGLnrd
Interview
Hunt for the Golden Scarab (Macmillan Children's Books)
January 2025
We caught up with author MG Leonard to find out about Hunt for the Golden Scarab - the first book in her new Time Keys adventures! Enjoy this time-travel adventure that takes us back to Ancient Egypt with two children who have a mystery to solve, and a golden scarab to find - and find out how string theory helped inspire the novel in our Q&A with MG Leonard!
Read a chapter from Hunt for the Golden Scarab.
MG Leonard introduces Hunt for the Golden Scarab, the first Time Keys adventure!
"Ancient Egypt is an incredible part of human history that lasted for over 3000 years. Everything about it is
fascinating and impressive."
1. What happens in your new book, Hunt for the Golden Scarab?
Hunt for the Golden Scarab is the first in a series of time travelling adventures called Time Keys. At the beginning of the story, Sim discovers his mum has secrets, and that there are people after her called The Council, but he doesn't know why. The Council is seeking Nefertiti's gold heart scarab, so they set out to find it first, which puts them on a path to Egypt where Sim finds out his mum has the power to open doors in time. To find out more, you'll have to read it.
2. What drew you to writing about time travel, and how does the time travel work in the book? How do you make it seem believable?
I've always loved time travel stories and am a fan of Doctor Who. In the Time Keys series, the people with the power to open doors in time are young musicians. They open the doors in time by playing music, which makes the doors resonate and connect to the time in which they were made.
I got the idea from learning about string theory, which suggests that everything in the universe is built from tiny vibrating strings. String theory is the theory that makes possible parallel universes and is employed by Marvel in their multiverse.
3. This is an action-packed story with lots of surprises through the pages. How do you plan out your ideas before you start writing?
I plot the whole book before I start writing. When I get ideas for dramatic scenes, characters, or locations, I scribble them on a postit note and stick it to a blank wall in my writing shed. Then I move all the posit notes around, and keep adding, until I've got the shape of a story.
4. Why did you want to start the series in Egypt?
Ancient Egypt is an incredible part of human history that lasted for over 3000 years. Everything about it is fascinating and impressive. When I first visited the Sir John Soane's Museum - where the book starts - I was blown away by the sarcophagus of Seti I that you can see there. It was immediately obvious to me where the first book should take our heroes.
5. What will readers find out about Ancient Egypt in Hunt for the Golden Scarab? Do you hope the book will entice them to find out more?
There is a lot about both modern Luxor and Ancient Egypt in the story. The reader will visit a period of time in which the 18th Dynasty ruled Egypt and Tutankhamun was destined to by Pharoah. If you are interested in mummification, there's a lot of that in the story and the rituals around death, for that is when a heart scarab is used.
6. Can you tell us about your travels to Egypt to research your book? Did anything surprise you about the Ancient Egyptians or modern day Egypt?
I took a cruise along the Nile to learn about modern and Ancient Egypt. We visited many temples and tombs, with an Egyptian Egyptologist who taught me a lot about the pharaohs, nobles, people and culture of the past.
One of the things that surprised me was a whole museum dedicated to the mummified remains of crocodiles. Sobek was an Ancient Egyptian god who was depicted with the head of a crocodile, and the mummified crocs were probably offerings to him. Now though, thanks to the Aswan dam, there are no longer crocodiles in the Nile river.
7. If you were a 'key' and could step back in time, where would you want to visit?
London 1599, to be at the opening of the Globe Theatre. I would love to have seen Julius Ceasar performed and experienced being an audience member of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays.
8. What have been your own biggest real-life adventures?
Becoming an author has been a huge adventure and it's not over yet!
9. What do you most enjoy doing in your down-time, when you're not out looking for inspiration?!
I love gardening and going birdwatching on the South Downs.
10. For children who enjoy Hunt for the Golden Scarab, which of your other books might they also enjoy?
If you like scarabs and adventure, then I recommend you read Beetle Boy and the rest of that trilogy. The seeds of the Time Keys series were sown when I wrote that book.
Hunt for the Golden Scarab (Time Keys, book 1)
