HUNT FOR THE GOLDEN SCARAB is a @waterstones paperback of the year! 😃 This is such fabulous news! Waterstones have championed my books ever since Beetle Boy and I’ll forever be eternally grateful. 🪲 Thankyou to every bookseller who has read & recommended my books.❤️📚

Dear Teachers, you can find a free downloadable PDF of THE LEGEND OF VIKING THUNDER classroom activities in TES or you can download it from Dropbox. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/p1v5y...

Dear Teachers, you can find a free downloadable PDF of THE LEGEND OF VIKING THUNDER classroom activities in TES or you can download it from Dropbox. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/p1v5y...

In a bid for comfort, I've started an Agatha Christie audiobook marathon. I am thoroughly enjoying it. If you are looking for spolier-free reviews and recommendations, I'm posting my thoughts on substack. open.substack.com/pub/mgleonar...

#BookReview: THE LEGEND OF VIKING THUNDER by M. G. Leonard @mglnrd.bsky.social @macmillankidsuk.bsky.social #UKMG #MiddleGradeMonday sifaelizabethreads.wordpress.com/2025/09/15/a...

The Legend of Viking Thunder lands in bookshop tomorrow 😃⚡️

My copy just came through the post. Been looking forward to reading this since I discovered the first book back in Febuary.

The Legend of Viking Thunder lands in bookshop tomorrow 😃⚡️

I popped into my local indie Book Nook Hove to sign preorders today. Just two more sleeps until it’s time to travel with The Legend of Viking Thunder!

The Legend of Viking Thunder is published 1 week TODAY. Preorder your copy through @waterstoneskids to be in with a chance to win your own family visit to Viking Land - at Drayton Manor! www.waterstones.com/win/the-lege...

Look at the sprayed edge indie bookshop edition of The Legend of Viking Thunder. You can ONLY get a signed & dedicated one via @booknookhove (my local) I’ll be signing & dedicating your orders before publication so you get them in time. ORDER HERE: booknookuk.com/product/pre-...

When Waterstones tells you that The Legend of Viking Thunder is one of the BEST children’s books publishing this September then I think you should believe them 😃 t.co/8CKhl1yeqU

BACK TO SCHOOL this week, so why not order The Legend of Viking Thunder to kick off a term of reading for pleasure. It’s published in 10 days! 😃

Today's review...'Time Keys: The Legend of Viking Thunder' @mglnrd.bsky.social illustrated by Manuel Sumberac Absolutely brilliant! www.throughthebookshelf.com/reviews/the-legend-of-viking-thunder

When you’re researching Spanish Galleons for Time Keys 4 & one moors up in Shoreham port near Brighton!

The Legend of Viking Thunder is published in 3 weeks! Get a pattered spr-edge in your local indie bookshop. SIGNED pre-order @booknookhove.bsky.social Get a purple spr-edge edition @waterstones.bsky.social Don’t care 4 special editions. Want it delivered, get from @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social

The Legend of Viking Thunder is published in 3 weeks! Get a pattered spr-edge in your local indie bookshop. SIGNED pre-order @booknookhove.bsky.social Get a purple spr-edge edition @waterstones.bsky.social Don’t care 4 special editions. Want it delivered, get from @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social

Wonderful day talking to 800 children at the Edinburgh Literary festival.

Tired & frazzled after delays to my flight, but I’m finally in Edinburgh and as always, delighted & excited to be a part of @edbookfest 📚

It’s only 25 days till The Legend of Viking Thunder sails into bookshops so I thought I share some of Manuel Sumberac incredible internal illustrations with you… they are epic! Preorder a special edition sprayed purple edge edition here: www.waterstones.com/book/the-leg...

It’s only 25 days till The Legend of Viking Thunder sails into bookshops so I thought I share some of Manuel Sumberac incredible internal illustrations with you… they are epic! Preorder a special edition sprayed purple edge edition here: www.waterstones.com/book/the-leg...

Morning lovlies. During this October half term, I'm teaching an @arvonfoundation residential writing course with Steve Voake. If you fancy getting away from distractions & turning your idea for a children's book into a reality, find out more here: www.arvon.org/writing-cour...

Holiday Readers! Hunt for the Golden Scarab is a 99p Kindle deal for the month of August! www.amazon.co.uk/Hunt-Golden-...

Editing one book, plotting the next, researching something entirely new and wondering why I do this to my brain at the same time as bizarrely enjoying it.

Hi, this is a reminder that if you want 1 of the indie bookshop limited edition patterned edged copies of The Legend of Viking Thunder, signed & dedicated by me then you can pre-order from my local bookshop @booknookhove booknookuk.com/product/pre-...

Exciting day. I got to go to the recording studio where the talented Theo Solomon was reading the audiobook of The Legend of Viking Thunder. You can hear it on 11th September. It’s epic!

Delighted that The Legend of Viking Thunder is on this list. If you pre-order through @Waterstones you’ll get a gorgeous edition with purple sprayed edges! 😃💜 www.waterstones.com/blog/the-chi...

Sailing into bookshops in September! Are you ready for The Legend of Viking Thunder? Stunningly Illustrated through-out by Manuel Sumberac Preorder from Waterstones here: www.waterstones.com/book/the-leg...

Sailing into bookshops in September! Are you ready for The Legend of Viking Thunder? Stunningly Illustrated through-out by Manuel Sumberac Preorder from Waterstones here: www.waterstones.com/book/the-leg...

Dear Bloggers, reviewers and teachers, The Legend of Viking Thunder has just arrived on Netgalley. If you are already approved then sail there for an epic summer read. If you are looking to be approved then use this link to request: www.netgalley.com/catalog/prev...

Dear Bloggers, reviewers and teachers, The Legend of Viking Thunder has just arrived on Netgalley. If you are already approved then sail there for an epic summer read. If you are looking to be approved then use this link to request: www.netgalley.com/catalog/prev...

an important project, and not before time; I've never quite managed to work out why so many gay men are obsessed with trains... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Today was spent doing some preliminary research for Time Keys book 4. I will spend my summer writing it and I cannot wait to get started. I wonder if you can guess when in time Sim, Jeopardy and Nelson are going?

Steve is quite shocked it's Monday again.

Today is a research day 😃

This is wonderful news. Reading is the pathway to understanding and growth. It’s not just children and young people who would benefit from a National Year of Reading… what if everyone took part?😃📚

For parents on a budget looking for a good read for their kids this summer holiday… that place named after a river is selling Hunt for the Golden Scarab for under £5

Last year, I took a research trip to Cookham Dean - the place that inspired The Wind in the Willows, visiting the original Wild Wood - Bisham Wood - & walking the banks of the Thames. @davidoakes.bsky.social joined me for a charming podcast chat podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

For aspiring children's writers, I'm teaching an @arvonfoundation course in October www.arvon.org/writing-cour...

Popped in to talk to @BBCr4today about my new book - The Adventures of Portly the Otter - a The Wind in the Willows spin off, coming March 2026. Listen at 8:20am to catch up. Preorder: amzn.eu/d/5qSZbn2

BIG NEWS! I’ve written a book about otters 🦦 😃To be precise, about Portly the otter, from The Wind in the Willows. www.mgleonard.com/news/2025/7/...

Just finished @mglnrd.bsky.social's book 'Hunt for the Golden Scarab'. I picked it up on a whim from a pile of books in a shop in London and definitely no regrets. A fresh concept on time travel using music. A promising start to this series. Quite inspiring. I look forward to Sim's next adventure.

I wish Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adam’s were alive to write stories for these times, that I could buy and read. With all the swirling bombastic talk about AI that’s perpetually being thrown at us, I’m longing for their take.

I had a lovely time @barneskidslitfest.bsky.social today. The event was sold out. Waterstones sold out of Hunt for the Golden Scarabs, and all the readers I met were wonderful. Huge thanks goes to all the unpaid organisers & volunteers who care so much about inspiring children to read. 🥰📚

Nice to get a mention from The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon on Steve Lemacq’s 6music show - reminiscing about Something for the Weekend. They were exciting times.

For parents on a budget looking for a good read for their kids this summer holiday… that place named after a river is selling Hunt for the Golden Scarab for under £5

It’s independent bookshops week! Celebrate these wondrous paces by popping in. In SEPT there’ll be a special limited edition sprayed edge THE LEGEND OF VIKING THUNDER available ONLY in indie bookshops so why not preorder while you’re there to ensure you get one!

Do you remember this chant at school? 'First the worst. Second the best. Third the one with the hairy chest!' I now realise it was about writing a book and refers to the drafts you produce. The hair is a metaphor for all the gorgeous work that design and illustrators do.

If you’re putting a reading list together for the summer holidays, don’t forget Hunt for the Golden Scarab. ‘a daredevil quest… white-knuckle suspense… convincing characters… entertaining.’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Telegraph ‘An absolutely incredible story.’ The Sun

📚 Hunt for the Golden Scarab by M.G. Leonard The first in the new Time Keys series – and it’s a belter! A fast-paced, portal-hopping adventure full of visceral action and historical detail. I could practically smell the sarcophagi!