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Beetle Boy author M. G. Leonard talks about her journey from arachnophobia to insect lover and shares some songs that soundtracked her writing from Nat King Cole, to Tom Waits, Max Richter and more.

Maya explains: "Back in the day of C90s I was a mixtape maker. When I met my husband, Sam, I made him a three CD playlist of all the songs that are essential to me and it took days to reduce the list to that size! When I am writing the first draft of a book, I like to listen to music and find pieces that evoke a mood, emotion or atmosphere and put them into a playlist on my computer. I often have songs that epitomise a character or are the soundtrack to a scene.

My third book, Battle of the Beetles is the third and final part of my trilogy about beetles – the insects not the band. To celebrate, I’ve created a trilogy playlist with songs that conjure up key moments from each book and that I’ve listened to, and taken inspiration from, whilst writing."

Book One - Beetle Boy
This book is about a boy who becomes friends with a rhinoceros beetle and goes on an adventure to find his father. The Elvis Presley song conjures up the buffoons Humphrey and Pickering, two stooges who seem like the baddies until you meet the real villain. The Sigur Ros song Hoppipolla evokes a mood of wonder which Virginia feels when she sees the battalions of beetles lined up for battle at the end.

1, Nature Boy – Nat King Cole
2, Alexander Beetle (Live at Carnagie Hall) – Melanie
3, Trouble – Elvis Presley
4, Lean On Me – Bill Withers
5, Army Ants – Tom Waits
6, Hoppipolla – Sigur Ros

Book Two - Beetle Queen
A story about transformation, and teenagers struggling with the relationships with their parents. An epic journey with a suitcase full of beetles to stop a megalomaniac going mad in Hollywood. The Muse song is the soundtrack to the climax of this book.
7, I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
8, Independence Day – Bruce Springsteen
9, Lady Bird – Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood
10, Solo Piano - Metamorphosis 4 – Philip Glass
11, Take A Bow – Muse

Book Three - Battle of the Beetles
Set in the Amazon jungle, this book reflects on our place in the earth’s ecosystem, our responsibilities and our failings, as well as looking at the mother / daughter relationship. Of course, we can achieve nothing if we don’t have a little help from our friends… the beetles.
12, Everybody Wants to Rule The World – Lorde
13, Welcome to the Jungle – Guns 'N’ Roses
14, Mother – Moloko
15, Three Worlds, Music from Woolf Works: VIII. Orlando: Transformation – Max Richter
16, With A Little Help From My Friends – The Beatles

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