Author Spotlight: Interview with Suzanne Leal

All about the novel Running with Ivan

Who is Suzanne Leal?

Suzanne is the author of novels The Watchful Wife, The Deceptions, The Teacher’s Secret and Border Street. Her debut children’s novel is Running With Ivan, a story of time travel and adventure. A regular presenter at literary, corporate, community and school events, she is the former chair of the fiction and poetry panel for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards and is a board member of BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival. From 2017 to 2019, she was the senior judge for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. A keen traveller, she is a fluent French and German speaker.

What is Running with Ivan about?

Thirteen-year-old Leo Arnold hates his life. He doesn’t want a new school, a new house or a new family. And he definitely doesn’t want to be sharing a room with his new stepbrother, Cooper.

What Leo wants is to be somewhere else, far away. So when he uncovers an old music box and turns the key, he is astonished to find himself in Prague, surrounded by whispers and fears of a second world war. A war that ended decades ago.

In Prague, Leo meets Ivan, a Czech boy, and the two become friends. But when World War Two finally erupts, the unimaginable becomes real and the boys are imprisoned. Fearing the worst, Leo and Ivan frantically search for an escape. A search that sends them running.

Interview

What was your inspiration for Running with Ivan?

I have friends who grew up in blended families and I wanted to consider how two separate families might merge together and the challenges this could pose, both for the children and the adults. For the historical part of the novel, I was inspired by the stories of my former neighbour, Fred Perger, a Czech Australian who had been interned in the ghetto of Theresienstadt during the Second World War. I’ve always loved time-travel stories and, inspired by Fred, began to imagine a story of two boys from different times who become friends in the midst of the Second World War.

What drew you to writing middle grade?

I have four children – three boys and a girl – and I’ve spent many years reading with them, buying books for them, taking them to the library and listening to audiobooks with them. I’ve long admired authors who write vividly, honestly and intelligently for middle-grade readers and was excited by the breadth of ideas I could explore with children of this age

What was your process for writing Running with Ivan?

I try to write every day even if it’s just for a short amount of time. Writing daily keeps the narrative fresh in my mind, sparking new ideas and thoughts. I find writing the first draft of a novel very difficult. It’s always a slog and my challenge is to simply keep writing without thinking about the quality of the prose. Once I have the first draft finished – however rough and disjointed – the next draft is always much easier as the rhythm of the writing starts to take form. When HarperCollins accepted Running with Ivan for publication, the novel was in the third person. My publisher, Lisa Berryman, suggested rewriting it in the first person, from Leo’s perspective. It was an excellent suggestion and made the novel both more immediate and more exciting.

How did you choose which character to focus the story?

Running with Ivan was always going to be Leo’s story. When we first meet him, he is still reeling from the death of his mother and finding it hard to cope with his father’s marriage to Julia and the move to both a new house – shared with Julia’s two sons – and a new school. I wanted to see Leo through this difficult time and explore how he might find the resilience and confidence and courage to deal with it. As it turns out, his time-travel adventures and subsequent friendship with Ivan provide him with exactly the skills he needs.

What is your approach to world and character building?

I use the software program, Scrivener, when I write my novels. It organises my work by including templates for character sketches and settings. I complete a character sketch for each of my characters and return to these notes to develop their lives and personalities. I keep a note of each of the settings I use which starts to give me a picture of the world I’m trying to create.

Did you have a favourite moment to write in Running with Ivan?

I liked writing the scene where Leo and Ivan are racing against time to try to save Olinda.

How would you describe Running with Ivan in five words?

A gripping time-travel adventure.

What was your favourite book growing up?

I loved Anne of Green Gables.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

I enjoy reading historical fiction.