Kit de Waal is the author of the new novel My Name is Leon. Her work has won a variety of awards, including the Bridport Flash Fiction Prize in 2014 and 2015. She has worked in criminal and family law and served on adoption panels. She is based in the U.K.
Q: You've said your own background working in
adoption affected your approach to this novel and its characters. What impact
did it have on your depiction of Leon and his family members?
A: Leon is such a lovely boy. He is also a
troubled boy, grieving for the loss of his mother and brother which is
impacting on his behaviour. I have seen many children like this and also seen
how older children often remain in the care system longer than they should.
The novel was a great opportunity of really
allowing people to see how wonderful some of these children are whilst also
looking at how professionals such as foster parents and social workers struggle
to look after children in a flawed system.
Q: You've noted that Leon originally appeared as
an older character in another book you were writing. What about that character
made you want to continue writing about him, particularly as a child?
A: Leon as an adult had a lot to say for
himself. I don’t want to give too much away about the follow-up book, but let’s
just say he isn’t afraid to say what he wants and what he needs which comes
from his childhood and not getting what he wanted at the time. Leon still has
his sense of humour and his formidable strength of character.
Q: What role do you see race playing in the
novel?
A: Leon is mixed-race and his baby brother is
white. So often I’ve seen social workers
struggling with the issue of whether or not to separate siblings or trying to
find adopters to take sibling groups sometimes of different ethnicities, ages,
needs.
It is a sad fact that white babies are far
easier to adopt than 9-year-old mixed-race boys.
Q: You've called it "an unfortunate
truth" that children in care today do not face a situation too different
from that facing someone like Leon in 1981. Are there efforts underway to try
and change the system?
A: I don’t know what the system is like in the U.S.,
but in the U.K. there are always some government initiatives underway to try and
make it better for children in care. Not all of them work.
The thing that would help the most is for
prospective adopters to be aware of how rewarding it would be look after an
older child but also that there are many good people in the system that do
their best.
People like Zebra in the book and Maureen and
Sylvia are important to Leon and make such a big difference to his life. Each
of them gives him something to cling on to when the going gets tough.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: The paperback of My Name is Leon is coming
out in April and I’m putting the finishing touches to my second novel. I’m
also planning on writing a short story collection and a novella. Then another
novel …. I have so many plans and so little time!
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The main character in my next novel is a 60-year-old
Irish woman, and you’re going to love her as much as Leon!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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