Niall Leonard: Hello. My name is Niall Leonard. I'm from Northern Ireland and I've written three books called Crusher, Incinerator and Shredder. The hero of these books is called Finn McGuire and I chose the name McGuire for him because it was my mother's name before she married. I've always preferred the name McGuire to the name Leonard because McGuire is easier to spell and it's more truly Irish.

Centuries ago my father's people were called MacAlinion When the English conquered Ireland they couldn't pronounce names like that. They forced the Irish natives to use English and soon the MacAlinion became known as the Leonards instead. In Ireland Leonard is a surname but of course in England and in the USA Leonard is a first name. So when I was younger people would often get my names the wrong way around and call me Leonard Niall. Thankfully that's hardly ever happens anymore. There are a lot more Nialls around than there used to be.

In different parts of Ireland my first name, Niall, is pronounced in different ways. Some Irish people say Neal and some say Niall. But my family and I have always pronounced it Niall, Niall Leonard.