Blog Tour: Ivy Newt and the Storm Witch

Having just met Derek at the FCBG Conference, I am doubly delighted to be taking part in the Blog Tour for his new book, ‘Ivey Newt and the Storm Witch’. With illustrations by Magda Brol throughout, this is the first in a series about Ivy Newt, her familiar, Tom, and their adventures in Miracula.

It’s Ivy’s birthday and, although the worst storm in the history of Miracula has prevented her friends from flying over for Ivy’s birthday, her parents, Queen Fenella and King Lucius, are doing their best to spoil her and make the day special. As part of the entertainment, they are going to perform some birthday magic…which leads to them disappearing! Suspecting foul play, Ivy and her shape-shifting familiar, Tom, must find a way to make them reappear!

Engaging from the first page, ‘Ivy Newt and the Storm Witch’ is a pacy, entertaining story. Although a witch and a shaper-shifter, Ivy and Tom have characteristics which children will recognise and empathise with. Their friendship helps them to find the courage and determination needed to find Ivy’s parents and solve the mystery of their disappearance.

With plenty of humour, the children triumph over the wicked witch, Clawdelia, who is ‘nothing but a bully’, foil her attempt to rule over the whole of Miracula and save all the kings and queens from the caves of Grot. Having faced mild peril along the way, everything turns out well in the end and Ivy’s birthday is celebrated with cake!

Magda Brol’s lively illustrations capture the children’s antics brilliantly, adding a visual element to the story which is so enjoyable and rewarding in itself. The addition of the map and character portraits at the beginning allows children to track the adventure and supports with ‘reading’ the pictures by clarifying which character is which.

This is the first in a new series, perfectly pitched for confident readers in KS1 and into lower KS2, supporting children as they develop the stamina to tackle longer stories. I can see them adding their own characters to castle windows and plotting their own adventures for Ivy, using the map of Miracula to guide them whilst they eagerly await the next title in the series, ‘Ivy Newt and the Time Thief’.

Ivy Newt and the Storm Witch

Derek Keilty, illustrated by Magda Brol

Scallywag Press ISBN: 978-1915252180

FCBG Conference 2023 Day 2

Day 2 saw us up bright and early, off to explore Rugby town before breakfast! The town was already alive as the Saturday market was setting up and we enjoyed wandering around, on a mission to find the statues of Rupert Brooke, Thomas Hughes and William Webb Ellis and the bench in Jubilee Gardens which commemorates various authors. As none of these things are signposted, we were helped by the bin men who googled Rupert Brooke’s location for us!

Once fortified by a hearty breakfast, Conference began a-new. Saturday sees new day delegates arriving and the organisers- members of the Executive Committee and the Northamptonshire Book Group- work tirelessly to make sure everything is ready and everyone in the right place for the first session. Each delegate receives a Conference goodie bag, filled with donations from publishers as well as Conference information when they are greeted by those manning the reception desk.

The first session was the wonderful M G Leonard. Sadly, I missed this session as I was distributing information about NNFN to publishers, but people were buzzing about it, filled with enthusiasm by the inspiring energy of her talk. This was followed by a panel discussion with Alison David (Farshore Consumer Insight Director), Emma Dodds (Red Shed Senior Commissioning Editor) and Dr Ronx (doctor, TV presenter and author) about the power of non-fiction to make and inspire new readers. Coffee time celebrated the 10th anniversary of Red Shed!

After coffee, the perfect combination of Phil Earle and Clare Helen Welsh arrived, sharing their picture books which tackle divorce. The books took very different approaches to this sensitive subject, but each is a real gem and sure to support children going through this experience. Phil and Clare each spoke of their own experiences and how these helped them in the writing of their books.

The ‘Fantastical and Magical’ panel was just as it sounds! Three excellent authors, Anna Goodall, Emma Norry and Nicki Thornton, gave readings from their books and talked about the inspiration for their writing, the settings and characters in a truly magical session.

Just before lunch, Laura Baker shared her gorgeous book, ‘All the Wonderful Ways to Read’, a perfect book for so many avid booklovers to hear!

After lunch, delegates were offered a choice of seminar sessions: ‘Celebrate with Me!’ with Laura Gladwin, ‘Explodapedia’ with Ben Martynoga, accessible retellings with Laura Wood or Humour Hooks with Derek Keilty, Jenny McLaughlin and Myles McLeod. It is always so hard to choose which to attend- and there is always lots of discussion and idea sharing afterwards!

From the seminars to the next panel session, ‘Representative Voices’. Candy Gourlay, A M Dassu and Ravena Guron discussed authentic representation, who they write for and their approaches to writing. They each read a section from one of their books- a real treat for people like me who love to hear authors reading their own words!

Just before the tea break, G M Linton told us a little about her new book, ‘My Name is Sunshine Simpson’ and we celebrated with cupcakes!

The FCBG is led by the Executive Committee which organises the groups at a national level and Conference is always when the AGM is held. Tricia, our Chair, led us through the agenda and this was then followed by the group meeting where ideas are shared and discussed. The busyness of Conference then stills for about an hour whilst everyone gets ready for the Gala Dinner.

This year, the Gala Dinner was held in the stunning Temple Speech Room, a very beautiful and historic setting for a lovely occasion! Before dinner, cocktails were served and we all raised a glass to the memory of Judith Kerr who was born 100 years ago. Slides of Judith were shown at this time and Jane made a lovely speech, echoing the feelings of us all about this iconic lady and her work.

Publishers Frances Lincoln were celebrating their 40th anniversary and we took part in a quiz. Guest authors, Mariajo Illustrajo and Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, joined us for the dinner along with some of the authors who had spoken during the day. The After Dinner Speaker this year was Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, who had us joining in with his poems and laughing as the lovely evening drew to a close.

Some hardy folks stayed on to enjoy the bar, but many of us were worn out by the packed programme of events and headed back to the accommodation to re-charge for another fun-filled day!

Day three to follow!

Flyntlock Bones Blog Tour

Today, I am delighted to have been asked to take part in the Blog Tour for ‘The Ghost of Scarletbeard’. There are lots of wonderful resources available on the Scallywag Press website to accompany this series (the chocolate ghosts have been added to my to-do list!), including teacher notes and a couple of board games!

The Countess of Bohemia’s jewels have been stolen by a ghost. Not just any old ghost, but the ghost of Captain Scarletbeard, the scariest pirate who ever lived!

Flynn and the crew of the Black Hound descend to the murky depths to Davy Jones’s Locker, where they uncover a ghoulish plot that threatens the survival of the Seven Seas…

‘The Ghost of Scarletbeard’ completes the trilogy of Flyntlock Bones stories. Flynn (Flyntlock Bones) is cabin boy aboard The Black Hound, an unusual pirate ship whose crew have left their piratical ways behind and are now pursuing a career in ‘pirate investigation’. Business is not booming and no parrots have flown in with the news of a job recently; however, when they hear that the Countess of Bohemia has (once again!) had her jewels stolen, they are quick to offer their services, leading them into an amazing adventure facing an iniquitous pirate, Captain Scarletbeard, and his witch partner, Molly Macbeth.

Full of fun and adventure, ‘The Ghost of Scarletbeard’ offers just the right level of piratical goings-on and dastardly deeds for younger children whilst introducing a wonderful range of characters and locations which are brought to life by Mark Elvins’ brilliant pictures. With lots of detail to pore over, the book offers a mixture of pages bordered with smaller illustrations and some wonderful full page spreads.

With the baddies getting their comeuppance and the good finding happiness, ‘The Ghost of Scarletbeard’ is a pacy, fun-filled adventure, perfect for pirate-loving landlubbers!

Flintlock Bones: The Ghost of Scarletbeard

Derek Keilty, illustrated by Mark Elvins

Scallywag Press ISBN: 978-1912650774

Thank you to the lovely people at Scallywag Press for inviting me to take part in this Blog Tour.