Meet the mind behind Ivy Newt in Miracula, a whimsical new chapter book series blending humor, adventure, and heart. Ivy Newt, a young witch, and her shape-shifting friend, Tom, find themselves caught up in perilous adventures, but they always end up making friends, helping others, and defeating bullies. The fast-paced plot gallops along with lots of twists and turns, danger, and humor.
Today, Ivy Newt creator Derek Keilty joins us to share how childhood favorites like Roald Dahl’s The Witches and JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit inspired him to create the enchanting world of Miracula. From playful character names and powerful messages of kindness to the magic of morning writing sessions (and a little dog named Duke), he opens up about his process, passions, and the joy of turning young readers into lifelong book lovers.
What was your inspiration for writing this book?
I’ve always wanted to write a story about magic. When I was young, many of my favorite books had magic in them: The Witches by Roald Dahl, The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. I also loved watching magical films like Hocus Pocus and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. So, one day, I decided to try writing my own magical tale and began creating the world of Ivy Newt, a lovable but unstoppable young ‘Sand Witch’ from the mysterious land of Miracula. When her royal parents vanish in a spectacular spell-gone-wrong. It’s up to Ivy and her shape-shifting friend and familiar Tom wolf (who can turn into a boy) to journey across Miracula to find them.
What is the main message or lesson you would like your readers to learn from reading this book?
Ivy Newt has themes of justice, kindness, helping each other, and standing up to bullies. But another important message is that baddies aren’t always completely ‘bad’– sometimes they’re just misunderstood. I always include a little scene at the end where the antagonist sees the error of their ways and is given a second chance. Then there’s a wee cup of tea and some cake to celebrate. I do love cake. 🙂
What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of writing for a young adult audience?
What I love about writing for children is that anything is possible; the most amazing and incredible things can happen to your characters. It’s just so much fun. I’m really enjoying the world building in my Ivy Newt series, dreaming up ‘witchy’ place names like Green Witch Village, the Cunning Woods, and the Caves of Grot, and inventing funny character names like Griselda Gobbertooth, and Clawdelia Thorn. One challenge is that there are so many brilliant books being published, so I always strive to keep my writing fresh and funny and full of themes that connect with today’s children. My hope is to help them catch the reading bug from an early age.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
I don’t think I could pick a favorite–I love them all. I’m so pleased to have worked with Magda Brol on the Ivy Newt books. She’s done a fantastic job bringing the world of Miracula and all the characters to life. There’s a map and character list at the front, not to mention loads of illustrations all through the books, one on every page. I do, however, have a favorite familiar, and that’s Tom Wolf who is a shapeshifter–sometimes he’s a wolf but sometimes he’s a boy, and called Tom Boy. The idea for Tom came to me while I was walking my own little wolf (er… bichon frise) Duke. In fact, a lot of the ideas for Ivy Newt came to me on that walk, and when I got home, I had to quickly scribble my thoughts on a piece of paper, not forgetting to give Duke a treat.
How did you come up with the name Ivy Newt for the book?
The name Ivy Newt is a playful twist on the witches’ chant in Macbeth–“Eye of newt…” became Ivy Newt. I loved the idea of taking something dark and magical and giving it a fresh, funny spin for children.
What is the world of Ivy Newt like? Which part would you visit if you could?
Miracula is a bat-shaped island with witchy and wizardy towns and villages populated by Sand Witches, Book Wizards, and Grots Witches. All of whom have familiars: wolves, badgers, squirrels, and even snakes. There are other magical folk, too, like Snout-Smoulderer dragons and Dust Pixies. I’d love to visit the caves of Grot in the east of Miracula as I recently went on an amazing tour of the Marble Arch caves here in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, which I highly recommend.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
To write something every day, even if it is only a paragraph. As one author famously quoted, ‘no writing equals no book’ so it’s important to keep creating…
I write longhand in a notebook with a rub out pen (as I make a lot of mistakes ha), and usually first thing in the morning with a coffee. Editing is for later in the day or even at night. But for some reason the creative stuff seems to flow better in the morning after a good night’s sleep to clear away all the ‘witchy’ cobwebs. Usually, Duke our aforementioned dog will signal when it’s time to stop writing as he paces around making it obvious he’s looking for his morning walkies. 😊
What do you like most about the cover of the book?
I love the cover of Ivy Newt and the Storm Witch. It’s so full of action with Ivy and Tom looking skyward ready to face the nasty old storm witch, Clawdelia Thorn. But is she really ALL nasty? Ah, well readers will have to pick up a copy of the book to find out.
It’s a lot of fun seeing the cover and illustrations for the first time, and Magda is an amazing illustrator. There is a link to her drawing Ivy Newt on the Scallywag Press website www.scallywagpress.com, which is a must watch! My fav inside pic is Ivy and Tom descending a spiral staircase to the dungeon of Newt Castle, which I printed and keep on my desk beside the amazing little sock doll of Ivy Newt that my daughter, Rebekah made. The map is great too, which Magda polished wonderfully from a rough sketch I provided.
What’s a book you’ve recently read and loved?
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell is a fantastic read! Great world-building and lots of mythical creatures. What’s not to love?
What would you say is your superpower?
My superpower is that by day, I’m a civil servant but by night, I morph into a children’s author, tapping away at my computer to conjure up magical new characters and worlds. Recently, I heard from the mum of an Ivy Newt fan in Bulgaria, who told me that the books have taken the spark her daughter, Alex, had for reading and fanned it into a fully-fledged fire. Messages like that remind me exactly why I write–and why I think this just might be the best superpower of all: helping turn young readers into life-long book lovers.
What advice do you have for children who want to write their own stories?
A blank page can feel a bit daunting, so when I run writing workshops, I always suggest starting with a simple fold. I ask students to fold their page in half. In the top half they draw the face of their main character. Underneath, we write a list: we give our character a name, some hobbies, dislikes, a favorite TV show–all the little details that bring them to life. Next, we come up with a setting–an exciting place or world to put the character in. Then comes the plot: we give the character a big problem to solve. And just like that, we’ve created a brilliant story plan. From there, we have a go at writing the beginning of the story, starting with the main character and the problem. I’m always blown away by the characters and ideas students come up with–their imaginations are amazing!
What’s up next for you?
I’m busy promoting the Ivy Newt series, which is now being published in many countries–it’s been wonderful seeing readers discover Ivy’s magical world. At the same time, I’m currently writing a brand-new children’s middle grade series called Olivia Shivers: Spooky Special Agent. It’s all very exciting–I’ve just seen the first character illustrations by the brilliant Louis Ghibault, and they’re amazing! There will be at least two books in the series with the first one publishing in September 2026.
Connect with Derek
Derek Keilty lives in Belfast. Author of more than ten books for children and shortlisted for the Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year, Derek takes storytelling and creative writing workshops to local schools. Visit the contact page on his website to book a Zoom visit!
And ICYMI, head on over to Derek’s StoryMakers segment on Kid Lit TV to listen to Derek read an except, exchange witty banter with guest host Ellen Myrick, and more!