WISTERIA by Kelly Webber

When I first heard the premise of WISTERIA by Kelly Webber, I was immediately intrigued! A middle grade book with an animal protagonist? Sign me up! WISTERIA has been out since April 2, 2024 and I’m thrilled to spread word about it:

A deer named Oisin tells the story of how his great-great-grandfather Finnian embarked on a magical adventure, leaving behind everything he knew to cross the West Wind Sea. Along the way, he and his friends face the Order of Wizards, a group of power-hungry wizards ransacking the realm to steal its magic. They meet a fascinating cast of characters including a witch, a sea monster, a Queen and her very hungry cat, and more.

According to your website bio, you are a librarian as well as an author. How do you balance both careers?

I am surrounded by books all the time, and am almost always reading or writing. It takes a lot of work to balance two book-related fields, but I remember that it can be incredibly difficult to find one job you love, let alone two. I feel so lucky for that.

Me too! In WISTERIA, the story is narrated by a deer named Oisin. How did you know the book needed to be told from his point of view?

Oisín first appears in “The Wand of Wisteria,” the short story that inspired the novel. I didn’t think he would be a very important character until I found his name. Oisín is an Irish name meaning “deer,” then remembered that Oisín was also the name of a character from The Wanderings of Oisín by W.B. Yeats. I adore Yeats and suddenly imagined all of Oisín’s adventures through the eyes of an animal known for running from danger. Even though Finnian is the hero, I felt that Oisín should be the one to tell the story.

What a unique perspective! And I love WISTERIA’s cover and illustrations as well. How did you collaborate with your illustrator in bringing these images to life?

I got really lucky to find a publishing house with an amazing illustrator, Emily St. Marie, who created the map and illustrations. The cover was made by the publisher Abigail Wild. Both asked me for samples of covers/maps from books that I loved. Using great middle-grade books as inspiration helped create a set of images that are unique to my story but fit well with other middle-grade fantasies.

Indeed! What are some of your current projects?

I’m currently working on a sequel to Wisteria and plan to make some big announcements on my social media soon!

Order WISTERIA:  Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble