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Keith W. Willis

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Kylee
1,581 books | 151 friends

Anna Tan
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Reads Q...
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Tracy W...
549 books | 533 friends

Stephen...
678 books | 5,337 friends

Nikki L...
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Daniel ...
968 books | 3,104 friends

Assaph ...
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Keith W. Willis

Goodreads Author


Born
in Atlanta, The United States
Website

Genre

Influences
Michael J. Sullivan; S. Morgenstern; Christopher Stasheff; PG Wodehous ...more

Member Since
September 2012


Keith W. Willis graduated (long ago) from Berry College with a degree in English Lit. He now lives in the scenic Hudson Valley/Adirondack region of NY with his wife Patty. They have one grown son, Matt, who actually thinks it’s pretty cool that Dad wrote a book.

Keith’s interests include camping, canoeing, and Scrabble. Keith began writing seriously in 2008, when the voices in his head got too annoying to ignore. When he’s not making up stories he manages a group of database content editors at a global information technology firm. TRAITOR KNIGHT is his first published novel.

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Keith W. Willis First: Read, Write, Read, Write, rinse and repeat. Then do it all some more. Read both in and out of your genre. Write out of your genre on occasion. …moreFirst: Read, Write, Read, Write, rinse and repeat. Then do it all some more. Read both in and out of your genre. Write out of your genre on occasion. Stretch yourself, test your limits.

Second: When you've finished that first draft, wiped away both the sweat and the tears and danced the happy dance--put it away. Maybe two weeks, maybe a month. Then pull it back out and read through the entire thing--don't skim, even though you know what it says--with an agent's eye. Don't just say 'Huzzah, it's done' and start querying. First drafts, with rare exceptions, are awful. Reread, revise, refine. If you query your dream agent too soon (as I did) you lose that opportunity. Make sure it's GOOD before you send it out.

Third: Your work will be rejected. Deal with it. If you can't, you're in the wrong line of endeavor. Rejection doesn't mean YOU personally have been rejected. It doesn't mean your work is awful. It just means it didn't resonate with that particular person you queried. If you get feedback, evaluate it for applicability and incorporate it into your revisions if you feel it helps. Feedback is not always helpful--you need to stay true to your vision of the story, not someone else's vision.

Fourth: Find a community. Writing is, generally speaking, a pretty solitary endeavor. But there are millions of other writers out there, all starving for community as well. Twitter and Facebook are great ways to meet up, make friends, and develop a support network that will support, encourage and commiserate with you. But it's a two-way street--make sure you're doing some of that same supporting, encouraging and commiserating for the other folks in your new circle of awesome friends.

Fifth and Finally: Enjoy the ride. If you don't enjoy what you're doing, why do it? Yeah, it's often a tough, tedious, terrible way to spend your time. But the reward of having someone read your words and be moved to smiles or tears or joy or anger by them is an incredible feeling. Exult that you have that story in you, desperately seeking a way onto the page, and that you DO have the skill and fortitude and vision to make it happen. (less)
Keith W. Willis Too many to choose from! But I think I'll have to go with Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson, from Elizabeth Peters' fabulous series of archaeology-…moreToo many to choose from! But I think I'll have to go with Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson, from Elizabeth Peters' fabulous series of archaeology-based mysteries. (less)
Average rating: 4.33 · 175 ratings · 68 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors
Traitor Knight (Knights of ...

4.24 avg rating — 99 ratings — published 2015 — 8 editions
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Desperate Knight

4.49 avg rating — 30 ratings — 5 editions
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Enchanted Knight

4.48 avg rating — 20 ratings — 3 editions
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Stolen Knight

4.35 avg rating — 20 ratings — 4 editions
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Enchanted Knight: Knights o...

4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
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Getting Close

Earlier this week I finished drafting Mystic Knight (Knights of Kilbourne 6), and completed all the pre-editing I normally do before shipping it off to the editor. I was not in love with the ending, and neither was my DW. I re-wrote it two more times, but nothing passed muster. Finally DW provided excellent insight and inspiration, and the final chapter was completed to our mutual satisfaction. So Read more of this blog post »
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Published on September 30, 2026 17:49
Rex Stout : Kille...
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Well Played
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Keith’s Recent Updates

Keith W. Willis wrote a new blog post

Getting Close

Earlier this week I finished drafting Mystic Knight (Knights of Kilbourne 6), and completed all the pre-editing I normally do before shipping it off t Read more of this blog post »
Keith Willis rated a book it was amazing
Faire Match by Maria Shield
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I just finished reading Faire Match by Maria Shield last night. Bookstores and RenFaires--two of my favorite things! So when they're combine? Ms Shield had me right from the get-go. Also, with my wife being a breast cancer survivor, the book resonate ...more
Keith Willis entered a giveaway
Lies To Forever by Marlene M. Bell
Lies To Forever
by Marlene M. Bell (Goodreads Author)
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Fateful Knight by Keith W. Willis
"Another fantastic installment! Had me guffawing at times and teary eyed at others.

Highly recommend the whole series. "
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Rex Stout  by Andrew McAleer
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Ghost & Gumshoe by Layla Lawlor
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Something in the Waters by Kim M. Watt
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Fateful Knight by Keith W. Willis
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Keith Willis is currently reading
Something in the Waters by Kim M. Watt
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Quotes by Keith W. Willis  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“A clamor of rooks exploded through the trees, nearly drowning out the woman’s scream.”
― Keith W. Willis

“A clamor of rooks exploded through the trees, nearly drowning out the woman’s scream.”
― Keith W. Willis

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
― W. Somerset Maugham

“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It's that easy, and that hard.”
― Neil Gaiman

154267 Brain to Books Cyber Convention (FAIRGROUNDS) — 823 members — last activity Dec 30, 2025 03:21AM
Welcome to CyCon! Find more at HTTP://WWW.B2BCYCON.COM We meet "LIVE at The McKinley" April 2019! ...more
182489 Official Book Club for Authors Looking directly for Readers — 768 members — last activity Nov 30, 2023 11:43AM
Welcome to the Official Book Club for Authors Looking directly for Readers
150362 Authors Looking directly for Readers — 2223 members — last activity Oct 19, 2026 09:34AM
What's the main thing that a writer needs? A pen, paper, computer? Nope -- It's someone to read their work and give feedback. This is a group where: ...more
190702 BOOKS, BOOks, Books... — 159 members — last activity Mar 30, 2017 08:49AM
Come talk about books with me!
189285 New Releases for Champagne Book Group — 19 members — last activity Jan 02, 2017 07:45PM
Here I will post all of Champagne Book Group's (http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php) new books. We have a wide selection that will appeal to an ...more
167114 Good Choice Reading Blog Tours — 192 members — last activity Dec 08, 2015 02:02PM
Looking for more content to share on your blog? Sign up for our book tour site! :) We feature mostly Romance (non-erotica), New Adult, Young Adult.
191728 New Authors Talk Shoppe — 504 members — last activity Oct 15, 2020 03:35PM
Authors come help me define a group where we can get together and talk about the trade.
224746 Ndeye Labadens Book Club — 1030 members — last activity Feb 06, 2023 04:48AM
Welcome Folks! Ndeye Labadens group is dedicated to free promotion, interviews and also discounted book promo! Add this page to opportunities availa ...more
79471 CBG New Releases — 27 members — last activity Mar 19, 2020 07:17PM
New Releases--Get the info, right here, right now. We will be giving away prizes, new release ARC's and other assorted tidbits to different readers ev ...more
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