BLOGWORDS – Thursday 8 January 2026 – CHAT THURSDAY – KEELY BROOKE KEITH

BLOGWORDS – Thursday 8 January 2026 – CHAT THURSDAY – KEELY BROOKE KEITH

CHAT THURSDAY – KEELY BROOKE KEITH

 

Please give a warm feathered welcome to author and friend, Keely Brooke Keith

 

rem: Hullo Keely, and welcome. Tell us three random things about yourself.

KEELY:  

1. I meet people and they are having a hard time understanding my name is Keely NOT Kelly, I tell them that Keely rhymes with wheelie and when I was a kid I loved to ride my bike and pop a “wheelie”.

2. I’ve collected coins from over 100 countries. Mostly worthless pennies, but I think they’re neat.

3. I love to mix salty and sweet. Fries + ice cream. Peanuts + raisins.

 

rem:  Girl, I love your name!! (Even named one of my characters’ babies Keely.)  What is your favorite quotation and why?

KEELY:

“The author who benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been dumbly struggling in you for utterance.” ~ Oswald Chambers

 Bulls eye!

I’ve gotta read that again...

Yep, it hits the target of my own experience with the same precision each time I read it!

 

rem:  Yes, I definitely had to read that twice. So profound.  When reading, what makes or breaks a story for you? Your fiction pet peeve?  

KEELY:  Since I’m currently writing my 20^th (!!!) novel, I know how the sausage is made. Most writers stick to the formula or they tell you what’s going to happen in the book description—both things the reading public often demands. So I’m rarely surprised. Life is too short to know what the author is going to write before I even read it. I enjoy being surprised by the writing, the voice, the plot, and even the courage to stand up for traditional values.

 

rem:  Twentieth!! CONGRATS! You know, you make a great point. I hadn’t really thought about it, but who wants to read a book when you already basically know what’s going to happen? What are you reading right now? 

KEELY:  I’m loving The Squad: Rising Series. It’s a new middle-grade Christian fantasy series by an exciting new author, Rachel Keith. (Yes, yes, we are related.) My daughter writes circles around me, and since I never read much fantasy, the tropes are new and fun for me. And WOW can that girl write a fight scene! That’s probably why so many of her raving fans are boys. Look out Harry Potter!

 

rem:  Two authors in the family! How exciting is that!  Tell us a little about your writing journey.

KEELY: 

I was born to write stories. And not just any stories. The first book in the series, The Land Uncharted, was published in 2014, but the series truly started during my childhood.

 

In my nonstop imagination, I was an author, an explorer, an adventure out to find new lands. I papered my bedroom walls with maps out of National Geographic Magazine and stared at the wide blue swaths of ocean on the maps, certain uncharted land existed.

 

I never found that land, but while researching my family history as an adult, I became fascinated by the group migrations to the American West. I wondered what would happen if instead of going west, a group of families left the United States on a ship, got lost at sea, and ended up on that hidden land. I set aside the idea to continue my family research.

 

Then in 2013, my hunky husband, Marty, challenged me to write the book. rem: challenge accepted—and conquered!  I accepted his challenge and looked over my story notes. I set the series a few years in the future, had the rest of the world embroiled in World War III, and dropped a modern navy pilot into the Land to show the cultural contrast.

 

After The Land Uncharted came out, I wrote Book 2, then Book 3, then stories telling the history of the Land. The 3-book Uncharted Beginnings series follows the Land’s founders as they arrive in the Land and establish what is now a fascinating culture. Ten years after the first Uncharted book was published, the series includes 15 books (and counting!)

 

The response from readers and reviewers has been overwhelmingly supportive. I plan to continue writing stories set in the Land and publishing books in the Uncharted series. As long as they keep reading, I’ll keep writing!

 

rem:  Keely, your series is one I’ll always snatch each book as soon as it’s published! I’ve all but one of your books, so keep writing ‘cause us “Uncharters” are waiting for the next story. What genre(s) do you write and why?

KEELY:  My Uncharted series is known for its unique twist on Christian fiction, a rare mix of historical fiction, science fiction, and romance. I like to mix things. (Remember that salty and sweet thing?)

 

rem:  I, too, am a huge fan of mixing the unexpected. (One of my favorite snacks is sweet & salty bars.) I also like bring characters from other books and authors (with permission) into my stories, and sometimes wonder about bringing characters from one TV series into another series. But that’s just me. Tell us a little about your latest book? What is your current project?

KEELY:  Uncharted Joy (Uncharted #15) came out in July. I believe you featured that on this blog. rem: yes, I did.  I’m currently writing #16, working title is Uncharted Blessing. It explores another of the Cotter sisters’ stories from Book #15, and has a shocker of a twist that I didn’t see coming!

 

rem:  Love when that happens! Both as a reader and a writer! What is YOUR favorite part about the book or why do you love this book? Why should we read it?

KEELY: It sounds weird, but I read through my entire 15-book series this year. I’m a slow reader and it took me 9 months. Each book tells a stand-alone story, but this series is best read in order. I suggest every new Uncharted reader start with The Land Uncharted (#1). So many copies have sold you can pick up used copies for a dollar on Amazon or might even find a copy at the Goodwill. No matter how you grab a copy, start at the beginning. And if you want that thrill of being surprised, don’t read the book description—just jump in.

 

rem:  I love that about your books, that they are each stand alone, but that all the stories are linked, and together tell a fanTAStic saga.  What is one take-away from your book(s) that you hope readers identify with? 

KEELY:  The Uncharted series is about trusting in our sovereign God, no matter your circumstances.

 

rem:  And as a reader, uh, Uncharter, I can attest to that. One more and then we’ll close. Do you have a life Scripture?

KEELY: Honestly, no. I love the Bible so much. All of it. I can’t pick just one verse any more than I could choose a favorite star in the heavens.

 

rem:  Touché. Or, I might add, a favorite Uncharted story. #winkwink  Anything you’d like to add?

KEELY:  Thanks so much for having me on your blog today!

rem:  Thank you so much for chatting with us on my blog today, Keely!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keely Brooke Keith is the author of the beloved Uncharted series—inspirational frontier-style fiction with a slight sci-fi twist.

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Keely was a tree-climbing, baseball-loving 80s kid. After a 15-year career as a homeschool teacher, she now enjoys exploring the hidden gems of small-town America on road trips with her husband. Wherever the journeys take her, Keely always returns to her hilltop home south of Nashville, Tennessee, where she dreams up stories about a hidden land.

 

#Blogwords, Chat Thursday, Interview, Keely Brooke Keith, Oswald Chambers, The Squad: Rising Series, Rachel Keith, The Land Uncharted, National Geographic Magazine, Uncharted Beginnings, Uncharters, Uncharted Joy, Uncharted Blessing,