Meet Keith Wood
My Journey:
Let me tell you a little about the person talking to you today. This is a message from my heart.
I was born in Halifax in 1947, a working class lad, and I am proud of that and of everything that has come since. I spent my career serving the public, in environmental management, community safety and economic development, working alongside businesses large and small, the police and the National Health Service. I finished as an officer in Local Government.
At 76, my wife died, after 56 years of putting up with me. I had to decide what to do with the time I have left on this earth.
The answer was waiting in the archives. I have always loved the newspapers, court records and parish registers of the old North Country, full of ordinary people living through extraordinary times. Nobody was telling their stories. So at 77 I rose from the ashes as The Yorkshire Fenix and began to write them myself.
I have never been abroad and never owned a passport. My whole life is Great Britain, and I love this island for all its faults. That is why my books ring true. I have walked the places I write about, and I have read what the people who lived there left behind.
I will never row an ocean for charity or walk from Land's End to John o' Groats. What I can do is write. So every penny of profit from my books helps support good causes in my local community.
When you read one of my novels, you step into a real past, and you help a young person build a real future. I can think of no better legacy.
I hope you will join me for my last hurrah. I wish you good health and happiness all your life.
Keith Wood, The Yorkshire Fenix
Meet The Team Behind The Yorkshire Fenix
Keith is supported by two trusted independent associates who work alongside him to keep The Yorkshire Fenix visible, organised and moving forward. They aren’t employees—just two very capable people helping Keith concentrate on the part he enjoys most: writing the books.
Kirsty Moore – Promotion & Visibility
Kirsty is the friendly force at the front of The Yorkshire Fenix, making sure Keith and his books don’t remain one of the North Country’s best-kept secrets. She manages Keith’s social media, creates promotional campaigns and looks for new opportunities to introduce his work to readers, event organisers, radio stations and local communities. From shouting about new releases and workshops to building brand awareness and generally giving Keith a gentle nudge into the spotlight, Kirsty helps turn his ideas into conversations. Put simply, if Keith has written it, planned it or accidentally mentioned it in passing, Kirsty will probably find a way to tell people about it.
Demi – Website & Publishing Support
Michelle – Administration & Organisation
Demi is the clever pair of hands working behind the digital curtain, keeping the technical side of The Yorkshire Fenix behaving itself. She manages Keith’s website, creates and updates pages, looks after book information and handles the less glamorous—but absolutely essential—work involved in publishing through Amazon KDP. From uploading manuscripts and managing book listings to fixing website niggles and tackling whatever technical puzzle appears next, Demi keeps everything running smoothly. She is the person quietly making things work while Keith and Kirsty make plenty of noise at the front—and, importantly, remains remarkably calm when Amazon turns a seemingly simple task into a full test of character.
Michelle is the organisational glue helping to keep The Yorkshire Fenix running smoothly. She supports the day-to-day administration, keeps information and documents in order, follows up outstanding actions and makes sure important tasks don’t quietly disappear into the dreaded “I’ll come back to that later” pile. While Keith is writing, Kirsty is spreading the word and Demi is wrestling with the technical side, Michelle is calmly keeping everything moving behind the scenes. Organised, dependable and remarkably good at keeping track of the loose ends, so Keith can concentrate on the writing without the paperwork stealing the plot.