Johnny Talon and the Goddess of Love and War
An Information Security Executive by day, W. B. J. Williams’ secret identity is that he is an author. He also holds advanced degrees in anthropology and archeology, as well as is an avid amateur historian, mystic, and poet. Williams is noted for his bad puns, and willingness to argue from any perspective. He is endured by his beloved wife and two daughters, and lives in Sharon Massachusetts. When he is not at home or at his computer, he can often be found haunting the various used bookstores of Boston. He is a frequent author panelist at ReaderCon, Boskone, and Arisia.
This is Author W.B.J Williams’ writing and publication journey in his own words…
Williams’ background and what inspired him to start writing…
When I was in sixth grade, I was given an assignment to write a poem. I enjoyed this so much, I never stopped.
I am a poet, mystic, and former anthropologist who has found a career successfully managing an information security program. I’m blissfully married to the love of my life who I met when we both lived in Times Square when it was seedy and dangerous. I have two delightful children who have become amazing women. I have a love of literature and read most genres except perhaps westerns which I find tedious. My taste in music is as varied, though I have a fondness for the weird and actually enjoy Revolution #9 by The Beatles. I’ve been writing poetry since I was 11, and prose since I was 18. I fell into writing nonfiction by accident, asked by one of the people who invented information security to write an article for his anthology based upon my expertise.
Challenges as an Author…
Information Security is a very demanding job, and requires a lot of time to get right, especially when you’re the CISO for an international firm. I’m also a father and husband who helped my wife raise our daughters and with the household chores, so finding time to write was often a challenge. I often had to deprioritize writing, and the stress of the job sometimes caused writer’s block.
Williams’ published works…
Non-fiction publications in the pipeline…
I am under contract with Dragonwell to bring to publication two fun histories of the thirteenth century, one a Time Traveler’s guide to the 13th Century, the other tentatively called What was life like in the 13th Century. The first is a sort of travelogue, asking the question: if you were a time traveler what would be the fun and interesting places to see in the 13th century, and what would you find there. I look at Paris, Rome, Venice, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Baghdad, Lin’an, Angkor Thom, Cairo, Timbuktu, Lalibela, Zimbabwe, Cusco, Mayapan, and Cahokia. The second looks at the day to day life of people in the Khmer Empire, the Chinese Empire, The Venetian Republic, The Byzantine Empire, the Kingdom of Lo, the Kingdom of France, and other locations. Both should be out in 2025.
Advice and words of encouragement from W.B.J Williams for aspiring authors…
The only rule you need to follow is you must write if you are to be an author. Pick your style, pick your pace. Your writing must be yours. Pick the advice you listen to very carefully. What works for the greatest author may not work for you, as you are not them. However there is no shortcut to take to get words down other than to write. Don’t stress in those moments when you find it hard to write, writer’s block is real, it feels like a part of you is dead, but it passes. You just have to be patient.
