Their digital site has published a piece on me and the writing of Chaos Calling: Book I of The Xenthian Cycle. It’s part of a campaign I’m running to celebrate the novel’s wider release.

You can read the full article, “E. M. Williams Invests in Herself to Write First Book,” on their site.

As the writer notes, I am a marketer. And I have been in marketing for a long time.

I’ve pitched hundreds of profiles like this one for employers and clients. I’ve arranged the interviews, done the follow-up work, and captured the coverage.

It remains surreal now that it’s my work that’s in focus.

What does the Kirkus profile talk about?

If you’re a long-time follower of my books and writing, the points that got mentioned won’t surprise you:

• That believing my creative dream of writing a book had died was a terrible experience.
• My Tedx talk on Women, Superheroes and Power, which contributed to my series.
• I wrote a diverse story. Toronto is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. I embraced the process to get Anna’s, Jason’s and Dave’s characters right, which meant a lot of additional testing and feedback from my beta readers and editorial team, including sensitivity readers.
• My long-standing admiration for Guy Gavriel Kay. Reading The Fionavar Tapestry and seeing that it’s possible to write fantasy with Toronto-centric characters had a huge impact on my creative life.
• I wrote the first three drafts of Books I and II of The Xenthian Cycle on my phone using Wattpad, but didn’t publish as I went.

What’s most surprising about it?

Half the fun to doing an interview is remembering to stay on message. You also have to go with the flow and have a good conversation.

Here’s what I forgot I said:

• I wrote My Little Pony fanfiction as a kid. Writing on a desktop in the 1980s meant I never shared that work. I don’t even have a copy of it today.
• Anne McCaffrey provided my introduction to fantasy (specifically, Dragonsong). There’s even an homage to her dragon work in Chapter 21 of Chaos Calling.
• I write with an acute sense of my mortality and always have. It’s one of the things I admire about Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.

Hope you enjoy it!

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We recorded the episode back in November 2022, but it aired February 7, 2023. Here’s where you can listen:

• Apple podcasts
• Spotify podcasts
• Other podcast places –> Here’s a a list of other podcast sites where Kirsti’s work is distributed.

Kirsti and I met in 2021 through Growclass, Sarah Stockdale’s online growth marketing community. I’ve been a big fan of Kirsti’s podcast work since she launched her show in March 2022.

On the Thinking About Podcast, Kirsti talks with thoughtful, interesting people. Many are also entrepreneurs sharing lessons and insights they’ve picked up on their journeys.

I spoke about writing Chaos Calling and my journey through self-publishing. We also talk about balancing career commitments with creative work, having a life, and finding the motivation to persevere when chasing a long-term dream.

Who is this conversation for? Anyone thinking about writing a book, wanting to publish a book, or pursuing a long-term creative project.

It’s a tough world. Motivation can be hard to come by. We talk about that, too.

Part I: Writing Topics on the Thinking About Podcast

• 0:00 – 4:00 — Kirsti’s intro, which made me tear up, I won’t lie
• 4:00 – 6:00 — Why I chose E. M. Williams as my pen name, segmenting a professional life, thinking about privacy, and whether a pen name might be a good choice for you.
• 6:00 – 8:00 — Should you couple your business divisions? Why grouping consulting and publishing under one company works for me (so far).
• 8:00 – 13:00 — ‘Don’t Stop Believing‘: I believed at one point that my writing dreams were dead. We talk about the Medium essay I wrote, and why you can’t give up when life pivots around you.
• 13:00 – 17:00 — My wild experience writing Chaos Calling. Being open to a fresh inspiration download helped me to level-up my writing work. And, I also talk about how pivoting my approach to writing with Wattpad.
• 17:00 – 23:00 — Where did these characters and the Chaos Calling story come from? I tell Kirsti how I built the series in onion layers, and give an overview of the plot. Do I see the book in my head as I’m writing? Yes, I do. And people reading say it feels like watching a movie.
• 23:00 – 26:00 — Tricking your brain into being productive: I wrote the first three drafts on my phone while riding the TTC.
• 26:00 – 28:30 — Writing a story set in Toronto, why I wanted to write fantasy set in the city where I live, and taking inspo from the Raptors’ victory parade in 2019.
• 28:30 – 35:00 — Book production and feedback: How I took the manuscript through the editing process. We also talk about finding beta readers and editors. Is it scary to share your work? Yes, but you get over it.

Part II: Book Production Topics on the Thinking About Podcast

• 35:00 – 38:00 — What would I say to that younger version of me stuck in that car? We talk about how you don’t get to stay in the high place of inspiration, or the low place of despair.
• 39:00 – 50:00 — Book production and launch: We cover my process and decisions I made, and how to make space for the things you don’t know. Weirdly, Frozen 2 comes up a lot. I suggest places to look for resources and people to help with your creative project.
• 50:00 – 58:30 — What’s the most rewarding part of chasing your dream? I talk about the beautiful conversations I’ve had with people post launch, and why Growclass is the best. We also discuss the importance of focusing on the process and enjoying the ride.
• 58:30 – 1:04:00 — Books I recommend and how early Twitter (pre 2017) taught me how to be a better creative person on the Internet.

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Their review of my book appears on page 181 of 184. It’s the last page of book reviews before the “Seen & Heard” and “In Retrospect” sections that close this special issue.

I’m thrilled with the placement.

How did this Kirkus Magazine showcase happen?

Last week, I got a follow-up email from Kirkus’ editorial team informing me that their review of Chaos Calling would be in the Feb 1 edition. Coincidentally, it’s also their 90th anniversary edition.

You can’t buy that kind of placement: It’s done entirely at their discretion. I’m told less than 10% of indie books get selected for this additional round of marketing.

The magazine’s audience includes publishing professionals (e.g., agents and editors), librarians, book buyers for independent bookstores, translators, foreign rights buyers, and readers who follow the magazine’s recommendations.

The online audience skews even higher toward readers looking for a good read.

As a result, getting a Kirkus review is prestigious and competitive. To avoid being inundated with review requests from independent authors, the process is pay-to-play. I’ve written more about how to navigate it here.

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Before taking the course, I’d finished a novel draft and was working on a second project. I was excited about my ideas. What I didn’t know was whether I could write. Close friends and family had read for me, but blindly trusting their opinions struck me as foolhardy.

What I wanted, of course, was feedback from people who weren’t invested in me.

I was working on U of T’s campus in Media Relations at the time. As a staff member, I only had to pay the tax to take a course through Continuing Studies. To this day, I deeply appreciate that benefit.

Hopkinson is an award-winning speculative fiction author. She happened to be teaching creative writing at U of T the semester I signed up in 2005.

Through that course, I met my writing group. Hopkinson’s feedback sessions set the rules for our meetings over the next seven years. It was a transformational period in my life.

Diana continues to read my drafts. I named Anna and Malcolm’s son Tim to remember T. J. O’Neill, our late colleague.

Taking my School of Continuing Studies journey full circle

When I published Chaos Calling earlier this spring, I reached out to the school to thank them for the opportunity all those years ago. I told them about our writing group’s success. They were kind enough to post this piece about my experience and downstream success.

Thank you to the School of Continuing Studies’ Marketing team for featuring my work.

You can read the article on their website.

Curious about taking a course? You’ll find more information on their website.

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