WBJ Williams Writes Contemporary Fantasy
Thank you for visiting with us. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
While trained as an anthropologist, I have become an internationally respected expert regarding information security. I am a poet, amateur historian, and I know entirely too much about unicorns.
What event or experience in your life affected you as a writer?
When I read Nabokov’s Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle. This work of literature crosses genres as most understand them. It is comedic literary fiction, AND science fiction, alternative history, romance, and eroticism. This taught me that, if well written, a fun work of fiction can be transformative. I’ve striven to write fun transcendental fiction ever since.
Why did you become a romance writer?
Romance is one of the most fundamental drives felt by most people. I longed to explore the many facets of romantic longing and the lengths people will go to find someone.
What inspired the idea for this book?
The book was inspired by Paul Delvaux’s Proposition Diurne (La femme au miroir). In this evocative surrealist painting, a mostly naked woman walks through a ruin holding a bracelet, necklace, and mirror that reflects nothing. I needed to know who the characters in the painting were and explore their relationship with those objects.
Can you tell us about any other upcoming books, series, or writing plans?
I have two works of fun nonfiction coming out in 2026. The first is A Time Traveler’s Guide to the 13th Century. The other is: What Life was Like in the 13th Century. They, like my Reality, Mythology, and Fantasies of Unicorns, are companion works to my first novel, The Garden at the Roof of the World.
Johnny Talon and the Goddess of Love and War
The spirits, sorcerers, and truly desperate in San Francisco’s seedy neighborhoods know Johnny Talon, a private detective who can solve impenetrable cases in a way no one else can. His use of lucid dreams and subconscious insights lead him to the truth. Talon has his work cut out for him when he’s hired by Eve, a sex worker, to find and free the soul of her deceased wife from a sorcerer who hopes to entrap Eve. The closer he gets to finding the soul of Eve’s wife, the more Talon’s life may be on the line as he learns that there is more to his client than an angry woman. When his investigation leads him into hell, Talon has an epiphany: if he’s going to free Eve’s wife, he has to uncover Eve’s true identity. The things a gumshoe does to pay the rent.
About the Author
My publishing credits include: THE GARDEN AT THE ROOF OF THE WORLD, currently being shopped for a TV/film deal by January Hills, and JOHNNY TALON AND THE GODDESS OF LOVE AND WAR, a semi-finalist for the Ozma award. I am a frequent panelist at ReaderCon, Arisia, and Boskone. I’m a full member of the Science Fiction Writers Association and the Author’s Guild.
Learn More About W.B.J. Williams
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