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J.L. Williams

Goodreads Author

Born

Chicago, The United States

Genre

Fiction, Crime, Suspense

Member Since

January 2015

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Like my character Emerson, I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. Thanks to my parents—who were desperately attempting to distract me from the “call of the streets”—I have spent my entire life in school. Since kindergarten, I have been, to varying degrees, a student. As an academic (That’s actually what they call you when you teach higher learning professionally. I know, it teeters on sounding obnoxious.), my areas of expertise are American Literature, Feminist criticism, social commentary, popular culture, and religion. I have published, lectured, and presented at conferences around the world in these genres. Whenever I teach, I always try to bring the authors’ words or the issues examined to life—material that students often Like my character Emerson, I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. Thanks to my parents—who were desperately attempting to distract me from the “call of the streets”—I have spent my entire life in school. Since kindergarten, I have been, to varying degrees, a student. As an academic (That’s actually what they call you when you teach higher learning professionally. I know, it teeters on sounding obnoxious.), my areas of expertise are American Literature, Feminist criticism, social commentary, popular culture, and religion. I have published, lectured, and presented at conferences around the world in these genres. Whenever I teach, I always try to bring the authors’ words or the issues examined to life—material that students often initially think are too mundane to be of any real interest, until we start to strip away the layers and they see that everything, every discussion, is actually relatable. Some say I’m good at it. Because of this, I’ve found a comfortable niche, a smidgen of success.

But what I want to fulfill, what keeps me up nights, is my quest to become a fiction writer.

I respect the mystery/detective/thriller genre. So much so, I actually designed and teach a course on it. Over the years, I have read and re-read thousands of these books, and I have studied the giants who have had not only success but longevity—Burke, Paretsky, George, Lee, Mosley, Conolly, Grafton, Baldacci, and Sandford. I now want nothing more—besides good health and an extended vacation at a five star hotel in Hawaii (in February)—than to be mentioned in the same breath as them. My story, my series, seeks to extend the genre’s base and explore a different urban world while highlighting one of the largest cities in America: Chicago, a city long known for its deep ties to every dark alley of organized crime.

When I am not teaching and writing, I take pictures. My focus on film, like my writing, captures the underbelly of society. I don’t shoot flowers or sunsets. Instead, my shots are gritty and capture the forgotten and abandoned surfaces most ignore.

I live in Manhattan, but I return for extended visits to Chicago frequently.
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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

J.L. Williams Legacies started as one thing and then, as books do, it took on a life of its own. From the beginning, there were several things I knew I wanted to do…moreLegacies started as one thing and then, as books do, it took on a life of its own. From the beginning, there were several things I knew I wanted to do: write a mystery—a serial killer hunting people who had a life-long connection; to establish the setting of Chicago, especially the often neglected South Side, as a place rich in both violence and vibrancy; to create characters with backstories so layered they could sustain multiple novels; and to touch on the never-ending gang problem that has plagued Chicago for decades—showing that “street gangs,” while not seemingly as sexy as the mafia, are actually far more layered with cultural histories and complicated hierarchies. The religious angle came from several years of researching controversies swirling around the “Church,” issues that obviously negatively impact individuals, families, and their communities. With that information in hand, I wanted to develop a subplot that was interesting and complicated and not something readers would instantly link to gangs. Outside of the mystery angle, which was the book’s platform, I wanted to show just how layered and complicated the lives of the characters are—lives that we receive snippets about every day and, as we’ve become desensitized to them, dismiss as mere street crimes committed by people who all have the same story. (less)

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What’s the best thing about being a writer?

J.L. Williams Honestly, there is nothing better than getting the words out and onto the page. Watching the story develop and change and grow is a thrill. Feeling li…moreHonestly, there is nothing better than getting the words out and onto the page. Watching the story develop and change and grow is a thrill. Feeling like you have to write something down before the thought leaves your head becomes a part of your daily process. No song is just a song. No report on the news can be dismissed. Understanding some aspect of history is research that is never ending. Learning is everything. Before you know it, you’re a student back in school and humanity is your subject matter. For a writer, life is never boring because character development and plot and exposing the world for an audience is a calling that must evolve—and isn’t that what truly living is all about?(less)

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