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E.M. Williams

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Born
in Northern ON, Canada
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Tolkien, Octavia Butler, Ursula LeGuin, Guy Gavriel Kay, Tanith Lee, A ...more

Member Since
March 2022


Born in Northern Ontario, E. M. Williams has written all her life. Chaos Calling: Book I of The Xenthian Cycle is her first published novel.

In 2012, she gave a TedxTalk on women, superheroes and power. Originally intended to make her past scholarship work more accessible to a wider audience, it inadvertently supercharged her writing.

Chaos Calling, her first novel in The Xenthian Cycle, won the 2025 Canadian Book Club Award in SCI-FI/Fantasy (Feb 11, 2026).

E. M. Williams is a member of the Writer’s Union of Canada and the Canadian Science Fiction & Fantasy Association. She currently lives with her family in Toronto, where she works in the technology sector.

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E.M. Williams I don't control what happens when I sit down to write, but I do control the discipline of having a regular time to work, even when it's only a few min…moreI don't control what happens when I sit down to write, but I do control the discipline of having a regular time to work, even when it's only a few minutes each day.

I wrote the first three drafts of Chaos Calling on my phone using Wattpad while riding the TTC (Toronto's subway system) during my commute. It's amazing what you can accomplish in 20 minutes at regular intervals. I loved those moments of retreat and escape.

If you're determined to write, making space for the work allows creativity to show up in your practice. (less)
E.M. Williams Research is an important part of the process, but the big level-up answers reveal themselves from inside your creativity like a flower opening to the …moreResearch is an important part of the process, but the big level-up answers reveal themselves from inside your creativity like a flower opening to the sun. It's always a surprise and I love those moments of revelation.(less)
Average rating: 4.48 · 69 ratings · 27 reviews · 2 distinct worksSimilar authors
Chaos Calling (The Xenthian...

4.47 avg rating — 68 ratings2 editions
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Chaos Armor: Book II of The...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
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Chaos Calling is a 2025 Canadian Book Club Awards finalist in Sci-fi/Fantasy

The Canadian Book Club Awards (CBCA), the country’s largest readers’ choice award, has announced the finalists for its 2025 awards.

Eighteen books competed in the fantasy category this year.

Chaos Calling: Book I of The Xenthian Cycle, by E. M. Williams, is among the three fantasy finalists advancing to the final voting round.

Winners will be announced in February 2026.

You can read the full story on Read more of this blog post »
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Published on November 20, 2025 13:50 Tags: awards, chaos-calling, indie-authors, xenthian-cycle
Chaos Calling
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4.47 avg rating — 68 ratings

Only Mostly Dead
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A Day of Fallen N...
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Life Out of Order
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E.M.’s Recent Updates

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Spoiled Brit by Kali Decker
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I was in the mood for a cheeky celebrity romance and Kali Decker delivered in this loosely Hiddleston-inspired story about an A-list film star and a D-list TV actor looking for her first real break in Spoiled Brit.

When they wake up hung over and marr
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Only Mostly Dead by Alli Temple
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Land by Maggie O'Farrell
Land
by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)
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If you ever want to be reminded that the Irish were one of the first two peoples colonized by the English through brutality and greed, Land by Maggie O'Farrell will remind you in spades of their nation-wide cruelty, which resulted in the Irish po ...more
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A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon
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Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez
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I love an Abby Jimenez novel and with Life’s Too Short, I am fairly sure I've read all her novels now.

What did I like best?
- Real people with real problems: Adulting isn't for the weak and she knows it
- Great banter and chemistry: I always get WHY t
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Match to Love by Johana Gavez
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Ari is an American academic staring down the barrel of a future she's not sure she wants to pursue while finishing her graduate degree.

Keeping her sane are her best friend, Tom, and her frequent messages with an online friend whose real name she doe
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First Time, Long Time by Amy Silverberg
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I'm adding this book to my Celebrity Romance list because it's partially about dating someone famous; romance readers, be warned that the novel's structure favours upmarket literary fiction tropes over the typical rules of romance.

I liked the premis
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E.M. Williams is currently reading
Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez
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E.M. Williams is currently reading
Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger
Life Out of Order
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Meet Cute Diary by Emery   Lee
Meet Cute Diary
by Emery Lee (Goodreads Author)
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Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee follows a trans boy named Noah as he attempts to find a summer job and summer love while in the middle of a family move from Florida to California.

He's also juggling the pressures of being out as a young person while
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More of E.M.'s books…
Jane Austen
“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

Christopher Marlowe
“Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove”
Christopher Marlowe, The Complete Plays and Poems

J.R.R. Tolkien
“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Christopher Marlowe
“You must be proud, bold, pleasant, resolute,
And now and then stab, when occasion serves.”
Christopher Marlowe

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