E. William Podojil Interview Published on: 26, Sep 2024

The idea came to me watching my mother and her friends and the bond they all share as former teachers. They are active travelers, up on technology, active on social media and know more about world events than I do. They are very much involved with life and they became the inspiration for The Herb Society’s main characters. They use their intellect, experience and some hidden strengths to tackle some big mysteries. Molly, the main character, brings in her son who is a technology executive to help them and the stories go from there.

Living overseas was an amazing and humbling experience. I can’t think of a better way to learn about the world, local culture or oneself. As exotic and exciting as it first is, it just becomes your new normal. Life still happens. You still have to take out the garbage, shop for groceries and cook dinner. I got a much better sense of what it feels like to be an immigrant or an outsider. Being a foreigner for over a decade and watching my home country from a different perspective was both humbling and eye-opening. There is a huge world out there with close to eight billion people. Immersing yourself and being open to new ways of thinking or doing things is an experience one can’t learn without actually being there.

After thirty-five years working in business, I stepped off the treadmill, retired from my company and pursued the next chapter of my life. I am still working closely with clients as a business strategy advisor and executive coach in addition to writing, which is my passion. I hope to have the physical and mental capacity to keep working as long as I want. Writing is something I hope to be able to do for the next thirty years at least.

I wrote The Tenth Man right before I enrolled in the UCLA screenwriting program. What I learned with Tenth Man and Poseidon Project is how critically important having a good editor is to the final product. I had different publishers and editors, but both of them made me a better writer. I cut a good third of the original manuscript for The Tenth Man, which made it a much better novel. My editor for The Poseidon Project was a critical partner in making an excellent book. In 2004, it was a very different world. E-books and social media was not yet around, so twenty years later, it’s a very different world and launch process.

I’ve been fortunate enough to live in Europe for a large amount of time and travel to about sixty-five countries. In each place I visited, I’ve pictured the city or country as a backdrop to a larger story. The Poseidon Project takes place in Dubai and Tucson - two very different cultures but very similar climates. During my career, I have been part of or exposed to new technology that was groundbreaking at the time, so I love to weave parts of the ancient world and modern world together within my suspense thrillers. The human dynamics still remain despite technological advancement.

Like most writers, I struggled with writer’s block. The Poseidon Project that people are reading now is different from the one I originally wrote. It’s different in a good way. It’s more tight, flows better and has plot twists that were not in the original manuscript. Writing is constantly evolving and if I re-wrote The Tenth Man today, it would be a much better story from what I wrote twenty years ago. I try to write every day, but some days, it’s just not happening. I freeze, get distracted and beat myself up that I’m not producing words. I’ve learned now that I just need to walk away from the keyboard, even for a couple of days. I find it difficult to force creativity and I do better when I give myself time away, but I know my subconscious mind is always at work and will eventually pop out a great idea for a chapter or more. Everyone is different, but I had to learn to sometimes get out of my own way and take a break.

The Poseidon Project sets the stage of characters and introduces themes that will carry on through the series. The second book, Archipelago, is a darker, more complex story that involves a much bigger cast of bad guys in comparison to the villains in Poseidon. The villains get richer, smarter and more resourceful so the heroes have to adapt and change to counteract them. The character’s flaws become more evident and relationships are strained as the mystery unfolds. The series will grow and expand with bigger mysteries, new characters and locations. There will be constant characters that provide the backbone of the series, but there are new ones entering the stage and others leaving it.

Travel does influence my work and I make sure all of my locations are places I’ve actually visited. It’s one thing to read about a place, but for me to capture a location for the reader to feel immersed in the story, I have to actually visit the location, eat the food, walk the streets and things like that. I went to Dubai prior to Poseidon Project being contracted by Wild Rose, because I hadn’t been there for years. I’m glad I went, as much had changed post-pandemic. It’s an unbelievable place and I’m glad I went back.

My major themes include having normal people thrown into extraordinary events and how they work together to solve some challenging problems. There is a blend of old-school knowledge enhanced by technology and the connected world in which we live. Everyone has unique strengths they leverage to help solve these mysteries. Another theme is that no matter what your age, living situation, relationship-status or experiences, it’s never too late to contribute, make a difference or fall in love.

I do a lot of research for my stories. The technology in The Poseidon Project exists, but isn’t currently deployed. In the second novel, I had to do extensive research on geology, physics and interstellar objects. The novel, tentatively titled Archipelago, takes off after The Poseidon Project and builds from there. I’m fascinated by ancient cultures, legends and what the world was like millions of years ago and I consume a lot of research for each of my stories.

The village in which I live is unique in many ways. Several of Cleveland’s industrialists from one hundred years ago had their summer retreats in the area, so there is a lot of history here. I live on fifteen acres of land, which gives me a buffer between neighbors and the surrounding suburbs. We live on higher ground that catches the breezes off the lakes and is generally cooler than the city. The Cleveland area is home to amazing art, music and culture, so I have many sources of inspiration, in addition to the natural beauty. Cleveland is surrounded by large Metroparks nicknamed the “Emerald Necklace,” and so we always have access to beautiful parks and forests to explore all year. Lake Erie feels more like an ocean than a lake so there is always something to do.

I would tell aspiring writers the same thing I tell my executive clients - Don’t overthink things, don’t worry about perfection, just write the story. It’s the story that matters and how well the writer pulls the reader into it as if they are really there. I love Michelangelo’s quote “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” I think the magic of writing is getting it all out on paper and then taking things away through editing and simplifying in a way that captivates the reader. My belief is if you try to make a masterpiece, starting from the first page of your manuscript, you will spend more time trying to use the right word or sentence structure than building a story line, dialogue, scenes and characters. Throw the words and thoughts out on paper and then trim away the unnecessary parts.

I get up early every morning, usually between 5:30-6:00 am. I make my espresso, read some news and immediately go out for my daily walk that takes at least an hour. It’s on these walks that I get my ideas, plot twists and even dialogue. It’s a great way to start the day and when I get back to my office, I’m able to write more freely. I will sometimes speak notes and ideas into my memo app so that I don’t forget something I thought about during my walk. I take my walk every day no matter the season or weather because it grounds me. It helps me focus and be more productive the rest of the day.

I have submitted the second novel in the Herb Society Mysteries, tentatively titled Archipelago. It is not a sequel to Poseidon, but another story that builds from it. People’s lives adapt, things change and there are no shortages of mysteries that need to be solved. I have started the third novel in the series and am currently piecing together the story lines and character developments. The characters sometimes feel like real people to me. I dream about them and constantly carry a notepad with me so I can write down any ideas that pop into my head.

I have enjoyed working with AllAuthor and find it to be a great resource to connect with other writers. I find them to be very responsive and resourceful. I tried several different services for the launch and marketing of The Poseidon Project and AllAuthor has never disappointed me. I will definitely use AllAuthor for my next novel.