Dan Antion – M J Mallon YA Author and Poet

Delighted to welcome Dan Antion & Willow Willers to my blog with their exciting news!

My good friend Willow is co-authoring a book with Dan Antion….Poetic Justice.

It’s a murder thriller, with political undertones spanning forward from the Vietnam war.

It was released, 9th June.

Links:

Kindle – https://relinks.me/B0FBLH5YKB

Paperback – https://relinks.me/B0FBRCQSHQ

Audio – https://relinks.me/B0DP5FR58S

Video Trailer: https://youtu.be/PLUZ9wwyQnA

The Blurb

Trevor Barcroft is convinced that mystery/true crime author Brody Thompson wrote the scene in which Trevor’s father Wilson Barcroft was murdered.

What should be a simple answer to this five-year-old crime is one that neither the police nor the FBI want to uncover; and one Bernie Bouchard doesn’t want his young investigative reporter, Rascal Todd, digging into.

Warned to stay away from the investigation.. Brody and Trevor begin a dangerous quest, led by the musings of a mysterious poet who has been hiding in plain sight for decades.

What does the Poet know that keeps him in hiding? What did Wilson Barcroft know that got him killed? Why can’t Brody walk away from a meaningless and dangerous pursuit?

Q & A with Dan & Willow

You must have been delighted when Dan asked you to be co-author..

Dan: I don’t know if Willow was delighted, but I was thrilled when she replied to my first email and said she’d like to work with me. Reaching out like that was hard for me.

Willow: Marjorie I was absolutely amazed! to be honest I was worried that I would not be good enough to work with someone as established as Dan.

Then I thought I can only do my best.

How did you find writing as a team on this novel? What was the process?

Willow: To be honest it was much easier than I expected…not that I actually had expectations not having ever done this before..

We were on different continents and had a five hour time difference. With the help of Trello, email and Box all of this was new to me, we found we communicated very well and soon we were both on the same page. So to speak.

Where your surprised at how the storyline, etc, developed?

Dan: I was surprised how the plot developed after Willow started contributing the poems. At first, I thought I’d leave a placeholder and ask her to fill it in. But I started telling her where I thought I was going and her poetry often led me down a different path.

Willow: Again as I was new to all this I was so surprised at how the poetry affected where the story went and after a while we started discussing how things might happen. To be honest I thought my part was peripheral but very soon the poet and I were sucked in to the centre.

Is thriller your favourite genre to write/read?

Dan: I’ve been trying to write a true mystery, but the stories end up more complicated than what a mystery lover would expect. I like working with a group of characters and letting them lead the way.

Willow: I love a good thriller, murder mystery but until now I have always favoured sci-fi…I find that easier to write because you can make things up….after this experience I am not so sure.

Why political thriller?

Dan: Vietnam was a difficult time for me. I turned 18 three months before Nixon stopped drafting people for the war, but I knew people who served there, people who died there, and people who came home suffering in various ways. Most of them are dead. So much has been written about the war, so I was looking for a fresh approach.

I love the title Poetic Justice. I love poetry! Did that title come to you quickly?

Dan: I’ll have to let Willow handle this. I was struggling to come up with a title, and she suggested Poetic Justice and I loved it.

Willow: When we started working together the work in progress was called “Not My Job…”after the story grew and we could see what was happening, what the poet was trying to do. Dan asked me if I had any ideas for a title. I can’t remember what the other ideas were but Poetic Justice stood out…our poet was seeking justice and Trevor was too. So eventually Poetic Justice became the favourite. I think it took two emails to decide that.

You’re both active members of the blogging community. I expect this is how the connection developed

Dan: Yes, I’ve been following Willow for a long time. I love poetry. I follow a lot of poets. I thought I needed a poet who could work from prompts and handle dark material.

Willow: Yes I have followed Dan for a good while now, I have enjoyed all his books and I find his blog great fun…He even makes the tools in his workshop look glamorous. I have learnt a lot from Dan.

So when he reached out and asked me to write a few poems I thought yes! Then it grew like Topsy.

How long did the process take?

Dan: I started playing with the idea early in 2024. I reached out to Willow in May and we’ve been at this for a year.

What advice would you give emerging authors?

Dan: I don’t feel qualified to offer advice, but I’d certainly tell people to listen to their characters. I know that sounds silly, but when I’ve tried to stuff my characters into a pattern I think will work, it never does.

Willow: I agree with Dan.

Willow this is your 1st novel! How do you feel? Would you do it again?

Yes I definitely would like to. Also if Dan needs a poet or anything again ….yes I would.

Who’s the pantser & who’s the plotter?

Willow: Dan is definitely the plotter he knows exactly where his Characters and Plots are going.

I write stream of consciousness all the time whether it’s poetry or prose. I do the research, read the plot but then I just write the poetry or story… I hear it in my head.

Excerpt

Trevor parked in the lot behind the restaurant. Inside, one man was seated at the bar. He resembled the headshot on the book jacket, but that was dated.

“Excuse me, are you Brody Thompson?”

“Yes, I am.” Brody tipped his beer to the stranger.

“I’ve been looking for you, Mr. Thompson. I heard I might find you here.”

“You have a reliable source. Mr….”

“Barcroft, Trevor Barcroft. Does that name ring a bell?”

“I can’t say that it does. Mr. Barcroft, I’m self-absorbed enough to think that you’ve read one or more of my books. Am I correct?”

“One of your books, yes. Harlan Springer’s Cash Call.“Brody put his glass down.

“That’s interesting. That was my second novel. Did you find it in a little free library somewhere?”

“No, a friend of mine gave me a copy. He said he thought I might find it interesting.”

“Did you?”Trevor pulled the stool next to Brody away from the bar. He noticed Brody’s near-empty glass. “Can I buy you a beer, Mr. Thompson.”

Brody nodded. Trevor pointed to Brody’s glass and asked the bartender for any good local IPA for himself.

She poured him a taste of Rock River IPA. “How’s this? It’s fairly new,”

“That’s nice.” She filled a chilled glass, and a new glass of Dos Equis for Brody.

“That’s on my tab, Miss.”

“You can call me Joy.”

“Thanks Joy.” Trevor took a sip of his beer.

“Mr. Thompson…”

Tiring of the formality, Brody interrupted. “Please, call me Brody. Do you go by Trevor?”

“My friends call me T-Bar, but Trevor works.”

“Fine Trevor. Please continue.”

“The reason I asked if my name is familiar to you is that your book includes a scene about my father.”

“Barcroft?” Brody looked away in thought. “I’m sorry, Trevor but I’ve written eighteen books, and I ended the Detective Springer series after five. I don’t recall all my characters. Barcroft is an interesting name, I may have used it, but I assure you, my characters are all fictional. I didn’t know your father.”

Trevor took a longer drink of his beer. He wiped his mouth with a small cocktail napkin. “Brody, on page one-hundred-eighty-two of Cash Call, your detective removes a piece of evidence from a crime scene. A piece of evidence that would have linked the murder of a character named Harry Wilson to a mob boss named Carmine Arletti.”

Brody finished his original beer and took a sip of the fresh one. “Your memory of my book is superior to mine, Trevor. Like I said, the book is fiction, and I wrote it ten years ago.”

“Harry Wilson was my father.”

“I don’t follow.”

“My father, Wilson Barcroft was murdered in Pittsburgh by a mobster named Roland Fisch. The police couldn’t prove Fisch did it because a weapon was never found. A witness heard the shots. He told the police that as he was running over to check the body, he saw another man run over from across the street. That man picked up a gun, two shell casings and left. That’s exactly what happens on page one-eighty-two.”

Brody gave Trevor a quizzical look. “I remember the scene, now. My detective wanted the gun to exchange for some information from the mob boss about a different case he was working on.”

“Exactly, and the murder of my father was never solved.”

*********

Bios.

Dan’s Bio

Dan is retired from a 42-year-long career in systems development and other technology and began writing his first book the next day.

He’s married, the father of one child, and although there are no pets around today, he and his wife have had four Irish Setters and a handful of Tuxedo cats over time.

Dan is the author of the Dreamer’s Alliance Series and the Rascal Todd Mysteries.

When Dan isn’t writing, you might find him in his woodshop, working around the house, or walking around with a camera.

He also might be having a beer with friends and some of those encounters have inspired the fictional bar stories on his popular blog—NoFacilities.com

Willows Bio

London born Willow Willers is retired and lives in Berkshire, Southern England.

Along with her husband and a steady stream of foster dogs mainly Guide Dogs for the Blind. Willow is mother to three sons all grown and flown and two fast growing grandsons.

Writing, poetry and prose have always been her passion in fact she wrote her first pieces before she was eight.

After two life changing accidents Willow started writing in earnest and has found it a life saver.

You can find willow at: http://willowdot21.wordpress.com

Places to find us :

Dan:

Author page: http://relinks.me/DanielAntion

Blog:

Https://noFacilities.com

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ptjdluuxckfau3dnaihh2sn5

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DAntion

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNHXESp0LosdxjU-7elOu3g

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danantion