I want to welcome Willow Willers and Dan Antion to Fiction Favorites. The two got together to craft an exciting story, and I’m so pleased they are with me today. I’ve laid out the tea, so maybe Willow and Dan can spill more about their book. Welcome, Dan and Willow.
“John, Willow, and I would like to thank you for hosting us today. Your support means a great deal to us. We’ve been talking a little bit about Poetic Justice, but it’s available now, and we’re both thrilled that you’re helping us kick off the sale. I understand you have a few questions for us.”
“Yes, I do. I want to start with you, Dan. In your bar post when you first mentioned this book, you told David this story was a complex murder mystery. Mysteries, by their nature, are complex. I thought the complexity had to do with the fact that it’s ‘a Rascal Todd Mystery with Brody Thompson’, but I sense that there’s more to it. What’s different about this story?”
“It’s a murder mystery, John, but the murder occurred five years before the story begins. The police looked into it but halted their investigation abruptly. Trevor Barcroft, the murder victim’s son, is still looking for answers. He lives in Rochester, New York, but his father lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania so the local police can’t help him.
He tried to get the Pittsburgh police to reopen the case, but they refused. He discovers that Brody Thompson, an author living in Rochester, published a murder mystery that seemed similar to his father’s murder. Trevor asks Brody to help solve the real crime. Brody agrees, but things get complicated after that.”
“Brody’s a retired cop, right?”
“Yes, Brody was a Rochester policeman. He started his writing career after he retired.”
“What was the similarity between the two murders?”
“Both murders occurred in Pittsburgh. Both men were shot, and both shooters left behind the gun they used. The interesting thing is that, in both cases, someone else came along and picked up the gun and the expended shells. Given the odd details in common, Trevor assumed Brody used the details of his father’s murder as a plot element in his book. Brody says he never heard of Trevor’s father’s murder, but he agrees to help.”
“So, the two guys travel to Pittsburgh. How does Rascal Todd get involved?”
“Once in Pittsburgh, Brody buys a copy of the Courier-Reformer. He discovers an article by Rascal Todd (about a different murder), does a little research, and realizes that she has investigated a couple of old crimes. He reaches out to see if she or her editor can offer any assistance. Once details about the murder begin to surface, Bernie, the editor, decides he doesn’t want Rascal or the paper to get involved.”
“I see the complications setting up. But I have to ask. How does poetry factor into the story to the extent that you named it Poetic Justice?”
“I wrote a scene where Brody Thompson wants to visit Wilson Barcroft’s grave. Trevor doesn’t want to go. He doesn’t think there’s anything of value to find there. While visiting the grave, Brody discovers a laminated funeral card that had been pressed into the ground in front of the headstone. The card looks real, but he verse on the back isn’t Biblical; it was a foreboding poem. At the time, I thought it would be a minor detail, something just to show Trevor that Brody knew what he was doing. I tried to write that poem, but that didn’t end well, so I asked Willow for help.”
“Our friend Dan here has done a nice job to this point. Willow, I assume that’s when you got involved. But how did this go from poetry being a minor detail to being in the title of the book?”
” Now John that is the $1,000 question. I got Dan’s email and wrote what I thought was a generic clue….in fact, I wrote a few poems… different types in fact …but something about them didn’t ring true. Then there was a voice, a thought that was just definitely something that was saying …”that’s not what I am saying,” so daft as that might sound, I listened to that voice …That’s when the poet arrived; he had so much to say. I just had to listen to him. His voice grew from there. So much later down the line, Dan and I discussed a title…Poetic Justice seemed perfect.”
“Let me add one more point, Willow.”
“Go ahead, Dan.”
“Once the poet arrived, the story changed to lean more heavily on the poet, and his and Wilson Barcroft’s experience in Vietnam during the war.”
“One last question for Willow. The story is tangled up with the Vietnam War. I know Dan is the right age to know about the war, maybe too young to be drafted, but still aware. But you live in England. Did you know much about the war over there?”
“I was two years old when the Vietnam War started in 1955 and twenty-two years old when it finished in 1975. By the time I was ten years old I was old enough to read about the war in the newspapers and listen on the radio news. We have always had great coverage of world news in the UK via the press, TV, radio, and cinema news reels…We didn’t have a TV in the house before the early to middle 60s. My elder brothers and sisters were socially aware and often went on protests outside the American Embassy in London, and of course, I learned a lot from their conversations and their music, lots of protest songs. The BBC and independent TV coverage were really good.”
“Thank you both. It sounds like an exciting story, and as you said, Dan, it’s available now. I hope you have some purchase links I can share.”
“You bet, John. Here they are. Thanks for having us.”
Blurbs
Series Blurb
Rascal Todd mysteries feature a tenacious young reporter with an insatiable appetite for investigating crimes the authorities can’t solve or choose not to. For various reasons, she’s not being allowed to work this case the way she might like.
Poetic Justice Blurb
Trevor Barcroft enlists the help of crime and mystery writer Brody Thompson to help solve his father’s murder — a murder the police and the FBI are ignoring. Rascal Todd wants to help, but her editor keeps her away from the story. Why? What was Wilson Barcroft doing at Gateway Park the night he was killed? Who is the mysterious Poet? What do the odd bits of poetry he has spread around mean? Is the Poet still alive? Will Brody and Trevor survive? Join Rascal and her friends and coworkers as they try to help from the sidelines without becoming targets in an ever-growing list of deadly crimes. Real life turns out to be far more dangerous than any fiction Brody could create, as the history of a war long over comes back to haunt the city of Pittsburgh.
Consistent with previous books by this author, this is a character-driven story with an ensemble cast sharing their concern and a fair amount of often inappropriate humor. You will fall in love with some of them, as they try to keep Brody and Trevor alive.
Author Bios
Dan 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.
Author page: http://relinks.me/DanielAntion
Blog: https://noFacilities.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:ptjdluuxckfau3dnaihh2sn5
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
DAntionYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNHXESp0LosdxjU-7elOu3g
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danantion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dantion/
Willow, London born, now retired, lives in Berkshire, England, with her husband and a procession of foster dogs. Mum of three boys and two beautiful grandsons, she shares her observations, poetry, prose, and music at her blog willowdot21, where she says: “Writing poetry and prose has helped me a great deal, in fact I think it has saved my life.” And she adds: “I hope that you might see how the poetry is moving from very dark through the grey and hopefully into light.” For this book, Willow needed to reconnect with the dark.
Author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Willow-Willers/author/B0DZD1TNZX
Facebook page.https://www.facebook.com/share/16AwsHVCqk/
Blog at wordpress.https://willowdot21.wordpress.com
