DAN ANTION PRIORHOUSE INTERVIEW (Book Promo and #DickensChallenge Reminder)

Today’s Interview features Dan Antion @No Facilities 

Dan is a blogger and author. He runs a popular weekly series called “Having a Beer” – and back in February, I dropped by (for a virtual seltzer water – ha) and I was delighted to see that he mentioned the 2023 #DickensChallenge.  Dan’s post is here. That led to today’s post.

PRIOR: Dan, thanks for joining me today. I am pleased that you are joining the reading challenge this year. 

Dan Antion: I would like to add that I am glad you are co-hosting the #DickensChallenge again (along with Trent and Marsha).  I know you changed to only asking us to read one novella, but I agreed while it was three, and I’m going to stick with that. Maybe I can make up for last year. One of my blog friends (Deborah Zajak – https://circadianreflections.com/) also joined while there were three being called for and so she’s also reading three.

PRIOR: I am a regular at Deb’s blog and look forward to seeing which three novellas she chose to read for the challenge. 

How is your reading going so far?

Dan Antion: I have almost finished The Cricket on the Hearth. I plan to read A Christmas Carol and The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain.  I had forgotten the delightful way in which Dickens could describe the most ordinary things. I know my connections to him are extremely thin, but the idea that I have been where he once was is an interesting thought.

PRIOR: That’s right. Dickens visited the States in 1842 and he spent a little time in Hartford, Connecticut

Dan Antion: I knew that Charles Dickens toured the United States in 1842 visiting the eastern states, as well as Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia, so I figured he also stopped in Pennsylvania. You can read about Dickens US tour in his book, American Notes for General Circulation. I thought he might have been interested in the story of the Irish immigrants who dug the Windsor Locks Canal, but it seems he took advantage of a mild winter and sailed from Springfield, Massachusetts to Hartford, Connecticut. In his book, Dickens mentions visiting an Insane Asylum. In fact, The Institute of Living (IOL), founded in 1822, was one of the first mental health hospitals in the United States. Oddly enough, when I moved to Connecticut to begin a consulting career, the IOL, as we knew it, was my first client.

When I was researching a scene for The Evil You Choose, I stumbled across the fact that in his 1842 tour, Charles Dickens also visited Western State Penitentiary outside of Pittsburgh.

Dickens found the prison appalling, and one account of his tour suggested that it inspired the inmate descriptions in his book A Tale of Two Cities.

I was equally appalled to find that in 2014 — the year in which my book is set — the Western State Penitentiary was still in operation. 

PRIOR: I am glad that it finally closed down in 2017.

Dan Antion: I am glad it closed as well.

PRIOR: You noted that one of the reasons you did not join the #Dickenschallenge last year was because you were in book writing mode. Can you tell us about your series?

Dan Antion: I recently began a promotion of the second and third books in my fiction series. Here is the blurb:

Set in Western Pennsylvania, in and around the city of Pittsburgh, the first three books in this series play out over the course of five months. “Knuckleheads” literally takes place in one long day, as Zach walks his daughter, Abbie, through his childhood, where his and Billy’s strange and often dangerous abilities emerged, and their friendship formed. 

In “The Evil You Choose,” Zach is forced to choose between helping a corrupt FBI agent, or a leader of an organized crime family. In order to bring an end to what he fears will be continuing exploitation, Zach enlists Billy’s help. He must also prevent the FBI from discovering Billy. 

“When Evil Chooses You” pits Zach against his most dangerous enemy. Grayson Dyer is the FBI Agent-in-Charge who will stop at nothing to avenge his father’s death. He holds Senator R. Madison Cutter responsible for what happened to his father, and he’s certain she was backed by the mob. Grayson wants Zach’s help. Without it, Grayson will eliminate Zach before he allows him to help his enemies.

If you like magical realism with suspense, action and a bit of family sarcasm, you will enjoy these books:

• Series on Amazon (and Kindle)
• Series on Lulu
• Dan is on Good Reads here
• Dan’s Books are on his Blog here

PRIOR: Speaking of timing and projects – many of your regular readers know that you recently retired. How is that going for you? I just read a post from Janis about her retirement (here) and how she might need to cut back on some activities. This made me wonder, “How is Dan’s retirement unfolding?” 

Dan Antion: I am enjoying my retirement. It didn’t start out the way I thought it would. I retired in November 2019, and a friend and I were planning to visit many of the small museums around New England in the spring of 2020. We all know how that ended. (Pandemic arrived). I have divided my time between writing, working in my wood shop, and doing necessary tasks around the house. I have traveled to see my brother, and he and I, and my daughter, have visited Pittsburgh twice.

PRIOR: Two trips to Pittsburgh sounds fun. That reminds me of the Priorhouse post we did in 2020 HERE

PRIOR: Is there a TV series you  enjoy? 

Dan Antion: I don’t watch a lot of TV, and even fewer modern series. I still enjoy the Star Trek franchise. I think people might enjoy Star Trek because it presents a hopeful future for mankind.

PRIOR: I have never really watched Star Trek, but I know the writing and acting was superb. In fact, William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, is currently promoting his documentary “You Can Call Me Bill.” Shatner, 91 years old, seems to have a lot of wisdom now and he recently noted how he felt people were eventually forgotten about after death – and then he went on to say that “good deeds live on” –  hmmm.  Anyhow, I know that you have also shared posts about The Twilight Zone. 

Dan Antion: Yes, I enjoy the original Twilight Zone and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. These shows seem timeless, often in a disturbing way. Choosing my favorite Twilight Zone episode is hard. I tend to pick a group of five or ten favorites. If you’re going to pin me down to one, I would go with The Obsolete Man (S02E29) – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734667/ – starring Burgess Meredith. 

PRIOR: I have seen The Obsolete Man episode and plan to watch it again. I found a website with a review of it (HERE) and wanted to share part of it today because it eerily reminded me about why we need to be careful with that sneaky, slippery slope censorship that was going on during the pandemic.

   “The Obsolete Man is set in a dystopian world, where the State is given the authority and power to determine what it logical, true, important and meaningful. Once a State is given this commodity there is no stopping the slippery slope into tyranny. In a totalitarian society, “logic is an enemy and truth is a menace.” Librarian Romney Wordsworth is facing the final hours of his life; he has been charged with obsolescence, a crime worthy of the death sentence. He also believes in God which is also cause for the death penalty in the Twilight Zone. “The Obsolete Man portrays ideas about the rights of man, the power of free will, the importance of faith, and the elemental corruption of a State that attempts to dominate and debase the human spirit. Rod Serling uses lighting, scene design, color, character development, and social historical context to support these ideas.”

PRIOR: Do you still like “Salomon” shoes – when we were chatting about shoes for walks/hikes, I remember that you liked this brand?

Dan Antion: I still love Salomon shoes and boots. 

PRIOR: I asked because Rihanna wore some Salomon “Cross Low” shoes during her Super Bowl show.  That brand had a major bump!

pst update – Dan shared an image of his Salomon hikers – (right side) and Rhianna’s red Salomon are center and left. Come back tomorrow for the interview with Linda Schaub where we will chat a little more about shoes!

Dan Antion: I wear a pair of Salomon low-rise hiking boots (not in that style or color though) as my daily walkers. I have Salomon hiking boots and some of their winter boots as well.

PRIOR: Any other Dan favs?

Dan Antion: A favorite meal made here at home would be pasta in my wife’s Alfredo sauce.

As for music, my taste varies from classic rock to country to classical. A song that finds its way into most of my playlists is While You See a Chance by Steve Winwood.

PRIOR: It was a lot of fun connecting again and thank you Dan, for your time. 

Dan: Thanks for this opportunity, Yvette.

Thanks for joining us today. If you have any comments or questions, we would love your feedback. 

 

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