Book Launch — Knuckleheads by Dan Antion

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene
June 21, 2022 
Crystal gives Knuckleheads 5 claws up
Crystal gives Knuckleheads 5 claws up
 
No matter what personal issues or work on my own books is going on in my life, I try my best to support my indie author colleagues.  Today I’m sharing in the launch of Dan Antion’s debut book, Knuckleheads.  It’s the first book in a series.  For the post here at my blog, I asked Dan to answer one question.  He generously wrote the following post.  Other than formatting this post, none of the words or images were written or created by me.
 
Take it away, Dan…

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KNUCKLEHEADS Tour Banner

The Value of Friendship

Thank you so much, Teagan for inviting me to be a guest on your blog.  Before I begin the discussion, you’ve asked me to address, I must take a minute to thank you for encouraging me to turn the background story of Zach and Billy’s lives, into a separate book.

For many years, I have considered this to be the place the magic happens. I am honored to be on the same blog as Pip, Granny Phanny, Brother Love, Emeraude, Dilly, and Cornelis Drebbel. And now, with the recent release of The Veil – the final Journey in the Dead of Winter series, I need to include Emlyn, Osabide and the other members of Deae Matres.

Now, for the readers interested in learning a bit more about Knuckleheads.

Teagan has given me an interesting challenge for a promotional post during a book launch

“For Knuckleheads, I want you to elaborate on ‘Enduring Friendship.’ Particularly how those friendships help us deal with antagonists.”

The simplest answer I can give to satisfy the “particular” aspect of the question, is that people involved in an enduring friendship have established a level of trust and an understanding that permits them to operate without fear. There’s no need for the pretense of being in control between friends like this.

I realized that Knuckleheads needed to establish the friendship that had endured for over 50 years at the point of the second book in the series.  Zach and Billy had to be friends who would support each other without question. They had to be friends who would put their friend’s needs ahead of their own. They had to be friends who knew each other well enough to know how they would react in a situation. These were the qualities of the friendship that formed when they were children.

Billy’s concern for Zach is illustrated in the following excerpt.

Situation

Billy’s mother has died, and Zach’s parents are taking him to the wake. At the time, Zach could only visit places in his dreams if he had been there in person. Zach is worried that he might return to the funeral home in a dream. Zach’s father shares his concern:

Excerpt

As we entered the parking lot of Fitch’s Funeral Home, I saw Billy standing outside next to the two big guys in black suits, ushers, I heard my dad call them. I wasn’t sure what was going on. We parked, collected ourselves, mom checked my appearance one more time, and we headed toward the door. Dad made the move he had been planning. At the last minute, he said, “Zach, you can wait outside with Billy.”

That solved the problem. I wasn’t going inside, so I couldn’t dream myself back inside. He waited until the last minute so my mom could not challenge him. He knew her so well.

I walked over to Billy, and we stepped away from the ushers. Billy said he knew I was coming and figured I didn’t want to go inside.

♦♦♦

While the boys are reluctant to use their abilities to help themselves, they don’t hesitate to use them to help each other. This friendship continues throughout the series, when serious threats emerge, when their lives are in danger. But this friendship began in fourth grade.

Explaining how this relationship formed over time is one of the goals I had while writing Knuckleheads. This conversation begins as a result of Zach’s daughter Abbie inadvertently inviting Billy to the surprise retirement party she arranged for her father. The conversation that begins with a simple bit of confusion continues throughout the book.

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Knuckleheads Book Covers

Universal Purchase Links for Knuckleheads

Kindle:  relinks.me/B0B2M42NLF

Paperback: relinks.me/B0B2TK4VHT

♦♦♦

Good luck with Knuckleheads and the rest of the books, Dan.

Everyone, thanks for supporting indie authors. Hugs on the wing!

 
 

♦♦♦

Dead of Winter: Journey 14, The Veil (conclusion)

Dead of Winter: Journey 14, The Veil by Teagan Riordain Geneviene
The Final Journey

Universal Purchase Links

Kindle:  relinks.me/B0B41FF3FX

Paperback:  relinks.me/B0B3RVHG1S

 

All rights reserved. 

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.

 

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108 thoughts on “Book Launch — Knuckleheads by Dan Antion”

  1. Pingback: You Knucklehead! #1LinerWeds – Marian Allen, Author Lady
  2. Pingback: The Armadillo Files, Episode 28 — What will I be? – Teagan's Books

  5. Over 50 years of friendship is huge! We have a lot of acquaintances and social friends, but a true friendship that endures for such a long time is rare and precious. Thank you for hosting Dan today, Teagan. This is a great post. I look forward to having him on Friday.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks for visiting here, Miriam. I have a few friendships that have lasted 30-40 years, I still have one friend from high school, and one friend I met in Seattle in the late 1970s, but you’re right, there are rare. Right now, I’m thinking about the friends I’ve met in this community, the friends who are helping me today. I am so grateful to so many people. I am so happy to be here, and I look forward to visiting your place on Friday.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Congratulations to you Dan and thank you Teagan for all of your support in this effort!! Book sounds awesome Dan and considering how much I like and respect Teagans writing skills, I know you are in great hands with her support!!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks Kirt. Teagan has been very helpful from the start of this 2-year project. I’m thrilled to be here on her blog now that it’s coming to fruition. While I’m marketing my book, I’m reading her final Journey.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

        1. That makes me smile, Kirt. I put huge effort into the conclusion. While the others have been mostly existing material… Well, actually I added progressively more new, improvements as the Journeys came along… Anyhow except for 3 or 4 pages Journey 14 is all new material. When you get to it, I hope you love it.
          I’m gradually getting back into the swing of blogging. I hope to catch up with your blog soon. Oh, and The Armadillo Files will be back on Saturday. 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

  8. An interesting challenge. I love stories that play heavily on an enduring friendship and Zach and Billy have that. I’m looking forward to reading their story. Thank you for hosting, Teagan, and best wishes to Dan!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. Great challenge, Teagan, and great answer, Dan! I particularly like that they don’t like to use their abilities to benefit themselves, but they’ll use anything available to help their friend. That IS friendship in a nutshell.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  10. Pingback: Dan’s Book and My #NailArt #MondayRecommends – Marian Allen, Author Lady

  11. Congratulations, Dan. I loved Knuckleheads! The friendships, the underlying moral values, the unexpected … this is a story that lingers. Thank you, Teagan, for showcasing Dan today and for modeling true friendship. 💗

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. I was looking at this book in my kindle yesterday, eager to read. Soon, Dan, soon. Great post. I loved reading about your thought process and these characters, and how Teagan was such a great support. This is an awesome community. Thanks to you both for the fun post.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. I think one of the truest blessings in life is having a friend you can trust implicitly. I love the kinship you have created between these characters, Dan. 👍🏻👍🏻
    Much luck with your tour as well, Teagan. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  15. ‘The Value of Friendship’–such a leaping point for your discussion with Dan and for Billy and Zach. You are such a good friend, Teagan. I enjoyed the book excerpt, too.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. Thanks Lois. I’m glad you liked the excerpt. Choosing what snippets to share was hard. I wanted to show what I mean, but I didn’t want to give anything away to folks who are reading. I’m glad you liked this. Teagan has been a wonderful friend during this whole process.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  20. Reblogged this on Just Olga and commented:
    Teagan Geneviene features Dan Antion’s new book, the first in a series, Knuckleheads. Don’t miss this post to learn a bit more about the relationship between the two main characters.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  21. Thanks, Dan, for answering Teagan’s question. You explain it very well, and it makes sense in the context you give us of the story. Good luck with this book and with the whole series, and thanks to Teagan for giving us an insight into one of the most important themes in your series. All the best!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. Thanks so much for visiting and commenting here, Suzanne, and thank you very much for the introduction/review at your place. I’m glad you enjoyed the book, and I appreciate your spreading the word.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  23. Teagan, I can’t adequately thank you for the help you have given me. When I was struggling to include important childhood memories in (what is now) the second book, you suggested there was enough of a story to stand on its own. You knew that because you had read early snippets, you answered questions, and like today, you challenged me to think deeper about the story I wanted to tell. You suggested I write the story about Zach and Billy’s childhood years. And now, as the final Journey in Dead of Winter arrives, you set aside the time to help me once again.

    PS, that picture of Crystal warms my heart. Thank yo so much!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. A good question to be asked! Lifelong friendships are absolutely book-worthy. I did not read the excerpts because the very book itself is waiting for me, and I don’t want to know too much before I open it!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. Thanks for stopping by, Maureen, and I don’t blame you for not reading the excerpt. I tried to not give too much away in them (there are more coming later this week), but I understand to desire to find them yourself. Teagan’s question was fun to wrestle with.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  26. Reblogged this on No Facilities and commented:
    Teagan Geneviene has graciously taken time away from her own book launch to help me promote the launch of my debut novel. She posed an interesting question to me, one that caused me to reflect on the entire Dreamer’s Alliance series. Please take a look. Comments are turned off here, but I’ll reply on her blog.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  29. Dan, the true friendship between Zach & Billy is very clear in your writing. You have made the definition of a relationship come alive in the story. That took talent and having experienced the same to a high degree in your own life. Teagan came up with an excellent question for you to define about your book. Authors supporting authors is the way to go in getting the good word out there about our books. 📚🎶Christine

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks Christine. Teagan made me think, which she has, often during the time I was writing this series. Without her making me think, the book wouldn’t be here today. She saw the potential for this story before I did. That’s friendship.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Absolutely! Brainstorming with another writer/friend is the way to bring the best to a story. I have a screenwriter friend who has done that with me during the book’s progress. It’s reciprocal, I’ve helped her with three of her screenplays. I can see what each of her scenes need and the dialogue to go with it. 📚🎶 Christine

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

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