The Poison-Pill Will and The Pawns' Game

 

The Amazon version will be released early on the 18th of June. I will be uploading the free versions today, the 17th, on Draft2Dgtial. It will take a few days for those versions to filter down to all the various stores listed below. I will post links to those stores when they offer the book. 

This novella and short story are the last of the prequel stories to the fictional Red Wine Agency Series that play a role in my novel Chateau Clare. I had no intention of writing an actual Red Wine Agency story, but now... maybe. But that's a bird deep in the bush, and whether or not it ever comes to hand is a very open question. For now, these are the last Red Hu stories, as he is drawn into the affairs of the Great Houses of Lorria.

The Poison-Pill Will, along with a companion short story, The Pawns’ Game, is a 40K word novella and a bonus short story installment in the saga of Redinal Hu’s slow evolution into the title character in the fictional Red Wine Agency books that play a role in the novel Chateau Clare. It is a direct sequel to The Isle House Ghost and Nine Again taking place just several weeks after Nine Again.

In the novella, The Poison-Pill Will, Constance Darma, the new Head of the House of Darma has rivals within the House of Darma; a pair of ruthless uncles and an equally ruthless aunt. Mz Darma’s grandfather, the old Head of the House, died under unlikely circumstances, and now she’s now being pressured by each of her uncles and aunt to cede her inheritance to them. The Great Houses of Lorria can hide dark deeds, so her murder may not be out of the question. Kelta Versay, a friend of Constance, fears for her life, even if Constance doesn’t. She does manage to convince her to hire Red to draft a so-called poison-pill will that would end the House of Darma should she die, which hopefully, will make murder too counter-productive for even her ruthless relatives to contemplate. Plus, Red is to guard her until this will can be filed and put into effect. Red discovers Kelta’s fears were not unfounded.

And finally, in The Pawns’ Game, Red, facing an uncertain future, decides what his role will be in the Great Game, that struggle to control the fate of Lorria that is being waged between the Great Houses of Lorria. In this short story he learns how that game is played by the playing pieces of the game; the disposable pawns.

Links to the ebook and audiobook here:

Amazon ebook $2.99 HERE

Amazon audiobook $3.99

Apple ebook FREE

Apple audiobook FREE

Google ebook FREE

Google audiobook FREE

Smashwords ebook FREE

B & N ebook FREE

Kobo ebook FREE

The complete collection of Red Wine/Hu novellas and short stories - The Founders' Tribunal, The Isle House Ghost, Nine Again, The Poison-Pill Will, and The Pawns' Game - in a paperback omnibus are available from Amazon for $12.99 HERE