The Founders' Tribunal Art and Blurb

I'm being lazy with this time around with the cover of The Founder's Tribunal. I'm using a piece of art I had painted years ago. Since it is going to be an ebook/audiobook release only, I don't need to have a piece of art that wraps around to the back cover. (Although both pieces of art I considered, could be used to wrap around.) And, well, ebook covers are mostly only seen in thumbnails, so I'm not going to paint a special cover for a thumbnail.

Above is the complete painting for the alternative version of  the cover for The Founder's Tribunal that I considered. As you can see, being a landscape painting, I had plenty of room to frame the cover. Below is what I used for my trial cover, but it could've been adjusted right or left if I care to.

However, below we have the complete painting that I used for my first, and likely final version of the cover. It too was painted in landscape and the focus can be shifted for the cover as well.

Since first posting this cover, I have altered the cover slightly, zooming in on the painting, i.e. enlarging the scene I've chosen to focus on. That original post now features this zoomed in version as well. There were pros and cons for both versions, but in the end, this is the cover I have decided to go with, since it best captures the mood of the minor scene it is meant to illustrate.

I usually go for mood. If I do illustrate a scene or setting, it won't be a dramatic one. I don't paint drama. In this case of this cover, it is meant to "illustrate" a meeting Red Hu has with Lorivel Carvie, and Carleesa Trilae at Red's old law office, located in an old residential borough of Celora on a snowy winter's morning. As such, both paintings work, more or less, for that setting. 

So what's the story about? Well, below is my current blurb for The Founder's Tribunal. As usual, I don't like to do more than a tease the story in my blurbs. I'll no doubt talk more about it after its release.

In this sequel to The Darval-Mers Dossier, Redinal Hu finds himself once again playing a small, but perhaps dangerous, role in the Great Game.

When Red’s former colleague and good friend, Lorivel Carvie, calls and invites him to dinner – her treat - Red suspects it’s more than a social get-together. As much as he wishes it was. And, as it turns out, he was right.

Lorivel’s cousin, Carleesa Trilae, is the private secretary of their great grandmother, Penlane Trilae, the First Minister of the Commonwealth of Lorria. The First Minister has received a summons to appear before something called the Founders’ Tribunal to defend her administration against charges that she is not following the founding principles of Lorrian society. What this Founders’ Tribunal is, and who’s behind it, is a mystery. The Minister believes it to be a ploy of a cabal of Great Houses. Nevertheless she is determined, even eager, to face this secret tribunal and let them know exactly what they need to do if they want to maintain the founding principles. Her great granddaughters do not think this is a wise idea. They hope to persuade her to accept Red Hu as her legal counsel and bodyguard. 

Well, Penlane Trilae hasn’t remained First Minister of the Commonwealth of Lorria for over half a century by being timid. So it’s on to plan two.

The Founders’ Tribunal is a 25,000 word novella set several months after The Darval-Mers Dossier. Set during the troubled times leading up to the Second Founding, this story is his first outing using his alias, Red Wine, a gentleman for hire. The story is set in the same world of Chateau Clare and Glencrow Summer, but in an earlier historical period than those two novels.

The Founders' Tribunal is now up for pre-order on Amazon for $1.99 Its release date is November 6th, 2025. It will be released as a free ebook and audiobook around that date as well, in all the usual ebook stores. More on the story, and hopefully, news about a third Red Wine story, as its release date gets nearer. Stay tuned.