Reprisal

WILL VAUXHALL CONQUER THE CLUSTER?

King Albert of Vauxhall, frustrated in his efforts for vengeance against the people he blames for his son's death, is now building a navy to conquer the cluster.

But the cluster sees the threat and is enhancing its own capabilities.

King Albert and Isabela Febo square off in this epic conclusion to the Agency series. They're playing a high-stakes game, and only one system will survive.

Will it be the isolated democracies of the cluster, or will the powerful core world monarchies extend their dominion over all of human space?

What role will Sam and Jules play in this struggle?
.

AN INTERVIEW WITH RICH WEYAND

What's the setup for Agency #5: Reprisal?

In Agency #4: Marque, the King of Vauxhall's plan to use letters of marque to get his revenge didn't work, so he sets to a longer-term plan to conquer the cluster by building a new navy that can go up against the cluster's navy. But the cluster knows that's what he's doing - they bugged his office in Agency #4: Marque - and Isabela Febo decides to go after the King of Vauxhall.

So Agency #4 was his letters of marque, but Agency #5 is her reprisal?

Yes. She decides not to let him scheme against the cluster without interference.

Who are the main characters in Agency #5: Reprisal?

Oh, everybody's back. Bert Mangum and Elina Stavros, Claude Portnoy and Phyllis Stickney, Gloria Dent and Davian Varley, Jules and Sam, Serp Kendall and Marge Schofield, Isabela Febo and Michael Corliss. Even Judy Blunt is back.

I got a chill on that last one. Judy Blunt is back?

Oh, yes. She's back, and the leash is off, in a really big way.

How did Agency #5: Reprisal write?

This one wrote fast. Twenty-three writing days, at almost 3500 words per day. I even had an 8900-word day in there. Action sequences write faster, and when you get deeper in a series, they write faster. Your universe is all set up, your characters are all set up. You still describe things, but you don't have to think them up. You already did that part.

What is with that cover?

Another outstanding piece of original art by Luca Oleastri and Paola Giari of Rotwang Studio in Italy. It's a rip-off of 'Liberty Leading the People,' the famous piece in the Louvre. That's Judy Blunt as Liberty.

What's with the dinosaurs?

Nope. That would be a major spoiler.

This is the last of the Agency series?

Yes. It's set up that way. I round things up pretty tight at the end. But not in such a way that there couldn't be other Agency stories. I just wrapped all the story arc of this series. All the characters of this series.

So what's next for your writing?

Not a clue. I usually get a lot of story ideas out of LibertyCon. That's at the end of June, so starting July 1, I'll be off on some new adventure.