Poison and Opium, book 1
Date Published: 03-26-2025
Publisher: Shadow Spark Publishing
Daisuke’s heart has always wandered far from home, hoping for a life beyond what he’d have as a Northern Nomad raised in slavery. One evening, when he learns the Giahatio’s imperial military has arrived in search of recruits, he seizes his chance to flee Okara’s plantations and start anew. However, becoming a footsoldier isn’t the easy escape he expected, and he soon finds himself struggling for a place within the infantry and Giahatian society.
Obito knows he should be grateful for the opportunity to serve as one of the Empire’s elite intelligence operatives, the onmitsu—it’s one of few he’ll ever have in life, and the highest possible honor for a nobleman’s youngest son. But with demons of anger and shame haunting him as he tries to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of a scandal, any pride to take in rank or family name is entirely hollow.
When an act of mercy is born from a senseless murder, the already unlikely friendship between Daisuke and Obito takes an unexpected turn. Not only are they now partnered together as onmitsu, but dark politics are on the rise, leading them toward an ancient, furious magic.
Interview with E. Gary Gygax
What is your favorite part of the book?
This is a hard one, mainly because I love working with these characters so much. It’s either the first mission Daisuke and Obito go on together, or the “fight” they get into over Daisuke not getting out of bed on time for a different mission. Their moments of emotional honesty with each other are also pretty high up there.
Does your book have a lesson? Moral?
Hopefully, the characters show readers that it’s possible to reach beyond what you’ve been told you can be, and that there’s more than one way to fight power and authority you don’t agree with. Acceptance and empathy are also big themes.
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
I try really hard to pull characters from my imagination and avoid basing them off real people—it makes me uncomfortable. But, I can’t pretend I haven’t done it subconsciously, either, and I usually don’t realize it until after they’re on the page and more developed. It just kind of hits me like, “Oh, this is actually X-person. Oops.”
Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?
For this series, as much as I love Daisuke and Obito, it might be Junpei. He doesn’t have a great start in this first book, but he grows up a lot in the next ones. Overall, it might be Kohaku, who doesn’t appear in this series. He’s a sweet boy under his grumpy exterior, and I feel like I connect with him the most.
What character in your book are you least likely to get along with?
I have a few that I wouldn’t get along with. The boys’ parents, the Emperor, Giichi, and Lord Hideo would all be on my list. As much as I love Lady Shadow, I’m actually not sure how well we’d get along, either.
What would the main character in your book have to say about you?
I’m not sure, but given what they’ve been through, I don’t think it’d be anything nice. Hopefully Daisuke would just side-eye me and Obito would roll his eyes whenever they saw me.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
This series directly connects to another series I’ve already written, and some elements from here will also come into play in a future series I have planned. But! Mostly, I hope the books stand on their own.
About the Author
She can be found on BlueSky and Instagram @5FeetofRedFury, ready to nerd out.
