In the company of wolves . . .

Hello there! I am Rebecca (R.L. Blackhurst) writer of all things wolfy and medieval! I have been writing since I was about twelve and have started and unfinished several books . . . that we need not speak of . . . . But when I moved to New Zealand in 2007, I started a book that I knew was the one. The idea was spawned in a shopping centre in Brighton, East Sussex.

I have always been fascinated with the Middle Ages; it’s those fabulous knights that do it! I became particularly fascinated with the Knights Templar, one of the most respected and feared military Orders the world has ever known, although they ceased to be just over 700 years ago. Much has been written on the Templars, both fact and fiction, and they were supposed to have a great secret . . . . Because of their fearsome reputation, unparalleled fighting skills and enigmatic prowess, in my fantastical mind their secret had to be supernatural . . . they had to be werewolves. Not moon dependant, trouser ripping, bi-pedal beasties, but elegant shapeshifters, men who could turn into magnificent wolves at will. So was born the idea that became, “The Wolves of Solomon.”

My novel (a hefty 182,000 words) starts with the end of the Knights Templar, where their secret is revealed to the greedy French King, Phillip IV, and his ambitious councillors. They orchestrate and bring about the Knights’downfall. The book is based on actual events with lots of supernatural fiction thrown into the mix. My aim was to make the story as believable as possible, and sometimes I even believe it happened myself!!

There is a sequel “Wolf,” based on one of the characters from the first book and I am currently writing a prequel, “Blood and Brethren.” Although these subsequent books were never planned (I imagined I would be writing my Sci Fi epic, when I finished the WOS), I have been hemmed in by my characters, who are demanding more attention and hence more books. When will it end? When my wolf men let it. I am, for now, and for the foreseeable future, in the company of wolves.

I hope you will join me.