My next novel is coming on 20th December! THESE YOUNG WOLVES – THE KNIGHTS OF BLACKRABBIT #1 is a spin-off from The Moth and Moon trilogy. It is not necessary to have read that series before this book, however those who have read it will recognise former villain Vince Knight, who is now trying to make up for past mistakes.
From the moment Vince Knight first walked onto the page in The Lion Lies Waiting, I knew there was something special about him. Some characters require a degree of finessing and moulding to reveal their true selves. Not so with Vince. He appeared on the page fully formed and ready for action. It is a genuine thrill to be able to bring you this, the first in his adventures as head of the Port Knot Watch.
The Knights of Blackrabbit series is set in the Pell Isles–a group of islands situated off the coast of Cornwall. The isles and their inhabitants have been heavily influenced by the Cornish language and culture. As such, you will see words such as backalong and bleddy crop up in the dialogue. These are Cornish words which have been adopted by everyday Pellans. Backalong means in former times and bleddy is simply the word bloody in the local vernacular. Other words and phrases have been rewritten to make their meaning clearer, but I felt it important to leave some elements of the local dialect intact. I hope that Cornish people will forgive me for any little errors!
It’s worth noting that in this world, an event named “The Illumination” coincided with the fall of the Roman Empire and ultimately led to the abandonment of religious practices across the world. In England, in the year 1141, Queen Matilda passed a law declaring women equal to men with no restrictions placed on their education or the roles they could hold within society. The dearth of religious doctrine led to those who experienced life outside of the traditional to blossom and become accepted as simply another part of life. Prejudice based on gender, race, or sexuality became almost unheard of. If only our world had taken a similar path. When I started writing my first novel, The Moth and Moon, I wanted to create a world where no one would face any hardship because of their sexuality. The Illumination was my way of explaining that. It isn’t the focus of the story, and is only mention in passing during the second book in the trilogy, The Lion Lies Waiting, but I felt some kind of explanation was warranted.
This story begins on 23rd October 1781, the day after the events of We Cry the Sea (the third in the Moth and Moon trilogy). It is not essential to have read that book, nor the rest of the Moth and Moon trilogy, though doing so will provide a more detailed insight into how Vince Knight came to arrive at his current position in life.
You might be interested to know that there is a free story that acts a little prequel to THESE YOUNG WOLVES. It is available to my newsletter subscribers (there had to be a newsletter plug in here somewhere!). You can sign up for it here: glennquigley.com/newsletter
This new series is more action-packed and faster paced than my previous works and I hope that readers will enjoy it. If nothing else, it’s got big, burly, bearded men sleeping with each other and that’s gotta be worth a look, right?
THESE YOUNG WOLVES — THE KNIGHTS OF BLACKRABBIT book one will be available in paperback and Ebook, and will be released on 20th December 2022 by Ninestar Press. You can pre-order the eBook version here and get it four days early: https://ninestarpress.com/product/these-young-wolves/
I will be selling signed copies with bookmarks and limited edition art prints, and these will be available worldwide. You can find out more on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The Moth and Moon trilogy is on sale for the month on December on Amazon and the Ninestar Press website.