The Second Great Mortality has arrived!

[Lonnie]

The Second Great Mortality
I never imagined myself becoming an author let alone a writer of fantasy horror. While doing tons more research than actual writing on a historical fiction project, I needed a break. I decided to write a battle scene between men-at-arms and zombies just for the fun of it. The next thing I knew, I had close to a hundred pages, and it just kept pouring out. The Second Great Mortality was born. I was surprised by where the story led me.

My true passion is fifteenth-century historical re-enactment particularly medieval equestrian martial arts. I have built a tiltyard in my backyard where I enjoy practicing knightly skills-at-arms with lance, spear, and sword. I recently commissioned a suit of tournament armor with every intention of one day using it in an international jousting competition.

Set in Medieval England and written in the style of a historical fiction novel, I think it offers an interesting twist to the zombie genre. I should note that the word 'zombie' is a relatively modern addition to the English language--having been borrowed from Haitian folklore sometime in the nineteenth century--and would have been as foreign to the medieval man as the word 'zipper'. For that reason I use several more period terms for our favorite undead nemesis. This is my first novel to be published. I would love to hear what fellow horror aficionados think.

SYNOPSIS: The year is 1436. Sir Richard de Colleville is out hunting with his son when their hounds come upon a pale stranger savagely gnawing the neck of a fawn. Thinking the stranger deranged or simply starving, Richard’s men intervene only to be viciously attacked. What seemed an isolated incident in the forest spurs a deadly turn of events when Richard learns that the man’s corpse bears the unmistakable signs of Plague. Richard tries to allay people’s fears that the Great Mortality is returned to Gloucester, but these fears soon prove true when someone within the manor walls exhibits symptoms. Fear then gives way to unspeakable horror once the true nature of this Pestilence is revealed. As lord of the land, Richard has a responsibility to protect his villagers and tenants, but how can he protect them from the invisible hand of death? Worse yet, how can he protect the survivors—including his wife and daughters—from the victims?

Unlike the classic medieval tales of yore, this novel explores what would have happened had the Great Plague carried more than just buboes and death. It offers a fresh take on the modern zombie story by taking the reader back to a time when sword, armor, and honor were all a man had to protect himself and those he loved.