The Author Who Predicted A Pandemic, Years Before Covid
When Susie Kearley from England started writing a book about a pandemic, she never imagined she’d live through one!
I was just 16 when I penned the first draft of ‘Pestilence’. It was 1990, and I wanted to be a novelist. Inspired by the success of James Herbert’s Rats and similar stories around at that time, I wanted to create a deadly threat that would bring about the end of the world.
I had loads of interesting characters in mind, and started writing with vigour and enthusiasm, but there was a problem. I couldn’t figure out the ending, so eventually it got shelved. Work and study took up all my time, while my book languished on a shelf for 20 years!
It was 2011 when I took redundancy from a marketing job and launched a new career as a freelance writer. I dusted off the hand-written manuscript, typed it up, and feeling inspired again, I finally worked out the ending. The book got edited, honed and improved, before in 2019 I finally took two months off work to finish the novel.
2020 was going to be great!
2020 began with a huge amount of optimism. In January I started pitching to agents and publishers. Then Covid hit. My first thought was, I wouldn’t have taken two months off to finish the novel in 2019 if I’d known we’d be in lockdown in 2020!
It was weird pitching a pandemic story during an actual pandemic. But I felt there was a huge market for it. There was a lot of interest in Dean Koontz’s story about a Wuhan Virus, published in the 1980s, and Peter May’s Lockdown novel was finally published. Mine seemed very relevant too!
Online sales of books soared. I wanted to get my story out there! I received good feedback from agents, but didn’t have any takers. So in January 2021, I eventually self-published my novel, Pestilence!
So far it’s been well received, which is a relief!
What’s the plot?
Pestilence is an apocalyptic thriller. It starts with a miracle cure, to end antibiotic resistance, but it soon becomes apparent that there is a dark side to this medicine. Everyone’s revelling in the euphoria of its global success while ignoring the warning signals.
A new legal high, a feel-good fungus, adds to the emerging problem. When civilisation starts to collapse, Dr David Leeman forms a commune, where members work together to seek healing and find a cure.
The story follows the characters, from clinical trials, through to the collapse of society and the end of the world. It’s a story of courage and survival against the odds, against corruption, against vested interests and widespread denial.
One reviewer said he found it uplifting, despite the dark storyline, while others have applauded the positive messages the book contains.
How much of it resembles 2020?
It’s interesting to see how ‘Pestilence’ compares to what’s happened during the 2020 pandemic. While most of it is very different – including the pathogen – there are elements that ring true, from people not taking the threat seriously, to vested interests taking precedent over public safety. It also makes the actions of our government look brilliant, compared to the incompetent government in the novel!
It will make you think!
The characters face moral and ethical dilemmas, from domestic violence to government corruption. There’s the question of whether to share medicines with people outside the commune, when there’s not enough to go around inside – and the need outside is greater.
I’ve always said, ‘it will make you think!’
What inspired the story?
As a teenager I was really into scary, exciting books and films. From Nightmare on Elm Street, to end of the world thrillers, I was trying to think of something deadly and catastrophic that hadn’t been done already. I came up with the idea to write a novel about a fungal pandemic.
At the time, I didn’t know that human fungal infections were a real problem. So it was interesting learning about them later on! Theories from outside of traditional medicine, and some real life doctors with their own radical ideas, all helped my novel take shape.
I found a prolific brown jelly fungus in the garden, which mycologists couldn’t identify. I decided to use that as the basis of the emerging fungal pathogen that would help bring about the end of the world.
I had to research how long clinical trials took, the problems treating fungal infections, the potential for using neem in medicine, what happens when an emergency government is formed, police procedure, and lots of other things. It was interesting finding out!
It’s a fast paced thriller, with many twists and turns, and different elements including crime, murder, and even romance, alongside stories of incredible courage and cooperative working.
There’s some local appeal too, because the story visits the bunker at nearby Air Command, and a healing commune in the Chiltern Hills, where I live.
You’ll find Pestilence by Susie Kearley on Amazon here:
Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/KearleySusie
Category: On Writing
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