Author Twines History with High Fantasy in Debut Gothic Novel

In ‘The Heights and the Moors,’ author D. M. Clark transports readers to the early 1500s and unwinds a thrilling tale of good and evil as a group of modern-day college students contends with supernatural forces


GAINESVILLE, Fla., Oct. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- D. M. Clark has published his debut high-fantasy novel, “The Heights and the Moors,” which follows four modern-day college students who are thrust through a time portal and quickly find themselves fighting for their lives – and the future of the world – as they navigate a foreign place and time.

Set in the early 16th century on a remote island nation in northern Europe, the church is in turmoil, and corrupt leaders brutally suppress attempts at reform. The burning of heretics has become a public spectacle, while spies are ever watchful, searching for others to indict. And yet, most inhabitants of the fictional city of Mithrendia live within the comparative sanctity of its fortified walls. Outside, lawlessness reigns upon the moors, and in the heights, rumors of Norse legends abound. Berserkers who assume werewolf form are combing the eastern forests. In the south, revenants that are known as the draugur dwell in the Myrkur range.

“Through ‘The Heights and the Moors,’ I intend to entertain and to edify. I have attempted to do so with a genre – Gothic – that I have loved all of my life,” Clark said. “I also wanted to examine some of the historical atrocities associated with Christianity, such as the Inquisition and the Crusades, which critics often cite as reasons to dismiss this faith from their spiritual consideration. In particular, I have chosen to focus on the Protestant Reformation, which also overlapped with the witch craze.”

“The Heights and the Moors” draws back the curtain of the Gothic genre to reveal the inner workings of the age-old battle of good and evil and peppers in historically accurate elements to examine church corruption during the 1500s. Through this, the book reminds readers of blind spots established by history.

Weaving together traditional Gothic mainstays with historical fiction, “The Heights and the Moors” is an epic tale brimming with ghosts and witches, angels and demons, and vampires and werewolves that will keep readers riveted to the very end.

“The Heights and the Moors”
By D. M. Clark
ISBN: 978-1-4897-2929-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-2928-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-2927-9 (e)
Available through LifeRich Publishing, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon

About the author
D. M. Clark is an alumnus of the University of Florida, and he also holds graduate degrees in liberal arts and engineering. Clark’s studies include Gothic literature and architecture, European church history, medieval and early modern history, and systematic theology, and this is his debut Gothic novel. He currently resides in North Florida.

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