Mary Ann Bernal: Spotlight on New Zealand author, screenwriter, and producer, Lance Morcan

It's my pleasure to feature the multi-talented Lance Morcan, discussing stuff you may or may not know.

Lance Morcan

Lance Morcan writes in collaboration with his son, James Morcan. They are a rare New Zealand father-and-son writing team who have co-authored 20 fiction and non-fiction book titles published by Sterling Gate Books. James is based in Sydney, Australia, while Lance is based in New Zealand, so their collaboration is essentially conducted long distance albeit with the help of daily Skype and phone calls.

James Morcan

Lance is a former journalist/newspaper editor with experience in all media. James is also an actor and has accrued leading roles in film, television and also on stage. His film credits can be viewed here.

James and Lance are also screenwriters and filmmakers, and have adapted several of their novels to feature film screenplays. These are in early development with their production company, Morcan Motion Pictures. Several of their film projects can be viewed here.

Numerous books have been regular visitors to Amazon’s bestseller lists. These include the novels Into the Americas (a historical adventure) and The Ninth Orphan (an international thriller) and the non-fiction books Genius Intelligence and Antigravity Propulsion. James Morcan Amazon author page. Lance Morcan Amazon author page.

Their latest non-fiction book, DEBUNKING HOLOCAUST DENIAL THEORIES: Two Non-Jews Affirm the Historicity of the Nazi Genocide, written in close collaboration with Holocaust survivors, has sparked an outcry from Holocaust deniers – as some of the reviews reveal. One of the world’s ‘leading’ deniers, who also happens to be an author and publisher (of anti-Semitic books) went so far as to publish a book (with an identical cover image, and a near-identical title) debunking the book!

For additional information on their various projects, kindly visit Morcan Books and Films blog here.

The Morcans have also established a fast-growing discussion group on Goodreads.com called The Underground Knowledge group – and as the title suggests it’s designed to encourage debates about important and underreported issues of our era. (All you need is an enquiring mind, an interest in the world we live in and a desire to learn or share “underground knowledge”). Check out the group here. More members welcome!

Their latest book is a historical adventure titled WHITE SPIRIT (A novel based on a true story). It’s a 1,000-page epic set in 19th Century Australia and based on the remarkable true story of Irish convict John Graham.

After escaping from the notorious Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, Graham finds refuge with the Kabi, a tribe of Aborigines who eventually accept him as one of their own.

Attempts to recapture Graham are orchestrated by a variety of contrasting characters working for the all-pervasive British Empire. They include Moreton Bay's tyrannical, opium-addicted commandant Lord Cheetham, the dashing yet warlike Lieutenant Hogan, native tracker Barega and the penal settlement's captain, Tom Marsden.

Marsden's young daughter Helen, a progressive lady ahead of her time who is both an egalitarian and a feminist, boldly inserts herself into the clash between the Irish convict, her father and Moreton Bay's other iron-fisted rulers. Helen complicates things further when she finds herself in a Pride and Prejudice-style love triangle with men on opposite sides of the conflict.

When Scottish woman Eliza Fraser is found shipwrecked and close to death in Kabi territory, Graham and his legion of pursuers, as well as the Irishman's adopted Aboriginal family, are all forced to navigate a multi-faceted rescue mission. The precarious rendezvous is made all the more dangerous by Helen Marsden's ethically-driven meddling that often outwits the men involved.

WHITE SPIRIT is not only based on arguably the great Australian (true) story, a sweeping tale that encapsulates all the nuances of the southern continent's unique history, it also provides readers with detailed insights into the tribal life of First Australian (Aboriginal) peoples.