3 Days Only! Grab "New Zealand: A Novel" for Free on Kindle (March 15-17)

 

Exciting News from Sterling Gate Books!

We're thrilled to announce a special Kindle promotion for the captivating novel, "New Zealand: A Novel," by Lance Morcan. Mark your calendars for March 15 - 17, 2025, and don't miss this chance to grab your copy for free. Dive into an unforgettable adventure and experience the magic of New Zealand from the comfort of your home. Get your copy today and join the celebration!

New Zealand: A Novel by Lance Morcan

In 1768, medical student Nicholas Young is recruited as Surgeon’s Boy under Captain James Cook aboard the Endeavour. His journey takes him to uncharted lands, including New Zealand, discovered by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. Nearly five centuries earlier, in 1301 AD, villagers from Hawaiki flee their homeland and discover Aotearoa, the land of the long, white cloud.

As Nicholas and his crewmates arrive in Tahiti, he becomes a man through trials and tribulations. He forms a bond with Tahiti’s queen, Obadia, and learns about the Maori people and their history. In 1769, Nicholas spots New Zealand, leading to the first encounter between Cook’s crew and the indigenous Maori, marked by conflict and cultural exchange.

The Endeavour’s circumnavigation of New Zealand challenges Nicholas and his crewmates, but they emerge stronger, ready to face the unknown.

What Readers Are Saying About New Zealand: A Novel by Lance Morcan

Riveting and Unputdownable: Readers are captivated by the blend of historical facts and well-crafted narratives, making the story of New Zealand's formation compelling and exciting.

A Page-Turner: The novel spans centuries and continents, offering a fascinating fictionalized account of Captain Cook's voyages and the Maori's arrival in New Zealand. It's a must-read for lovers of adventure, exotic locales, and history.

Amazing Storytelling: Lance Morcan's talent for vivid storytelling pulls readers into the struggles and triumphs of the Indigenous people and explorers, making it a fantastic and immersive read.

Fascinating Historical Journey: The novel brings New Zealand's history to life, blending fictional characters with real historical figures and offering a deep understanding of the land's development.

   Purchase Links

KINDLE

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 35 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

The father-and-son team's published books include the new release horror Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) and the bestselling historical adventures White Spirit, Fiji: A Novel and Into the Americas. They also have several series including The Orphan Trilogy, an international thriller series, the globetrotting action-romance series The World Duology, and the controversial non-fiction franchise The Underground Knowledge Series, which includes Genius Intelligence and The Catcher in the Rye Enigma.

Several of their books have been regular visitors to Amazon's bestseller lists over the years.

An additional non-fiction title they're especially proud of is Debunking Holocaust Denial Theories, which was written in collaboration with Holocaust survivors to document the genocide.

Lance's first solo-authored novel, a historical adventure-romance titled New Zealand: A Novel, was published late 2024. Spanning almost 500 years, this novel covers the respective discoveries of New Zealand by Pacific Islanders and Europeans. From the outset the two stories are interposed. It starts in the 1300’s with the departure of Islanders from Hawaiki in search of land far to the south. Researching and writing this epic was literally half a century in the making for Lance who described the task as "A labour of love that spanned 50 years.”

The Morcans’ production entity, Morcan Motion Pictures, has a number of feature films in early development, including adaptations of Silent Fear, Into the Americas, and White Spirit.

 

 

 

New Zealand: A Novel by Lance Morcan - Free Kindle Promotion January 12 and 13, 2025

 

Exciting News from Sterling Gate Books!

We're thrilled to announce a special Kindle promotion for the captivating novel, New Zealand: A Novel, by Lance Morcan. Mark your calendars for January 12 and 13, 2025, and don't miss this chance to grab your copy for free. Dive into an unforgettable adventure and experience the magic of New Zealand from the comfort of your home. Get your copy today and join the celebration!

***

New Zealand: A Novel by Lance Morcan

In 1768, medical student Nicholas Young is recruited as Surgeon’s Boy under Captain James Cook aboard the Endeavour. His journey takes him to uncharted lands, including New Zealand, discovered by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. Nearly five centuries earlier, in 1301 AD, villagers from Hawaiki flee their homeland and discover Aotearoa, the land of the long, white cloud.

As Nicholas and his crewmates arrive in Tahiti, he becomes a man through trials and tribulations. He forms a bond with Tahiti’s queen, Obadia, and learns about the Maori people and their history. In 1769, Nicholas spots New Zealand, leading to the first encounter between Cook’s crew and the indigenous Maori, marked by conflict and cultural exchange.

The Endeavour’s circumnavigation of New Zealand challenges Nicholas and his crewmates, but they emerge stronger, ready to face the unknown.

What Readers Are Saying About New Zealand: A Novel by Lance Morcan

Riveting and Unputdownable: Readers are captivated by the blend of historical facts and well-crafted narratives, making the story of New Zealand's formation compelling and exciting.

 A Page-Turner: The novel spans centuries and continents, offering a fascinating fictionalized account of Captain Cook's voyages and the Maori's arrival in New Zealand. It's a must-read for lovers of adventure, exotic locales, and history.

 Amazing Storytelling: Lance Morcan's talent for vivid storytelling pulls readers into the struggles and triumphs of the Indigenous people and explorers, making it a fantastic and immersive read.

Fascinating Historical Journey: The novel brings New Zealand's history to life, blending fictional characters with real historical figures and offering a deep understanding of the land's development.

  Purchase Links:

https://www.amazon.com/New-Zealand-Novel-Lance-Morcan-ebook/dp/B0DPTJTDCQ

Book's Landing Page:

 https://morcanbooksandfilms.com/category/new-zealand-a-novel/   

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 35 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

The father-and-son team's published books include the new release horror Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) and the bestselling historical adventures White Spirit, Fiji: A Novel and Into the Americas. They also have several series including The Orphan Trilogy, an international thriller series, the globetrotting action-romance series The World Duology, and the controversial non-fiction franchise The Underground Knowledge Series, which includes Genius Intelligence and The Catcher in the Rye Enigma.

Several of their books have been regular visitors to Amazon's bestseller lists over the years.

An additional non-fiction title they're especially proud of is Debunking Holocaust Denial Theories, which was written in collaboration with Holocaust survivors to document the genocide.

Lance's first solo-authored novel, a historical adventure-romance titled New Zealand: A Novel, was published late 2024. Spanning almost 500 years, this novel covers the respective discoveries of New Zealand by Pacific Islanders and Europeans. From the outset the two stories are interposed. It starts in the 1300’s with the departure of Islanders from Hawaiki in search of land far to the south. Researching and writing this epic was literally half a century in the making for Lance who described the task as "A labour of love that spanned 50 years.”

The Morcans’ production entity, Morcan Motion Pictures, has a number of feature films in early development, including adaptations of Silent Fear, Into the Americas, and White Spirit.

 

New Release: New Zealand: A Novel by Lance Morcan - Free Kindle Promotion December 10 and December 14-15, 2024

 

We are excited to announce our first Kindle promotion. You can download it for free tomorrow, Tuesday, December 10th, and again this weekend, December 14th and 15th. Take advantage of this opportunity to get your copy!

***

It’s 1768. A chance meeting at London’s dockyards sees medical student Nicholas Young recruited as Surgeon’s Boy to serve under Captain James Cook aboard a bark called the Endeavour. Ahead of the handsome 17-year-old is a voyage that will test his mettle and take him to uncharted places at the bottom of the world. One of those places being a land Dutch explorer Abel Tasman discovered the previous century when he encountered its western shoreline. The land was occupied by tattooed, brown-skinned, warlike people. A land Tasman called Nieuw Zeeland.

Nearly five centuries earlier, in 1301 AD, huge, twin-hulled canoes depart the South Pacific Island nation of Hawaiki. Aboard each craft are 80 villagers hand-picked by their rangatira, the mighty Hotu. Raids by enemies from neighbouring islands prompted the decision to flee their homeland. Their destination is a land far to the south. Many weeks later, the survivors aboard Hotu’s canoe sight the eastern shoreline of a rugged land covered by cloud. They call it Aotearoa – land of the long, white cloud.

In 1769, eight months after departing England, Nicholas Young and his crewmates arrive in Tahiti aboard the Endeavour. The Surgeon’s Boy is quickly becoming a man; the journey out was a baptism of fire for him with mid-Atlantic storms resulting in injury and death. In Tahiti, Captain Cook puts his men to work, building an observation post from which he can observe the transit of Venus. Nicholas is excused from shore duties after a local priest, Tupaia, informs Cook that Tahiti’s beautiful queen, Obadia, has invited his Surgeon’s Boy to stay in the village as her guest. Tupaia didn’t mention he convinced the childless queen that Nicholas had been sent to her by the spirits of her ancestors and that he would give her a son. The beautiful queen seduces a surprised but delighted Nicholas, and in the weeks that follow they enjoy long days and nights of lovemaking.

It's 1501 AD and for the first time the hills of Aotearoa echo to the sounds of war. As the competition for food and land increases, so too does inter-tribal fighting between tribes of the brown-skinned people who now call themselves Maori. Apera, chief of the Te Arawa tribe, leads a war party down the east coast, attacking settlements along the way. Defeated warriors are either enslaved or eaten, for cannibalism is widely practised.

October 1769. It's springtime in Aotearoa. A Maori boy sits alone on a sandy beach, looking out across a sparkling bay. On his right is a headland that extends far out into the blue Pacific. Moki is the oldest son of the chief of the Ngati Porou tribe. He’s a proud descendant of Hotu whose battered canoe arrived on this same beach centuries earlier. Moki suddenly jumps to his feet when he sees a tall ship far out to sea. Mistaking its billowing sails for a giant seabird, he flees inland to his nearby pa, or fortified village, to alert the villagers to the approaching danger.

Aboard the Endeavour, Nicholas serves as lookout in the bark’s crow’s nest. Many long weeks have passed since leaving Tahiti. He spies land and shouts, “Land ahoy!” He’s looking at the very headland Moki was sitting alongside moments earlier. So delighted is Cook by the sighting, he names the landmark Young Nick’s Head after his keen-eyed lookout. The captain suspects it’s part of the eastern shoreline of the land Abel Tasman called Nieuw Zeeland. Translating the Dutch to English, Cook renames it New Zealand.

After anchoring in the bay, the captain dispatches a contingent of his marines ashore. From aboard ship, Nicholas and his crewmates look on as the marines are greeted by an impassioned haka, or war dance, performed by Ngati Porou warriors armed with clubs, spears and other Stone Age weapons. The chief’s brother is killed and several warriors wounded in the inevitable violence that follows. So disillusioned is Cook by the conflict, and by the apparent lack of fruit and game, he names the region Poverty Bay.

This first bloody encounter with New Zealand’s indigenous people is a sobering harbinger for what follows.

The Endeavour’s circumnavigation of the new land will be an experience that breaks some men. But not Nicholas. The Surgeon’s Boy is now as ready as any of his crewmates to face the many challenges that life will throw at him in the long weeks and months ahead.

 Purchase Links

Kindle link: 

https://www.amazon.com/New-Zealand-Novel-Lance-Morcan-ebook/dp/B0DPTJTDCQ/  

Paperback link: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0473728524/ 

Book's landing page:

 https://morcanbooksandfilms.com/category/new-zealand-a-novel/  

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 20 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

The father-and-son team's published books include the new release horror Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) and the bestselling historical adventures White Spirit and Into the Americas. They also have several series on the market including The Orphan Trilogy, an international thriller series, the globetrotting action-romance series The World Duology, and the controversial non-fiction franchise The Underground Knowledge Series. An additional non-fiction title, Debunking Holocaust Denial Theories, was written in collaboration with Holocaust survivors to document the genocide.

The Morcans’ production company Morcan Motion Pictures has a number of feature films in early development, including adaptations of Silent Fear, Into the Americas and White Spirit. It is also developing Underground Knowledge into a TV series.

Lance is currently revising his solo-written novel New Zealand, an epic historical adventure spanning 500 years of South Pacific and Polynesian history. Including research, writing and life's distractions, this novel has been over a decade in the making.

New Release - 5 Short Story Gems: Once Were Brothers / Mr. 100% / A Gladiator's Love / The Last Tasmanian Tiger / Brooklyn Bankster by Lance Morcan

5 SHORT STORY GEMS is a compendium of short stories written by New Zealand author Lance Morcan and published by Sterling Gate Books in 2019/2020. The stories, which have also been released as standalone Kindle ebooks, are aimed at lovers of thrillers, adventure, romance, and historical fiction. Details follow…

ONCE WERE BROTHERS – Life will never be the same for young Benjamin Thomas after disaffected Maoris abduct his identical twin brother in this moving short story adventure set in Nineteenth-Century New Zealand.

Mr. 100% – When New York defense lawyer Madison ‘Mr. 100%’ Harley secures a Not Guilty verdict for a client who confides that he is guilty of the ghastly crimes he was accused of, he sets out to ensure that justice is done.

A GLADIATOR’S LOVE – In this short story set in Ancient Rome, dashing Greek gladiator Leonidas is one fight away from winning his freedom. Throughout his trials, he is sustained by the love of Fatuma, a beautiful gladiatrix.

THE LAST TASMANIAN TIGER – Outdoorsman Charlie Truganini can’t believe his eyes when on a trip into Tasmania’s wilderness he sees a Tasmanian tiger – a carnivorous marsupial considered by most Australians to be extinct.

BROOKLYN BANKSTER – After aging hippy Bill Hogan is taken hostage during a bank heist in Brooklyn, his captors demand a million-dollar ransom for his safe return. The problem is no-one knows who the hell Bill Hogan is. Does he even exist?

Amazon Link

Free Kindle edition on Saturday, April 4 and again on April  11 - 12, 2020

About the Author

About the Author

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 20 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

New Release - Mr. 100% by Lance Morcan

New York defense lawyer Madison Harley only takes on clients he believes innocent. He’s known as ‘Mr. 100%’ because he has never lost a case, and consequently he is Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of the NYPD, prosecution lawyers and the media. 

The bad press has taken a toll on his personal life. His wife has moved out, taking their two young sons with her and instigating divorce proceedings. When his latest client confides that he is guilty of the horrific rape-murder he’s accused of, a depressed and guilt-wracked Harley hires a contract killer to terminate him after the jury delivers a Not Guilty verdict.

It’s 1987 and groundbreaking developments in the field of forensic science sees DNA profiling used for the first time in criminal investigations in America. The release of DNA test results causes Harley to rescind his order to carry out the hit on his client. Unfortunately for him, the killer doesn’t change direction once a ‘kill’ order has been placed.

The nightmare scenario that follows sees Mr. 100% negotiating for his client’s life, his own life and the lives of his estranged family with a Mafia henchman, stalking a contract killer and acting as a minder for a client who it appears really is innocent and who is oblivious to the mayhem unfolding around him.

Throughout it all, Harley is sustained by the affections of a new woman in his life – a prosecutor with the District Attorney’s Office no less.

FREE Kindle book launch promo on Thursday, March 19, 2020, and again this weekend March 21-22, 2020

Amazon Link

Goodreads Link

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 20 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

Book Launch - ONCE WERE BROTHERS by Lance Morcan

The Thomas family’s lives will never be the same again when seven-year-old Daniel Thomas is abducted from the family farm in New Zealand’s Far North by Maoris opposed to the presence of white settlers. Daniel’s father devotes his remaining years to searching for his missing blue-eyed, blond-haired son. Until his death a decade later, he’s assisted in his search by Daniel’s identical twin brother Benjamin. Like his late father, Benjamin believes Daniel is still alive.

Twenty years later and now a family man himself with children of his own, Benjamin receives a tip-off that could confirm one way or another whether his brother is alive or dead.

 FREE Kindle book launch promo on Wednesday, December 25 and this weekend December. 28 and 29 PST.

Amazon link

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 20 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

Book Launch - A GLADIATOR'S LOVE by Lance Morcan

The year is 83 AD and it’s nine years since Roman soldiers killed a young Leonidas’s family in their farmhouse outside Athens and consigned him to the life of a gladiator at Ludus Magnus, one of the biggest and best ludi gladiatori, or gladiator schools, in Rome. Since then, he remains undefeated after twenty-five fights and has risen to the top of the gladiator rankings.

The Greek gladiator craves freedom. The one good thing in his life is Fatuma, an Ethiopian beauty who is a gladiatrix, or female gladiator, and who has stolen his heart. They share fleeting but precious hours together after dark in Leonidas’s cell – a concession occasionally granted to the gladiators by their Roman masters.

The outcome of Leonidas’s next fight will decide both their futures for he’ll be fighting Gaius, another undefeated gladiator who held the Greek to a bloody draw when they met in the arena previously. At stake will be the rudis, the small wooden sword given to gladiators who are granted their freedom.

FREE Kindle book launch promos on Wednesday, Dec. 18 and again over the coming weekend Dec. 21/22 PST.

Amazon link

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 20 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

Book Launch - THE LAST TASMANIAN TIGER - a Morcan short story

Charlie Truganini can’t believe his eyes when on a trip into Tasmania’s wilderness he sees a Tasmanian tiger – a carnivorous marsupial considered by most Australians to be extinct.

Charlie has a number of claims to fame – one of those being he’s a direct descendant of one Truganini, the woman considered to be the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian and whose name he inherited. A close second to that is he’s the great-grandson of one Dingo Truganini, the tracker who helped capture the last known Thylacine cynocephalus – an animal better known as the Tasmanian tiger.

It’s his admiration for his great-grandfather’s exploits that explains why Charlie has devoted his life to searching for the Tassie tiger, as he refers to it, or the thylacine, as scientific types insist on calling it, to determine one way or the other whether it still exists. He has always suspected it does despite having never sighted it nor even stumbled across its spoor in all his travels.

When Charlie sees a Tasmanian tiger with his own eyes, he realises he doesn’t want his tiger meeting the same fate as the last one. And so he makes a decision. A decision that will have life-and-death consequences.

FREE Kindle book launch promos on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, and Saturday/Sunday, December 14-15, 2019

Kindle Link

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 20 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

New Release: THE ME TOO GIRL by Lance & James Morcan - Free Kindle download November 9 and 10, 2019

Young Los Angeles public relations exec Suzie Fox is being blackmailed for sex by a bad cop, a senior officer of the LAPD no less. Suzie fights back the only way she knows how, and, in the process, unwittingly becomes a beacon, a shining light, for America's Me Too movement and for abused women everywhere. But will justice be served?

FREE Kindle book launch promo this weekend - November 9 & 10  2019. 

 Download your copy at:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

About Lance Morcan

New Zealand novelist and screenwriter Lance Morcan is a prolific author with more than 20 published fiction and non-fiction books to his credit as well as several screenplay adaptations of his work. A former journalist and newspaper editor, he regularly writes in collaboration with his son James Morcan, and their books are published by Sterling Gate Books.

The father-and-son team's published books include the new release horror Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) and the bestselling historical adventures White Spirit and Into the Americas. They also have several series on the market including The Orphan Trilogy, an international thriller series, the globetrotting action-romance series The World Duology, and the controversial non-fiction franchise The Underground Knowledge Series. An additional non-fiction title, Debunking Holocaust Denial Theories was written in collaboration with Holocaust survivors to document the genocide.

The Morcans' production company Morcan Motion Pictures has a number of feature films in early development, including adaptations of Silent Fear, Into the Americas and White Spirit. It is also developing Underground Knowledge into a TV series.

Lance is currently revising his solo-written novel New Zealand, an epic historical adventure spanning 500 years of South Pacific and Polynesian history. Including research, writing and life's distractions, this novel has been over a decade in the making.

About James Morcan

New Zealand-born actor/writer/producer James Morcan resides in Sydney, Australia. He has written two bestselling novels, performed in various international film productions and is a podcast host. His books have been translated into eight languages (Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, French, Afrikaans, German).

Morcan's published titles include the new release horror Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) and the bestselling historical adventures White Spirit and Into the Americas. He also has several series on the market including The Orphan Trilogy, an international thriller series, the swashbuckling action-romance series The World Duology, and the controversial non-fiction franchise The Underground Knowledge Series. An additional non-fiction title, Debunking Holocaust Denial Theories, was written in collaboration with Holocaust survivors to document the genocide. These titles were all co-authored with his father Lance Morcan and published by Sterling Gate Books. Their production company, Morcan Motion Pictures, is developing Silent Fear into a feature film and Underground Knowledge into a TV series.

James' most recent acting performance was a leading role in the post-Apocalyptic feature film After Armageddon which he also wrote. The dystopian adventure film was shot in rural Australia and Morcan co-starred with Berynn Schwerdt (Wyrmwood). Other leading roles include the OZ-Bollywood productions My Cornerstone and Love You Krishna. Morcan also wrote the screenplays for both features which were filmed in Sydney and Mumbai and incorporated English and Hindi languages.

Additional productions he has performed in include a BBC TV series, several indie features and a live stadium production of Ben Hur headlined by Academy Award winner Russell Crowe. To date, his feature films have screened at cinemas in New Zealand, India, Australia, Italy, and Cannes.

James is a podcast host on the YouTube channel Underground Knowledge and founded one of the most popular discussion groups on Goodreads, also called Underground Knowledge.