Lance Morcan's Blog, page 100
March 25, 2013
Reviewers give ‘The Orphan Trilogy’ a big thumbs up
Reviewers are giving our recently released kindle box set, The Orphan Trilogy (The Ninth Orphan / The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising), high praise indeed.
In the latest 5-star review published on Amazon today, US reviewer Linda Townsend describes the trilogy as “highly addictive”. Here’s her full review…
Bottomline: Awesome set of books… thrills galore… highly addictive and recommended.
I have reviewed each book in this trilogy. Each book was unbelievably better than the one before … They were all excellent.
The trilogy is the story of Nine, one of 23 orphans, who have been bred and trained by Omega, an international clandestine organization, to be elite operatives from birth for Omega’s nefarious new world order purposes.
The Morcans have a unique way of writing that makes the reader feel as though they are right there as the suspense builds and the action occurs. There are multiple locales thru-out the series… all obviously extensively researched. My heart went out to Nine and many of the other characters who were just pawns in Omega’s master scheme.
When I started reading this series, I was leery as this was not the genre I normally reach for when looking for something to read. However, now, after reading Fiji: a Novel and the three books in their Orphan Trilogy, any book by the Morcans is now a must-read for me.
Bottomline: Awesome set of books… thrills galore… highly addictive and recommended.
Books one, two and three in The Orphan Trilogy can be purchased individually on Amazon – and the kindle box set (3 books in 1) can also be purchased on Amazon at this link:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/
Happy reading! -Lance & James
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March 21, 2013
Here’s a cordial invitation to follow us on Twitter…
For our ‘Shameless Marketing’ post of the month, we’d like to invite all Tweeters (Twits?) to follow us on Twitter.
Our Twitter ID is: @SterlingGate (named after our publishing co., Sterling Gate Books).
Here’s samples of our latest Tweets posted today:
Sterling Gate Books@SterlingGate
Historical adventure Fiji: A Novel has lust & violence befitting of the era. http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=210035 … … #FijiTimes #Fiji #Amazon #kindle #Suva
Sterling Gate Books@SterlingGate
Coming-of-age spy thriller novel The Orphan Factory is one of the highest rated books on Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15757228-the-orphan-factory … … #weblit
Sterling Gate Books@SterlingGate
The Best Trilogies/Book Series ever as voted by Goodreads members http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/10685.Best_Trilogies_Book_Series_EVER_#17377036 … … #GoodReads #books #Listopia
Sterling Gate Books@SterlingGate
The Best Conspiracy Novels ever written as voted by Goodreads members http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2407.Conspiracy_Fiction#17377036 … … #Goodreads #conspiracytheories #books
Sterling Gate Books@SterlingGate
Best violent action novels…Books that have a whole lot of bloody good action! http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8941.Best_violent_action_novels#17372919 … … #novels #books #goodreads
Sterling Gate Books@SterlingGate
Best Action-Adventure Books as voted by Goodreads members books http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/514.Best_Action_Adventure_books#17372919 … …
Feel free to join us on Twitter -Lance & James @SterlingGate
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March 18, 2013
Be in to win trade paperback copies of ‘The Ninth Orphan’ and ‘Fiji: A Novel’
Copies of The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy #1) and Fiji: A Novel trade paperbacks will be posted out to the winners of a competition underway now on the global literary site Goodreads.com
Competition for The Ninth Orphan giveaway ends April 6 PST.
The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy, #1) byJames Morcan, Lance Morcan
How do you catch a man who is never the same man twice?
That is the question posed in The Ninth Orphan, a top-rated international thriller novel and the first book in The Orphan Trilogy.
An orphan grows up to become an assassin for a highly secretive organization. When he tries to break free and live a normal life, he is hunted by his mentor and father figure, and by a female orphan he spent his childhood with. On the run, the mysterious man’s life becomes entwined with his beautiful French-African hostage and a shocking past riddled with the darkest of conspiracies is revealed.
Enter to win via this link: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/47606-the-ninth-orphan
Competition for the Fiji: A Novel giveaway ends April 15 PST.
Fiji: A Novel byLance Morcan, James Morcan
Fiji is a spellbinding novel of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, religious conflict and sexual tension set in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth.
By the mid-1800′s, Fiji has become a melting pot of cannibals, warring native tribes, sailors, traders, prostitutes, escaped convicts and all manner of foreign undesirables. It’s in this hostile environment an innocent young Englishwoman and a worldly American adventurer find themselves.
Enter to win via this link: http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/47608-fiji-a-novel
Be in to win!
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March 17, 2013
Thirty 5-star Amazon reviews a milestone for book one in ‘The Orphan Trilogy’
The Ninth Orphan resonates with reviewers
Our conspiracy thriller, The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy, #1), has passed another milestone, notching up its 30th 5-star review on Amazon.
The reviewer describes this novel as “Very exciting reading…leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat.”
To see the full review – and all Amazon reviews of The Ninth Orphan – go to:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056I4FKC
Fast-paced, totally fresh and original, filled with deep and complex characters, The Ninth Orphan is a controversial, high-octane thriller with an edge. Merging fact with fiction, it illuminates shadow organizations rumored to actually exist in our world. The novel explores a plethora of conspiracies involving real organizations like the CIA, MI6, and the UN, and public figures such as President Obama, Queen Elizabeth II as well as the Clinton, Marcos and Bush families.
Tackling genetic selection, mind control and secret societies, The Ninth Orphan exposes a global agenda designed to keep the power in the hands of a select few. The novel’s antagonists are members of a shadow government acting above and beyond the likes of the White House, the FBI, the Pentagon and the NSA. Could something like this ever take place? Or, is it already taking place right now?
The Ninth Orphan is available as a kindle ebook and trade paperback via Amazon. (Visit the link above).
All three books in The Orphan Trilogy (The Ninth Orphan, The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising) can be purchased as a kindle box set via Amazon. Go to:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/
Happy reading! –Lance & James
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March 13, 2013
TV interview provides update on Morcan books & films
Here’s a television interview I recently did on Central TV News talking about my process of writing novels and screenplays. My segment kicks in at the 10 minute mark, so skip forward to that point on the You Tube video: http://lnkd.in/QMP_zi
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The Kiwi-Bollywood Connection
Two quirky romantic comedies explore Hinduism, Christianity and multiculturalism.
Voxy.co.nz Wednesday, 6 March, 2013 – 15:59
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James Morcan
Hot off two soon-to-be released Indian-Australian feature films, New Zealand actor James Morcan is looking forward to a well-deserved break.
Not only did Morcan play starring roles in Love You Krishna and My Cornerstone, he also wrote the screenplays which incorporated English and Hindi.
Both films were produced and directed by Indian-Aussie filmmaker Stanley Joseph, of World Pictures Australia, and were inspired by many of Joseph’s own experiences as an Indian migrant in Australia.
They are quirky romantic comedies exploring Hinduism, Christianity and multiculturalism.
In Peter Jackson style, the films were shot simultaneously – a decision which Morcan says nearly broke the production team. “Shooting two movies at once is an extremely rare undertaking and everybody in our incredibly talented crew was stretched to the limit. To be honest, we almost bit off more than we could chew,” says Morcan.
“I probably only averaged three or four hours sleep a night over the last few months,” Morcan (34) says from his residence in Sydney, Australia. “There was literally no time to think. But in a strange way that’s kind of freeing for an actor as you don’t get too cerebral about the process.”
Morcan was actively involved in every single scene of the shoot, working in front of and behind the camera, and wearing multiple hats. “That sort of on-set involvement was tough but necessary to complete the mammoth task. And I learnt so much about the nuts and bolts of filmmaking. In fact, it was like going to film school.”
As for his roles in the films, Morcan is remaining tight-lipped. “Let’s just say I play an enigmatic role in both stories. Other than that I cannot say too much about my characters as they involve big twists in each film. If I mentioned who I actually play in either movie, it would ruin the surprise for the audience.”
Morcan’s previous films have screened at cinemas in Italy, Australia and France. His career highlights include roles in the Australian independent feature film The Pawn and acting alongside Russell Crowe in Ben Hur: The Stadium Spectacular, at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium. He was also executive producer of the recently released New Zealand feature film Desired, which premiered at Cannes Marche du Film in France.
Aside from his film work, Morcan is also a novelist and co-writes with his Bay of Plenty-based father Lance Morcan. The pair have written four published books including the controversial thriller series The Orphan Trilogy and the historical adventure Fiji: A Novel. Their production company, Morcan Motion Pictures, is also developing feature film adaptations of the novels.
Love You Krishna and My Cornerstone were shot in Mumbai, India and NSW, Australia and are currently in post-production. They are expected to be released internationally later this year.
-For full article go to: http://www.voxy.co.nz/entertainment/nz-actor-bollywood-films/5/149302
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March 9, 2013
Marketing vs. Writing: the author’s dilemma
Up to your ears in marketing, social media, tweeting, blogging, networking etc. etc. when what you really want to be doing is write? Tell me about it!
I’ve found an excellent article online – at http://bookpromotion.weebly.com - that may help you and me both. Its author rightly points out that “Authors who don’t plan their pre & post-launch marketing can end up spending a lot of time and money trying to play catch up after publishing their books”.
The author also estimates authors spend 70 per cent of their time marketing, leaving only 30% for writing.
Here’s the (abridged) article:
The 10 Tools Every Self-Published Author Needs To Save Time
Authors who don’t plan their pre- and post-launch marketing can end up spending a lot of time and money trying to play catch up after publishing their books. If you don’t plan properly, marketing can take twice as long as the writing and publishing process. Feeling late to the game? Don’t fret. The following list of resources will help save yourself from considerable frustration that most authors encounter along their literary journeys. Both new and veteran authors alike can benefit from these online marketing platform building techniques.
The article lays out a list of marketing strategies for authors to follow. It offers “a set of goals to achieve when building out your online marketing platform. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. However, we have focused on the channels that most authors pursue in their journey.”
The 10 tools offered cover the gamut of marketing options at you disposal, ranging from social media, website and email to traffic, press releases and book clubs. They allow for the pre-launch of your book, pre/post launch and post launch.
An excellent article! Again, here’s the link: http://bookpromotion.weebly.com -Lance
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March 1, 2013
‘The Orphan Trilogy’ box set selling now…three books in one at discounted price!
“The three novels explore a plethora of conspiracies involving real organizations like the CIA, MI6, and the UN, and public figures such as President Obama, Queen Elizabeth II as well as the Clinton, Marcos and Bush families.”
THE ORPHAN TRILOGY – THREE NOVELS SPANNING OVER 1,000 PAGES
Twenty-three orphans with numbers for names from 1 to 23.
Number Nine wants to escape from ‘the orphanage’.
Read the highly-rated international conspiracy thriller series in full and at a discounted price. Three novels spanning over 1,000 pages in total…
Book One: THE NINTH ORPHAN
Book Two: THE ORPHAN FACTORY
Book Three: THE ORPHAN UPRISING
Meet Number Nine – an orphan, a spy, a lover…a master of disguise, an assassin, a shapeshifter…a freedom fighter, a human chameleon, a reformed contract killer.
He’s all of the above. He’s none of the above.
Nine is enslaved by the Omega Agency, a shadowy organization seeking to create a New World Order.
When he tries to break free and live a normal life, Nine is hunted by his mentor and father figure, and by a female orphan he spent his childhood with. On the run, his life becomes entwined with his beautiful French-African hostage and a shocking past is revealed…A past that involves the mysterious Pedemont
Orphanage in Chicago, Illinois.
Standing in the way of Nine’s freedom are his fellow orphans – all elite operatives like himself – who are under orders to terminate him. Nine finds himself in a seemingly infinite maze of cloak and dagger deception. Time and again, he must call on all his advanced training to survive.
But can the ninth-born orphan ever get off the grid?
To find out you’ll need to go on a tumultuous journey around the world to such far-flung locations as the Arctic, Asia, Europe, the Amazon, Africa and South Pacific islands. The frenetic cat-and-mouse chase moves from airports to train stations and hidden torture prisons, taking the reader on a page turning, frightening non-stop action ride into the world of corrupted power that goes beyond conspiracy theories to painful reality.
Books 1, 2 & 3 in The Orphan Trilogy…now available as a box set.
Fast-paced, totally fresh and original, filled with deep and complex characters, The Orphan Trilogy is a controversial, high-octane thriller series with an edge. Merging fact with fiction, it illuminates shadow organizations rumored to actually exist in our world.
The three novels explore a plethora of conspiracies involving real organizations like the CIA, MI6, and the UN, and public figures such as President Obama, Queen Elizabeth II as well as the Clinton, Marcos and Bush families.
The Orphan Trilogy exposes a global agenda designed to keep the power in the hands of a select few. Nine’s oppressors are a shadow government acting above and beyond the likes of the White House, the FBI, the Pentagon and the NSA.
One of the Omega Agency’s black ops employs MK-Ultra mind control technology on genetically engineered agents to facilitate the agendas of those in power. When Nine successfully deprograms himself from MK-Ultra, all hell breaks loose. But to gain his freedom he must bust out of the Pedemont Orphanage and break into Omega’s other orphanages and underground medical laboratories around the world. In the process he uncovers chilling scientific experiments taking place on children.
Could something like this ever take place? Or, is it already taking place somewhere in the world right now?
The trilogy also has a poignant, romantic sub-plot. It contains the kind of intimate character portraits usually associated with psychological thrillers.
Book/Film/TV references: The Manchurian Candidate, The Saint, The Da Vinci Code, Bond, Dark Angel, The Jackal, Mission Impossible, Salt, The Pretender, Bourne, The Island, Taken.
This unique, unpredictable and epic spy thriller series covers everything from political assassinations and
suppressed science to young adult romance and accelerated learning techniques.
Buckle up for a nail-biter to the very end.
The Amazon link for The Orphan Trilogy is: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/
Happy reading! -Lance & James
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February 27, 2013
The Orphan Factory promo
Here’s a review on You Tube for our coming-of-age spy thriller novel The Orphan Factory (The Orphan Trilogy, #2) which is FREE in a publishing promotion on Amazon today…Today only, Wed February 27
And here’s the Amazon link to download the ebook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M9WWKW/
February 26, 2013
The Ninth Orphan “brilliantly conceived,” says this Amazon reviewer
In Amazon’s latest 5-star review of our conspiracy thriller, The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy, #1), Louisiana book reviewer, I.A.Wilhite, Ph.D, says:
Brilliantly conceived! The authors manage to weave political intrigue, espionage, and eugenics into an exciting fabric of mystery and entertainment. The reader can’t but believe that the novel may not be only a work of fiction.
The Ninth Orphan merges fact with fiction.
The Ninth Orphan (above) still tops Goodreads.com’s list of ‘Best Technothrillers Ever’ and remains eighth on its list of ‘Best Spy Stories’. The kindle and trade paperback versions of this novel can be ordered via Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056I4FKC
The Orphan Trilogy (The Ninth Orphan / The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising) is now complete following last week’s release of the trilogy box set (below)…
Three explosive novels spanning over 1,000 pages in total.
The kindle version of the complete Orphan Trilogy can be ordered at:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BGGM05U/
Happy Reading! -Lance & James
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