Lance Morcan's Blog, page 4
July 4, 2025
THE DOGON INITIATIVE spy novel now available as audiobook!
The action-adventure spy novel THE DOGON INITIATIVE, by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. (Listening length 10hrs 46mins). To listen to the Prologue, click on “Virtual voice sample” at: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Dogon-Initiative/dp/B0FDKTRX7F/
Spy novel set in land of the Dogon people in Mali, West Africa.
In THE DOGON INITIATIVE, a group of foreign mercenaries are hired as deniable assets by a newly-formed humanitarian division of the CIA. Known as the Deniables, they’re tasked with saving Mali’s persecuted Dogon people from genocide. The operation must be carried out in stealth while journeying across some of West Africa’s most hostile terrain. As if all that’s not enough, they are also instructed to help solve an ancient astronomical mystery linked to the pyramids of Egypt.
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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of THE DOGON INITIATIVE is available from Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.
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July 3, 2025
‘ONCE WERE BROTHERS’ novela now available as an audiobook!
The historical adventure ‘ONCE WERE BROTHERS’, by Lance Morcan, is set in 19th Century New Zealand and is available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. To listen to the Prologue, click on “Virtual voice sample” at: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Once-Were-Brothers/dp/B0FDKY8XNY/
The inspiration for this tale was the real-life abduction by Maori of one Caroline “Queenie” Perrett, a young white girl who happened to be one of two identical twins living in New Zealand’s Taranaki district. The girl’s bereft father spent years unsuccessfully searching for his missing daughter. That true story had a happy ending many years later after a chance sighting in Wellington saw the separated twins reunited. It turned out the abducted sister had been raised as a Maori by the tribe that had taken her; she’d had two loving husbands, both Maoris, and had children by them both; she spoke fluent Te Reo Māori and had no desire to return to her previous life.
In ‘ONCE WERE BROTHERS’ the Thomas family’s lives will never be the same again when seven-year-old Daniel Thomas is abducted from their farm by Maori angered by the desecration of land that is tapu, or sacred. The land contains the bones of their iwi’s ancestors. The culprit, 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 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.
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“A heartfelt story of a family that refuses to give up hope. A memorable read, I highly recommend to all.” -Sheri A. Wilkinson (Amazon 5-star Book Reviews)
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July 2, 2025
Historical adventure FIJI: A NOVEL now available as audiobook!
The bestselling historical adventure-romance FIJI: A NOVEL, co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. (Listening length 9hrs 26mins).
To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Fiji-A-Novel/dp/B0FDL553XB/
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. Susannah Drake, a missionary, questions her calling to spread God’s Word as she’s torn between her spiritual and sexual selves. As her forbidden desires intensify, she turns to the scriptures and prayer to quash the sinful thoughts – without success. Nathan Johnson arrives to trade muskets to the Fijians and immediately finds himself at odds with Susannah. She despises him for introducing the white man’s weapons to the very people she is trying to convert, and he pities her for her naivety. Despite their differences, there’s an undeniable chemistry between them. When their lives are suddenly endangered by marauding cannibals, Susannah and Nathan are forced to rely on each other for their very survival.
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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of FIJI: A NOVEL is available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.
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July 1, 2025
‘THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA’ now available as audiobook!
‘THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA: J.D. Salinger’s Mind Control Triggering Device or a Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals?’ is now available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. (Listening length 2hrs 8mins).
To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at
In this, Book 4 in ‘The Underground Knowledge Series’, James & Lance Morcan unearth the mysteries surrounding J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ – arguably the most controversial book of all time.
Nicknamed the ‘Bible of teenage angst’, the classic novel, which is frequently labelled immoral by different groups, has been banned in various parts of America over the decades. However, the main controversy, and indeed the most common reason for it being banned, was that it either inspired or was associated with some of the most infamous crimes of the 20th Century.
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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of ‘The Catcher in the Rye Enigma’ is available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.
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June 30, 2025
Book 3 in THE ORPHAN TRILOGY now available as audiobook!
THE ORPHAN UPRISING (The Orphan Trilogy Book 3), co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook, courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative for authors. (Listening time 11hrs 16mins).
To listen to the prologue, click on “Virtual voice sample” in panel below the cover image via >>> https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Orphan-Uprising/dp/B0FDL16VPB/
In this explosive conclusion to The Orphan Trilogy, the ninth-born orphan’s dramatic story resumes five years after book one, The Ninth Orphan, ends. Having eluded his former masters at the Omega Agency and escaped his past life as an operative, Nine has married his soulmate Isabelle. They’ve carved out a new life for themselves, off the grid, in the remote islands of French Polynesia. The contented couple have a five-year-old son, Francis, who has inherited his father’s unique DNA. Their idyllic lifestyle is shattered when Francis is abducted by operatives in the employ of the Omega Agency, the shadowy organization that brought Nine into the world and once controlled every aspect of his life. The terrified boy with the unique DNA is dispatched to one of Omega’s underground medical laboratories for scientific testing and experimentation. Nine is desperate to find Francis before Omega can harm him. He soon finds he’s up against his fellow orphans – all elite operatives as he once was – who are under orders to kill him on sight.
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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of THE ORPHAN UPRISING is available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.
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June 29, 2025
Book 2 in THE ORPHAN TRILOGY now available as audiobook!
THE ORPHAN FACTORY (The Orphan Trilogy Book 2), co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook, courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative for authors. (Listening time 11hrs 59mins).
To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Orphan-Factory/dp/B0DT91Z8RX/
THE ORPHAN FACTORY is a coming-of-age spy thriller and a prequel to THE NINTH ORPHAN. It’s an epic, atmospheric story that begins with 23 genetically superior orphans being groomed to become elite spies in Chicago’s Pedemont Orphanage and concludes with a political assassination deep in the Amazon jungle. Readers are taken on another frenetic journey with the ninth-born orphan as he busts out of the clandestine orphanage he knew as home and goes on the run across America and beyond.
Amazon’s review rating for THE ORPHAN FACTORY is 4.3 out of 5 stars with 182 global ratings.
An A.I. summary of reviewers’ comments for this novel reads as follows (abridged):
“Customers find this book to be a great second instalment in the trilogy, with an interesting storyline and appropriate conspiracy theory elements. Moreover, the writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as a well-written espionage-conspiracy-spy-assassin thriller novel. Additionally, they appreciate the insight provided, with one review highlighting how it explains the orphans’ childhood development…”
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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of THE ORPHAN FACTORY is available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.
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June 28, 2025
Spy thriller bestseller THE NINTH ORPHAN now available as audiobook!
The bestselling spy thriller THE NINTH ORPHAN (The Orphan Trilogy Book 1), co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook, courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative for authors. (Listening time 8hrs 42mins).
To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Ninth-Orphan/dp/B0FDKZ665C/
How do you catch a man who is never the same man twice?
That is the question posed in this top-rated international thriller novel and 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.
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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of THE NINTH ORPHAN is available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.
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June 27, 2025
Action-adventure novel HIGH COUNTRY CONTRACT now available as audiobook!
The crime novel HIGH COUNTRY CONTRACT, co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative for authors. (Listening length 3hrs. 43mins.).
To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at https://www.amazon.com/Audible-High-Country-Contract/dp/B0FDKSJ5G2/
In this crime-based adventure set in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, young Kiwi drifter Arch Quaid thinks he has landed the contract of his life when he’s hired to cull deer on a South Island high country property. He quickly changes his mind when he discovers he’s the hunted, not the hunter. Caught up in the middle of it all is his new love Janine, a beautiful Maori girl who will likely be the killer’s next target if Arch doesn’t overcome the most daunting of odds.
“The book is a page turner that you won’t put down. The Morcans always deliver an exciting read which captivates the imagination of the reader.” -U.S. publisher George Shaddock
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June 26, 2025
Crime novel THE ME TOO GIRL now available as audiobook!
Our crime novel THE ME TOO GIRL, co-authored by Lance & James Morcan, is now available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative for authors. (Listening length 3hrs).
To listen to the Introduction, click on “Virtual voice sample” at https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Me-Too-Girl/dp/B0F7N7VKSC/
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?
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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of THE ME TOO GIRL is available from Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and via public libraries.
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June 25, 2025
NEW ZEALAND: A NOVEL features in Amazon’s Top Reviews from the USA
“‘New Zealand: A Novel’, is more than just a historical saga,” according to US book critic Elisabet Norris whose review of this historical adventure features in this week’s ‘Top reviews from the United States’.
To read Norris’s full review go to: https://www.amazon.com/New-Zealand-Novel-Lance-Morcan/dp/0473728524/
Excerpts from her review follow:
“The story moves between two timelines: one following the Polynesian settlers leaving Hawaiki in the 1300s in search of new land, and the other tracing the journey of Nicholas Young, a young surgeon’s assistant aboard Captain Cook’s Endeavour in the 18th century. Seeing the story unfold from both perspectives makes it clear that history isn’t only shaped by famous explorers and leaders, but also by ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events.
“Morcan’s descriptions of Māori customs, intertribal conflicts, and the dangers of early sea voyages feel well-researched and engaging storytelling, yet the historical detail never overwhelms the narrative. The friendship between Nicholas and Moki, a young Māori warrior, adds a personal, human layer to what could have just been a story about cultures in conflict. Their bond offers one of the few moments of understanding and respect in a time full of mistrust and violence…
“…At its heart, this is a novel about discovery — of new lands, new cultures, and of oneself. It left me thinking not just about New Zealand’s early history, but about the timeless human instinct to explore, to clash, and to find connection across differences. A vivid, compelling historical novel that still feels relevant today.”
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New Zealand: A Novel paperback is also available via Harvard Book Store, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Kete Books NZ and via public libraries. An audiobook version is also available via Amazon (listening time: 11hrs. 25mins.).
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