Hi
Welcome to Morcan Books & Films, the blog devoted to providing a unique perspective and intelligent commentary on books and films. It includes commentary on our own books and films – i.e. novels and screenplays co-written by the Morcans, and feature films produced by, or in development with, Morcan Motion Pictures.
Lance & James
Imagine our modern contemporary world. A world where giants, elves, dwarfs, ogres and trolls share an Earth we think only we inhabit. That’s the premise behind prolific English author John Morris’s intriguing STAR GAZER series of sci-fi novels.
The series includes two trilogies. The first one, titled Star Gazer First Trilogy, is mainly science fantasy and comprises The Gatekeeper and The Guardian, The Twelve Tribes and The Wrath of Gaia.
The first trilogy will especially appeal to those who share a desire for underground knowledge as it contains references to ancient technologies far more advanced than any currently in existence – technologies which may or may not have existed. That’s for the reader to decide.
The work is deeply researched and offers plausible answers based upon both known fact and folklore.
About the author
John Morris (68) is a self-published author whose life, he reveals, “crashed” about 20 years ago.
“I lost everything,” he says. “It took me a few months to come around, signing up for a BSc in computers to keep my mind active and find a new direction in life.”
Morris says he was fortunate to secure a position in Foshan, Canton, an hour or so from Hong Kong. He liked the place and the Cantonese people so much he decided to stay a while.
“Twenty years later and I’m still here! What a roller coaster. I became an entrepreneur involved with exporting containers of furniture to England and Australia. That ended with the crash of 2008 when everything imploded. Just my luck!
“I began writing a very badly-punctuated blog about my experiences, and got a lot better at writing with interest and humour. Fortunately, I secured the services of a very good content editor who taught me a great deal. So now I have seven books self-published, with five more in various stages of completion.”
Those five books include novels in the Star Gazer Second Trilogy.
Morris now manages his fiction book Imprint: Charlotte Greene, and although officially retired says he is now busier than ever.
In his Star Gazer series, he questions the origin of humankind, advising readers we have no direct palaeontological link with the great apes, and asking where we came from.
“Were we created by an alien race way back in prehistory? And what of myth and legend, of elves and dwarfs? Are they imaginary creatures, or vague remembrances of other lines of homo sapiens?”
For more about John Morris and his STAR GAZER novels go to the following links:
Critically-acclaimed American author Kathleen Buckley’s fans will be delighted to know her eighth historical romance novel, A Peculiar Enchantment, has been released this week – in time for Christmas book sales.
Published by The Wild Rose Press, Inc., the novel is available now via Amazon as a paperback and Kindle ebook and is sure to appeal to lovers of Georgian romances.
Ms. Buckley’s eighth Georgian romance out now!
Blurb for A Peculiar Enchantment:
What can you look forward to when your only relatives call you ugly, unbalanced, and a scandal? What would you do if your only friend was threatened? Dependent on her half-brother, the Earl of Lamburne, Adelaide knows. She wants to escape.
Gervase Ducane, invited to Lamburne’s home to court his daughter, is torn. He needs to marry well and soon but not this spiteful chit. Should he buy a commission instead? Seek a wealthy merchant’s daughter? As a marquess’s brother, he has at least a noble connection to offer an heiress apart from his good manners. And why is he only now meeting the earl’s delightful half-sister?
Ordered to stay away from the house party, Adelaide rebels. She will make her unwelcome, embarrassing presence known to avenge herself and her pet.
Sometimes when you least expect it, magic happens.
Readers resonate withA Peculiar Enchantment
The first reviews are in for Ms. Buckley’s latest novel – and, no surprises, they’re excellent!
Here’s a sample of Amazon reviewers’ comments:
★★★★★ “I really enjoyed reading this book since Kathleen Buckley put many of my favorite elements in it!… It is a story that I recommend happily and will probably read again.” –Karen M Hernandez
★★★★★ “I enjoyed this novel set in 1741 London…I thought the characters were outstanding (and) found the book to be a wonderful romance.” –Kindle Customer DVH
★★★★★ “This is an engaging, clean, historical romance occurring during an unexpected situation. After learning about the primary characters, their families, and supporting cast, the skillfful plot takes off with fervor.” -JustJeri
About the author:
Kathleen Buckley has loved writing ever since she learned to read. After a career which included light bookkeeping, working as a paralegal, and a fascinating stint as a security officer, she began to write as a second career rather than as a hobby. Her first historical romance was penned – “Or word processed at least!” – after re-reading Georgette Heyer’s Georgian/Regency romances and realizing Ms. Heyer would never be able to write another, having died some forty years earlier.
Ms. Buckley is now the author of eight Georgian romances: An Unsuitable Duchess, Most Secret, Captain Easterday’s Bargain, A Masked Earl, A Duke’s Daughter, Portia and the Merchant of London, A Westminster Wedding and A Peculiar Enchantment.
Captain Easterday’s Bargain was an Oklahoma Romance Writers of America IDA 2019 finalist, Historical Fiction category, and Most Secret was an Oklahoma Romance Writers of America IDA 2018 finalist, Historical Fiction category, and a 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist, Romance category.
While her ninth novel, entitled By Sword and Fan, is in production, this prolific author is already writing her tenth!
Ms. Buckley warns readers that no bodices are ripped in her romance novels.
“They might be described as “powder & patch & peril” rather than Jane Austen drawing room as they contain no explicit sex. However, they do contain the occasional den of vice and mild bad language, as the situations in which my characters find themselves sometimes call for an oath a little stronger than ‘Zounds!’”
When she began writing A Peculiar Enchantment, she says she knew it was going to be different from her first seven novels.
“The usual ingredients were there, but so was a little more humor, the magic of first love, the mystery of things that are not what they seem, and a cat. And love is the most peculiar enchantment. I think it’s on track to be my most popular book yet.”
As for her future plans, Kathleen Buckley says, “I’ll continue to turn tropes on their heads whenever possible, avoid ballrooms and include characters who are not aristocratic, rich, handsome or beautiful.”
The eight books in our bestselling, somewhat contentious ‘Underground Knowledge Series’ cover details, concepts and little-known events not usually reported in mainstream media or mainstream academia, or if they are, they’re underreported for various reasons.
For the most part, we (the authors) have written about subjects that can be backed with facts. These facts include evidence substantiated in court cases, declassified government files, MSM reports and well-documented quotes from respected leaders in their fields. Wherever we do briefly deviate into pure speculation, we try to point that out so the dividing line between fact and rumor is always clear.
Many of the books have been regular visitors to Amazon’s bestseller lists in their categories.
Our entire ‘Underground Knowledge Series’ is available via Amazon.
The individual books (with Amazon links) are listed below:
Book 1: GENIUS INTELLIGENCE: Secret Techniques and Technologies to Increase IQ https://lnkd.in/gfA9K4Bg
Book 3: MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX: The $ickness Industry, Big Pharma and Suppressed Cures https://lnkd.in/gwFYBGJu
Book 4: The Catcher in the Rye Enigma: J.D. Salinger’s Mind Control Triggering Device or a Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals? https://lnkd.in/gbYBZmQg
Book 5: INTERNATIONAL BANKSTER$: The Global Banking Elite Exposed and the Case for Restructuring Capitalism https://lnkd.in/g9yzwQU
Book 6: BANKRUPTING THE THIRD WORLD: How the Global Elite Drown Poor Nations in a Sea of Debt https://lnkd.in/ez5W7uY
Book 7: UNDERGROUND BASES: Subterranean Military Facilities and the Cities Beneath Our Feet https://lnkd.in/gY9E6cd
Book 8: VACCINE SCIENCE REVISITED: Are Childhood Immunizations As Safe As Claimed? https://lnkd.in/grZuaS6F
New Zealand: A Novel (The New Zealand Series 1), by Lance Morcan, spans almost 500 years and covers the respective discoveries of New Zealand by Maori and European. It starts in the 1300’s with the departure of Pacific Islanders from Hawaiki in search of land far to the south; it ends in the 1700’s with Captain James Cook’s historic circumnavigation of that same land – a land he calls New Zealand – as seen through the eyes of young crewmember Nicholas Young aboard the bark Endeavour. From the outset the two stories are interposed. The adventures of the descendants of the earliest Maoris are followed down through the centuries, culminating in their often violent, sometimes romantic, always fascinating interactions with the white intruders they call pakehas.
New Zealand… the land that time forgot.
Shrouded in cloud at the bottom of the world, this was the land that time forgot: the last sizeable piece of undiscovered land on Earth. Two hundred million years after breaking away from the vast southern continent of Gondwana, Man had yet to leave his footprints on this prehistoric place.
Mythology would have it the land was fished up out of the ocean. In fact, earthquakes and volcanic activity forced it to literally erupt from the sea bed. This violent birth left it with a majestic ruggedness that would always reflect its former turbulence. The legacy of those fiery beginnings includes still-active volcanoes amidst the mountain chains that dissect the land.
Over time, its features softened. Scenes of beauty emerged out of the mists. There was a haunting stillness about the land. It was a place of mystery – of magical forests and sparkling lakes and rivers.
And the sea surrounded it – like some huge tidal moat.
Its isolation ensured it wouldn’t be until well into the First Millennium AD that Man would step foot on these shores. The brown-skinned people who settled here would call their new home Aotearoa – land of the long, white cloud. Not until its rediscovery centuries later by European explorers would the land receive the name by which it is known today…
New Zealand – aptly named by some as Aotearoa…Land of the long white cloud.
Author’s note:
New Zealand: A Novel is book one in The New Zealand Series. Target audience is adult readers; manuscript word count is 103,000 words. Genres include historical fiction, adventure, romance.
Given the increasing worldwide interest in New Zealand and the fascination over its indigenous people, I believe the timing couldn’t be better for this novel. While it has the lust and violence associated with those pre-European and Colonial times, New Zealand: A Novel has strong themes of love and romance, which will endear it to female readers as well as male.
Book two (as yet untitled) in the series has also been written and it continues two decades after book one ends. The storyline for book three has been fully scoped.
–Lance Morcan
Excerpt:
The following excerpt from New Zealand: A Novel sees the surviving Hawaikan voyageurs reach their destination at the end of a gruelling six-week journey from their South Pacific homeland.
“I see land!” Rangi shouted triumphantly, leaping to his feet.
“Where?” Hotu demanded.
“There!” the excited navigator said, pointing directly southwest.
Kafoa was wide awake now. He pushed himself to his feet and squeezed between the two men, searching the horizon for a glimpse of land.
Hotu said, “Yes! I see it!”
Rangi adjusted the tiller until the canoe pointed slightly more to the west.
Others gathered around, aroused by the sudden commotion.
Kafoa strained his eyes, but could see only sky and ocean. “Where is it?” he implored. “I cannot see anything!”
Hotu smiled. “Look for the signs and you will see it.”
Kafoa scanned the horizon, looking for any one of the signs he had memorised by heart. He absentmindedly massaged the stub of the extra small finger on his left hand as he studied the sea and sky around him. Finally he saw what the men had seen. Low on the horizon, at the limit of his vision, was a large landmass resting beneath a long white cloud. Studying the distant landmass, he murmured, “Aotearoa.”
Hotu nodded. “Aotearoa,” he agreed, “land of the long white cloud.”
Kupe’s land now had a name.
#
The excitement aboard Ronui was unrestrained as the landmass now referred to by all as Aotearoa came into clear focus beneath the umbrella of cloud. Everyone who could stand was standing. The only voyagers not on their feet were those too weak to stand.
Hotu was now manning the tiller. His heart beat fast. Here at last was Kupe’s land! Tears filled his eyes and he murmured a prayer of thanks to the spirits of his Hawaikan ancestors. This land, their land, would be his people’s salvation. Of that he was sure.
From around twenty miles out, the land appeared dark and mysterious in the shadow of the cloudbank above it. Forbidding even. The sight had a sobering effect on the voyagers. All conversation ceased as they studied their new homeland.
Hotu glanced down at Kafoa who hadn’t left his side since the first sighting. Overcome with love for the boy, he reached down and ruffled his hair yet again. Kafoa looked up and smiled at the father he idolised.
As Ronui sailed onwards, floundering deeper than ever in the water, the land mass ahead slowly took shape. It was high – higher than the tropical islands of the Pacific – and it was covered in dense, lush, green bush.
Although still too far away to ascertain, the land appeared to be unoccupied, and some sixth-sense told Hotu it was. Which meant he and his fellow survivors would be the only people on these shores. He wondered what had become of Kupe’s fellow voyagers all those centuries ago.
Hotu’s mind returned to the present and he realised the bigger question was what had happened to Ra and the others aboard Tautira. He prayed they were safe.
#
By mid-afternoon, the clouds lifted and Aotearoa was bathed in brilliant sunshine.
The Hawaikans were close to shore now. They scrutinised every feature of their new land. Ahead of them breakers crashed against impressive white cliffs that rose straight out of the sea. The clifftops were fringed by trees whose distinctive flowers blazed scarlet under the summer sun. Kafoa thought it likely the branch that was recovered from the sea came from one of those very trees.
Hotu was anxious to find a suitable landing place before nightfall. It was the ever-vigilant Rangi who brought his attention to a bay slightly to the north of where they were heading.
“Over there!” the navigator said, pointing to a crescent-shaped bay.
“Uh,” Hotu confirmed, steering the canoe toward the bay. A prominent headland at the bay’s southern end guarded the entrance to it.
The rocky shoreline gave way to a white-sand surf beach. Calm water and only the faintest of breezes aided an uneventful beaching. After such a long and dramatic voyage, the landing seemed almost an anti-climax to the exhausted survivors.
Kafoa was first to disembark, jumping from the canoe into the shallows. In a few strides he was standing above the high tide mark on the beach, his hunger pangs and tiredness forgotten for the moment. One by one, the other survivors joined him.
The descendants of Kupe had come home.
Hotu prayed that Ra and the others aboard Tautira had also arrived safely. He had no way of knowing they would soon land on a similar beach several hundred miles to the north.
It would be two centuries before the descendants of these separated peoples would meet, and when they did, it would not be as friends but as mortal enemies.
The Hawaikans survived daunting odds to reach Aotearoa circa 1300 AD.
Captain Cook’s bark the Endeavour off New Zealand’s coast (above) and an adaptation of Cook’s map of New Zealand (below).
Shanghai born actress Crystal J. Huang stars in Anno 2020, an ambitious global feature film now officially in post-production after being shot on four continents at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Huang, who was raised in Shanghai but now resides in California, is one of an award-winning ensemble of international actors who feature in Anno 2020. She plays a Chinese immigrant living in the city of Dublin, in California’s East Bay region. Her screen daughter, played by Beijing-native Ruike Kuang, is on vacation in Beijing when the Covid-19 outbreak begins in early 2020.
Ruike Kuang
In dramatic scenes all too reflective of families divided during the Covid lockdowns, Huang’s character must express love for her distant daughter using remote video technology.
Anno 2020, which finished shooting last month, is considered a triumph for Sydney-based MoneyShot Productions. For lead producer Gil Ben-Moshe it represents no small victory given the travel restrictions, lockdowns and other challenges thrown up by the pandemic.
Crystal on L.A. film set of Anno 2020 (with RED Komodo 6K camera)
Adapted from a novel of the same name, Anno 2020 represents the directorial debut of Sydney-based New Zealand-born director and screenwriter James Morcan who also wrote the novel and screenplay adaptation.
Morcan, who began writing the story as soon as the lockdowns began almost two years ago, describes the story as a multicultural kaleidoscope of interconnected characters seeking redemption, forgiveness and peace during the chaotic year that was 2020.
“We show the suffering of the Chinese people during the pandemic, including deaths of certain China-based characters,” he says. “I felt this important to display, especially as Covid-19 was first detected in the city of Wuhan, in central China’s Hubei province.”
Morcan says he did not hesitate to cast Huang to star in the production.
“Crystal was my main advisor on Chinese cultural elements. She carefully translated some of the script’s English dialogue into Mandarin for scenes in her native language.
“I also gave her the freedom to improvise much of her dialogue. This helped to shape her role and mother-daughter plot into something authentically Chinese rather than reflect my Western perspective.”
Morcan says what he loves about Huang is she is not only an exceptional actress, but she is all about supporting the director and the film.
“Crystal has no ego and that, combined with her remarkable talent, equals a winning formula for any actor.”
Huang says she called on memories of her former life in Shanghai a lot to help Morcan shape the Chinese aspects of the story. The daughter of a factory manager and doctor, she grew up performing in Shanghai theatres and hosting major events. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in China before continuing her education in the USA where she performed as a pianist and ballroom dancer and came to prominence in the San Francisco theatre scene.
Crystal with Eric Roberts
In recent years, Huang has emerged as an in-demand Chinese actress in major American motion pictures, starring opposite such renowned Hollywood veterans as Eric Roberts and Tom Sizemore.
Crystal with Tom Sizemore
Huang says her favorite film director is Woody Allen.
“Anno 2020 is reminiscent of Woody Allen’s work. I think it is a timely contribution and touches on various important issues facing society in this era. It has rich diversity and almost every scene feels truly realistic,” she says.
“The film’s characters are all meaningful and unique, and James, as a first-time director, has great personal style and delivers cinematic atmosphere.”
Huang, who is also the film’s associate producer, says, “I believe Anno 2020 deserves to be seen and known by Chinese people.”
Crystal with American actress Jessica Castello
Speaking from Sydney this week, producer Gil Ben-Moshe says it’s a huge relief that Anno 2020 is now officially in post-production with a rough first edit completed.
“The film is ambitious because it was shot in 17 cities across five countries, and our China-based camera crews filmed in the cities of Shenzhen and Beijing,” he says. “Requiring the employment of camera crews and cast around the world, it features dialogue in English, Hebrew, Mandarin and Italian.”
Film still (in Beijing) from Anno 2020
Ben-Moshe says the producers’ immediate goal for Anno 2020, which he describes as family friendly, is to earn acceptance into major film festivals later in the year.
“Our longer-term targets include a theatrical release followed by online distribution on major streaming platforms. We also hope the film will screen in China, either in festivals there or in movie theatres.”
Hi all, I have been working on this book-film creative project ever since lockdowns began in early 2020…This has been my attempt to make sense of, or mentally process, our strangely altered reality…
And I’m feelin’ blessed to be working with New York actor/rapper Andre Doc Williams who starred in and wrote the music for this promo of our film Anno 2020…
La Rivers, Shaun Huff, Dilia Corujo, Adryanna Elmendorf and Sharod Giles also star in the Rochester, NY plot.
This Rochester section is one of half a dozen plots set all over the world in this beast of a production I’m directing – and which is based on my recently published novel. As the title suggests, Anno 2020 is set during last year’s global meltdown and explores intense relationships in this chaotic and uncertain period of time.
I’m also very grateful to have other award-winning actors including Australian cast members Erin Connor (Occupation, Dino King 3D), Greg Poppleton (Narnia, Moulin Rouge), Brett Partridge (Water Rats) and Audrey Nitschke (who I highly recommend if anyone needs a child actor). Plus Americans Kevin Scott Allen, Sheila Ball and Jessica Castello, Israeli Lital Luzon and Italian Adriana Moccia.
The entire cast has been pushed to their absolute limit as the rare performance style we are employing is emotionally raw, semi-improvisational and mostly shot via close-ups…And each actor is also bravely infusing their own real-life experiences that evolve their characters into something very genuine, almost like a docu-drama.
Simon Carter is our director of photography – and inspires me every day with his ideas and enthusiasm for the story.
And my long-time Sydney-based collaborator Gil Ben-Moshe, of MoneyShot Productions, is lead producer and is also one of our main actors. And I must say it’s wonderful to work with an actor/producer who is very respectful of all involved and trusts a director’s storytelling process – so thanks for your faith in me, Gil!
We are 80% thru shooting Anno 2020 and will soon be in post. Our whole team appreciates your support!
The eight books in our bestselling, somewhat contentious ‘Underground Knowledge Series’ cover details, concepts and little-known events not usually reported in mainstream media or mainstream academia, or if they are, they’re underreported for various reasons.
For the most part, we (the authors) have written about subjects that can be backed with facts. These facts include evidence substantiated in court cases, declassified government files, MSM reports and well-documented quotes from respected leaders in their fields. Wherever we do briefly deviate into pure speculation, we try to point that out so the dividing line between fact and rumor is always clear.
Many of the books have been regular visitors to Amazon’s bestseller lists in their categories.
Our entire ‘Underground Knowledge Series’ is available via Amazon.
The individual books (with Amazon links) are listed below:
Book 1: GENIUS INTELLIGENCE: Secret Techniques and Technologies to Increase IQ https://lnkd.in/gfA9K4Bg
Our Underground Knowledge global discussion group’s membership has topped 16,000 on Goodreads, confirming its status as one of the fastest-growing, most popular groups on the Amazon-owned site for books, authors, readers and all things literary.
The group has been designed to encourage debates about important and underreported issues of our era. All you need is an enquiring mind and a desire to gain or share underground knowledge.
So what is underground knowledge? Our definition is: Underground knowledge covers details, concepts and little-known events not usually reported in mainstream media (MSM), or, if they are, they’re underreported for various reasons. Nor are they usually covered by mainstream academia.
Our Underground Knowledge group is open to everyone no matter your beliefs or nationality, and all viewpoints are welcome. Undergrounders (our members) come from many walks of life and include award-winning authors, everyday readers, teachers and students, historians, scientists, military and former intelligence personnel, conspiracy theorists and agitators, Christians and non-believers, Islamists and Buddhists, and a lot more.Y’all welcome!
For the First Nations people of the Pacific Northwest salmon was part of their staple diet – preferably eaten putrid and well past its used-by date – as young Englishman John Jewitt discovered when a captive of the Mowachahts of Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, in the early 1800s.
We include references to John’s aversion to putrid salmon in our epic historical fiction adventure INTO THE AMERICAS (A novel based on a true story). The earthy descriptions are accurate for we sourced them directly from a diary he kept during his years in captivity. To John’s chagrin, the surrounding woods abounded with game, but salmon was considered a delicacy compared to deer and such.
Mowachaht chief Maquinna and his family agreed to John’s request that he cook an English-style meal of roasted venison for them. However, to the young cook’s dismay, they were unimpressed by the meal, and stuck to their traditional diet.
John observed the Mowachahts’ diet, which also included whale meat and blubber, kept them healthy as illness was rare within the tribe except during harsh winters when starvation was a common occurrence.
One book critic describes INTO THE AMERICAS as “an incredible, true-life, wilderness survival story”. It is available via Amazon as a paperback and Kindle ebook.
Albert Einstein took long walks when pondering complex equations. The genius often commented that many of his Eureka moments came to him whilst walking.
Einstein seeking a Eureka moment…
We explore the link between walking and intelligence inGENIUS INTELLIGENCE: Secret Techniques and Technologies to Increase IQ, book one in ourUnderground Knowledge Series.
German composer/pianist Ludwig van Beethoven was another of history’s geniuses who took long, solitary walks to incubate creative ideas, and there are many other examples.
We found one study at Stanford University showed that subjects came up with more creative ideas during and immediately after a walk compared to those who simply sat at a desk. Certainly, there’s a rhythmic flow to walking that puts one almost in a trance-like or meditative state when walking. Other physical exercise such as dancing, cycling or running probably delivers similar results.
Walking is just one of many accelerated learning methods we highlight. Others include brain waves common to geniuses and how to induce those brain waves; mental techniques celebrities use to process information whilst asleep or in virtual worlds; chemicals students employ to kick-start the brain into overdrive; and cutting-edge technologies business execs and pro athletes employ to gain a cerebral edge over competitors.
Athletes and sports medicine professionals are united in their opinion that exercise helps your mental function. Runners experience the pleasant – many say euphoric – “runner’s high” that comes with intense, sustained exercise. Such exercise (not just running) increases serotonin in the brain, leading to improved mental clarity.
GENIUS INTELLIGENCE is available via Amazon as a paperback and Kindle ebook.
Morcan Books & Films 