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.
The land in question is New Zealand and the piece you are reading is the blurb for my historical adventure New Zealand: A Novel.
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 seabed. 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…
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New Zealand: A Novel currently enjoys a global review rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon… https://www.amazon.com/New-Zealand-Novel-Lance-Morcan/dp/0473728524/
It is also available via Mighty Ape NZ and via Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores and via public libraries.
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