Posts Tagged ‘adventure’

In Australia’s wilderness, Aborigines told escaped Irish convict John Graham if you want to live follow the Songlines. So he did… and he lived. John found sanctuary with the Kabi, a primitive tribe who had never seen a white man, and he marveled at their uncanny ability to navigate the landscape by following the mysterious Songlines – tracks left by their spirit ancestors from the Dreaming.

“Those who lose dreaming are lost.” -Aboriginal proverb

Here, we relate some of John’s true-life experiences from our epic historical adventure WHITE SPIRIT (A novel based on a true story)

As his companion Mamba explained, “You know we sing to the land and its sacred landmarks because it is alive… The Songlines allow us to follow the paths left by our spirit ancestors from the Dreamtime. Our ancestors have told us it is so, remember? By following the Dreaming Tracks we walk in footprints of those who went before us and so we journey safely…and never get lost.”

Mamba continued, “The language of the Songlines is in the rhythm of the song, not the words. The rhythm is an echo of the sky and of the land below. Listening to it, or singing it, guarantees you always have a path to follow.”

White Spirit (A novel based on a true story) by [Lance Morcan, James Morcan]

Set in Nineteenth Century Australia,  WHITE SPIRIT is based on John Graham’s remarkable true story. After escaping from the notorious Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, John finds refuge with the Kabi, a tribe of Aborigines who eventually accept him as one of their own. Attempts to recapture him are orchestrated by a variety of contrasting characters working for the all-pervasive British Empire. They include Moreton Bay’s tyrannical, opium-addicted commandant Lord Cheetham, the dashing yet warlike Lieutenant Hogan, native tracker Barega and the penal settlement’s captain, Tom Marsden.

WHITE SPIRIT is available via Amazon as a paperback and Kindle ebook. https://www.amazon.com/White-Spirit-novel-based-story-ebook/dp/B01LWIRH9J/

4.4 out of 5 stars after 185 reviewer ratings on Amazon.

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“These are stories that plead to be films!” That’s Amazon Hall of Fame Top 100 reviewer Grady Harp’s assessment of the four epic novels in our FOUR HISTORICAL ADVENTURES box set.

Box set includes White Spirit, Into the Americas, World Odyssey and Fiji: A Novel.

Totalling 2935 pages, the novels include:

White Spirit (A novel based on a true story)

Into the Americas (A novel based on a true story)

World Odyssey (The World Duology, Book 1)

Fiji: A Novel (The World Duology, Book 2)

The above novels are all critically acclaimed and all available via Amazon as paperbacks and Kindle ebooks.

FOUR HISTORICAL ADVENTURES (White Spirit, Into the Americas, World Odyssey, Fiji: A Novel) has a 4.5 star review rating on Amazon. You can check out the reviews at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X49D17B/

Producer enquiries regarding any or all these potential period films are most welcome!

Meantime do check out James’ behind-the-scenes clip of his directing debut movie Anno 2020 adapted from his recent release novel of the same name… https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCndxcZbWFGcNQ76TLVSZaeg

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In WHITE SPIRIT (A novel based on a true story)  Irish convict John Graham is mistaken for a white spirit by primitive Aborigines after he escapes from Australia’s infamous Moreton Bay penal settlement. His is an epic tale!

White Spirit (A novel based on a true story) by [Lance Morcan, James Morcan]

Set in nineteenth century Australia, WHITE SPIRIT  is a sweeping yarn that encapsulates all the nuances of the southern continent’s unique history and provides detailed insights into the tribal life of First Australian (Aboriginal) peoples.

★★★★★ “Disturbing, brutal, honest, unputdownable. It is real, very, very real with fascinating characters at the helm. Very highly recommended! Both men and women will enjoy the story.” – ‘History and Women’ org.

★★★★★ “This is a tour de force of a book… every page and chapter is riveting.” –Amazon Reviews

★★★★★ “It kept me enthralled from start to finish” –Amazon Customer

WHITE SPIRIT  is available via Amazon as a paperback and Kindle ebook. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWIRH9J/

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Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, is the setting for our adventure novel Into the Americas. It was here that 19-year-old John Jewitt found himself captive after Mowachaht warriors attacked his ship and slaughtered his crewmates.

Here’s what Amazon reviewers are saying about Into the Americas (A novel based on a true story):

★★★★★  “An awesome tale!” -Great Historical Fiction Book Reviews

★★★★★  “Extremely well researched, the main character’s ‘coming of age’ is told with detached and stark brutality.” -Award-winning author Lee Murray

★★★★★  “Want a great historical fiction read? Here it is!” -Author Alice DiNizo

★★★★★ “VERY entertaining! Near impossible to put down.” -Amazon Reviews 

Into the Americas (A novel based on a true story) by [Lance Morcan, James Morcan]

Into the Americas is available via Amazon as a paperback and Kindle ebook.  http://www.amazon.com/Into-Americas-novel-based-story-ebook/dp/B00YJKM51E/

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In the action-romance short story A Gladiator’s Love  dashing Greek gladiator Leonidas is looking forward to fighting for his freedom in the Colosseum of Ancient Rome. That is until he learns who it is he must fight.

A Gladiator's Love by [Lance Morcan]

★★★★★ “Rich in flavor and fine characterizations, this novella makes for a fine winter evening’s read. Highly recommended.” –Amazon Hall of Fame Top 50 reviewer Grady Harp

Footnote: Did you know there were gladiatrix, or female gladiators, in Ancient Rome? And there is evidence to suggest they were honored as highly as their male counterparts. History suggests many of them were ‘high born’ women of means… I guess they bred ’em tough in those days!

A Gladiator’s Love is available via Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082S2MKN3/

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Alexander Karpenko is no ordinary child, and from an early age, it is clear he is destined to lead his countrymen. But when his father is assassinated by the KGB for defying the state, he and his mother will have to escape from Russia if they hope to survive. At the docks, they are confronted with an irreversible choice: should they board a container ship bound for America, or Great Britain? Alexander leaves that choice to the toss of a coin…

My review:

★★★★★  Archer’s Heads You Win is essentially two stories about the same people – one about a young Russian and his mom who, after a coin toss flee to make a new life for themselves in America, and the other about the same pair who flee to England to make a new life there. Spanning two continents and 30 years, the concept and the writing are brilliant with mind-bending plot twists guaranteed to keep you turning the pages. Warning, spoiler ahead: I note some reviewers are critical of the ending. I found it both startling and unsettling. Whilst it’s an ending that has apparently disappointed some, it doesn’t detract from can only be described as a brilliant read. –Lance Morcan

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John Jewitt…the central character in our historical adventure novel Into the Americas. The scar on his forehead was left by a Mowachaht warrior intent on decapitating him. All but one of Jewitt’s crewmates were beheaded after their brigantine the Boston was attacked in Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island. The portrait sketch, incidentally, was drawn years after these dramatic events.

Into the Americas (A novel based on a true story) is a gritty, real-life adventure based on one of history’s greatest survival stories. It was inspired by the diary entries of young English blacksmith John Jewitt during his time aboard ship and also during his sojourn at Nootka Sound, on North America’s western seaboard, from 1802 to 1805.

It’s a tale of two vastly different cultures – indigenous North American and European civilization – colliding head on. It is also a Romeo and Juliet story set in the wilderness.

Into the Americas is available via Amazon as a paperback and Kindle ebook. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YJKM51E/

You can read the opening chapters if you click on the book’s cover on its Amazon page… Happy reading!

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In the opening chapters of our historical adventure INTO THE AMERICAS (A novel based on a true story) we describe as follows the arrival of young English blacksmith John Jewitt in Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, in the early 1800s…

John and his crewmates returned their attention to shore as The Boston entered Friendly Cove. Nootka village came into view and the drumming sound that had heralded the brig’s arrival earlier intensified.

Mowachaht villagers could be seen drumming sticks against the exterior of their lodges. To John’s eyes, those employed in such a way appeared to be working themselves up into a frenzy.

On the sandy beach in front of the village, warriors were in the process of launching some of the twenty or so canoes resting there. John could see the Mowachahts were intent on approaching The Boston and he hoped they meant the brig’s crew no harm. The fact that all were armed and most carried muskets did nothing for his confidence.

Dorthy, who stood alongside John, noticed his assistant’s interest in the activity ashore. “Them the Mowachahts,” the armorer said. “Savages every one of ’em, so watch your scalp.”

John hoped Dorthy was joking. The expression on his face indicated he wasn’t.

 

Into the Americas (A novel based on a true story) by [Morcan, Lance, Morcan, James]

INTO THE AMERICAS is available via Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YJKM51E/

 

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Behind the charred tree stump, a solitary Aborigine stood stock still, his spear clasped close to his side. Moilow had been standing there, unmoving, since dawn. He’d been about to give up when he sensed a presence in the rainforest beyond his hiding place.

Moilow

A respected member of the local Kabi tribe, Moilow was, in many ways, typical of others of his race. Intelligent, dark, deep-set eyes peered out from beneath furrowed brows; his broad nose protruded above full lips, and he wore a black, matted beard to complement his bushy hair, which he’d tied in a knot; his coal-black skin glistened and his near-naked, wiry frame oozed strength and robustness – the end result of fifty thousand years’ evolution in this unforgiving, inhospitable land; his chest and limbs were scarified as a result of his following the age-old practice of lancing the flesh with shells; and his nakedness was covered only by a skimpy loincloth fashioned from the skin of a dingo, the native wild dog that ranges over much of the continent. The loincloth, once yellow like the dingo that wore it, had browned with age.

 

You have been reading an exerpt from our epic, historical adventure WHITE SPIRIT (A novel based on a true story). It’s available as a paperback and Kindle ebook via Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWIRH9J/

 

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New Zealand publisher Sterling Gate Books has announced that all three novels in its bestselling thriller series THE ORPHAN TRILOGY (The Ninth Orphan / The Orphan Factory / The Orphan Uprising) are now available via Amazon as paperbacks as well as Kindle ebooks.

All three novels in the trilogy have been regular visitors to Amazon’s bestseller lists on Kindle, but until recently only book one, The Ninth Orphan, was available as a paperback. That changed last month with the release of book two, The Orphan Factory, and this week with the release of book three, The Orphan Uprising, as paperbacks.

This comes as good news for the many fans of the series who enjoyed The Ninth Orphan paperback and lamented the fact it was the only novel available in paperback form.

 

The three novels, together with their Amazon links (to the paperbacks) are listed below:

The Ninth Orphan (The Orphan Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0473193132/

“Ranks amongst the best thrillers.”Kindle Book Review UK

 

The Orphan Factory (The Orphan Trilogy Book 2) Kindle Edition

https://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Factory-Trilogy/dp/0473519747/

“Answers a lot of questions while also opening other doors for the final book in the trilogy.”The Kindle Book Review

 

The Orphan Uprising (The Orphan Trilogy Book 3) Kindle Edition

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0473521040/

“A heart-tearing, mind-splitting, gut-churning crusade.”Welcome Home Soldier Reviews

 

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