Morcan Books & Films

News Release: November 23, 2017 — New Zealand-based film production company Morcan Motion Pictures announced this week production of one of the films on its development slate received a boost with the successful international release of the crime-thriller Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes).

Book’s launch a success.

Co-authored by father-and-son writing team Lance and James Morcan, Silent Fear  has attracted critical acclaim since its launch as a paperback and Kindle ebook on Amazon.

Amazon Top 500 reviewer Susan Elliot describes it as “A riveting crime novel.” Elliot writes, “There is so much to like about this book: the plot, the pace and the characters all came together in the most riveting crime novel that I’ve read in a long time.” She warns readers, “Do not read it on a train. You may just miss your station.”

Amazon Australia Top 50 reviewer Todd Simpson describes Silent Fear  as “Simply Splendid.” Simpson writes, “There is so much to love about this entertaining and well written murder mystery…Hands down this is a wonderful book, and well worth a read.”

The Morcans, who are adapting their novel to a feature film screenplay, added Silent Fear  to their production company’s development slate several years ago.

A spokesperson for the company says development of the planned feature film was delayed to accommodate the release of the novel. “That proved to be a wise decision,” he says, “given the interest the book is now generating for the movie.”

Set in a university in London, Silent Fear  was inspired by the true-life murders of students at Gallaudet University, one of the world’s premiere learning institutions for the deaf and hard of hearing, in Washington, D.C. It was written under the guidance of Brent Macpherson, one of the world’s leading deaf storytellers working in film, television and other creative mediums. Macpherson is also co-producer on the film adaptation.

The premise of Silent Fear  sees Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther being assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the deaf in the upmarket Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world. When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

A sequel is planned with more books in the series a possibility.

James Morcan says interest in the planned movie has already been received from film industry contacts. Speaking from Sydney, Australia, where he is based, he says the novel was crying out to be adapted because the storyline is very suited to the big screen.

“Silent Fear is a multi-genre story that has proven appeal to fans of the crime, mystery, thriller, horror, romance and sci-fi genres,” he says. “It’s exactly what movie-goers are looking for. However, we are under no illusions how difficult it is to greenlight movies so we will be aligning ourselves with a major producer to get it across the line.”

The Morcans invite expressions of interest from experienced producers.

Meanwhile, they have posted a trailer to promote the book and film on YouTube. It can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8bv1vbQxYo

Silent Fear  is the Morcans’ eighth novel to be published under the Sterling Gate Books banner. Their other books include the international thriller series The Orphan Trilogy, and the historical adventures Into the Americas  and White Spirit – both based on true stories – and Fiji.

The Amazon.com link for Silent Fear  is: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075HRYTVC/

The Amazon UK link is: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075HRYTVC/

Media enquires: Email the publisher at – SterlingGateBooks@gmail.com

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