September 16, 2012

New Zealand father-and-son writing team Lance and James Morcan, co-authors of the critically acclaimed historical adventure novel, Fiji: A Novel, say their book seems to have struck a chord with Indian residents of Fiji.

“Judging by the review requests and fan mail we receive from Indians based in Fiji, they seem to resonate with our novel,” says Lance. “I can only put this down to the fact that they are avid readers who take an interest in the history of their adopted country.”

Lance, who is a novelist and screenwriter, is based in New Zealand. He writes in collaboration with his Sydney-based son James. They are very aware of Indians close ties to Fiji.

“Indo-Fijians comprise more than one third of Fiji’s population, and most are descended from indentured labourers brought to the islands by Fiji’s British colonial rulers in the late 1800’s to work on sugar cane plantations,” says Lance. “These were complemented by the later arrival of Gujarati and Punjabi immigrants who arrived as free settlers in contrast to their counterparts who were brought under the indentured labour system.”

In the course of several visits to Fiji, Lance says he has observed the Indo-Fijians’ relationship with the indigenous Fijians has been an uneasy one. “It seems the cultural divide between the two racial groups is very wide. Many Indo-Fijians have left Fiji in search of greener pastures.”

Nevertheless, he says, Indo-Fijians seem to relate to Fiji: A Novel, even though it predates the arrival of Indians in Fiji. “I think it paints an authentic picture of the tropical paradise their forefathers came to.”

The novel doesn’t gloss over the cannibalism the Morcans claim was rife in Fiji.

“Fiji wasn’t called ‘the Cannibal Isles’ for nothing. The history books show Fiji was a melting pot of cannibals, warring native tribes, sailors, traders, prostitutes, escaped convicts and all manner of foreign undesirables,” he says. “It’s in this hostile environment our story is set.”

Published by Sterling Gate Books in late 2011, the novel is set in 19th Century Fiji and has been a regular visitor to Amazon’s bestseller lists. The publisher describes it as ‘a spellbinding novel of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, religious conflict and sexual tension set in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth’.

The story is a fast-paced adventure-romance about an innocent young Englishwoman and a worldly American adventurer who are thrown together in Fiji in the mid-1800’s.

Lance says Fiji was inspired by James A. Michener’s classic novel, Hawaii.

“To our knowledge, there has never been a novel that truly does justice to Fiji,” he says. “I’ve felt a novel that captures Fiji’s culture, exoticness and beauty is long overdue.”

The Morcans, who are also film producers, are developing a feature film adaptation of Fiji through their film production company, Morcan Motion Pictures.

Fiji: A Novel is now available in both kindle ebook and paperback form via Amazon, and the trade paperback version is also available at Junglee.com. The links are: www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/ and www.junglee.com/Fiji-A-Novel-Lance-Morcan/dp/0473194716/