Posts Tagged ‘novels’

George Shaddock: our Author of the Month

Posted: August 18, 2019 in Morcan Books & Films
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Our Author of the Month this month is American writer George Shaddock, author of a number of published titles including the acclaimed Georgie: An Unexpected Life, The Interpreter and An Interim Assignment.

 

George Shaddock

George Shaddock…Author of the Month

 

A former salesman and company troubleshooter, George founded London Circle Publishing, one of the first eBook publishing firms. Now retired, he spends his time writing.

 

Books by George Shaddock:

Georgie: An Unexpected Life by [Shaddock, George]

Georgie: An Unexpected Life

The story of a beautiful and brilliant young woman, Georgianna, who has been raised from birth by an adoptive mother, Ann Fallon. Ann groomed her to take over her successful fashion design business. She saw that Georgianna was well educated and mentored to handle the business. However, at no time during her upbringing did Ann share any part of her life with her adopted daughter. When Ann suddenly passed, Georgianna discovered that Ann had been her true birth mother. Through clues lift by Ann, she is about to find the family life she has longed for. What she finds is totally unexpected, and a life she could never have imagined.                          https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I7I1OGU/ 

 

The Interpreter by [Shaddock, George]

The Interpreter  

A story of love between two women who meet by accident in front of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. One woman is an instantaneous interpreter at the UN. The other is an aspiring and talented singer, looking for stardom in a Broadway musical. Both women appear to be in their early 30’s. They fill a mutual need for company and support and begin to share an apartment in SoHo, Manhattan. The Interpreter has an exotic background and is entirely familiar with twenty-to-thirty languages. She is on a personal mission that could threaten their lives. Both attend weekend gatherings held at the estate of a wealthy widow in Southampton, Long Island. One woman desires only to become the star of a Broadway musical. The Interpreter wants a child sired by the most intelligent man she can find.                https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071W38C1M/  

 

An Interim Assignment by [Shaddock, George]

An Interim Assignment

The old SNJ Navy trainer made a perfect wheels-up, dead-stick landing in Lake Winnebago. As it came to a halt 25 yards from the beach, the pilot’s desperate effort to open the canopy proved useless. The canopy is locked. A moment later, he watched a woman with a rock in her hand, smashing the canopy to bits. She continued to pound the Plexiglass and throw the shards away while shouting for him to remove all restraint straps. The moment the opening in the canopy was large enough, she pulled him out of the plane just as it began to sink to a watery grave. She then had to help him swim to shore.                                               

The pilot is Captain Josh Wiley, the best Navy fighter pilot the Navy has ever produced. Captain Wiley has recently been given complete control of the Top Gun School in Fallon NV. The woman who saved him is Sidney Davies, a retired commander of a Marine ground-support helicopter squadron.

Captain Wiley’s assignment has been to check F-15 fighter jets for compliance with a sales contract…a contract signed by the President with the Saudis. The Captain has uncovered a serious problem.

Captain Wiley’s survival from the crash make him a target for assassination and, by assisting him, Sidney has also become a target. Their struggle to remain alive and stop delivery of the aircraft is finally brought to the attention of Admiral James Fenimore, Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, DC.    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GXKXLZN/  

 

To view George Shaddock’s Amazon Author Page go to: https://www.amazon.com/George-Shaddock/e/B01D25QWZ6/

 

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Movie adaptation of new release novel Silent Fear receives boost

Posted: November 23, 2017 in Morcan films, SILENT FEAR novel
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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).

 

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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THE NINTH ORPHAN amongst critically acclaimed ebooks available this week at 99cents

Posted: October 20, 2014 in Books in general, Morcan Books & Films
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The top rating conspiracy thriller THE NINTH ORPHAN (The Orphan Trilogy, #1) is amongst five of our critically acclaimed ebooks reduced to sell at 99cents on Kindle this week only.

The Ninth Orphan, a controversial, high-octane thriller that merges fact with fiction, currently dominates several Kindle bestseller lists on Amazon.

Our other books currently on special are The Orphan Factory and The Orphan Uprising (books two and three in The Orphan Trilogy), World Odyssey and Fiji: A Novel (books one and two in our historical adventure series The World Duology), and our non-fiction book THE ORPHAN CONSPIRACIES: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy.

All these books have been extremely well reviewed and several have been regular visitors to Amazon’s bestseller lists in their respective categories.

 

Book covers and Kindle links to each book follow:

 

Product Details http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056I4FKC

 

Product Details http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008M9WWKW/

 

Product Details http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFC66DM/

 

Product Details  http://www.amazon.com/World-Odyssey-Duology-1-ebook/dp/B00HHVOMO0/

 

Product Detailshttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/

 

Product Details http://www.amazon.com/The-Orphan-Conspiracies-Conspiracy-Theories-ebook/dp/B00J4MPFT6/

 

Happy reading! -Lance & James

 

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Russian translation rights available

Posted: May 16, 2014 in Morcan Books & Films
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The Russian translation rights to all our published books (fiction and non-fiction) are now available.

We are represented by Russian literary agency Nova Littera Ltd., of Moscow. Any publishers interested in acquiring the Russian translation rights to any of our books should contact Sergei Cheredov at Nova Littera – email: pravaru@gmail.com

 

Our eight titles (published between 2011 and 2014) are all available on Amazon as Kindle ebooks and are listed below:

 

Product Details

Fiji: A Novel (The World Duology)

Product Details

The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel)

 

Happy reading! Lance & James

 

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Marketing vs. Writing remains the author’s dilemma in 2014

Posted: January 1, 2014 in Books in general, Morcan Books & Films
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In March 2013, under the heading ‘Marketing vs. Writing: the author’s dilemma’, we posted a blog that turned out to be our most popular blog post of the year.

Judging by the response of our followers, it struck a chord. Now, almost a year later, it seems we authors face the same dilemma:  how much time to spend marketing our work and how much time to spend actually doing what we do best – write? Right?

Well, here at Morcan Books & Films, we reckon we have the answer…

But first, here’s the blog we posted back in March –

 

Marketing vs. Writing: the author’s dilemma

Posted: March 10, 2013

Up to your ears in marketing, social media, tweeting, blogging, networking etc. etc. when what you really want to be doing is write? Tell me about it!

I’ve found an excellent article online – at http://bookpromotion.weebly.com – that may help you and me both. Its author rightly points out that “Authors who don’t plan their pre & post-launch marketing can end up spending a lot of time and money trying to play catch up after publishing their books”.

The author also estimates authors spend 70 per cent of their time marketing, leaving only 30% for writing.

Here’s the (abridged) article:

The 10 Tools Every Self-Published Author Needs To Save Time

Authors who don’t plan their pre- and post-launch marketing can end up spending a lot of time and money trying to play catch up after publishing their books.  If you don’t plan properly, marketing can take twice as long as the writing and publishing process.  Feeling late to the game?  Don’t fret. The following list of resources will help save yourself from considerable frustration that most authors encounter along their literary journeys.  Both new and veteran authors alike can benefit from these online marketing platform building techniques.
The article lays out a list of marketing strategies for authors to follow. It offers “a set of goals to achieve when building out your online marketing platform.  This is not meant to be an exhaustive list.  However, we have focused on the channels that most authors pursue in their journey.”

The 10 tools offered cover the gamut of marketing options at you disposal, ranging from social media, website and email to traffic, press releases and book clubs. They allow for the pre-launch of your book, pre/post launch and post launch.

An excellent article! Again, here’s the link:  http://bookpromotion.weebly.com

 

>>>>> Fast forward to New Year’s Day (Down Under) 2014 and we believe we have the problem sussed. We’ve reversed the 70/30 ratio (of marketing to writing) and now spend at least 70% of our time doing what we love – writing!

Our rationale is writers are writers, not marketers. At some point, writers must let the market speak and not try to manipulate the hell out of it by using social media ad nauseam. The best thing writers can do is write and introduce new works to the marketplace. Build up your readers – your fan base. Let the market speak!

Sure, we tweet and blog and still use social media, but we strictly limit this to maximum 30% of our time – usually less.

In the past year we’ve released two new titles under Sterling Gate Books’ banner with another three scheduled to hit Amazon’s ‘shelves’ in the very near future. All our current novels have been regular visitors to Amazon’s bestseller lists in their appropriate categories.

Here’s our current portfolio of published titles:

 

And our new release just out:

World Odyssey (The World Duology, #1)

Scheduled for release this week is: The World Duology (World Odyssey & Fiji: A Novel).

The World Duology ebook cover 4

Coming soon are: The Orphan Conspiracies (our first non-fiction work) and Into the Americas (another historical adventure).

Hope this inspires our fellow writers to write. Keep marketing your work, but don’t let it rule your life. Do what you love doing…do what you were meant to do.

 

Here’s to a great 2014! –Lance & James

 

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‘The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter’ a worthy coming-of-age prequel

Posted: October 23, 2013 in Books in general, Morcan Books & Films
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The Pinata-Maker’s Daughter (The Marisol Trilogy) – by Eileen Clemens Granfors

Book splurge:
In this worthy coming-of-age prequel to Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead, we follow the struggle of Carmen Principia to achieve her dreams, despite her impoverished beginnings as the Pinata-Maker’s daughter in San Ysidro, California. She has a college degree in mind; her mother wants her to hone her skills in what else? pinata-making! Add relationships with men and a challenging roommate. The results are an emotional, sometimes comic, adventure in learning about the real world beyond the ivory tower of the U.
Book review:  5 Stars 
It was with some misgivings that this middle-aged male read this coming-of-age tale about Carmen, a Mexican girl embarking on her journey through life in a new land. Wow…was I pleasantly surprised!
The author’s turn of phrase hooked me in from the Prologue onwards. (Try this sample excerpt: In Mexico City, I felt like a sparrow among flocks of parakeets, the colorful clothes and the chatter of thousands of people. Mama spread her striped serape to draw me close and keep me safe. I trembled against her like a shy toddler.)
Eileen Granfors’ decision to relate young Carmen’s endearing story in the First Person has proved masterful. This reader felt as though he was right there, experiencing the highs and lows of the piñata-maker’s daughter and her over-protective solo mom as they carved out a new life for themselves over the border, in southern California.
I unreservedly recommend this book to anyone – male or female – who enjoys stories about love, families, relationships, traditions and traditional values. You won’t be disappointed. -Lance
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The Kindle edition of this novel is available via Amazon at: www.amazon.com/The-Pinata-Makers-Daughter-Marisol-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00EUDYXH4/
Other books by Eileen Granfors:
Product Details  Product Details  Product Details
Happy Reading! -Lance & James
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TV interview provides update on Morcan books and films

Posted: March 14, 2013 in Fiji: A Novel, Morcan Books & Films, Morcan films, The Ninth Orphan
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Here’s a television interview I recently did on Central TV News talking about my process of writing novels and screenplays. My segment kicks in at the 10 minute mark, so skip forward to that point on the You Tube video: http://lnkd.in/QMP_zi

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Marketing vs. Writing: the author’s dilemma

Posted: March 10, 2013 in Books in general, Morcan Books & Films
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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Up to your ears in marketing, social media, tweeting, blogging, networking etc. etc. when what you really want to be doing is write? Tell me about it!

I’ve found an excellent article online – at http://bookpromotion.weebly.com – that may help you and me both. Its author rightly points out that “Authors who don’t plan their pre & post-launch marketing can end up spending a lot of time and money trying to play catch up after publishing their books”.

The author also estimates authors spend 70 per cent of their time marketing, leaving only 30% for writing.

Here’s the (abridged) article:

The 10 Tools Every Self-Published Author Needs To Save Time

Authors who don’t plan their pre- and post-launch marketing can end up spending a lot of time and money trying to play catch up after publishing their books.  If you don’t plan properly, marketing can take twice as long as the writing and publishing process.  Feeling late to the game?  Don’t fret. The following list of resources will help save yourself from considerable frustration that most authors encounter along their literary journeys.  Both new and veteran authors alike can benefit from these online marketing platform building techniques.
The article lays out a list of marketing strategies for authors to follow. It offers “a set of goals to achieve when building out your online marketing platform.  This is not meant to be an exhaustive list.  However, we have focused on the channels that most authors pursue in their journey.”

The 10 tools offered cover the gamut of marketing options at you disposal, ranging from social media, website and email to traffic, press releases and book clubs. They allow for the pre-launch of your book, pre/post launch and post launch.

An excellent article! Again, here’s the link:  http://bookpromotion.weebly.com -Lance

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Read about our historical novel “Fiji” in Suva’s Fiji Times newspaper

Posted: August 27, 2012 in Fiji: A Novel
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http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=210035

Making waves

Tevita Vuibau
Saturday, August 25, 2012

Fiji: A Novel - the book that is making waves online. Picture: BALJEET SINGH

Fiji: A Novel – the book that is making waves online. Picture: BALJEET SINGH

A BOOK on Fiji written by a father and son team is making waves online and cracking Amazon.com’s best selling list over the last couple of weeks.

The book titled Fiji: A Novel was co-authored by Lance Morcan and his son James and was published late last year.

Mr Morcan said he had been inspired by the work of American author James Michener, adding he wanted Fiji to have a story that did justice to its beauty.

Set in the early 1800s, the novel follows protagonists Susannah Drake and Nathan Johnson as the pair travel from Levuka to Momi Bay.

He said the two-year journey to write the novel was a challenging one as he had to co-author long distance with his son.

“He is based in Sydney and I’m based here in New Zealand, so we had to do the whole thing through Skype and emails,” he said.

Mr Morcan said they were both strong-willed which made the writing of the novel an interesting exercise.

He said they were in the process of taking the book to the silver screen.

“James and I are also screenwriters and film producers, and have put Fiji into development as a feature film with our production company, Morcan Motion Pictures,” he added.

Mr Morcan said the book was available at the USP Book Centre, however, they were looking at ways to get more people to access the book.

“We want to put the book in hotels and resorts for them to use as giveaways to their most valued customers and then in this way we can get more locals as well reading the book,” he said.

Critical acclaim for Fiji: A Novel has been pouring in.

Susan M Heim, author and editor of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series heaped praise on the novel.

“If you’re a fan of adventure, history, even romance, you’ll want to pick up a copy of Fiji: A Novel and brace yourself for the ride,” she said.

“It’s an intense story that will have you turning the pages long into the night.”

Historical author Joan Mcgrath gave the book a four star rating calling it “a wonderfully entrancing read”.

Fiji: A Novel

Fiji: A Novel is available from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Fiji-A-Novel-ebook/dp/B0057YCZM0/