Morcan Books & Films

Our historical adventure-romance Fiji has entered Amazon’s bestseller list in the Australian & Oceanian section of the popular Historical Fiction category for kindle ebooks.

Fiji a bestseller

The novel is no stranger to Amazon’s bestseller ranks, having entered them previously. In fact, the paperback version is currently firmly entrenched in Amazon’s Australian & South Pacific section of its Travel category.

Fiji’s popularity with travelers is no surprise to James and I, the authors. As writers and travelers, we know from experience how valuable an understanding of a destination is before visiting it. Familiarizing yourself with a country’s history, geography, people and customs makes any visit that much more enjoyable – especially for first-time visitors.

Here’s some comments about Fiji from fellow travelers to the archipelago:

• “Fiji: A Novel should be compulsory reading for visitors to Fiji.”
• ‘Fiji: A Novel is a must for travelers to the Friendly Isles.”

And here’s a sample of reviewer comments:

• “A perfect combination of romance and action.” –The Kindle Book Review.
• “A gripping and graphic story of historic Fiji.” –Great Historicals.
• “I give it 5 stars because that’s the maximum allowed.” –RandomWritingsBookReviews, Suva.
• “An intense story that will have you turning the pages long into the night.” –Author Susan Heim.

The story:

Fiji is a spellbinding novel of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, religious conflict and sexual tension set in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth.

As the pharaohs of ancient Egypt build their mighty pyramids, and Chinese civilization evolves under the Shang Dynasty, adventurous seafarers from South East Asia begin to settle the far-flung islands of the South Pacific. The exotic archipelago of Fiji is one of the last island groups to be discovered and will remain hidden from the outside world for many centuries to come.

By the mid-1800’s, Fiji has become a melting pot of cannibals, warring native tribes, sailors, traders, prostitutes, escaped convicts and all manner of foreign undesirables. It’s in this hostile environment an innocent young Englishwoman and a worldly American adventurer find themselves.

Susannah Drake, a missionary, questions her calling to spread God’s Word as she’s torn between her spiritual and sexual selves. As her forbidden desires intensify, she turns to the scriptures and prayer to quash the sinful thoughts – without success.

Nathan Johnson arrives to trade muskets to the Fijians and immediately finds himself at odds with Susannah. She despises him for introducing the white man’s weapons to the very people she is trying to convert and he pities her for her naivety. Despite their differences, there’s an undeniable chemistry between them.

When their lives are suddenly endangered by marauding cannibals, Susannah and Nathan are forced to rely on each other for their very survival.

If Fiji sounds like you, view it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/

Happy reading! –Lance & James

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One not-so-flattering book reviewer labelled Fiji: A Novel, our historical adventure-romance, “a bodice-ripper” and took umbrage with the amount of sex that features in it.

We maintained, and still maintain, it’s impossible to accurately portray life in exotic 19^th Century Fiji, or anywhere in the South Pacific for that matter, without showing these were – how can I put this delicately – lustful times.

Thankfully, most reviewers of Fiji believe we’ve captured the era beautifully.

The Kindle Book Review (UK) describes Fiji as “A perfect combination of romance and action.”

Great Historicals Book Reviews says it’s “A gripping and graphic story of historic Fiji.”

Random Writings Book Reviews, of Suva, Fiji, gave it “5 stars because that’s the maximum allowed.”

Here’s one of my favorite passages from Fiji. It captures some of the cultural differences Europeans of the day encountered when they came into contact with the local Fijians…

As the day drew to a close at Momi Bay, Nathan wandered around the village observing the Qopa preparing their evening meals. Aware he was a guest of their ratu, the villagers greeted him with smiles. Their greetings were genuine. Word had already spread that the vulagi was bringing muskets to their village.

Nathan forced himself to respond in friendly fashion to the villagers. He viewed this pre-trading time simply as a charade he had to endure.

The American flinched involuntarily as he watched two young men barbecuing a large leatherback turtle over an open fire. Writhing and hissing futilely, the turtle struggled until it finally succumbed to the heat. Nearby, family members roasted a pig in a lovo, an underground oven comprised of heated stones. Nathan noticed an old man tending the pig was using a large bone that looked suspiciously like a human femur.

Nearby, teenage boys expertly split coconut shells on the sharpened end of a stake in the ground. Their mother rebuked them, slapping the oldest on his bare back when some of the milk spilled out of the shells.

Looking around, Nathan observed armed lookouts patrolling the village perimeters. Above them, rain clouds threatened, reminding him the wet season was approaching. Again, he studied the strange structure that sat atop four high poles near the meeting house and wondered what it contained that was so valuable it needed guarding around the clock. A new guard paced up and down in front of it, spear in hand.

Glancing at the nearby mission station, Nathan’s thoughts strayed to Susannah. Apart from a flickering light that shone from the mission house windows, the station was already in darkness. He wondered how Susannah and her father were passing their time and what they’d be talking about.

Iremaia suddenly appeared in the open doorway of his large bure. Seeing Nathan, he beckoned to him to join him. Nathan hurried over and followed the old ratu inside. There, he found a cooking fire crackling in the center of the gloomy, smoke-filled bure. Its flames lit up the faces of Iremaia’s clan, who included his four wives and an assortment of relatives of all ages.

The unwelcoming Joeli was among them. Akanisi, the ratu’s first wife and mother of Joeli, supervised two slave girls who were tending the fire. There was so much laughter and chatter nobody could hear themselves speak. Nathan was greeted with welcoming smiles from all except Joeli. It was almost as if the ratu’s son sensed the true intentions that lay behind Nathan’s ready smile. The American worried that Joeli was going to be an obstacle to his forthcoming trade.

Looking around, Nathan saw that, even here, there was evidence of past conflicts. Several shrunken heads hung from the thatched roof and traditional weapons of various descriptions lay scattered around.

Iremaia motioned to Nathan to sit next to him. Sitting down, he noted the dirt floor was covered in mats woven from pandanus leaves. Marveling at their beautiful colors, he would learn later the effect was achieved by burying the leaves in mud and laboriously boiling them with other plants. Parrot feathers lined the outsides, adding to the colorful effect.

Generous helpings of steaming hot yams, sweet potatoes, and shellfish were carried in by slaves from the lovo outside. Diced raw fish was added and coconut cream was poured over the food, adding to its tantalizing appearance and aroma.

Selaima, a fetching slave girl who looked about sixteen but was in fact twenty, served the food in wooden bowls carved from the timber of some of the numerous varieties of trees that flourished in the region. She served Iremaia first, then Nathan, smiling openly at him as she did so.

After dinner, the men drank kava while Selaima and several other girls entertained them by performing a meke, or traditional dance. Wearing only grass skirts, their nubile bodies gleamed in the firelight as they danced to the beat of a hollowed-out log that served as a drum. The accompaniment was provided by two men who, using the palms of their hands, expertly pounded out an ancient rhythm.

Nathan watched, entranced, as the smiling dancers performed. Glancing at his companions, he saw they, too, were entranced. To a man, they appeared to have eyes only for Selaima. Studying the slave girl, he could understand why: she was very easy on the eye—especially while performing an erotic dance as she was now.

The American was beginning to feel the effects of the kava he’d been drinking. He’d forced himself to partake of the vile liquid in order not to offend Iremaia. Already his lips were numb and his brain felt like it was going the same way.

The rain that threatened earlier arrived with a vengeance as it only can in the tropics. It beat a steady tattoo on the bure’s roof, threatening to drown out the sound of drumming. The drummers responded by intensifying their efforts and the dancing became frenetic as the dancers tried to keep pace.

Watching the semi-naked girls dancing, Nathan’s thoughts strayed to Susannah and he wondered what her naked form looked like.

*    *    *

Fiji: A Novel is available via Amazon as a trade paperback and Kindle ebook at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/

Happy reading! –Lance

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Fiji highlights ancient customs.

The mystical powers of Shark Callers ensured they were held in high esteem among the native peoples of 19^th Century Fiji – as these excerpts from our historical adventure-romance, Fiji: A Novel, show:

Within the crowd, Nathan watched with interest as the onlookers’ ranks suddenly parted to reveal the Shark Caller being escorted from the village to the beach by Joeli. The onlookers dropped to all fours and bowed their heads as their respected ratu and the equally esteemed Shark Caller approached.

Pausing to adjust a pennant-like piece of masi, or tapa cloth, attached to a post, the Shark Caller then waded out into the sea. The old man stopped only when the water reached his neck then he began chanting. It was a shrill, haunting chant unlike any Nathan had heard. The onlookers watched this ancient ceremony in awe…

… The chanting continued for so long Nathan was ready to return to the village. Then it suddenly stopped. The onlookers collectively gasped as a huge fin sliced through the water toward the Shark Caller.

Pointing the fin out to Nathan, Susannah whispered, “That will be the Great White.”

Nathan couldn’t take his eyes off the drama unfolding out in the bay. The fin veered away only yards short of the Shark Caller. The old man resumed chanting as the shark began circling him. More fins appeared, smaller than the Great White’s. They, too, circled the Shark Caller, who appeared oblivious to the danger. Wild cheering broke out among the onlookers. Nathan could hardly believe his eyes.

Susannah, shouting to be heard, said, “The Great White answers the call of the Shark Caller. It brings other sharks with it.”

Men waiting aboard canoes in the shallows began paddling furiously out from the beach to intercept the sharks. In the lead canoe, Joeli and Waisale reached down and hauled the still-chanting Shark Caller from the water. The crews of the other canoes set about killing as many sharks as they could. They used nets to snare the sharks and then they speared them, but they were careful not to harm the Great White. The sea in the immediate vicinity quickly turned red with blood. A feeding frenzy followed as sharks turned on one another.

One of the men in Joeli’s canoe fell overboard. Willing hands hauled him back on board just before the sharks could reach him.

On the beach, the onlookers were cheering and sea shell horns blared out as the men aboard the canoes began towing their catches back to shore. Despite the danger still posed by live sharks, villagers waded out to greet them. They helped pull the captured sharks up onto the beach, taking care to avoid their gnashing teeth.

Before long, the carcasses of thirty or more sharks had been lined up in rows on the sand. Smiling villagers used hunting knives to carve strips of flesh from them while others cut off the highly valued fins. Slaves carried the spoils back up to the village.

A beaming Joeli surveyed the scene proudly. He announced, “Tonight, my people eat well!”…

… Nathan turned his attention back to the scene on the beach. Beyond the villagers he saw the Shark Caller. The old man was now further down the beach, away from the others. He was kneeling beside a lone shark carcass.

Nathan approached the Shark Caller. As he neared, he heard the old man chanting softly while looking into the eye of the dead
shark.

“Great hunter of the sea, you have lived a noble life,” the Shark Caller intoned in his native tongue. “You have served your purpose. Now you will perform one last act. You will give me your eye so that I can see all things as you do.”

Although the words were foreign to him, Nathan felt he understood what the Shark Caller was saying. He looked on as the old man used a shell to cut out the shark’s eye. The Shark Caller held it up, offered another chant, then popped the eye into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

Shark calling is just one of many ancient customs highlighted in Fiji: A Novel. As one Fijian reviewer with Suva-based Random Writings Book Reviews says, “I give it 5 stars because that’s the maximum allowed.”  

Fiji: A Novel is available via Amazon as a trade paperback and kindle ebook. To order this novel, or read sample chapters free of charge, go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/

Happy reading! –Lance & James

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This historical adventure-romance is set in the early 1800’s in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth. It is poignant and romantic, but it’s also true-to-life, bloody and reflective of an era long since gone. As one reviewer said, “Fiji: A Novel is not for the faint-hearted!”

As the pharaohs of ancient Egypt build their mighty pyramids, and Chinese civilization evolves under the Shang Dynasty, adventurous seafarers from South East Asia begin to settle the far-flung islands of the South Pacific. The exotic archipelago of Fiji is one of the last island groups to be discovered and will remain hidden from the outside world for many centuries to come.

By the mid-1800’s, Fiji has become a melting pot of cannibals, warring native tribes, sailors, traders, prostitutes, escaped convicts and all manner of foreign undesirables. It’s in this hostile environment an innocent young Englishwoman and a worldly American adventurer find themselves.

Susannah Drake, a missionary, questions her calling to spread God’s Word as she’s torn between her spiritual and sexual selves. As her forbidden desires intensify, she turns to the scriptures and prayer to quash the sinful thoughts – without success.

Nathan Johnson arrives to trade muskets to the Fijians and immediately finds himself at odds with Susannah. She despises him for introducing the white man’s weapons to the very people she is trying to convert and he pities her for her naivety. Despite their differences, there’s an undeniable chemistry between them.

When their lives are suddenly endangered by marauding cannibals, Susannah and Nathan are forced to rely on each other for their very survival.

  Here’s an excerpt from Fiji: A Novel:

The guilt Susannah had felt moments earlier suddenly returned tenfold as she remembered the erotic dream she’d had. She quickly nodded, to indicate she’d slept well before diverting her eyes from Nathan’s and looking toward the shore. It was then she noticed giant sand dunes along the shoreline. She gasped at the sight of them. They seemed to be reaching for the sky.

Noting the object of her interest, Nathan said, “Those are the famous sand dunes of Sigatoka.” He added, “I saw them on my arrival in Fiji.”

“How wonderful,” Susannah enthused, momentarily forgetting her antagonism toward Nathan.

Susannah wasn’t the only one fascinated by the mighty dunes. The Italian artist was frantically setting up his easel further along the deck, anxious to capture the scene on canvas before it disappeared from view.

As the passengers admired the dunes, a deserted Fijian village came into view. Its bure huts had recently been smashed and burned to the ground. Smoke rose from the still-smoldering ruins, and there was no sign of life.

A Welsh deckhand sidled up to the young couple. He nodded toward the village. “That’ll be the handiwork of Rambuka,” he proffered with some certainty.

Susannah studied the distant village then glanced at the Welshman. “Rambuka?”

“Aye. His warriors are the scourge of this coastline. They call them the outcasts.” The deckhand pointed toward Viti Levu’s distant highlands. “They live up there somewhere.” Nathan and Susannah studied the highlands. Dark storm clouds hung ominously over them. “Cannibals, all of ‘em,” the deckhand added before wandering off.

Alone again, Nathan smiled at Susannah. In her usual haughty manner, she gave him a quick glance before looking back at the shoreline. Nathan asked himself why he was persisting with such a young woman who, he could see, was clearly on a different planet to himself. Try as he may, he couldn’t come up with a sensible answer.

“I do not envy the task you and your father have set yourselves here in Fiji,” Nathan said probingly. Susannah looked at him sharply. Pleased to see he had her attention, he continued. “I fear you may be facing an uphill battle.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Well,” Nathan paused, thinking on his feet as he went. “Fiji ain’t called the Cannibal Isles for nothing. From what I’ve seen, these Fijians are some of the most savage people on earth.”

Fiji: A Novel is available via Amazon as a kindle ebook and trade paperback. For more information go to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/

Happy reading! – Lance & James

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Our historical adventure-romance Fiji: A Novel has topped another readers’ list on the international literary site Goodreads.com – this time for the most popular works of fiction that have a country in the title.

Fiji: A Novel currently occupies #1 position on the list ahead of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India (at #2), Agatha Christie’s Murder in Mesopotamia (#3), Michael Crichton’s Congo (#4) and Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn (#5).

For the top 100 on this list go to: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/32783.Countries#12884662

Meanwhile, Fiji: A Novel continues to attract 5-star reviews. This one, by Amazon reviewer Great Historicals, remains the most popular review with readers – and my personal favorite!

★★★★★ A gripping and graphic story of historic Fiji       February 27, 2012

By Great Historicals

Ever since I read the Mutiny on the Bounty Trilogy as a teen, I have been drawn to exotic stories about the South Pacific. Fiji immediately drew my interest and I was more than pleased with this fascinating novel.

If you like your stories straight up, told like it really was, and without any sugar coating, then Fiji is sure to please. This novel transcends gender and will appeal to both male and female readers. The characters in the story fascinated me, evolving and adapting to their circumstances and surroundings. The underlying romance that weaves itself through the story is beautifully written and credible as the couple move from intense dislike to meaningful love.

This book had a bit of everything – sex, violence, humor, historic detail, and plenty of twists to keep one reading. A warning for all readers – in keeping with the authentic tone throughout, you will come across scenes of ritualistic slaughter and cannibalism. A fabulous novel, beautiful for its blunt rawness, exotic scenery, and fascinating storyline. Definitely one to pick up and read…A quality book for sure!

Fiji: A Novel is available on Amazon in both kindle and trade paperback form via these links:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/ & https://www.createspace.com/3671234

Happy reading! – Lance

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In the latest 5-star review of our highly rated adventure-romance, Fiji: A Novel, Amazon reviewer ‘Aspired Writer’, of South Africa, describes the novel as “An excellent read, (an) exciting story from beginning to end”.

Here’s the review (abridged):

An insightful historical romance that gives you a better overview into the life of the Fijian people and their customs. Customs that for us as Europeans were unheard off, barbaric and cruel. But then Europeans (were) not innocent in their dealings with people, just more secretive about it as we know from history.

The authors’ intriguing plot kept you focused on the pages as you venture between action filled pages and the romantic nuances in the book.

Starting out as lust filled connections Nathan Johnson and Susannah Drake were the opposites in character from each other but yet the chemistry was undeniable. Susannah’s dreams filled with the young American and what he would do with her. But yet she kept her distance, knowing the arrogant and selfish man would never fit into her life.

Her father Reverend Drake, missionary to the Fiji islands did not condone the interaction and kept them apart as far as he could. But when fights erupted and Susannah was abducted he paid the ultimate price trying to protect his daughter….

….Colorful and descriptive, you are part of the lives of the people as this well written and fast paced book captures the attention.

Good and evil the two forces that fight against each other to gain the upper hand, running amok in the lives of Susannah and Nathan. Interesting characters added to the storyline making it a believable, entertaining and well planned plot.

For the full review, go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057YCZM0/

Interview with the authors is online at:

http://lynelleclarkaspiredwriter.blogspot.com/2013/05/fiji-novel-interview-and-5-star-review.html

As an aside, Fiji: A Novel is currently in Amazon’s bestseller list for paperbacks in its appropriate category.

Happy reading! -Lance & James

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