Destination: Berlin is a sweet, contemporary romance set against a military backdrop.
Destination: Berlin was my first book published and I self-published it back in 2001. The storyline was inspired by my own trip to Berlin in July 1988.
In the novel, Corporal Sharon Cates travels to Berlin on the duty train. The four allies, The Americans, French, British, and Soviets ride the train. In the middle of East Germany, the train derails and Sharon has to trust the help given by a Soviet soldier to make it to West Berlin with the Stasi and KGB hot on her tail.
Why are the stakes so high? Unbeknownst to her, she’s carrying top secret documents important to national security. When she finds them, she realizes that her trip to West Berlin is going to be the most challenging experience of her military career. Can she trust Soviet Jr. Sgt. Dimitri Nagory to escort her to the West and her freedom?
My own trip to Berlin in July 1988 wasn’t as eventful, but it was a great adventure. I took the duty train out of Bremerhaven and it traveled only at night. I saw the Berlin Wall up close in front of the Brandenburg Gate and my heart constricted in my chest just thinking about how freedom had been denied to the East Germans. I also visited East Berlin under escort and was awed by Treptower Park, a Soviet War Memorial which contained the graves to 5,000 Soviet soldiers who had fought to liberate Berlin. Of course, one of my most memorable experiences was the Berliner Weisse Beer , a lager with red or green coloring. During the trip, President Regan’s impassioned plea for Mr. Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” resonated in my bones.
I sketched the plot of Destination: Berlin on a napkin while I waited for the duty train at the Bremerhaven train station. I had a long wait. My company dropped me off at 4 pm and the train didn’t take off until 10 pm. I hung out at the schnell imbiss, had a brotchen, drank a coke, and the idea for my story just hit me. I scribbled my notes on a napkin and shoved them into my briefcase. It took over ten years, but Destination: Berlin found a home. The romance is sweet between Sharon and Dimitri, yet poignant, especially since it was written in the twilight of the Cold War.
BOOK TRAILER ON YOU TUBE:
BLURB:
Stuck in a routine job in Cold War Germany guarding nuclear weapons, U.S. Army Corporal Sharon Cates thinks she is going to Berlin to attend an orientation tour. Unknown to her, the briefcase she carries contains top-secret information that the Stasi and KGB are willing to kill for.
Russian Junior Sergeant Dimitri Nagory is an assistant to a high-ranking Soviet officer in his country’s embassy in England. Dimitri isn’t expecting a great adventure as he boards the duty train for a routine trip to headquarters in Berlin, and he certainly isn’t expecting to meet any Americans.
The Stasi derails the train in the middle of East Germany, expecting to take the information from Sharon’s dead body. But when the sudden explosion hurls Sharon and Dimitri from the train and into each other, he too becomes a target. With Sharon nursing badly bruised ribs and branded by her country as a traitorous thief for stealing top-secret documents, Dimitri goes against everything he’s ever been taught to ensure her safe return to the West.
ENJOY THIS EXCERPT:
“Have you been to West Berlin?” asked Sharon.
“A couple of times.”
“Where did you go?”
“I visited the old Reichstag, Spandau Prison, and the Soviet War Memorial.”
“Which place impressed you the most?” Sharon asked.
He put the olives aside and stretched out his legs. “Spandau Prison.”
“Why?”
“I went there last year before Rudolph Hess died. It was a fortress. The prison itself was an old brick building surrounded by electric and barbed wire. The walls were thick and sturdy, yet Hess was very frail. It didn’t seem appropriate to the prisoner,” Dimitri replied.
“What sector of Berlin is the prison in?” she asked.
“The British sector. Every month the guards of the prison rotated between the allies and I accompanied Major Orlov to inspect the Soviet Guards in July 1987.”
“Hess was an old man, wasn’t he?”
“Yes,” said Dimitri.
“How did he die?” Sharon asked.
“He committed suicide,” Dimitri answered.
“Do you think Hess should have had more freedom in his waning days? Maybe he would have lived longer,” said Sharon. She was impressed with the fact Dimitri had seen the Nazi before he had died.
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. He was part of a nation that aspired to dominate the world and no country should be allowed to impose its will on another. That’s why we aren’t successful in Afghanistan,” he replied.
“And why the US was unsuccessful in Vietnam,” Sharon added. “The suppressed will always mount a resistance that will challenge the oppressor.”
“Very true. The Germans found the French resistance challenging in the last world war,” said Dimitri. He yawned. “I suggest we sleep here another night and go to Plaue tomorrow.”
“Dimitri, one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“What happened to Spandau Prison?”
“The British demolished it. The allied government didn’t want the prison to become a shrine for any of the neo-nazis,” he answered.
“Well, I guess that’s one thing our governments have in common.”
“I guess,” said Dimitri.
She sighed. She would have liked to have seen Spandau Prison. Now it was a slice of history only to be remembered in the books and archives of World War II.
REVIEWS:
Midwest Book Reviews, 5 Stars
“Destination Berlin is a tautly written saga of mistrust, determination, and survival.”
D. Thorne, Amazon Reader, 5 Stars
“Cardin plots a military suspense with ease.”
S. Schnieder, Amazon Reader, 5 Stars
“Ms. Cardin’s talent for bringing readers into her story is just astounding and Destination: Berlin will prove it to even the most skeptical reader!”
“Destination: Berlin” is available as a print book from IUniverse.
Destination: Berlin is a Print book only. Here’s where you can buy it: Amazon:
Barnes and Noble:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Destination/S-G-Cardin/e/9780595164196/?itm=1&USRI=Destination%3a+Berlin
IUniverse: http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000008175
FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:
WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com
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GOOD READS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart
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