Amazon OVERLAND Amazon Overland Category:  Historical Fiction Publisher: Author House ISBN-10:  143899625X Type: Fiction Pages: 237 Copyright: July 2009 ISBN-13: 9781438996257 Danny, a recent medical school graduate, is devastated when his longtime girlfriend, Heather, turns down his marriage proposal. Instead, she sets off with friends on an overland bus ride towards Kathmandu. After Danny Benson finishes medical school he wants nothing more than to start his residency and settle down to marry his fiancée, Heather. But on the day of his final exam, Danny receives a letter. The engagement is off. Heather’s baffling explanation: she’s going to London where she will travel overland on the Magic Bus to Kathmandu. His plans shattered, Danny finds himself on a journey thousands of miles from home, in search of the woman he loves.  When he discovers her on a bus somewhere east of Europe the reunion is less than stellar. They spend the entire ride to Afghanistan debating whether to stay together or break up forever. Now, arriving in Kabul, exhausted from their long bus trip, fate will decide their dispute for them. The following day, December 27th, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. What happens next is their moment of truth as Danny and Heather collide with history.   Excerpt “No Miss, get on the bus, now.” They blocked her way and turned her around, pushing her onto the bus with the barrels of their guns. Heather had just placed her foot on the first step of the bus when a bomb blast rocked the city. A shockwave quaked the ground. The sound of the explosion was horrific. Life went to chaos then seemed to stand still. All around, people collapsed onto the ground, jarred by the impact of the explosion. The center of the blast issued up from the direction where Heather thought Danny went. She was shaking, maybe screaming his name. No one was hurt around her. The impact from the bomb had been far enough away not to do them damage, yet, close enough that they could smell the pungent smoke wafting through the area. Gunfi re and screams, and more gunfi re could be heard resonating throughout the entire city. Chaos and panic had descended. People ran for their lives, shouting, terrified that war had come to Kabul. Heather never felt so helpless. She desperately wanted to find Danny. But the Afghani soldiers were intense, forceful. They gave her no option. If she wanted to save her life, she had to do what they ordered, and that was to board the bus, and fast. Smoke drifted throughout the entire region. Heather became more and more despondent. She cried out, feeling powerless. She couldn’t believe she was being forced to leave Danny. She knew nothing of his condition. Reluctantly she took the last seat on the bus. The engines revved up, and the Afghani soldiers advised all five buses to move out. Out of Kabul and out of Afghanistan.

Jennifer Foust
"Your story was so intoxicating...your writing so picturesque without being wordy, the locales were postcard perfect, you really not just painted the image with your words, but I could hear the sounds and smell the scents of each scene that you described...I really felt as though I was there, as though I was Danny. I adore Emily, even the briefly introduced Anna. That's what I mean, you described each character, that they became people in my world. I even found myself weeping at the Tea Garden when they embrace at the end. And although you realistically described the horrific personal tradgies of war, I loved the way the doctors and towns folks were united and had the intimate relationships that this environment created. And you made it realistic but not gory where you want to skip thru it, I wanted to read every word because even with the bad you worked in a bit of compassion/good over evil/humanity at it's best a the time when it was it's worst. And the village story where Emily and Danny have their hut was such a romantic and perfectly time respite from the realistic war. From the birth then it went to the war and threat of death but ended in the escape...I just didn't want to put it down but at the same time I didn't want to read it too fast because each section was so wonderful I didn't want it to end. Your story has everything...one minute I was laughing, then teary-eyed. This would make one heck of a movie, like "The Notebook" quality movie.

Lindsey Landis
"Mark, I just finished your book! What a page-turner! You did a fantastic job! "

Sara Wolf Stevens
What a magical story! Mark not only gives us a story about love, he also provides action, adventure, and suspense. I found this book to flow as I turned each page and was taken away to far away places by Mark's vivid descriptions and incorporation of historical events. I would highly recommend this book to fans of all genres for its appeal to entertain the reader and keep you hooked all the way to the end.