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.
How the world was 30 years ago, a different time.
OVERLAND appeals to multiple groups of people with varied interests, and appeals to both women and men. It is a very nice love story, but not in the Harlequin’ish way (with all due respect to Harlequin romances). But there’s so much more: History of the Soviet Union’s actual invasion of Afghanistan on December 27, 1979. This is where Danny and Heather, two of the main characters are caught in the wrong place in the wrong time. The story has loads of adventures and lots of traveling and cultural diversity.
Also, it will appeal to cultures around the world as Islam, Christianity, Hindu and Buddhism just weave and merge in and out of the story. There are some moral and human lessons that even though we may be defined by our culture or religion, or both, we’re all just people…and especially now, we all need to be reminded of that.
Mark was a worker bee, but yearned to travel. He went to bookstores to research his trip. He bought an India travel guide and absorbed it as if it were a page turning novel. He read that the monsoon season ended in India the end of August. It was May 30th when he left the US, and spent three months in Europe, just biding his time, while having the time of his life. On his birthday, August 16, at age 32, he flew to India. A mishap caused his backpack to not make the flight on a brief transit stop from Sri Lanka to Southern India. He spent two frustrating hours in the Trivandrum airport lining up his backpack with hopes it would show up a few days later. Resigned to the fact that there was nothing he could do, he took his trusty India guide and asked an auto rickshaw driver take him to the Hotel Blue Sea. As he was whisked through the balmy palm lined, slow paced, exotic streets, he completely forgot about his backpack. In that moment, his life had changed forever. From there he met a French girl some weeks later in Jaipur, India. They spent only five days together and said goodbye never really knowing they would see each other again. They did, as she is now his wife and they have a beautiful eighteen year old daughter. Mark is originally from Los Angeles and he and his family live in Denver, Colorado. Overland is a result of a many of his adventures and a vivid imagination.