(Entertainment-NewsWire.com, July 02, 2020 ) Gary R. Hall arrived in Germany as a young Morse code radio operator in the American army in 1956. His subsequent 12-plus years as a career military soldier and his later civilian research visits influenced his novels about fictional characters Peter Ackerman and Gertrude “Trudi” Kehle as they dealt with loss of family and friends and the devastation of their homeland. Just as disturbing was the disgrace they felt as a result of Nazism and specific Nazi deeds. Sacrifice and Salvation: Mission GDR has been published by Outskirts Press—the fastest-growing, full-service self-publishing and book marketing company.
Picking up from its prequel, The 5K Zone: Cold War Border Intrigue, in Sacrifice and Salvation, Trudi and Peter have escaped the Czech Sudetenland and settled in Gaissach, West Germany, only to be tasked for a mission to East Germany, where they volunteer to parachute behind the Iron Curtain in search of the Nazi war criminal Herman Nagle. Both have personal motivation for this clandestine mission. During training, Trudi befriends a young American girl. Trudi and Evelyn have only their athletic interests in common until Trudi becomes Evelyn’s mentor. As the relationship grows, Trudi describes the differences between her life and the relatively secure life of a 1950s American teen.
With their trained Belgian Malinois, Zara, Trudi and Peter not only find and return Herman Nagle to the West; they also find a Jewish woman, Sarah Blumenstein, hiding in the forest. Separated from her family and unaware the war is over, she bonds with Zara and assists in locating Nagle. Trudi and Peter develop a plan to rescue Sarah from the East and reunite her family members. But disaster strikes Trudi during the escape, essentially destroying her short-term athletic aspirations. She is jubilant, however, when Herman Nagle is convicted of war crimes and given an unorthodox sentence—an enlightening coup de gráce for the world to see.
“Post-World War II was a tenuous period in the history of Europe,” Gary Hall explains. “Survival was the most important endeavor in the daily lives of most Europeans. Trudi Kehle is just one example of the women who suffered because of the war and had an innate drive to repay society because of the actions of some of her fellow Germans.”
Kirkus Reviews says, “This snapshot in time skillfully blends action, adventure and romance….[with] well-drawn characters triumphing over institutional evil.”
For more information, visit the author’s website at outskirtspress.com/sacrificeandsalvationmissiongdr.
At 228 pages, Sacrifice and Salvation: Mission GDR is available online through Outskirts Press. It is also sold through Amazon and Barnes and Noble for a maximum trade discount in quantities of 10 or more and is being aggressively promoted to appropriate markets with a focus on the historical fiction category.
About the Author: Gary R. Hall was a career army non-commissioned officer with over 12 years of Cold War duty in West Germany and one year in Vietnam. He is the recipient of four Army Commendation Medals and a Bronze Star for meritorious performance of duty in Vietnam. In West Germany, Gary was an instructor and course chief of the Communications Officer/Communications NCO courses at the United States Army School, Europe (USASCHEUR). Upon retirement, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Resources at the University of Washington. Gary now lives in Everett, Washington. He is also the author of The 5K Zone: Cold War Border Intrigue.
About Outskirts Press, Inc.: Outskirts Press offers full-service, custom self-publishing and book marketing services for authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books worldwide while retaining all their rights and full creative control. Available for authors globally at www.outskirtspress.com and located on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, Outskirts Press, Inc. represents the future of book publishing, today.
