Casting the Characters – Destination: Berlin
Sunday, July 25th, 2010I’m thrilled to be here at the Classic Romance Revival Blog to promote my “sweet” romantic suspense, “Destination: Berlin.”
Just a little about me: I was born and raised in Manchester, NH with a hungry appetite for reading gothic romance, especially by Victoria Holt. I served in the Army for 11 years from 1986-1997 and spent 7 years in Germany. My time in Europe inspired two passions – my love of history and the paranormal. Currently, I live in California and work for LAPD as a 911 Dispatcher.
Jacob Young, inspiration for Jr. Sgt. Dimitri Nagory
One of the things I love to do is cast my characters. For me, as a writer, the visual allows me to go deeper into the character. Maybe it’s the twinkle in the eye, or the pensive expression in the face that captures the essence of the character which appeals to me. Casting is as essential to me as drafting the character bio. The face fills out the character.
For Corporal Sharon Cates, I picked Claire Danes. She’s got that all American everyday girl look. She’s athletic and can do action (Terminator 3)
Jr. Sgt. Dimitri Nagory is Jacob Young. He captures that Slavic, blond-haired looked and his facial features hint at the exotic European look.
James Earl Jones, inspiration for Gen. Adolphus Blaze
Shannon Doherty, inpiration for Sgt. Mary Bates
General Blaze is James Earl Jones to me. James has such a commanding vocal presence, I can see General Blaze talking and issuing orders.
I picked Shannon Doherty for Sgt. Mary Bates. Mary is a hard working soldier who knows her mind. Shannon brings grit and edge to Mary’s character.
For Hauptman Hans Gruber I envision Roger Howarth (a soap opera actor) . Roger brings an athleticism to the character which he has to have to chase Sharon and Dimitri through East Germany.
I hope you enjoyed my casting choices for the novel.
Here’s an excerpt:
Roger Howarth, inspiration for Hauptman Hans Gruber
Sharon stuck her head out the window, pointed the gun, and pulled the trigger. A burst of bullets fired, but after three rounds, the gun stopped. Sharon drew her head back inside the car just as another volley of bullets flew around her. Quickly, she checked the chamber. Empty. She lunged for Dimitri’s duffle bag in the rear seat, trying to keep a low profile. As Dimitri continued his aggressive driving, Sharon withdrew a box of ammo and slid back into her seat. She opened the box up and shoved a new set of bullets into the gun, locking and loading. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a construction site ahead of them. Dimitri spun the wheel and they made a hard right onto a gravel road.
“You’re only going to get one more chance to shoot at them,” said Dimitri. His voice was as hard as steel.
Sharon took a deep breath, poked her head out the window, and aimed lower than her previous shots. It was in that second she looked into the eyes of the officer sitting in the passenger seat. They were cold, devoid of all emotions except determination and envy.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she muttered.
He fired first.
Here’s a link to Destination: Berlin’s Book Trailer on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cuav1ZTlWOA
Here’s a link to a video about the Berlin Duty Train on You Tube:
Destination: Berlin is a Print book only. Here’s where you can buy it: Amazon:
Barnes and Noble:
IUniverse: http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000008175
Goodie Time: Post a comment. I’ll pick two lucky winners out of a hat to receive an autographed postcard of the cover. Follow me on my blog tour and earn a chance to win an autographed copy of Destination: Berlin. To find out the dates on the blog tour visit my blog, “Romance Under the Moonlight.”
Visit me at:
SG Cardin/Stephanie Burkhart Online
Romance Under the Moonlight
