Through the compelling words of Ursula Martens, Colorado author Mark Shaw shares the tale of a young girl programmed with hatred and prejudice, and her later transformation into a loving and forgiving woman, in his new biography, Stations Along the Way. Growing up in Nazi Germany, Ursula Martens was taught that certain people were inferior and their lives really didn’t matter. She closed her eyes to the abuse of the Jewish people, and justified that which she couldn’t deny with arguments of their worth which had been ingrained in her since the age of four. After the end of the war, she was plagued by guilt, as her misconceptions were revealed and she realized that she had been used as a pawn in Hitler’s evil plan through her participation as a Hitler Youth Leader. Where she once had a sense of national pride, Ursula now felt the other side of hatred as “Nazi” became a derogatory word in the world’s eye. As an adult, her life became a journey of self-healing and forgivingness, as she struggled to reconcile her part in the terrible atrocities and learned to love and accept herself and others, not in spite of, but because of their differences. Ursula’s journey provides hope for us all, as hate and prejudice still prevails throughout the world today, with lessons for each of us about love and acceptance that should be universal.

Mr. Desilet wrote: This is a remarkable story and Mark Shaw has done a great service as biographical midwife in helping Ursula Martens bring her story to life for the reading public. The title takes inspiration from Ursula’s childhood in Nazi Germany when she lived in different German towns and cities as her father moved up the ranks in various stationmaster posts. Her family residence throughout childhood was usually above the railroad station where her father worked and her story develops as these “stations” along the path of her growth reveal a deepening venture into Nazi culture as she grows up as a member of the Nazi Youth Program. Ursula’s Nazi years present the tragic side of her story, but this part is fascinating in the details she recounts of daily life in the Nazi regime and what it was like to grow up during the pre-war and war years in Germany. Many Americans are familiar with the major historical developments of Nazi Germany but seeing this history through the eyes of a young child opens up a rare perspective. Especially because of the small details, I found the narrative to be so compelling I could not put the book down. Ursula’s life after the war contrasts profoundly with the war years as she awakens from the intense brainwashing she received as a child and must confront the horrible truth about Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. This awakening process begins before the end of the war and continues as Ursula meets a Mexican-American GI and eventually moves to the United States to marry him. Her introduction to American life and culture is difficult as, with perfect irony, she sees a kind of prejudice against Mexican-Americans that she herself practiced against Jews in Germany. But Ursula shows great resilience and the story of her continued growth and awakening will be an inspiration to all readers, especially Americans. There could be no more profound confirmation of the reasons WWII was fought than Ursula’s story and all readers will come to a greater appreciation of what was at stake and why the fight was worth it–and why that fight had to continue in many ways even in the United States after the war. Ursula and Mark Shaw deserve high praise for this well written and nicely structured narrative and I highly recommend the book to everyone.

Next month, my first novel “No Peace for the Wicked” will be published after having had some 20 non-fiction books published, but it took more than 17 years for that novel to become a reality since I first heard of the story the book is based on in 1995. Over the years, the book has been revised a thousand times, in fact, at one point the word count was nearly 120,000. Through a tough editing job, I sliced more than 40,000 words and presto, the book found a publisher.

So, keep the faith and keep going. And remember, rejection is not a part of the aspiring author’s vocabulary!

Wow, how blessed we are. More details at http://www.markshawbooks.com

Inspirational Books: Road to a Miracle

Religious/Spiritual Biographies: Beneath the Mask of Holiness: Thomas Merton and the Love Affair that Set Him Free

Historical Biographies: Stations Along the Way: The Spiritual Transformation of Former Hitler Youth Leader Ursula Martens (to be published Summer 2012)

Legal Biographies: Melvin Belli: King of the Courtroom and Falsely Accused: The Mike Tyson Trial

Political Biographies: Miscarriage of Justice: The Jonathan Pollard Story

Historical Chronology: The Doomed President: John F. Kennedy and the Greatest Murder Mystery in History (to be published 2013)

Aviation Biography: Forever Flying

Novels: Dandelions in the Moonlight (already published) and No Peace for the Wicked (to be published January 2012)

Sports Biographies: Don Larsen, Larry Bird, Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Alice Dye

Animal Biography: Clydesdales: The World’s Most Magical Animals

Music Biography: Let the Good Times Roll

Reference: How to Become a Published Author: Idea to Publication

That’s the scoop. What do you think?

For aspiring authors, I mention On Writing by Stephen King, Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell, and my own book about publishing, “How to Become a Published Author: Idea to Publication.” I also suggest writers read biographies of the great authors, including Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, and Victor Hugo, books I had read recently. Learning about these gifted wordsmiths is not only interesting but valuable since readers may learn about how they became such great storytellers.

If the person asking enjoyed novels, I tell them two classics are Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea and Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. If humor is the object, nothing beats Woody Allen’s Without Feathers.

When the topic turns to inspirational books, I highly recommend New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton, The Way to Love by Anthony De Mello, and Manual for Life: Reality by Seth Chernoff. Each is well-written and each causes one to stop and think about the path of life chosen.

So that’s the scoop on my end. Please let me know what your favorite books are these days.

To show how perseverance pays off, I first learned of the true story that the book is based on nearly twenty years ago, in 1992. Hundreds of drafts later, a publisher finally said “yes” after years of hearing “no’s.” That’s why I tell writers, never give up, never quit believing, never quit at all because all it takes is for one publisher to say “yes.”

More details to follow regarding the storyline and the release date, but I am very blessed to have the book on the horizon. If you have had a similar experience where perseverance paid off, please let me know.

In the book, I was able to say some very nice things about many nice people who have influenced a life filled with adventures at every turn. From my parents, to my siblings, to my new family, to the famous people I met along the way including James Stewart, Jack Nicholson, Joan Baez, John Denver, Neil Armstrong, Melvin Belli, Don Larsen, Jack Nicklaus, Pete and Alice Dye, Larry Bird, Mike Tyson, Dr. Morris Pollard, Cyndy Lauper, and more, I was able to tell of how special it was to meet them and to learn from them. I was also able to mention the writing of more than twenty “stop and think” books and counting, including several biographies that are true slices of history.

In the days ahead, the stories will continue on with new books in the works including Stations Along the Way: The Spiritual Transformation of Former Hitler Youth Leader Ursula Martens, an important book during these confusing times when people are singled out for being different, and my first novel, No Peace for the Wicked, a legal thriller. A sequel is in the works.

In the Charles Dickens biography I just completed, he is quoted as writing: “I hope my books will speak for themselves and me, when I and my faults and virtues, my fortunes and misfortunes, all are forgotten.” I second that thought with the hope that one day, when I have left this lifetime and moved to the next, my creative work with be recalled with favor. This is all a writer/author may ask for.