Desire in Deutschland comes out in e-book form in one week, on the 16th! You can already get the audio on Amazon and “wide” to include direct from my website. The audio is also on sale right now via Apple, Google, Chirp, B&N, and Spotify through 3/31/23. See the blurb for the story here.
Part of the story takes place in the local schloss, or castle ruin, called Burg Nanstein. In German, schloss can mean castle or manor house, and burg was used to mean a true castle, while festung indicated a fortress. If the castle had a moat, it was called a wasserschloss, or water castle. Other terms included stadtschloss (a city castle), jagdschloss (a hunting lodge), or a lustschloss (a summer/vacation residence). So all those German cities ending in “burg” had true castles, some of which are still livable. There are lots of wonderful castles in Germany, of all ages and states of repair, including Neuschwanstein (New Swan Stone Castle, named for its white stone and graceful towers), which was built in Bavaria by “Mad King Ludwig” and was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s castle.
The one in Kaiserslautern is ruins now, but still worth visiting even if you aren’t in the company of an attractive foreigner. It was important in the conflict between Baron Von Sickingen, who wanted to restore the power of the knighthood, and factions aligned with the Catholic Church. His castle, thought to be impregnable, was not able to withstand the new heavy artillery and was destroyed within a week of the start of the siege, though poor Lieutenant Lee has trouble concentrating on history, with Birgitte at his side. If you are in K-Town, Burg Nanstein is definitely worth a stop, but if that’s not your destiny, there are some cool pictures here.
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