Books with author Ken Schultz

THREE DAYS IN DAMASCUS is a memoir about a three-year fight for a chance at love with an Iraqi refugee the author met in Syria. While travelling to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to interview Iraqi refugees and hear some of their stories, Kim never expected to fall in love with one of them. But that is exactly what happened. This is the story of one American woman and one Iraqi man set against the backdrop of the Iraqi refugee crisis. Through actual Iraqi refugee interviews, a whirlwind middle-eastern love story and the consequently doomed, intercontinental relationship told through texts and emails with civil war, revolution and an arranged marriage as the backdrop, we learn of culture and devastation, desperation and redemption, while still never losing hope. While there are roughly 65 million refugees worldwide, approximately five million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes since the U.S led invasion of their country, most of them fleeing to Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Since Syria is currently in the midst of a violent civil war, the Iraqis there are left in an extremely dangerous position— stuck between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to go. This timely memoir examines the lives of dozens of these Iraqi refugees trying desperately to survive in a world blind to their plight and one Iraqi in particular: Omar. Told through a strong narrative and a surprisingly comedic lens, the reader travels with the author through this unknown, sandy terrain breaking assumptions, stereotypes and expectations — in a journey that ultimately ends in the most traditional assumption one could imagine: a Middle Eastern man agreeing to an arranged marriage. And after three years of trying to “save” Omar and salvage a life for/with him, she discovers maybe he wasn’t the one who needed saving. “This heartfelt memoir will take you into another world, as Kim and Omar meet and walk many of love’s pathways. An American volunteer interviewing Iraqi refugees about the horrors of war, Kim falls in love with Omar, and thus begins a three-year odyssey.” Chellie Campbell, author From Worry to Wealthy and The Wealthy Spirit. “Kim's memoir is quite extraordinary in the way she brings you right up close, sometimes painfully, often with lots of laughs, to the situation of Iraqi refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria...She notices things most of us would shy away from, and she tells the story so personally, you feel you are with her...The stories of loss are told with painful, and respectful detail, biding the request from one refugee to 'tell the whole story'. Kim tells the story of Omar, and discovers he is typical of most refugees. She learns a refugee's greatest desire is to go home, and when they do move, their culture moves with them.” Sybella Wilkes, UNHCR Senior Communications Officer. “Kim Schultz has written a searing love story set against the backdrop of a world tragedy: the plight of millions of refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East...It is a compelling read that will make you a look at world news in a different, more personal, way." Jim Michaels, author of A Chance in Hell: The Men Who Triumphed over Iraq’s Deadliest City and Turned the Tide of War “Kim Schultz has written an earnest and honest account of two people from opposite poles finding love and heartache in the long shadow of an unforgiving war. Her story is a spirited struggle against larger forces - bureaucracy, culture, religion, human displacement, and loss.” Kirk W. Johnson, author of To Be a Friend is Fatal: the Fight to Save the Iraqis America Left Behind and founder of the List Project.

Truth-Teller Rebellion is book one in the Truth-Teller series. Truth-teller Cary Bishop can intuitively tell whether someone is lying. That’s a useful ability for a judge, but not for a teenager who is sensitive about his unusual eagle eyes. Cary’s younger sister Krin is an empath. She instinctively feels the emotions of those around her. Some might consider that a blessing, she thinks it a curse. She has spent most her short life learning how to wall out the foreign feelings intruding into her head. Nonetheless, sheltered by their parents, they’ve led a nearly idyllic life on the steppe, and haven’t needed to use their powerful traits.That changes when a sudden wall of water erupting from a glacial lake sweeps away their parents while on the spring cattle drive to summer pasture. A frantic, unsuccessful search for their parents leaves them presumed dead. Soon afterward, an unexpected visitor reveals their father, who they had always known as a peaceful herdsman, was the war hero C.E. Shaw, who defeated the invading dictator Perez years earlier. When Perez invades once again, Cary and Krin must harness their powers to help defeat him.This book was previously published by the Champagne Book Group/Burst. This edition is a substantially edited version of the original published in 2013.

Truth-Teller Revenge is book two in the Truth-Teller series.Truth-Teller Revenge is the sequel to Truth-Teller Rebellion, in which Cary, a truth-teller, and his sister Krin, an empath, helped eject the dictator Perez from their land. It’s now three years later, and their unusual powers have grown.The recent discovery of SESK tubes, wormholes, offers a world starved for metal and energy easy access to asteroid ores and Titan’s methane. These new riches threaten the world’s balance of power. Nations begin to rearm and assassins stalk their victims.Cary and Krin once again find themselves at odds with the dictator Perez. While Cary didn’t ask for this fight, now he hopes to settle old and new scores with the dictator. He devises a strategy to defeat Perez. However, his plan is sabotaged, and he discovers he is on a suicide mission. When Krin finds this out, she has some tough decisions if she’s going to keep her brother alive.This book was previously published in 2014 by Champagne Book Group/Burst. This edition has minor editing changes from that version.

Truth-Teller Revenge is the sequel to Truth-Teller Rebellion, in which Cary, a truth-teller, and his sister Krin, an empath, helped eject the dictator Perez from their land. It’s now three years later, and their unusual powers have grown. The recent discovery of SESK tubes, wormholes, offers a world starved for metal and energy easy access to asteroid ores and Titan’s methane. These new riches threaten the world’s balance of power. Nations begin to rearm and assassins stalk their victims. Cary and Krin once again find themselves at odds with the dictator Perez. While Cary didn’t ask for this fight, now he hopes to settle old and new scores with the dictator. He devises a strategy to defeat Perez. However, his plan is sabotaged, and he discovers he is on a suicide mission. When Krin finds this out, she has some tough decisions if she’s going to keep her brother alive.

Pinkster the cat is stuck in the doghouse. When Pinkster strays from his warm and loving home, he meets up with long-lost friends and plenty of adventure. From a high-tech cat prison to a talking mouse to a horse pulling a mini-van, the action is electrifying. But while trying to get back home, he discovers a secret that will change his life forever, and put the fate of him, his friends, and a certain jeweled locket in peril.

Truth-Teller Rebellion is book one in the Truth-Teller series. Truth-teller Cary Bishop can intuitively tell whether someone is lying. That’s a useful ability for a judge, but not for a teenager who is sensitive about his unusual eagle eyes. Cary’s younger sister Krin is an empath. She instinctively feels the emotions of those around her. Some might consider that a blessing, she thinks it a curse. She has spent most her short life learning how to wall out the foreign feelings intruding into her head. Nonetheless, sheltered by their parents, they’ve led a nearly idyllic life on the steppe, and haven’t needed to use their powerful traits. That changes when a sudden wall of water erupting from a glacial lake sweeps away their parents while on the spring cattle drive to summer pasture. A frantic, unsuccessful search for their parents leaves them presumed dead. Soon afterward, an unexpected visitor reveals their father, who they had always known as a peaceful herdsman, was the war hero C.E. Shaw, who defeated the invading dictator Perez years earlier. When Perez invades once again, Cary and Krin must harness their powers to help defeat him.