Seconds To Live

Author :: JT SHULLEvery day starts with a pen and a notebook. The inspiration for Natasha Kildari began during his visit to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek in Cambodia. Standing among the sunken mass graves, he felt the weight of what had happened there."I remember the eerie silence and the feeling of emptiness and hopelessness as I stared at bones sticking out of the ground. I asked myself, What if someone escaped from here? What would her life be like?"Since that time, he has met survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide and heard stories of unimaginable suffering and survival.He draws on his years of living, working, and traveling across Asia to write stories that are gritty, emotional, and action-packed."I've celebrated Thaipusam and Songkran with friends and colleagues. And I've sat down with victims of human trafficking and heard their stories. My writing reflects real-life experiences and the people I've met across Asia." - JT ShullTRAVELER :: JT SHULLHe goes off the beaten path to remote communities where daily life is shaped by limited resources, hard work, and quiet resilience."I feel thankful for all the long lasting friendships and the hospitality that people have shown me over the years. It's always great to go back and reconnect with everyone."Through his work and travels, he sees the sharp contrasts of society: poverty and wealth, hardship and privilege, survival and comfort. Those experiences give him a deeper appreciation of the people, cultures, and tensions that now shape his writing.He has partnered with a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide to support outreach, education, and community improvement projects in remote areas of Cambodia.As a lifelong student of foreign languages and cultures, he continues to study Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malay, and Khmer, weaving these languages into his stories."I feel blessed to be welcomed into the homes of local people, to share meals with them, and to bring a message of hope where resources are scarce and daily life is hard." - JT ShullULTRAMARATHONER :: JT SHULLHe has been a runner for more than fifty years, testing himself in long-distance endurance events. Among his most meaningful challenges were two 100-mile charity runs that raised funds for life-saving equipment for local fire departments."I wanted to give back and create an event with real purpose. And that's how I came up with the FIREHOUSE 100. Of the hundreds of races I've run over the years, these are the most memorable."For JT, running is more than a sport. The thousands of miles he covers each year on roads and trails help him shape his Natasha Kildari stories.His races have taken him through the streets of Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam. He also has run in Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Each place has added another layer to the experiences, people, and cultures that continue to influence his life and writing.