Karen Brungardt holding her father’s memoir, Home from the Sea
Karen Brungardt
COVID-19 gave Karen a gift: Time on her hands because she had to stay home. She decided to take advantage and dug out her parents’ memoirs…yes, both of her parents each wrote a memoir! She edited them, taking their typed manuscripts and making them into books, adding photos and other information.
Her mother, Iris, was raised in the Brooklyn Home for Children, even though she wasn’t an orphan. As Iris said, “We received everything we needed—except love.” Read her memories of her years in the home in 45, What is Your Name? by Iris C. Knouse, found on www.amazon.com in eBook and paperback formats, the SaddleBrooke Gift Shop, and from Karen.
Karen’s father, a pathologist, served as a sailor in the Merchant Marines during World War II. As he said, “How a small-town boy from the Midwest who’d never seen an ocean ended up in a mess like this and survived is my story to tell.” Written with humor and hair-raising moments, his memoir Home from the Sea: A Merchant Mariner in World War II by Charles A. Knouse, D.O., is available on www.amazon.com in eBook and paperback formats, the SaddleBrooke Gift Shop, and from Karen.
All of Karen’s books are found at our SaddleBrooke Gift Shop. If you want an autographed copy, contact Karen at [email protected] or at 520-825-1845 (call or text).
Karen also published Exchanging, book two of the Exchanger Series, a sci-fi/fantasy book in 2021. Exchanger is book one in this sci-fi series, and these books follow the adventures of Jessi, a human chosen for the Alien Exchange program, who has become the universe’s only known shapeshifter. Both Exchanger and Exchanging are available in our SaddleBrooke Gift Shop, www.amazon.com in eBook and paperback, and from Karen herself for that autograph.
Dr. Trouble, available in all the same places, is a sci-fi story of some of the things that happened in Karen’s medical practice—except she added in aliens and new worlds. This is a novella and perfect for those who like shorter books.
Soon to be published! By the Horse’s Wings, a fantasy novel by Karen, because, well, she doesn’t think enough books are written about winged horses, so she is just about ready to publish hers. She has also been working on this book for about four years, so at-home time was the perfect time to finish the book and get it out there. Be on the lookout for it!