HIDDEN

Hi

I haven't posted for some time. I've been busy writing and editing my latest thriller HIDDEN.

I had hoped to finish it months ago but COVID 19 came along and everything rapidly changed. We are all dealing with unexpected events, and writers are no different. I sit at my laptop writing or thinking about my latest scene but when these world wide events happen it's harder to focus. 

HIDDEN is an Amanda Blake thriller and the third book in the series.

Amanda has grown and become stronger with each book in the series. She will never forget Scott but she knows she has to move on, though it's hard. Will Nat. help her forget her past love? You will need to read the book to find out.

Will Amanda survive these latest challenges? She's been through a lot and I get upset when she is involved in some dangerous situations. But Amanda dictates what she wants to do and I can only tell her story. 
Sometimes, Amanda thinks she will never be whole again after being a victim at the hands of a predator who had her naked and lying tied up on a table. Will she get her hands on the video from this event and destroy it?

What's Hidden about? 

Amanda’s uncle believes the voice of God speaks through him. 

He is one of the Chosen as are his devotees who live on a compound in the wilds of Montana.

When a child of the Holy Tribe of God goes missing, Amanda’s desperate to search for the boy, but her uncle isn’t concerned and refuses. Soon the child’s mother goes missing too. Amanda must use all her resources to find and rescue the boy and his mother from sinister forces while putting her own life in mortal danger.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more to this story.

Look out for HIDDEN in August at your favorite retailer.

AN AMANDA BLAKE THRILLER BOOK 3

Hidden

An Amanda Blake Thriller 

Book 3

I'm nearing the end of my journey writing this thriller. I had hoped to have it finished by now but I went overseas for 6 weeks to Europe earlier this year, and it took longer than I planned to get back into the story. 

I have a soft spot for Amanda. I've been inside her head for three books now and she's a little impulsive, strong-willed and easily taken in by a kind word as she grew up with parents that were cold and unfeeling.

I read a lot and some of it sticks. I'd been reading an article in a newspaper about a cult and what awful things were done to the members. I've incorporated this in the story.

Hidden is going to launch early next year if all goes to plan.

Featured Author

Hi

I'm excited. 

I've just been notified that Sleep then my Princess is a featured book on Book Hippo. Thanks Book Hippo for this. It's $0.99 for a short time only.

http://bookhippo.uk/?asin=B016G5T7AG

Guns and Roses or The Father

Hi

I've been working slower than normal on my latest thriller. But it's going to worth it. I think it will be the best thriller I've written so far. 

In the mornings I go for a long walk and think about what I'm going to write that day. But I don't get to it till I've dealt with emails, any phone calls and anything else that crops up.

My latest thriller, which I had been plotting for a while, was inspired by a recent article in a newspaper about Michael Franzese's life. An interesting man. What do you think?

Sequel to the Amanda Blake books - The Deadly Caress

Hi

I'm well into the second book in the series. It was slow going at first as I normally have solid ideas how the story will develop before I start writing. However, this time, I knew what I needed to incorporate but no solid ideas how this book would develop. This is a road to discovery. I don't usually write this way but I'm enjoying the wild ride. I hope to have it completed later this year. 

Anyone for a camel ride? Soo much fun? Not. I went for a ride and had quite a time trying to stay on. This one's from the NT Australia.

My working titles are either Guns and Roses or Wild Card. Not sure which I'll decide on yet.

Review for Sleep then My Princess.

My first review. I'm over the moon.  Thank you my readers for supporting my efforts.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Walden DiCaprio Carrington Review of Sleep Then My Princess by O. N. Stefan

By Walden DiCaprio Carrington on November 1, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition

The element of suspense is present from the very beginning. This is an unusually creepy scenario and you convey Stephani's fear very well. It would cause anyone alarm to have a stranger send them photographs they took without consent. I can see you draw the reader of this type of fiction into the narrative very well as I could hear the characters speaking in my imagination and sense their alarm. It certainly is a page-turner as the reader is unaware of what danger is in store for Stephani and there is good reason for her to fear this unknown photographer.

Comment  Was this review helpful to you?  YesNo  Report abuse

Journal Entry from Amanda Blake second installment. (The Deadly Caress)

The Deadly Caress O. N. Stefan.

I found my mother dead today. I still can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. 

Jean, my mother, was lying so still with her eyes staring at nothing. It was awful.

A toothbrush lay beside her. I stared hard at her outstretched fingers, wanting them to curl around the handle, to show some small sign of life.

Finally, I stared at the marble vanity cluttered with the mundane necessities of the living—a half-drunk glass of water, an open bottle of mouthwash, toothpaste, an open bottle of pills, perfume, lipstick and a compact.

I must have fainted because the next thing I remember was Brian, Dorian and Estella standing round me with worried looks on their faces. 

I had hoped to spend time getting to know my mother, but she's been taken from me. And it's tearing me apart. 

www.getBook.at/B00I0DI0MY

Death and cremation

The Australian Writer's Festival is on and I went to an author talk today. Caitlin Doughty spoke about her career as a Mortician.

She's an entertaining speaker and I learned much about cremation, how the body is burned and that the family can attend the burning if they wish but no one ever tells them this. Wow!



I didn't know that the hardest part to burn is the chest area which needs to be face up. The the body is turned to burn more evenly. Old people burn quickly say from 45 minutes to an hour and overweight people can take up to two hours.

Also, the bones don't all burn and they are put into a grinding machine to ground to a powder that the family will receive in a box.

One question I didn't get to ask is what happens to the box. The funeral industry pushes the family to buy the most expensive box. Does it get recycled back to the funeral company when it is actually owned by the family that paid for it?

Caitlin is opening her own funeral home in July. I wish her all the best as she's come across as a caring person and I can't think of anyone who would look after your dearly departed better.

Her book, a New York Times bestseller, is about her career and her experiences in the industry of death.
I purchased 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & other lessons from the Crematory' and hope to read it shortly. I can't wait after hearing snippets of her experiences.

http://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Gets-Your-Eyes-Crematory/dp/0393240231

I have to say that I'm a little uncomfortable with looking at a dead body but at least now I can shake of that conditioning of speaking about death.

Prescription for murder

In the current thriller (Sleep then my Princess) which I'm editing, I had to find a way to murder someone without doctor's and pathologists becoming suspicious. My background is pharmacy and I love to research. I looked in to a combination of medications for a way that would work for this scenario. I came up with something that I knew could happen in real life. Please don't do it to your relatives.

Sleep then my Princess will be out in mid 2015.

Subscribe to my blog or my website www.onstefan.weebly.com to find out how my villain did this.

I'll be posting exerts here when Sleep then my Princess is almost ready to be published.

Have an interesting and eventful day.

O.

Fruit chain cholla cactus from the Arizona Desert.

Some of these hook spikes anchor themselves in the villains boot after he covers the body of the child he's just murdered with branches. He goes crazy trying to dislodge them.

Trailer for the Deadly Caress O. N. Stefan

Sleep then my Princess - due for release mid 2015

Hi All
I'm happy to say that The Deadly Caress is selling reasonably well. I'm pleased so many people are finding my book entertaining. Thank you to those that have left great reviews.

My next thriller 'Sleep then my Princess' is due for release in about two months. I'm nearly finished the last round of edits. My writing buddy Victoria Chie was kind enough to go through the story with a red pen and outlined many flaws which I have now corrected. Hopefully, it's a coherent story now. If not, then it's all my fault.

I'll shortly send the manuscript off to an editor. Then it's back to me for another round of edits till I feel happy with it. I'm waiting for my cover designer to get back from holidays so he can create a great cover. This book has taken a lot longer to complete than I anticipated. Nevertheless, I've enjoyed the process. I ask myself what else would I be doing with my time? Shopping, enjoying the garden and more. Let's not go there.

All the best.
O.

I've decided to post chapters of The Deadly Caress on Wattpad. Please read, enjoy and share with friends.

http://www.wattpad.com/library/OlgaOlha

Thanks for dropping by.

O.

I'm excited. I've been featured on the NSW Writer's Centre Blog.

http://www.nswwc.org.au/2014/11/spotlight-on%E2%80%A6-o-n-stefan/

Wise truths

I came across this while surfing the internet when I should have been writing. I'll share it below...

19 Incredible Wise Truths as told by Mark

Since first appearing in 1924, Winnie the Pooh has innocently stumbled through the Hundred Acre Wood, leading friends and readers on curious and memorable adventures. The lovable bear is the brainchild of A.A. Milne, inspired by his son, Christopher Robin, and his toys. While Pooh is often seen as a bit dopey and soft-spoken, his humbleness has lead to incredibly profound wisdom over the years. This is only a fraction of the inspiring words the story left us. Yet, it’s plenty to live by.

 Piglet: “How do you spell 'love'?" Pooh: "You don't spell it...you feel it."

2. "You are braver than you believe. Stronger than you seem. And smarter than you think."

3. “The things that make me different are the things that make me.”

4. "If the person you are talking to does not appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in this ear."

5. “If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.”

6. "As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen."

7. “Sometimes the smallest things take the most room in your heart.”

8. "Some people care too much. I think it's called love."

9. “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

10. “If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.”

11. Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them."

12. “I think we dream so we don’t have to be apart for so long. If we’re in each other’s dreams, we can be together all the time.”

13. “You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”

14. “Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.”

15. “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”

16. “A day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.”

17. “Love is taking a few steps backward, maybe even more… to give way to the happiness of the person you love.”

18. “A day spent with you is my favourite day. So today is my new favourite day.”

19. “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

Thank you Pooh. This wisdom is everlasting.
http://news.distractify.com/culture/winnie-the-pooh/?v=1

A new review with four stars...yipee.

This made my day. Posted on Amazon Kindle by a top 500 reviewer. Wow.

The Deadly Caress is the first novel by Australian author, O.N.Stefan. When celebrated Australian nature photographer, Amanda Blake travels to California to meet Jean Campbell, the birth mother she has only just learned of, she is apprehensive but hopeful. She wants to find out why Jean, widow of Campbell- Beare Pharmaceuticals founder, Murray Campbell, gave her up for adoption, and she hopes she will finally form a real mother-daughter relationship. What she is certainly not expecting is a twin brother and a step-brother. Her twin, Brian, seems a stereotypical Aussie male: friendly, laconic and rather casual. Her step-brother, Dorian, is prickly and antagonistic. But before she has more than a few hours to connect with the real mother, Jean is found dead in her ensuite bathroom. The police suspect murder and the Campbell family lawyer, Lionel Cohen reveals that Jean was preparing a new will that left the bulk of the estate to her daughter. Amanda finds herself in a houseful of strangers, all of whom seem to have their own agenda, and is unsure who she can trust. A clue that the police seem uninterested in following up sends Amanda back to Australia to see if she can find her mother’s killer. But this is a move that puts her in more danger than she ever imagined. Stefan has crafted a murder mystery that is fast-paced, full of suspense and action-packed. The plot has quite a few twists and turns and none of the characters is what they first seem to be. Amanda starts off a bit precious, but eventually finds her metal. Everyone, it seems, even the staff and the lawyer, might have a motive for murder. Stefan manages to include plenty of excitement: assaults and murders, as well as kidnapping, shootings, car chases, a suicide and a bomb scare, with organised crime bosses, a stolen drug formula, adultery and quite a lot of money in the background. The dialogue is sharp and realistic and readers familiar with the Australian location will appreciate the chase down the mountain. It will be interesting to see what Stefan produces next. A gripping read.

The Deadly Caress is #free in Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
http://getBook.at/B00I0DI0MY

Seventh five star review on Amazon Kindle

Hi

My thriller is again on sale. It's only $0.99 in the US, UK and Australia. A coffee costs more.Get it on sale while you can.

My seventh five review is a short one but I'm happy nonetheless.

"Quick paced novel. Very interesting, exciting and a page turner. Some very surprising twists and turns. If I could have I would have read it in one go."

I was asked why all my reviews are five stars? I said I was surprised but thrilled that my readers liked my book so much.

My sixth five star review

My sixth five star review. Wow. Sooo excited.
It's nice to get some great feedback.

P.S. Now on promotion: UK £0.92 US $1.55.

"When I chanced upon an early edition of "The Deadly Caress," I was caught up
in its brisk pace from the get go with Amanda meeting her mother Jean for the
first time after many years. The backstory surfaces rapidly, Amanda and her
twin Brian adopted out in Australia when Jean was seventeen and penniless,
but is now a rich widow in California able to call them back together. And
then the sudden twist, their time for catching up is cut short by her murder.
It is a busy plot around diverse characters eyeing a huge inheritance while
a murder takes place and suspicion is rife, giving investigators a puzzle to
unravel. The prose is clear cut and to the point in both narration and
dialogue, making the story easy to follow. It is definitely a captivating read
worthy of the five stars I've given it."
The Deadly Caress

#Brad Pitt