Olga is an accomplished writer of suspense thrillers. That’s a genre I particularly enjoy. Let’s find out more about Olga and how she comes up with her stories.
Author O.N. Stefan
JC: First, Your website tells us little about you. What do you do when you’re not writing?
Olga: When I’m not writing, I could be gardening, or cooking or catching the latest movie.
JC: Your life sounds wonderful, either writing, or gardening or cooking… nice. So, let’s move onto to your writing and your books. What made you decide to write thrillers rather than other kinds of mystery genre, like police procedural or detective stories?
Olga: I love reading something that propels me into a world where every turn can mean danger or death.
JC: Speaking of danger and death, here’s a peak at one of Olga’s books, The Death Caress. This book trailer says a lot!
That really makes me want to read this book! Now, back to our interview. Olga, It sounds as if you begin your writing with a germ of an idea and you take off from there. How would you describe your writing style—an outliner or one who lets things flow.
Olga: I like to do a chapter by chapter breakdown with a sentence of two to describe what happens in that chapter. Although, I don’t always stick to this. It just depends where my characters want to go and as long as it fits the story, I let them have their own way.
JC: Yes, I absolutely agree with you. It’s best to let the characters tell the story. Fighting them is a losing battle! Speaking of the characters, Tell us about the main characters in your books. What are some of their unique characteristics?
Olga: Amanda Blake, my main character in The Deadly Caress is scared of feathers and the dark. She has to fight her fear of 
these things to escape her captor.
JC: In reading your reviews, it seems readers like the suspense you created in your books—How do you maintain suspense throughout the story?
Olga: This is a matter of conducting the symphony (book) orchestra with a light or heavy touch to set the speed and intensity of the reading experience. Learning to control this pace is a key tool and one I’ll be forever perfecting.
JC: So nicely put! Indeed, creating that wonderful tension is something we all struggle with. You seem to have an intuitive feel for it. Let’s digress again for just a moment and look at the great book trailer for Sleep Then My Princess. The trailer gives a good sense of the suspense we’ve been talking about
JC: I’m always interested in the journey other writers take from the completed manuscript to the published work. I noticed you decided to self-publish your two books. What led you to this decision?
Olga: Originally, I only wanted to traditional publish and tried to find an agent. I was successful in securing an agent but she closed her agency before she was able to place my thriller due to ill health.
After this, I tried sending my first thriller to publishers but it would mostly come back unopened or never to be seen again. Follow-ups didn’t get me anywhere either.
Therefore, I decided to follow the indie publishing route and published with Amazon Kindle and a few other retailers.
JC: Your path sounds similar to the frustrating journey many of today’s authors face. How sad to get an agent and have the agency close before she could sell your book! So many disappointments on the road to publishing. But, you got the books to readers. Thank goodness! Tell us in your own words what readers can expect when they read your books.
Olga: I write what I enjoy reading, emotions laid bare, action in dispersed with lighter moments and gripping threatening situations that have me on the edge of my seat. And wrapped in all that, a mystery that I want to solve.
In Sleep then my Princess, I take the reader inside a depraved serial killer’s head and lay bare the emotions of an innocent woman whose life has been ripped from her and whose present season of recovery is being trespassed. The love of a niece for her mourning auntie connects the reader to the prologue and adds another level of emotion to this complex plot.
JC: Olga, thank you so much for stopping by. Here’s where readers can connect with O.N. Stefan. She writes an active blog and she’s available on Facebook and Twitter.
Website: http://onstefan.weebly.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ON-Stefan-543137822419408/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/olgaolha
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00I68JS3S
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7830264.O_N_Stefan
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