The Altar Girl headed Kindle Amazon Bestselling list 25 days before its official release. The book is a prequel of The Nadia Tesla Series by Orest Stelmach. As part of Kindle First selection for the month of April, the novel already received many positive feedbacks. Currently the story is averaging 4.4 Amazon stars. We’ve got great chance to speak with Orest Stealmach about his new book and many more interesting topics.

– What is your new book The Altar Girl about?
– The Altar Girl is about a woman driven to solve her godfather’s murder because she’s trying to discover herself.
– How did you decide to write the story?
– Some of the story is autobiographical, and I wanted my family to read it.

– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– The biggest challenge in writing it was making the protagonist, Nadia, strong yet vulnerable.
– Tell us something more about your main character Nadia? Is she close to someone from your real life?
– Nadia is an amalgamation of traits that personify my experience as a first generation Ukrainian-American, and my perception of what others like me experienced. She also possesses the traits that I find most admirable in a human being, namely integrity, compassion, and a fearless pursuit of her goals.
– How much time did you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– I wrote the story over a three year span from 2007-2009. Then I put it aside and worked on the three Nadia Tesla books that followed it. Once those books were published, I went back and rewrote The Altar Girl in 2014. By then I was much more experienced, and I ended up keeping about 15% of my original version.
– The Boy from Reactor 4 is your most successful novel. Did you expect such a great reception?
– I did not expect The Boy from Reactor 4 to be so popular. I have my publisher to thank for its success. That said, if an author doesn’t believe that his novel is worthy of being a bestseller, then it probably won’t be one. It takes great confidence and single-minded determination to write a book, have it make sense, find someone willing to pay for its potential, and then have readers want to buy it. Thus, while I wasn’t expecting it, I certain felt it could happen.
– Who are you?
– Who am I? If the headstone on my grave read “He Took Care of Her” and there was an arrow beneath it pointing to the grave beside mine, and my wife was in that grave, that would be okay with me. If my headstone also said “He Told Some Stories, too,” well, that would be awesome.
– What are your writing habits?
– I’m most productive in the morning, and I remain highly productive for about four hours. That said, when I’m in what I call “the quickening,” (borrowed from the film Highlander), and I’m writing the last fifty pages of a book, I may write longer because I can’t contain my excitement.
– Are you satisfied by the sales of the book?
– The Altar Girl will be published in twenty-five days, but it’s already the #1 Bestseller in the Kindle store, thanks to my publisher’s promotional savvy. Yes, I am satisfied with my sales so far.
– What are you doing to promote your book by the best possible way?
– Most of my promotional efforts will be on-line, such as this one, but I will also attend certain conferences and events to interact with readers. Anyone interested can see where I’ll be via my website.
– When we will see your next novel?
– That’s up to my publisher. It’s in my editor’s hands.
– Your parents are Ukrainians. What is your opinion on the war in your ancestors’ country?
– My opinion on the war in Ukraine is the same as that of the vast majority of people in the free world. Ukrainian borders should be respected, the Ukrainian people should elect their own leaders, and those leaders should run the country.
– Tell us more about your donation policy and why you decided to give some of your royalties to charity?
– I felt compelled to give some of my royalties to the children of Chornobyl because the catastrophe played such a key role in my book series, and I thought survivors of the nuclear disaster and their children should benefit from my work.
– If you may ask yourself one question in the interview what it will be?
– Why do you write? Answer: Because I must. It is my preferred form of therapy.

Learn more about Orest Stelmach at his Web page

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Take a look at his books:

The Altar Girl: A Prequel (The Nadia Tesla Series)
The Boy Who Stole from the Dead
The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark (The Nadia Tesla Series Book 3)
The Boy from Reactor 4