John D. Ottini
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John D. Ottini was born in northern Italy, raised and educated in Canada and now resides in Central Florida, with his wife Nancy and a mischievous cat named Bella.
His book, People Behaving Badly was a semi-finalist in the 2015 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition. (Florida Writers Association). John's book, A Very Furry Christmas: Holiday Cat Tales was selected as a finalist in the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards (Florida Writers Association).
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People Behaving Badly: A Collection of Short Mystery Stories
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Mystery/Suspense
2015 Royal Palm Literary Awards Semi-Finalist (Florida Writers Association) People Behaving Badly is a collection of thirteen short mystery stories exploring the folly of criminal behavior. Welcome to a world filled with strange and quirky characters where murder, vigilantism, jealousy, infidelity, sex, violence and people behaving badly are the norm. These short mysteries were written as individual bite-size stories that can be devoured in one sitting. Perfect reading for your bus, train or subway commute to work, while you're waiting at the doctor's or dentist's office, having your car serviced, enjoying a latte at your favorite coffee shop, or whenever you have a few minutes of free time.
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A Very Furry Christmas: Holiday Cat Tales
Fiction
2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards Finalist (Florida Writers Association)
This book contains four heartwarming Christmas stories about our feline friends and the humans who love them.
Slipper's Last Breath
For most people Christmas is a time reflection, a time to share and celebrate with family and friends, but for some it is a time of sadness and quiet desperation. What if your soul mate, best friend and lover is no longer around to share in the season of joy and you are about to lose the last remaining link to a life you once knew and loved. Would you find the strength to survive? Slipper's Last Breath is a story about love, companionship and triumph over tragedy. Some might call it a Christmas miracle, but I call it the power of unconditional love.
The Unwrapped Gift
Sometimes the best gifts are the unexpected ones. After enduring the heartbreak of a bad marriage, Beth is in no mood to celebrate the Christmas season. It's sad enough spending the holidays alone, but watching Spice, her five-year-old Labrador retriever, mope around the house was more than she could bear. A visit to Miller's tree farm to cheer up her canine companion leads to an unexpected find and the possibility of a new found relationship. When she least expects it, Beth rediscovers love and the magic of Christmas.
A Charcoal Christmas
She was born under the loading dock behind Johnson's Market and lost her mother when she was only five weeks old. One of a litter of six, she and her siblings had to learn to fend for themselves at a young age. The life expectancy of a feral cat is short, but thanks to the generosity of a compassionate store owner, the kittens were well fed and enjoying their lives. Then one day a stranger appears and takes her away from the safety of her kin. Confused and frightened, she is forced to endure an uncaring human and ultimately the forces of nature, in hopes of returning to the ones she loves. A Charcoal Christmas is a bittersweet tale of survival, hope and loving companionship.
Christmas Mourning
A troubled priest struggling with doubts about his faith and vocation has an unexpected encounter with a stray, weather-beaten black cat. When Father Pedro decides to provide warmth and shelter for the lost creature, he has no idea how this simple act of kindness will impact his life forever.
Dear Reader: Please be aware that this is not a children's book. The subject matter is geared towards adults.
2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards Finalist (Florida Writers Association)
This book contains four heartwarming Christmas stories about our feline friends and the humans who love them.
Slipper's Last Breath
For most people Christmas is a time reflection, a time to share and celebrate with family and friends, but for some it is a time of sadness and quiet desperation. What if your soul mate, best friend and lover is no longer around to share in the season of joy and you are about to lose the last remaining link to a life you once knew and loved. Would you find the strength to survive? Slipper's Last Breath is a story about love, companionship and triumph over tragedy. Some might call it a Christmas miracle, but I call it the power of unconditional love.
The Unwrapped Gift
Sometimes the best gifts are the unexpected ones. After enduring the heartbreak of a bad marriage, Beth is in no mood to celebrate the Christmas season. It's sad enough spending the holidays alone, but watching Spice, her five-year-old Labrador retriever, mope around the house was more than she could bear. A visit to Miller's tree farm to cheer up her canine companion leads to an unexpected find and the possibility of a new found relationship. When she least expects it, Beth rediscovers love and the magic of Christmas.
A Charcoal Christmas
She was born under the loading dock behind Johnson's Market and lost her mother when she was only five weeks old. One of a litter of six, she and her siblings had to learn to fend for themselves at a young age. The life expectancy of a feral cat is short, but thanks to the generosity of a compassionate store owner, the kittens were well fed and enjoying their lives. Then one day a stranger appears and takes her away from the safety of her kin. Confused and frightened, she is forced to endure an uncaring human and ultimately the forces of nature, in hopes of returning to the ones she loves. A Charcoal Christmas is a bittersweet tale of survival, hope and loving companionship.
Christmas Mourning
A troubled priest struggling with doubts about his faith and vocation has an unexpected encounter with a stray, weather-beaten black cat. When Father Pedro decides to provide warmth and shelter for the lost creature, he has no idea how this simple act of kindness will impact his life forever.
Dear Reader: Please be aware that this is not a children's book. The subject matter is geared towards adults.
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Deadly Revelations: Stories About Love & Murder
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Mystery/Thriller
Love makes the world go round. But it can also turn spouses into enemies, saints into sinners, and passion into murder. In Deadly Revelations, John D. Ottini crafts five suspenseful stories about troubled relationships, the frayed bonds of trust, and the lengths people are willing to go to in order to preserve the one thing they hold dear. In “Remorse”, Bradley discovers his wife Sara may be cheating on him. Discovering the truth leads him on a dark and dangerous path that may lead to an unimaginable point of no return. “Loves Me Not” is the small-town story of Jonathan and Grace, two married New York City ex-pats, and Grace’s disturbing realization: did the man that she loves murder the town’s innocent librarian? In “Words to a Kill”, Lucy’s erratic post-accident behavior troubles her husband Sonny. When his brother Marco makes an unorthodox suggestion to help Lucy, can Sonny simply stand by and handle the disturbing result? “Beneath the Roses” tells the story of Gwen, whose grief over her dying mother is interrupted by the woman’s startling deathbed secret. Gwen must deal with more than her mother’s death as she realizes that some secrets can reverberate beyond the grave. And in “A Fool and His Money”, impoverished Thomas mysteriously has his fortunes reversed, including the reappearance of an old flame. When she reveals the dark secrets in her past, will Thomas have to resort to murder to protect the woman he loves? Deadly Revelations reveals these characters’ gripping tales of jealousy, heartbreak, revenge, and honor. When everything they cherish is on the line, will love triumph above everything else, or will that same powerful force prove to be their downfall?
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The Black & Blue Butterfly Tattoo
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Thriller
As a professional psychiatrist, Dr. Braydon Ferrell is well equipped to assist his patients in identifying and controlling their addictions. Although he's regarded as one of the finest physicians in his field, that does not grant him immunity from the follies of human weakness. When an ill-advised sexual liaison with an unstable associate leads to a world of lies, heartbreak and harassment, Dr. Ferrell decides to conceal the affair from his wife and daughter in a desperate effort to save his marriage, family and practice. Unfortunately, affairs are messy and rarely remain hidden. As the body count rises and the list of murder suspects dwindles, the finger of guilt points squarely at Dr. Ferrell. When every attempt to maintain his innocence and hide the affair proves disastrous, Dr. Ferrell is faced with the agonizing decision of revealing the truth to his ailing wife and unsuspecting daughter. Will he prove his innocence? More importantly, can his marriage; family and practice survive the consequences of his foolish actions?
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The Twisted Road Ahead
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Suspense
*2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards Competition Finalist - Short Story Genre (Florida Writers Association) Our journey through life rarely follows a straight and narrow path. The road is filled with unexpected twists and turns and sometimes things are not as they seem. In The Twisted Road Ahead, John D. Ottini leads us on an excursion through eight suspenseful tales, each filled with joy, heartache, mystery, intrigue and a pinch of humor. In "Tormented Heart" Austin Drummond discovers that fulfilling his departed wife's final request is more than he ever bargained for. When tragedy strikes, Blake Thomas is left with a broken heart and a guilty conscience. Rather than searching within his heart for the forgiveness he needs, he decides that sometimes it's easier to just "Blame it on the Weather." In "One Shot to the Head,"* Brie's longtime boyfriend takes her for a romantic dinner on Valentine's Day, so she naturally assumes that he will at long last propose to her. What she doesn't expect is an evening that ends in humiliation. Diana is having a difficult time coming to grips with the loss of her only child. If that isn't enough of a burden, "Disturbing Conversations" are leading her to believe she's losing her mind. In "Words to a Kill,"* Lucy's erratic post-accident behavior troubles her husband Sonny. When his brother Marco makes an unorthodox suggestion to help Lucy, can Sonny stand by and handle the alarming result? "A Toast to My Sorry Life" finds Lena Dancer coming to the sad realization that her life is nothing like she thought it would be. Sometimes when dreams vanish into thin air, the only thing that remains is a desire for cold, hard revenge. Also includes: "Forgiveness" and "The Beckoning Sunrise" |
A Fool For Love & Money
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Suspense
Love and Money are two important ingredients in a man’s recipe for happiness. Unfortunately, those same two ingredients under the wrong circumstances can be a man’s recipe for disaster. Unlucky at love, unemployed and drowning in debt, Thomas Murphy is a man in need of salvation. When an unexpected gift arrives from an unknown source, Tom is confused, yet elated about his new-found fortune. His luck continues when he runs into an old flame he hasn’t seen in years and sparks begin to fly. Strange how a man’s fate can change when he least expects it – one moment he’s miserable and struggling to make ends meet, and the next he’s back on his feet and looking forward to a bright future… or so Tom thinks. Then Tom’s rediscovered love reveals the shocking skeletons in her closet and he must decide to forgive and forget or turn his back and walk away. An innocent search on the internet turns up a problem that could stand between Tom’s good fortune and ultimately, him and the love of his life. If he chooses to stay, he must find a way to live with what he has to do to keep her in his life. They say that love is blind and money is the root of evil, but sometimes you don’t realize the truth of those adages until it’s too late. A Fool for Love & Money is a novel about love, desire, greed, murder and forgiveness. INCLUDES BONUS STORIES: Things You Can’t Control and No Return Address NOTE TO THE READER: The original story of 'A Fool for Love & Money' was published as a novella in 2014 under the title 'A Fool and His Money'. Like many authors, every time I read the story over (and I read it many times), I recognized places where rewriting would make it better. After several years I decided to rewrite the story to its full potential. What you hold in your hand is the final result. I hope you enjoy the revised, expanded and enhanced storyline. |
