Behind the Smile – volume three

Beneath Pattaya’s neon lights lies a world few truly understand. Bar girls smile, flirt, and pour drinks — but behind every laugh is a story of survival. What Life Is Really Like for a Bar Girl in Pattaya reveals the raw, emotional truth behind the fantasy sold to foreign visitors.

Maya – Illusion

Book Three in the Series
ISBN: 9781068353871

Every illusion begins with a truth—and every truth can be shattered.

Maya – Illusion is the powerful third volume in the Behind the Smile series, following the turbulent life of Lek, a young woman from rural Thailand who finds herself entangled in the stark contrasts between village tradition and the unforgiving realities of city life. At 112,000 words, this full-length novel dives deeper into Lek’s transformation as she confronts the cost of survival and the meaning of identity, love, and loyalty.

This is not a story about a victim. Nor is it a fairytale. It is about a woman navigating the blurred lines between choice and necessity, hope and illusion. Lek’s story continues to echo the real lives of thousands of women who walk the same path every day—often unnoticed and rarely understood.

As the title suggests, Maya—the Sanskrit word for “illusion”—frames the central theme: how the world presents itself versus how it truly is. Lek finds herself questioning everything—her relationships, her past, and even her dreams. What is real? And who gets to decide?

A Global Read

Thanks to dedicated readers around the world, Maya – Illusion is available not only in English, but also in Spanish and Russian. Its universal themes of disillusionment, resilience, and cultural conflict resonate across borders and languages.

Continuing the Journey

If you’ve read Daddy’s Hobby and An Exciting Future, this book delivers the next gripping chapter in Lek’s story. If you’re just discovering the series, this is a powerful entry point that stands strong on its own—but be warned, you may find yourself going back to the beginning.

Available Now

Maya – Illusion is available in paperback, audiobook and ebook from major retailers. Support your local bookshop, or order online from The Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, or direct from your preferred distributor.

Read the book. Look behind the smile. See the truth.

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Owen

Owen Jones, Amazon Best-Selling Author from Barry, Wales, has lived in several countries and travelled in many more. While studying Russian in the USSR in the '70's, he hobnobbed with spies on a regular basis; in Suriname, he got caught up in the 1982 coup; and while a company director, he joined the crew of four as the galley slave to sail from Barry to Gibraltar a home-made concrete yacht, which was almost rammed by a Russian oil tanker and an American aircraft carrier.
“I am a Celt, and we are romantic”, he said when asked about his writing style, “and I firmly believe in reincarnation, Karma and Fate, so, sayings like 'Do unto another...', and 'What goes round comes around' are central to my life and reflected in my work. I write about what I see, or think I see, or dream... and, in the end it is all the same really”. He speaks seven languages and is learning Thai, since he lives in Thailand with his Thai wife of fifteen years.
His first novel, Daddy's Hobby is from the seven-part series 'Behind The Smile: The Story of Lek, a Bar Girl in Pattaya', but his largest collection is 'The Megan Series', twenty-three novelettes on the psychic development of a teenage girl, the subtitle of which, 'A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger and One Scary Mother!' sums them up nicely. He has written fifty novels and novelettes, including: Dead Centre; Andropov's Cuckoo; Fate Twister; The Disallowed (a philosophical comedy); Tiger Lily of Bangkok; and A Night in Annwn (Annwn being the ancient Welsh word for Heaven). Many have been translated into foreign languages and narrated into audio books.
Owen Jones writes stories set in Wales, Spain and Thailand, where he now lives. He is a life-long Spiritualist, and this belief is interwoven, in a very realistic way, into many of his books and storylines. If you like a touch of the 'supernatural', try his books
He sums his life up thus: “Born in the Land of Song, Living in the Land of Smiles”.

Articles: 595

Behind the Smile – volume three

Maya – Illusion