Love and Diamonds

Image thanks to Boykung of www.freedigitalphotos.net

Diamonds are supposed to be a girl's best friend. I still haven't fathomed where that statement comes from but I suppose my ring has been a trusty companion the last 18 years of my life.

When I think of diamonds, I often think of the concept of "getting there." In my story for the anthology, Rosalee felt she was like a rough diamond straight out of the mine. She wasn't sparkling and perfectly geometrical with neat edges. She had a serious flaw - she chose the ring with her boyfriend but then changed her mind after he proposed to her. A diamond straight out of the ground is very different to one that has been cut and polished. I couldn't find a free image on the net to show you but it basically looks like a milky stone with bumpy and rough edges. Some even look yellow or black. A diamond has to go through a process to get to it's perfect form. Rosalee lost Sam, the man she loved because she rejected his proposal. She learned about being more careful about her actions. She discovered things about herself and also discovered that she still loved him.

I've had a bit of a "rocky" relationship with my engagement / wedding ring the last year. It's been giving me a rash. I even soaked it in hydrogen peroxide and vinegar and scrubbed it with a toothbrush to get rid of any germs, lastly boiling it in water for twenty minutes but I still can't wear it. I think it may be too tight for me. Sigh ... That means I've put on weight. I don't want to resize it though because in winter, everything becomes loose again. This ring has a special place in my heart. It's the ring I found and Kevin bought for me, the ring I gave back to him, and then the ring I gladly accepted in the end. It's been on a journey to Zambia and back. It's been with me through having three babies, being hi-jacked at gunpoint, crashing our car into a cow in the middle of the Botswana wilderness roads and coming back to South Africa where I've had other experiences. I can't wait to wear it again when the cooler weather comes.

Love and Diamonds Anthology is a book of stories. What's so great about it, is that you enter into the minds and souls of fifteen different writers whose lives are unique and colourful. Yet these writers have something in common - they want to write about love and life.

You can buy the Anthology here: Amazon

I'm having a giveaway for the next two days on this blog. The prize will be a Kindle copy of the anthology. All you have to do is leave a comment below. I'd love it if you shared and tweeted about the giveaway to all your friends, too.