Diamonds? Did you say #Discovering Diamonds?

Happy Monday Moments to you!

Today is a wonderful Monday since I’m out guest posting over at the Discovering Diamonds review blog, courtesy of Helen Hollick. It’s an extremely special visit that I’m delighted to be making because I’m one of some 20 or so authors, most of them historical, who have collectively produced daily posts of brand new writing or excerpts from currently available novels. The binding theme for the ‘every day of December till the 23^rd’ feature is, appropriately for the blog, something to do with diamonds!

My association with the Discovering Diamonds Blog has been due to my Celtic Fervour Historical series but since diamonds weren't a feature in early Romano British life I chose to use an excerpt from one of my contemporary mysteries. Topaz Eyes is a reasonable choice, though, because although it is a contemporary novel the essence of the story centres around the curious belongings of an Amsterdam lady, Geertje Hoogeven. In the 1880s, Geertje mysteriously acquires an impressive collection of jewellery some of which are unparalleled diamonds. What happens to her jewels between the 1880s and the present day is what her descendants want to find out. 

Where can the jewels be? 

Topaz Eyes doesn’t sound like it has anything to do with diamonds but it has… Many of the supremely precious pieces of jewellery in the former Tiru Salana jewel collection are diamond studded. Since the collection left the hands of its original Mughal emperor owner and has been changed and altered to suit new eras and new ownerships, there’s a lot of mystery about what the pieces currently look like which give my characters a difficult task in amassing the whole collection after more than a century.

Some of the diamonds and precious gems have been reset and some have even been cut down but you’ll have to read Topaz Eyes to find out which pieces of jewellery that Keira Drummond and Teun Zeger uncover have the most stunning diamond settings.

So what is it about diamonds that you think makes them so special—either mounted singly, or as companion stones around other gems in precious jewellery items?

Pop your answer to that question in the comments box and you’ll be entered into the draw for a FREE signed paperback copy of Topaz Eyes (offer open worldwide).

  

Good luck! And if you’re the winner, enjoy reading Topaz Eyes. I truly enjoyed writing the treasure hunt mystery that’s also appreciated for it’s thrilling settings and dastardly deeds!

Read the excerpt that features on the Discovering Diamonds blog today to whet your appetite.

Topaz Eyes: Keira Drummond, becomes entangled in the search for a hoard of exceptional jewels last seen in Amsterdam, in 1910. Pairing up with Teun Zeger to find the once Mughal Emperor owned collection, the trail leads from Heidelberg to other European cities and the US. Greed, suspicion and murder are balanced by growing family loyalty, trust, and love.

Topaz Eyes ticks many genre boxes and is liked for many different reasons. A recent reader said: "..loved it... because it wasn't a crime novel and yet crime was a central permeating element that kept her reading on and on!" 

A reviewer on Amazon wrote: "The central characters meet for the first time in a café in Heidelberg and the shared chemistry between the two of them sizzles up from the pages. The playful verbal fencing is something that continues throughout the narrative and kept me smiling all the way to the end."

Yet another wrote: "...A velvety trip packed full of history, mystery and suspense."

Remember to leave a comment in the comments box to enter the draw! 

Here's the question again: 

What is it about diamonds that you think makes them so special—either mounted singly, or as companion stones around other gems in precious jewellery items?

The contest will run until Sat 23rd December 2017. 

Slainthe!