Black Diamond
Page 28
A Diamond in the Rough
(The Diamond in the Rough Series) (Volume 1)
Available on Amazon in Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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At the risk of sounding like an Oscar winner, I will attempt to be brief.
I will always thank Him first. Without Him, nothing would be possible.
My tireless editor, Debra L Hartmann. Thank you, Deb! You are awesome to the umpteenth power. I’m beyond grateful for your tremendous help.
Omar Ramirez, you’re a blast to work with! I have massive love for you, babe.
To my girls, Danielle Canterbury, Rain Gutierrez, and Shelsea Yilmaz. Big thank you for being my friends. Let’s all meet up. Like, now.
A special thanks to my wonderful author friends. I’m very thankful for you!
The nice ladies at the post office. Especially Rosie.
My parents and family. Thank you for your guidance and support every step of the way. I can never thank you enough for everything you’ve taught me. Mom, I’m blessed to have you. You’re my biggest cheerleader and my best friend! There are no words to express my love and gratitude.
Joanna, you’re such a great friend and a big supporter. I’m so glad we met in high school; otherwise, my life would be sad and dull. To many more years to come, co-mother!
As always, my dear reader, you have no idea how much happiness you give me. Every single person that has read A Diamond in the Rough/Black Diamond: I have endless gratitude for you. Thank you for believing. You have made this a dream come true.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Elisa Marie Hopkins was born and raised in California by Mexican parents. She is an avid reader, Netflix geek, dancing machine, and cat aficionado. What she wants most is to write and share stories that have the power to inspire and motivate; stories that will live in the hearts of readers forever.
Please write a review—the author welcomes your feedback and other readers will appreciate your recommendation.
Visit: elisamariehopkins.com
Follow Elisa on social media:
www.facebook.com/HopkinsElisa
www.twitter.com/HopkinsElisa
www.instagram.com/elisamhop
A CONVERSATION WITH ELISA MARIE HOPKINS
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What inspired you to make A Diamond in the Rough more than ‘just another romance novel’?
I never want to be just another author. I like to read and write raw characters, typical and atypical outcasts, people whose morals and needs come into conflict. Sophie will never be light and fluffy. She wasn’t designed that way. You might think of her as whiny, she might piss you off, or you might laugh at her bad puns. The thing about Sophie though, whatever you think of her she probably won’t care (unless you’re Oliver Black, then she definitely cares). I inwardly cringe whenever I see or hear a reader say Oliver is too perfect. My faith on humanity drops ten points. I have no desire to write perfect characters because a) they’re boring to write about and b) no one in real life is perfect. If a good-looking face and a thick wallet is a woman’s definition of perfect, then something probably ain’t right. #prioritycheck No offense, Oliver. I love you.
Bottom line is, I want to write books that will make your brain work. It’s an incredible organ. A busy brain is a clever brain! And a sexy one. I want to write books that can spark up a debate, sadden, inspire, delight. I don’t want to write flowery books that everybody will enjoy, because, let’s be real, you can’t please everyone. I personally hate some best sellers. Do I want to be liked? Uh, let me think. Of course! It’s the best feeling when readers have wonderful things to say about my stories.
What can we look forward to in the future?
I was 23 when I wrote ADITR and, you know, as we journey through life, we tend to pick up some wisdom along the way. I was in a much different place in my life emotionally; now that I’m 27 and a tad bit more grown up, the stuff I write is too. That’s not to say I won’t be targeting a younger audience in the future. I have a YA story in the works. But shhhhhhh…
Are your characters based on real people?
Sometimes I meet people and am so strangely moved by them, that I want to explore them as characters within my stories. I see a lot of myself in Oliver. He really challenged me, and my IQ probably rose considerably just giving him an identity. We both know our way around engineering, and we’re both sometimes very analytical, a bit stubborn even, drawn to some of life’s most puzzling mysteries.
You wrote about a near death experience on your website. How do you feel about planes now? Does your mother still worry when you travel?
Oh em gee, thank you for reading! That flight changed my life. I can still remember the experience vividly. How do I feel about airplanes? Jean Kerr said it best: “I feel about airplanes the same way I feel about diets, that they are wonderful things for other people to go on.” Honestly, I have to take a Dramamine every time I fly, but I love to travel so what’s a gal going to do other than grow a spine and face her fears? My mother has a doctoral degree in worrying—passed it with flying colors. I love you, Ma. I know, I know. I’ll understand when I have kids of my own.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
ADITR was written because once upon a time, I was feeling very lost, hopeless, unhappy, and writing became an escape from my everyday life. Ultimately I wrote it for me. It might mean nothing to you, or you might like it. You might even want to come back for more.
I’ve always been a dreamer, not much of a doer. So to actually have written a story, to have pulled myself up out of depression and into a better place, then gone on to have a book published, for me—it’s everything.
If this book makes you feel something, I’m golden. Good. Bad. What’s the difference? If you see the good in the bad, then it’s not really bad, is it? Silver linings, people! They make the world go round. I believe we itch for connection. We want to have a sense of belonging and identification. We want to feel like we’re not alone in this struggle. That said…if you do happen to take something valuable from this story, please write to me elisamariehopkins@gmail.com. Or if you just want to say hi, that’s cool too. I love to talk to readers/writers/authors/aspiring authors, and help in any way I can.
Conversation courtesy of Kristina Aziz at Kristi Reads
Black Diamond (The Diamond in the Rough Series) (Volume 2)
Copyright © 2015 by Elisa Marie Hopkins
Published by Stellar Jay Publications
For more about this author please visit http://elisamariehopkins.com/
All characters and events in this eBook, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Editing and interior design by Indie Author Publishing Services
Cover design by Omar Ramirez
ISBN: 978-1-63415-794-0
Main category—Romance
Other category—Suspense
First Editi
on