Behind The Book Diamond On The Rocks With Diane Bator 

Mickey Mikkelson has reunited me with author Diane Bator for this next edition of Behind The Book discussing her new release Diamond On The Rocks.

Q: Diane, welcome back to Book Notions! Would you like to talk about Diamond On The Rocks & where the idea for the book came from?

A: Thank you so much! I love chatting with readers and interviewers. 

Diamond on the Rocks is book 2 in my AJ Cadell Mystery series. The series was inspired by weekend summers spent at Lake Huron and the thought of a big house on the rocky shoreline, which is where I’d intended the series to take place. Flash forward a few years, and I now live in Alberta rather than Ontario. I had changed the locations to pitch to a publisher, then decided I’d keep the story in Canada. Alison (AJ) Cadell is a budding romance writer who starts off living in Toronto, then moves to the fictional town of Cedar Grove on Vancouver Island when someone makes her an offer to become a Writer in Residence. 

Q: What are important messages & emotions you hope readers take away from the novel? 

A: Oh, emotions abound in this series! Over the series, Alison must figure out a lot of things about her past. She learns the importance of family as well as not believing what everyone tells you to be true. She needs to face her own demons generated by childhood trauma to move forward with her new life on Vancouver Island—and possibly the man of her dreams who is a local firefighter.

When her sister and best friend join her for a visit, they become more tightly bonded as friends and begin working together to help build each other’s dreams.

Q: If you were to write a sequel to Diamond On The Rocks, what would the characters be doing right now? 

A: Funny you should ask that! Diamond on the Rocks, is the second book in the AJ Cadell Mystery series. 

In book 1, Written in Stone, Alison discovers she has a long-lost family and solves the murders of her grandparents.

In book 2, Diamond on the Rocks, she helps with an annual local event when the caterer disappears, and she is drawn in to finding the killer for the sake of her new friend 

Book 3, not sure of the title yet, will come out in 2026. Alison’s mother—who kidnapped her and her sister as children—makes a surprise visit and chaos ensues. This will be the final book in the series.

Q: Who is your dream cast for the characters you created should Diamond On The Rocks get a movie or television adaptation?

A: Hmmmm, I think I would have to rely on readers to choose a dream cast. I currently don’t own a television, and my time is torn between my day job and writing. If anyone has some great suggestions, I’m all ears! I might even have to put this one out on my newsletter!