A Tale of A Rough Diamond
A Tale of a Rough Diamond has been the very first psychological thriller I have ever published. It has gone through a lot of revisions, starting from the cover to the editing process.
Being just new to the publishing business, I started with all the mistakes a rookie would do, but I am not ashamed of them. They have helped me to grow up and understand better how I really wanted my novels to look like. Starting from the cover, to the choice of the editor and the outline of the book.
Luckily enough the content is, according to the readers, good and enticing.
BLURB:
Not all that glitters is diamond; sometimes it is only glass. But even its sharp edges will never hurt you like family.
Stephan is living a life every teenager would envy. Son of a wealthy businessman, he lives carefree and carelessly. However, nothing is as it seems, and his perfect life is doomed; it has been since before he was even born. Days thrill-seeking, nights lock-picking; it’s all just about to fall apart.
His older brother has uncovered a secret. For all their years together, Roger has envied Stephan’s life, his success, the attention he has from their father, but now Roger can wait no longer; this is the moment, the moment he can hurt Stephan the most, when he can turn Stephan’s choices against him, tear apart everything he cherishes, and steal away his future.
With secrecy and the resources of the Russian Mafia on his side, the older Mills brother effortlessly brings Stephan’s world down around him, a single tip-off to the police burying him under the ruins of his former life.
After a year behind bars, Stephan seems to have no hope, no future. Cut off even from the rest of his family, can he reclaim his life and freedom, or will he sink still lower? Will his years of petty crime damn him, or will they be enough to help him fight back?
And will he have to do it alone?
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EXCERPTS:
The Villain:
Roger looked at his hands. They were shaking – that nervous shake he’d learned to recognize and deal with a long time ago. His head felt as if it were going to explode, so strong was the pain he felt.
He reached for the cabinet, where he kept the first-aid kit and took a couple of analgesic pills. He knew they wouldn’t really help, but he took them anyway.
He was expecting two guests, both very important. The first one didn’t worry him at all, as he knew he could easily be dealt with.
The second one, however, was on a totally different level. The success or failure of all he had built so far was at stake – his firm, his career, his wealth, and his own life. That was the reason for the restless state of his mind, that made his hands shake and his head ache.
He looked anxiously at the clock. There was still time, but it seemed as his heart had a different perception of time, and it started to race in his chest. He took a couple of deep breaths and went to sit in the armchair behind his desk.
He made himself comfortable, sinking into the soft leather, and closed his eyes to regain some calm. He thought about what the deal of the game was, and how the success of both the meetings was to be achieved. Success was not an option.
The Hero:
Stephan waited in the darkness, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. Every time he was at that exact spot, waiting for the car of Reece stopping by or for Jonas to whistle him about his arrival, he felt the adrenaline rush, foretasting another adventure with his mates.
A couple of whistles, and he understood his friend arrived, just in time, before that restlessness on the background of his turmoil, would have overwhelmed the excitement and he would have ran away, scared like a child.
“It was about time, where is Reece?” asked Stephan.
“He is waiting in the car a couple of blocks away from here, there was a cop car parked there,” he said, pointing the entrance of a shop.
Jonas walked fast and barely exchanged a single word with him, like he generally used to do.
Stephan didn’t say anything either, but his behavior made him more nervous than he already was.
“Come on guys, we don’t have the whole night,” said Reece impatiently.
“What’s the matter with you tonight, it seems like we’re going to rob the Central Bank in the middle of the day,” said Stephan.
“Shut the fuck up, kid. We are not going to a party,” hissed Reece as he drove as fast as he could to their target.
Stephan could tell, when Reece had been drinking, and knew that he could become quite dangerous; therefore he sat down on the backseat of the car and remained silent as Reece ordered.
As they arrived in front of their target, Reece remained still for a moment, like he was hesitating and was almost ready to give up everything. “Fuck that!” he mumbled.
“Come on let’s go!” Reece added as he got out of the car.
“OK, kiddo, do your trick,” Jonas whispered.
It was a matter of a couple of minutes and the door opened, then a few seconds, and the alarm was put to sleep.
“Jeeha!!” Jonas exulted as they all got inside the house.
The small group of friends dispersed to the different rooms of the house, looking for something to rob that could give them some small wealth.