Author D. A. Belmont to Speak at Library

Author D. A. Belmont will discuss and read from his book Diamondacious! at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, at the Alachua County Library District Headquarters in downtown Gainesville.

Diamondacious! sparkles like a bodacious diamond. It’s the funny, sexy, gossipy, tongue-in-cheek saga of Debbie DeVore, who begins her journey as a plain brunette from the wrong side of town and rises to wealth as an icy, blonde accounting wiz. Was it so bad she cut a few corners to get there?

This frothy beach read begins in Fort Lauderdale but sweeps to New York, Las Vegas, and the capitals of South America. It will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you jealous. You’ll recognize some of the characters from the boldface names of newspapers if you read gossip, the financial pages, and even the political news. But you have never heard these stories with the spin D. A. Belmont gives them in this tautly rendered and remarkably nuanced page-turner. It’s an atmospheric and propulsive chronicle of a time, a place, and a way of life.

Debbie’s friends are fascinating. Beautiful Arden Sloane lives a life of glamor and success but hides the saddest childhood a poor little rich girl could possibly know. Handsome, brilliant, ambitious Peter Pelligrino is both highly educated and accomplished. But his heritage holds him back from happiness with Arden. Karal, a fabulous high-end hairdresser to the rich and infamous of Fort Lauderdale, is the true friend who helps Debbie become a swan.

Diamondacious! is a crazy, sexy, laugh-out-loud satire. It’s in turn shocking, poignant, and uproarious—written with an eye for detail, an ear for dialogue, and a knack for comic timing. It’s full of the straight story and the other one too. At the same time, it’s never graphic, and the good guys always come out on top—financially at least. Debbie is a woman who loves life and who reaches out to help herself (and her true friends) to all the world has to offer.

D. A. Belmont knows Fort Lauderdale intimately, what goes on undercover as well as under the covers. Belmont’s wisely squandered youth was spent in Florida’s “Venice of America” and wildly in other enthralling fleshpots north and south of the equator.