David T. Straw weaves a poignant tale of struggles, love, and loss in “Chasing Diamonds”

After teaching elementary school for 17 years, David T. Straw went on to pursue his hobby full-time: writing. So far, he has published three books, one of which is the contemporary fiction novel “Chasing Diamonds” (Archway; 2017).
 
“Chasing Diamonds” is a story of one man’s journey of self-discovery. The plot, as Straw described in an interview for Breakaway Daily, tells about the protagonist, 36-year-old Everett Lentry, struggling in today’s world, which did not out as he thought it would.
 
“His fondest memories are of summers at the lake while growing up,” said Straw about his character. “He can’t let go, and it distorts his reality today. He also, for reasons he can’t explain, let go of his true love. His cherished memories end up haunting him. His children keep him going.”
 
The author, whose love of the water greatly influences his life and writing, shared how the idea for “Chasing Diamonds” developed: “It started with scenes from the lake, originally nine or ten of them, which I turned into flashbacks. Then I built a story around them, which explain why the man thinks and behaves the way he does today. I took a young man at the time struggling with the things that have happened and tried seeing him in the future as more middle-aged.”

Straw started writing the drafts way back in 1999. He wrote all the flashbacks first, then wrote and built a story around them through 2000. “Chasing Diamonds” was originally half flashbacks to the lake and his childhood, and half today’s world. It was in 2016 when he added the finishing touches to his book, taking out some of the flashbacks and adding new scenes and the parallel universes.
 
Read and reflect, laugh and cry with David T. Straw’s “Chasing Diamonds.” Order a copy today through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Await the public display of this book at the upcoming Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on April 13-24, 2019 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA.

Chasing Diamonds
Author | David T. Straw
Publisher | Archway Publishing
Published date | April 7, 2017
Paperback price | $11.99
 

About the Author
David T. Straw is a former teacher who grew up in Miami, Florida. He now lives in St. Augustine, Florida with his family, where he enjoys photography and working on his next writing projects. He is also the author of “Complimentary Tales” and “Lost in Notebooks.”
 

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