NOW CLOSED: Discovering Diamonds: CLOSED 31st July 2022

with sad regret...

Discovering Diamonds opened on January 1st 2017 with the aim of helping good indie and self-published authors of historical fiction to get noticed. Good reviews of good books, however they are published, are always welcomed by readers who do not particularly care how a book is produced as long as the reading experience is rewarding, satisfying and entertaining. Our aim was to showcase well-written historical fiction for readers to enjoy. I think we achieved our goal.

But it is with sad regret that I am announcing Discovering Diamonds is to no longer continue. I have spent many hours running the site these past years - alas, I am now visually impaired, have muscle damage to my hands and find that I do not have the time I need to write, and market, my own books. Therefore I have made the regrettable decision to call it a day. The site will not be deleted, all reviews, articles etc will remain accessible to readers looking for a good book to read. I am particularly delighted that our last few reviews were 5 star Discovered Diamond Reviewer's choice selections - we have ended on a high note with some 'very good reads' to end on!

We had a total of 1,461 books submitted to us for potential review. Several were, unfortunately, not selected to have a review published, but many received our five-star rating, some of which were selected as Book of The Month. We also received not far off 600,000 visitors. We published 1,496 posts, mostly reviews, but some articles, and for each year during December our much loved December Story Song short stories.

Sadly, and most regrettably, the closure of Discovering Diamonds has meant the disbandment of our planned Award for 2022. My apologies to the authors.

However, if you are an author seeking a suitable (free and respected) site for your books, please consider contacting Pauline Barclay's Chill With A Book Awards - she'd be delighted to welcome you as authors or potential reviewers.