Diamond loves adventure.
She ate a worm-burger and chicken feet in South America, backpacked through Europe, rescued a friend from arrest in Mexico (the federales were really very nice), had coffee with the French police, was kicked out of a train station in Italy for having feet on a chair, and spent an entire night on the beach in a thunderstorm in Spain. She has a favorite scarf that functions as a blanket, a swimsuit, a towel (anything, really). She doesn't leave the house without at least three electronic devices, a protein bar, and her passport--because you never know where life might take you. Diamond loves s'mores, fancy cheese, dark chocolate, and strong coffee. She loves to cook for her family, especially her nine nephews and nieces who inspire her to write stories and have adventures. She writes poetry and fiction, speaks five languages, and oh, yeah. She free-style raps when around very close friends. She hopes that someday her children will be better-behaved than her two cats, Ray and Thumbelina, who like to steal her magnets off the fridge when she isn't home. Diamond enjoys playing basketball, hiking, floating the river, watching the sunrise at the beach, Latin dance, reading, writing, and making handpuppets in the light of projector screens.
The more serious side:
Diamond graduated from Bozeman Christian High School in 2001. In 2006, she graduated from Montana State University with a degree in Modern Languages and Literature in Spanish, German, and French. In 2010, she finished her M.A. at Washington State University where she studied Peninsular and Latin American Literature, Linguistics, Technology in the Classroom, Pedagogy, and Second Language Acquisition. She currently is a Voices columnist for the Dallas Morning News and teaches French and Spanish in DISD.
“Remember the lights in the Bedouin camp? How they glowed in the desert in a long line, leading to the next tent, the next family? That’s hope. It’s the idea that you’re not alone, no matter how big the world is or how vast the darkness gets. Any one of us can light that flame.
— Dangers in the Desert
Road-Tripping Author Returns to Native Bozeman
Diamond Wilson abandoned it all – her job, her house, and the life she had built in Dallas, TX. She downsized, keeping only what she could fit in the back of her SUV. Why did she walk away from it all? One reason: to finish her second novel. “Like conquering the open road, there’s something exhilarating about besting the blank page,” she says. “While you might have an idea of where you are headed, you never quite know where you’ll end up.”
Wilson authored her first book, The Caves of Qumran, in 2013. The long-awaited sequel, Dangers in the Desert, is available just in time for the holidays this year. Set in Israel and Egypt, the two-book series takes young adult readers from the streets of Jerusalem to the waters of the Dead Sea, through the Sinai Desert and into the heart of Coptic Cairo on the search for a missing Essene relic.
“Like my characters, the thrill of discovery captured me at a young age. While growing up in Bozeman, I used to pretend I was an archaeologist in a field behind the Santa Fe Reds,” she says. “The Museum of the Rockies and Jack Horner were practically in my backyard. I fell in love with the pursuit of the unknown.”
Wilson incorporates cultural awareness and understanding in her series. “When we’re talking about Israel, culture and religion are going to come up. I want to allow those differences to be there, acknowledging the tension but exempting my characters from the grisliest experiences. The goal is connection, and that requires tolerance and understanding.”
Wilson’s time on the road has been fruitful. “I’m deep into my next novel,” she says. “And there are a couple more that are starting to take form.” Does she miss sleeping in her own bed? “Absolutely! But, I’m very grateful. I’ve always had someplace to go and someone who would host me. So many people have been generous and kind.”
Wilson writes daily, sometimes at a coffee shop, sometimes on a friend’s couch. Although her surroundings often change, there is one constant - a small 1920’s writing desk she loads into the back of her SUV every time she hits the road. “I parted ways with everything I owned, except that desk. As long as I have it, I feel at home.”