Lisa Renda-Blackwell Pens a Shining Children’s Book

By Katie McFadden

A diamond in the rough has nothing but potential. In her very first children’s book, local resident Lisa Renda-Blackwell has put a story she told her family to pages, in hopes that everyone can see the potential inside themselves. “Diamonti, The Journey of a Diamond in the Rough” is now available.

“Diamonti, The Journey of a Diamond in the Rough” follows the story of Diamonti, a “diamond in the rough” or a “roughie” in a South African diamond mine, who, armed with enthusiasm and the four Cs, Courage, Compassion, Commitment, and Curiosity, sets off on a life journey to figure out the secret to losing his rough edges and transform into a flawless diamond. The book was first released last November and Renda-Blackwell is hoping others take the journey to see what Diamonti learns.

Renda-Blackwell had never written a book before, but it was always inside of her. “Everyone says there’s book in everybody. This was on my mind for a long time. As I was growing up, I would make up a lot of stories that I would share with my siblings, and my daughter, and there were a couple that stood out in my mind. My daughter said I should write them down. It went from a bedtime story to a book,” she shared.

She chose to publish this story, saying, “I think a lot of times, watching my daughter growing up and nieces and nephew, you see your children having unlimited potential. There are opportunities to show them how to make the right decisions, to be kind, unselfish, and harness that unlimited potential for goodness, while recognizing that some days are going to be their best days and other days, they’re a little rough around the edges. There’s this unlimited potential in all of us, and a lot of it comes out in the good deeds we do and helping people. So this is the journey of how someone can go from a diamond in the rough to a precious diamond.”

While “Diamonti, The Journey of a Diamond in the Rough” is a children’s book, Renda-Blackwell says it’s as much a book for adults as well. “Like children’s movies, it’s written in a way that’s clever enough for adults to enjoy but cute enough for kids to stay entertained. It’s good for children, but it touches on parenthood and how important it is to allow children to grow and encourage them to do the right thing. It’s meant for families to read together,” she said.

Renda-Blackwell says it took about two years to write the book and go through the process of getting it self-published. She turned to Archway Publishing, a branch of Simon and Schuster, to help with the process. They provided her with an illustrator to help bring her vision to life. Taking a page out of her daughter’s imagination, Renda-Blackwell used her daughter’s descriptions of the characters to work with the illustrator on perfecting the images for her story. “Many years ago, I asked my daughter how the ‘roughies’ would look, and she said it would look like a potato with legs and arms, so I described that to the illustrator and gave them a sample, and they were able to capture it,” Renda-Blackwell said. “It’s how I envisioned it.”

In November 2023, the book was finally released. “I’m really satisfied that I did it. It’s one of those things that sits on your mind for a long time, and it really feels great to have it. It’s a story I used to tell my daughter and it’s good to have a tangible copy of that memory,” Renda-Blackwell said on seeing her book published. “Now I’d like to share it with others.”

As a place that has many “diamonds,” Renda-Blackwell says her story is a good fit for Rockaway. “It’s a nice book for Rockaway as a tightknit community where people are always helping each other. Sometimes you meet a person here and you see all the good they’ve done for the community, and it’s sort of like that but in a story version for children,” she said. But she hopes parents read it too. “I think it’s a charming, great story for mothers. When people have baby showers and they bring books, this is a good book to bring because it shows the bond between a mother and a child and a child’s journey through life. People said it made them cry because of the ending. It’s a really heartwarming story that a lot of people can relate to. And I think people will love the illustrations as well.”

And it’s just the beginning for Diamonti. Renda-Blackwell says this is the first book of what she hopes will be a series. “This story ends with the diamond going to a famous jewelry story in Manhattan and what happens to the character. In others, there will be more journeys around the world and more characters will be introduced,” she said. “I’m starting to formulate it, but it’s in the works.”

For now, “Diamonti, The Journey of a Diamond in the Rough” by L.R. Blackwell is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, through Archway Press and other book outlets. “It makes for a great Christmas present,” Renda-Blackwell says as the holiday season gets closer.