After coming off a successful three week tour of Scandinavia in the fall of 1986, my band the Textones found that our album 'Midnight Mission' was hard to follow up. Our next effort, 'Cedar Creek', came and went with little of the critical acclaim we were fortunate to have gotten on our debut. George Callins and I were writing a lot of songs we felt deserved to be heard but there were no takers. Fans, critics, and the music business had moved on. Then out of the blue our Swedish label, Volume Records, threw us a wild pitch come to Sweden and record with Swedish rock stars Wilmer X. The result became my first solo album recorded in the country of my father's roots. The Wilmers' had just scored a hit record in their homeland and were gracious to back this Texas by way of L.A. rock and roll woman. My cowriters on Rubies And Diamonds include guitarist George Callins and drummer Rick Hemmert of the Textones, Danny Wilde of the Rembrandts, Danny Tate whose songs have been covered by Tim McGraw, Rick Springfield, the Smithereens, and Jeff Healey, and George Green, who cowrote some of John Mellencamp's best including "Hurts So Good." KEY SELLING POINTS: *Previously unreleased 1988 debut album sessions. *Includes bonus tracks featuring Swedish rock star Mikael Rickfords The Hollies, Bamboo and Mick Taylor The Rolling Stones, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. *Recorded in Malmo, Sweden in 1988 with Wilmer X.