• “The smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting 'Scrooge McDuck' comics.”—Salon.com
  • A time-hopping, continent-spanning salmagundi of genres.”
    —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
  • “These books have to be word-of-mouth books because they're too weird to describe to anybody.”
    —Jackie Cantor, Diana's first editor

Why, Yes, We Had a Very Nice Christmas

Hope y’all had a happy holiday, too!

Posted on December 28, 2011 10:47 AM 89 Comments

A Very Merry to You!

From THE SCOTTISH PRISONER
Copyright 2011 Diana Gabaldon

It was cold in the loft, and his sleep-mazed mind groped among the icy drafts after the words still ringing in his mind.
“Bonnie lad.”
Wind struck the barn and went booming round the roof. A strong chilly draft with a scent of snow stirred the somnolence, and two or three of the horses shifted below, grunting and whickering. Helwater. The knowledge of the place settled on him, and the fragments of Scotland and Lallybroch cracked and flaked away, fragile as a skin of dried mud.
Helwater. Straw rustling under him, the ends poking through the rough ticking, prickling through his shirt. Dark air, alive around him.
Bonnie lad…
They’d brought down the Yule log to the house that afternoon, all the household taking part, the women bundled to the eyebrows, the men ruddy, flushed with the labor, staggering, singing, dragging the monstrous log with ropes, its rough skin packed with snow, a great furrow left where it passed, the snow plowed high on either side.
Willie rode atop the log, screeching with excitement, clinging to the rope. Once back at the house, Isobel had tried to teach him to sing “Good King Wenceslaus,” but it was beyond him, and he dashed to and fro, into everything until his grandmother declared that he would drive her to distraction and told Peggy to take him to the stable, to help Jamie and Crusoe bring in the fresh-cut branches of pine and fir. Thrilled, Willie rode on Jamie’s saddle-bow to the grove, and stood obediently on a stump where Jamie had put him, safe out of the way of the axes while the boughs were cut down. Then he helped to load the greenery, clutching two or three fragrant, mangled twigs to his chest, dutifully chucking these in the general direction of the huge basket, then running back again for more, heedless of where his burden had actually landed.
Jamie turned over, wriggling deeper into the nest of blankets, drowsy, remembering. He’d kept it up, the wean had, back and forth, back and forth, though red in the face and panting, until he dropped the very last branch on the pile. Jamie had looked down to find Willie beaming up at him with pride, laughed and said on impulse, “Aye, that’s a bonnie lad. Come on. Let’s go home.”
William had fallen asleep on the ride home, his head heavy as a cannonball in its woolen cap against Jamie’s chest. Jamie had dismounted carefully, holding the child in one arm, but Willie had wakened, blinked groggily at Jamie and said, “WEN-sess-loss,” clear as a bell, then fallen promptly back asleep. He’d waked properly by the time he was handed over to Nanny Elspeth, though, and Jamie had heard him, as he walked away, telling Nanny, “I’m a bonnie lad!”
But those words came out of his dreams, from somewhere else, and long ago. Had his own father said that to him, once?
He thought so, and for an instant—just an instant—was with his father and his brother Willie, excited beyond bearing, holding the first fish he’d ever caught by himself, slimy and flapping, both of them laughing at him, with him in joy.
“Bonnie lad!”
Willie. God, Willie. I’m so glad they gave him your name. He seldom thought of his brother; Willie had died of the smallpox when he was eleven, Jamie, eight. But every now and then, he could feel Willie with him, sometimes his mother or his father. More often, Claire.
I wish ye could see him, Sassenach, he thought. He’s a bonnie lad. Loud and obnoxious, he added with honesty, but bonnie.

*****

MERRY CHRISTMAS, CHAG SAMEACH, JOYFUL KWANZAA, BLESSED SOLSTICE and/or a DELIGHTFUL EID-AlUdha to all of you!

Posted on December 24, 2011 9:11 PM 51 Comments

“Auld Lang Syne” – A Season’s Greeting from Kevin Walsh

This lovely arrangement of the traditional Scottish song (words by Robert Burns) is by Kevin Walsh, the wonderful composer who did the music for OUTLANDER: The Musical. Kevin thought you might enjoy this, and I certainly agree!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aCZQhwkSwk&feature=feedu#

If you’d like to keep the song with you for a little longer, it’s available here on iTunes.

Happy Solstice!

Posted on December 22, 2011 11:10 AM 31 Comments

Quick Update on Christmas Shipping!!

I got the following message from the Poisoned Pen late this afternoon (the 13th):

“We’ve looked at the influx of new orders and even with working in double shifts
I see no way we can accept any more orders for Christmas delivery.

I’d rather be up front than make your fans angry by creating an expectation
we can’t meet.

If you agree, then would you change your website to make the cutoff date midnight
tonight for Christmas, but assure them they can continue to order any of your books
for delivery soon after the holidays.

Will will note this information on the auto response the system generates to those
placing orders, so they will get it from us as well as on your site.

We’ve got over 500 to process with more coming in by the hour and realistically
we can’t ship more than 100 a day, regardless of when the shipping systems shut
down. We’re going to end up shipping some on Monday and eating the extra priority
expense ourselves in our best effort to get orders in place to their destinations.”

[me again]

I’ll be going into the store on Thursday to sign books–and will do more early next week. So you _will_ get your signed/inscribed books, even if not by the 25th. Thought of giving a signed book as a New Year’s gift? Ground Hog’s Day, or Valentine’s?

Our apologies, and we hope you’ll enjoy the book(s), as soon as can get them to you. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, a Jolly Kwanzaa, and a Blessed Winter Solstice to you all!

Posted on December 14, 2011 8:25 AM 61 Comments

THANK YOU – THANK YOU — MORAN TAING!

THE SCOTTISH PRISONER Hits Da List!

And

Signed Books in Time for Christmas!

Thank you VERY much! Thanks to all of you who’ve bought and been enjoying THE SCOTTISH PRISONER—I’ve just been told that the book has hit the New York Times Bestseller List, after only one week on sale! We’ll be #8 on the list (not the Dec. 8th list, but the one that appears on Dec. 15th; they compile the lists a week ahead), and I couldn’t be more pleased. Moran Taing! means “Thank You!” in Gaelic, and so Moran Taing to all of you!

Speaking of Gaelic, one of the Author’s Notes in THE SCOTTISH PRISONER tells you that there are sound files of the Gaelic bits from the book on this website, so you can hear what it really sounds like, spoken by native speakers. Those Gaelic bits _will_ be up here very shortly, but the wonderful Cathy MacGregor, who did the recording and is doing the phonetic pronunciation guide to go along with them, discovered several more bits in the book that hadn’t been recorded yet. She’s doing those with the aid of Catherine-Ann MacPhee and Kevin Dooley (the native speakers who helped with all the translations), and the whole thing will be up within just a few days. Thanks for your patience, too!

Now—if I may—a few administrative details, for those of you who might want signed books (THE SCOTTISH PRISONER, the OUTLANDER 20th Anniversary Edition, THE EXILE, or any of the other books) for Christmas:

CHANGING HANDS Event – December 12th, 7 PM

For those of you in the Phoenix area–I’ll be doing the last “live” signing event of 2011 at The Changing Hands Bookstore, an independent bookseller in Tempe, AZ.

Here is their link to the event, with directions.

For Those of You NOT in the Area:

The Poisoned Pen is my local independent bookstore, who kindly handle autographed sales for me all year (I don’t have any financial stake in the bookstore; I just approve of independent bookstores {g}). They’ll ship any of my books, any format (hardcover, trade paperback, mass-market paperback, audiobook CDs) anywhere in the world. It does, however, take some _time_ to ship books places, especially at this time of year.

So the people at the Pen would like me to tell you that December 16th is their cutoff date for ordering autographed books to be delivered in time for Christmas (in the US; the situation may be different for foreign shipments, but it depends where the shipment is going). If you order books after that, you’ll certainly still get them signed or inscribed (I go by the Pen every week to sign orders and stock), but they may not arrive by Dec. 25th.

Here is the link for autographed SCOTTISH PRISONER books,

And here is the link for the backlist,

And here is the link for the OUTLANDER 20th Anniversary Edition!

The Poisoned Pen wanted me also to include this request: “When placing the online order, please write your desired inscription in the Instructions field.” That will make it easier for them to track your book and make sure you get the right inscription.

Nollaig Chridheil! (That’s Gaelic for Merry Christmas!)

Posted on December 09, 2011 5:18 PM 56 Comments

Happy Release Day to the UK!

Theoretically, THE SCOTTISH PRISONER was released in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand today (well…December 1. I haven’t gone to bed yet, so it’s still Dec. 1 for me). I _know_ it was released November 29th in the US, because we had a delightful launch party for it, and people have apparently been enjoying it ever since. Hope y’all enjoy it!

I did hear from several people that they had received emails from Barnes and Noble, informing them that their books hadn’t shipped yet, “because the release date had changed.” {ahem} Far be it from me to say that a respectable large bookstore chain lies like a rug, but I also have a number of photos sent me by readers, proudly showing off their new books–not a few of which sport B&N “20% Off Bestseller” stickers.

Now, they may possibly not have ordered _enough_ copies, and thus be trying to prevent people canceling their orders and buying the book elsewhere while they scramble to get more–I’m sure couldn’t say as to their possible motives–but I _can_ say that the book is out.

Hope you enjoy it whenever and however you get it!

And Many, Many Thanks to Elenna Loughlin, who provided the beautiful author’s photo–which I include here, because the UK readers tell me it isn’t on the trade paperback edition that they mostly get, and they should get to enjoy it, too.

Now, for those of you who’ve already reached the Author’s Notes, there is a note there to the effect that we have sound files of the Gaelic bits, _and_ phonetic pronunciations, and those will be available here. They _will_, but probably not before the end of the weekend–I’m madly finishing a novella (“The Space Between”) and the wonderful Cathy MacGregor is working on the pronunciations in the interstitces of her own work. But they _will_ be up here, as soon as we can manage it!

Posted on December 02, 2011 10:59 AM 103 Comments

A Word From Mike Gibb

Dear Guys–

Many of you will know Mike Gibb as the lyricist (and original inspiration) behind OUTLANDER: The Musical, and will have enjoyed his wonderful songs. A hard-working and compassionate man, he’s also one of the chief supports of Bianca, a lovely (and vital) charity for abandoned pets. I was very impressed, hearing about them, and so I’ve offered to put up here his description of Bianca and their work.

While on holiday in Portugal Mike Gibb (Outlander The Musical) was horrified by the many stray and abandoned dogs, most of whom displayed horrific signs of neglect, mistreatment and starvation, and shocked by the fact that there was no one to care for them except charities run by volunteers such as Bianca. And so on his return home he decided to set up Friends of Bianca a group established with the sole purpose of raising awareness of and funds for Bianca throughout the English speaking world. Every penny donated through Friends of Bianca will go directly to the charity in Portugal.
To explain, Bianca is a Portuguese charity that rescues, treats, cares for and then re-homes stray and abandoned dogs and cats. Many of the animals, which are left in the streets to fend for themselves or found tied or chained the fence of the Bianca compound, have suffered severely though neglect and abuse and, without Bianca, would starve to death or die of treatable diseases. Established in 2002 in Sesimbra, south of Lisbon, and run solely by volunteers, Bianca now takes 600 animals into its care. Every year. The shelter currently looks after 250 dogs and 30 cats and re-homes the animals both locally to responsible owners and through a network of animal associations in Northern Europe.
If you would like to support Bianca’s remarkable work you can do so by becoming a “God Parent” or simply through a donation.
About one third of the animals in Bianca’s care cannot be re-homed because of their age or ill health or simply because they are just too shy. Irrespective of where you live you can become a god parent to one of these animals. For (a minimum of) 2.50 Euros/ £2.50/ US$ 4.00 a month you can foster one of these dogs or cats, safe in the knowledge that your money will be used to buy food, pay veterinary bills and generally ensure that the animal concerned lives out the remainder of its days, loved and cared for. As a god parent you will receive a photograph of your new friend and your name will appear alongside the respective dog or cat on the website. To see the dogs available for fostering go to www.bianca.pt/english and click on “DOGS FOR FOSTERING” in the right hand column. Once you have chosen, contact Mike at info@hamepages.com.
Alternatively if you simply want to donate you can do so by sending money to info@hamepages.com through the Friends of Bianca Paypal account. If you are unsure of how to do that, just email Mike.
And if you have a moment to spare, check out this video on You Tube which shows how kindness, care and compassion can redress the worst excesses of the evil that humans can inflict on defenceless creatures.

Posted on November 20, 2011 8:19 PM 32 Comments

YOU’RE INVITED! LAUNCH-PARTY for THE SCOTTISH PRISONER – November 29th!

YOU’RE INVITED! THE SCOTTISH PRISONER LAUNCH-PARTY, November 29th!

The Poisoned Pen bookstore (bless their independent little hearts {g}) is hosting the launch party for THE SCOTTISH PRISONER, due to be released November 29th. This will be held at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, AZ (because we haven’t been able to fit the launch-party crowds into the bookstore since THE FIERY CROSS) at 7 PM on (reasonably enough) November 29th. (Party actually starts at 6 – I come on at 7-ish.)

I’ll be talking and signing books, and I believe food and drinks will be available (provided by the hotel on a cash basis). Now, I will have signed a thousand (or so) books before the event, so that people who only want a signed copy don’t have to stand in line. But if you want a personalized or inscribed copy, I’m more than happy to sign one (or two or three, if you’re doing your Christmas shopping…). (And certainly you can take pictures of me or with me, if you’d like to.)

The EVENT IS FREE (!!!)—but one caveat: books to be signed have to be purchased _from_ the Poisoned Pen. (This is only fair; they’re paying for the event, and the Gold Ballroom at the Biltmore don’t come cheap.) You don’t need to buy the book ¬_at_ the event; if you want to buy one earlier in the day (so you can start reading {g}), just keep your receipt when you bring the book to be signed. (But you can’t bring books bought via Amazon or Costco, for instance. Support your independent bookstore!)

If you can’t come to the party (alas!), but would like your book personalized or inscribed, this is no problem. Just email Patrick@poisonedpen.com and let him know what you want; if at all possible, I’ll sign the inscription orders before the party so they can be shipped out right away.

See you there! (And if you’re not there, I hope you’ll enjoy the book and lift a glass to join us in spirit. Slainte mhath!

Posted on November 18, 2011 11:14 AM 37 Comments

HOORAY! THE FIERY CROSS IS AVAILABLE UNABRIDGED ON AUDIBLE.COM!

Many, many thanks to the kind folks at Recorded Books and Audible.com, who rushed to put together a contract, and who pushed THE FIERY CROSS to the front of the 170-book queue waiting to be uploaded to Audible.com!

Posted on November 04, 2011 5:10 AM 125 Comments

JAMIE or JOHN? SCOTTISH PRISONER EXCERPT on SCRIBD!

Well, alrighty, then! Do you want to know whether THE SCOTTISH PRISONER starts with Jamie or John? Random House has posted the beginning of the book as an excerpt on Scribd. Click the link below to see which way the editors (and I) decided to begin the book–and I hope you enjoy it!

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon (Excerpt)

Posted on November 03, 2011 10:08 AM 77 Comments