Happy 305th Birthday, Jamie!
May 1, 2026 – Friday
It’s past midnight, which means it’s now the 1st of May— and a Very Happy 305th Birthday to our favorite red-heided Hottentot!*
-Diana
*[From OUTLANDER, in which Murtagh and Claire discuss Jamie’s sea-sickness]
“Looks like a fair, steady wind,” I said hopefully, holding a wet finger aloft.
Murtagh gloomily scanned the clouds, hanging black-bellied over the harbor, their freight of snow wastefully melting into the frigid waves. “Aye, well. We’ll hope for a smooth crossing. If not, we’ll likely get there wi’ a corpse on our hands.”
Half an hour later, launched on the choppy waters of the English Channel, I discovered what he had meant by this remark.
“Seasick?” I said incredulously. “Scotsmen aren’t seasick!” Murtagh was testy.
“Then mayhap he’s a red-heided Hottentot. All I know is he’s green as a rotten fish and pukin’ his guts out. Are ye goin’n to come down and help me stop him puttin’ his ribs out through his chest?”
——-
And, in celebration of this happy occasion, thanks to Karen Henry for her lovely selection of Jamie Fraser excerpts on her website at the link below, which will open in a new tab or browser window:
https://www.outlandishobservations.com/2026/05/happy-birthday-jamie-fraser.html
Karen maintains her fabulous fan website, Outlandish Observations, and also moderates the Outlander discussions on TheLitForum.com.
Image credit: Sony/Starz, Sam Heughan portraying Jamie Fraser.
New Deluxe PB Edition of OUTLANDER – 09/2026
In January, Penguin Random House announced that a new deluxe paperback edition of OUTLANDER will be released in September, 2026. Click here for more information.
A BLESSING FOR A WARRIOR GOING OUT – Recent Excerpts
Below are recent excerpts (aka “Daily Lines”) from A BLESSING FOR A WARRIOR GOING OUT (Book Ten in my Outlander series of novels), which I am working on now. Note that these passages MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS, usually minor. Excerpts are listed by temporary descriptive titles, with the newest one listed first:
Wattle! Wattle! Wattle! A birthday celebration of the slithery sort. My latest blog entry, so you can leave public comments if you wish! Released on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
“38 Years Ago, I Began Writing…” To celebrate my writing anniversary, I share an updated version of a BLESSING excerpt (“Camouflauge”). Released on Friday, March 6, 2026.
“Spring and Sardines.” “Tea, please,” Minnie said to the woman who had rushed into the hall as she made her way down it, escorting the taller Viscountess. Like a tug guiding an Indiaman into dock, she thought… Released on Friday, February 6, 2026.
“A Quaker Doctor.” A bit about my Orange Bird hat, and Minnie has a conversation with an O’Higgins brother. Released on Saturday, January 17, 2026.
Third Sunday of Advent – “His Leg Is Broken!”Claire is called to an unexpected emergency. Released on Wednesday, December 17, 2025.
Second Sunday of Advent – “I’ll Tell Ye.” William and Jamie have discussions on the road. Released on Sunday, December 7, 2025.
First Sunday of Advent – “Weigh, Hey, and Up She Rises.’ Hope and light rise from the deep. Released on Sunday, November 30, 2025.
“Don’t Say ‘Feckit’!” A bit about tadpoles… and my file numbering and identification system that I use while writing.
A BLESSING FOR A WARRIOR GOING OUT will be the tenth in my Outlander series of major novels which focus on Jamie and Claire. Note that a publication date has not been announced since I am still writing the book…
Please visit my official webpage for A BLESSING FOR A WARRIOR GOING OUT for more information and access to other excerpts released so far (forty of them!).
My News Webpage
For recent news about my writing, the tv series adaptations, and general musings, please visit my News webpage. It’s always accessible on the main menu above, too.
My posts to my social media pages (such as Facebook) are included in my News. This might be useful for those who prefer to surf the web and don’t use Facebook or X/Twitter.
You’ll see entries such as “Snake Love,” “How Fast Do I Write?,” “New Fight Song and My Three Rules for Writing,” which features Wind Rose’s “Diggy Diggy Hole” official video, Arby (our pup) trying to sneak a lick of beer as the Guys were brewing it, my observations about a weed called Rocket, et cetera!
Signed Copies of My Books
The Poisoned Pen sells new, signed copies of books I have written, including the beautiful hardcover anniversary editions of my first four novels in the OUTLANDER series, and many others. The Pen is my hometown independent bookstore, and kindly makes new books signed by me available to readers who cannot attend one of my book signings.
The cost is the list price of a book plus shipping; there is no charge for my signature. The friendly staff at the Pen are glad to answer any questions you may have.
Click here to browse my books currently available from the Pen online.
Shapes and Themes of My Outlander Novels
Want to know more about my books? How I write them? Here are a few of my blogs and webpages to explore:
“The Shape of Things:” All my books have an internal geometric or natural shape that emerges in the course of the work, and once I’ve seen it, the writing goes much faster. (BEES is a snake!) Read more…
“One Word Speaks Volumes (Themes of the Novels):” Some intelligent NPR interviewer asked me one day whether I could sum up the book we were talking about in a single sentence—and I realized that in fact, I could summarize the theme of each book in a single word. Read more…
My Writer’s Corner (What I Do) Resource has links to many of my essays and webpages which describe my writing process and other information. More…
As of November, 2021, more than 50 million of my books have been published in 38 languages and 114 countries around the world. Thank you, dear readers!
This home page for my official website was last updated on Friday, May 3, 2026 at 4:50 a.m. (Central Time) by me, Diana Gabaldon, or my Webmistress.
