Voyages of the Artemis (VotA Archive Blog)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Welcome Aboard!
Why “the Artemis”? Well, as many of you—well-read and well-educated persons that you all are—know, Artemis is the Greek form of Diana. And owing to some unknown burst of inspiration on the part of my mother (I was supposed to be named Theresa Ann, but she changed her mind at the last minute, and my sister ended up as Theresa), I actually was named for the goddess of the moon. And I did have a ship in my third book (VOYAGER) named the Artemis.
Besides, I had to call it something.
I’d been talking to my editor at Ballantine about posting an announcement regarding our new graphic novel project (see post below), and she remarked that she couldn’t wait to see what the response was to both the announcement and the artwork.
At this point, it dawned on me that I don’t actually have a facility on my website for people to leave comments. Hence this blog. [In 2008, my website did ot have a blog, but has since 2011.]
I told one of my friends that I had a contract to write a graphic novel—something I’d been wanting to do for some time (I actually used to write comics for Walt Disney—Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and The Beagle Boys, for the most part). Friend replied that she’d always thought my novels were pretty graphic already.
Anyway, here’s the original press release from Ballantine, describing the project.
I posted a preliminary bit of artwork from this project on my website (www.dianagabaldon.com)—the artist’s conception of Claire (based on my descriptions of her). I think this is pretty cool, myself, but would be fascinated to hear what y’all think about it!
And what about Jamie? I hear you saying. Well… stay tuned, later this week, for the Scottish Buttocks discussion, that’s all I can say.
Del Rey To Publish an original “Outlander” Graphic Novel by Diana Gabaldon
NEW YORK, NY – December 10, 2007 – Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today that it will publish an original story set in the world of Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling Outlander series, written by Gabaldon herself and illustrated in full color by award-winning artist Hoang Nguyen. The project was acquired by Betsy Mitchell, editor in chief of Del Rey, in negotiations with Gabaldon’s literary agent Russell Galen.
The new story, starring Gabaldon’s beloved characters Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser, opens with Murtagh, Jamie’s godfather, awaiting the return of his godson to Scotland, and the fulfillment of a vow made years before. The graphic novel will be approximately 192 pages and will publish sometime in 2009. Gabaldon’s upcoming new Outlander novel, An Echo in the Bone, is expected to publish that year as well.
The #1 New York Times bestselling series—Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross , and A Breath of Snow and Ashes—tells the story of Jamie Fraser, a Scottish Highlander from the 18th century, and his time-traveling wife, Claire. The series has 15 million copies in print, has been published in 19 languages, and has spawned huge worldwide online fan communities, as well as numerous online discussion groups. A major motion picture is in development.
The Outlander graphic novel will not be the first project Gabaldon has scripted. Early in her career she wrote numerous comic-book scripts for Walt Disney, among them the Scrooge McDuck series, and the award-winning “Nutrition Adventures with Orange Bird.”
“I’m thrilled to see the launch of such an exciting new project,” Gabaldon says. “I’ve been wanting to do a graphic novel story for years, and couldn’t ask for a better opportunity or more wonderful people to work with. I’m especially delighted to be working with such a magical artist as Hoang Nguyen. My agent and my husband have both fallen in love with his version of Claire—and I’m looking forward with great anticipation to seeing Jamie in ink.”
ABOUT THE CREATORS:
Diana Gabaldon is also the author of the nonfiction title The Outlandish Companion and two novels starring a character first introduced in Outlander: Lord John and the Private Matter and Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade. She holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology, a master’s degree in marine biology, and a Ph.D. in ecology and was a university professor before turning to writing full-time. Gabaldon lives with her family in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Hoang Nguyen’s previous work includes the Robocop movie adaptation for Dark Horse, Alien Legion graphic novels for Marvel Epic, Punisher: War Zone for Marvel and Warstrike for Malibu Comics. His original project Metal Militia was optioned by Dino De Laurentiis for feature film development. More recently he has worked in the video game industry, having contributed to such well-known titles as the Elder Scrolls series for Bethesda Softworks and Xena for Universal Studios. He was the lead artist and character designer on Dead to Rights for Namco and is currently a consultant for Namco Bandai Games. Nguyen lives in Santa Clara, California.
ABOUT DEL REY:
Del Rey Books (http://www.delreybooks.com ) was founded in 1977 as an imprint of Ballantine Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, under the guidance of the renowned Judy-Lynn del Rey and her husband, Lester del Rey. Del Rey publishes the best of modern fantasy, science fiction, and alternate history. In 2004 it expanded by launching Del Rey Manga, which has grown to be a major force in the U.S. graphic-novel field.
Photo Credit
I couldn’t figure out how to attach a credit line to the photo in my profile [for the VotA blog], so this is it: This nice photo was taken by Nancy Castaldo at the 2007 Historical Novelists Society conference in Albany, and used with Nancy’s kind permission. Thanks, Nancy!
This webpage is an archive entry of “Voyages of the Artemis,” my blog from January 10, 2008 through January 11, 2011. These pages were originally accessed by this URL:
http://voyagesoftheartemis.blogspot.com