Why, yes, actually I _have_ (in and amongst everything else) been working on Book Eight. [g] I think I showed you a brief snip of the pickup to the Jem-in-the-tunnel cliffhanger last month; here’s a likewise brief snip of the one between Jamie and Lord John:
Excerpt, Book Eight
Copyright 2010 Diana Gabaldon
He’d been quite resigned to dying. Had expected it from the moment that he’d blurted out, “I have had carnal knowledge of your wife.” The only question in his mind had been whether Fraser would shoot him, stab him, or eviscerate him with his bare hands.
To have the injured husband regard him calmly, and say merely, “Oh? Why?” was not merely unexpected, but…infamous. Absolutely infamous.
“Why?” John Grey repeated, incredulous. “Did you say ‘Why’?”
“I did. And I should appreciate an answer.”
Now that Grey had both eyes open, he could see that Fraser’s outward calm was not quite so impervious as he’d first supposed. There was a pulse beating in Fraser’s temple, and he’d shifted his weight a little, like a man might do in the vicinity of a tavern brawl, not quite ready to commit violence, but readying himself to meet it. Perversely, Grey found this sight steadying.
“What do you bloody mean, ‘why’?” he said, suddenly irritated. “And why aren’t you fucking dead?”
“I often wonder that myself,” Fraser replied politely. “I take it ye thought I was?”
“Yes, and so did your wife! Do you have the faintest idea what the knowledge of your death _did_ to her?”
The dark blue eyes narrowed just a trifle.
“Are ye implying that the news of my death deranged her to such an extent that she lost her reason and took ye to her bed by force? Because,” he went on, neatly cutting off Grey’s heated reply, “unless I’ve been seriously misled regarding your own nature, it would take substantial force to compel ye to any such action. Or am I wrong?”
The eyes stayed narrow. Grey stared back at them. Then he closed his eyes briefly and rubbed both hands hard over his face, like a man waking from nightmare. He dropped his hands and opened his eyes again.
“You are not misled,” he said, through clenched teeth. “And you _are_ wrong.”
Yes, it is wonderful to connect with Jamie and LJG and continue Echo, but am I the only one to have been sweetly fooled by a teaser in Echo? I remember reading a lol teaser about Jamie and Claire reconnecting in adjacent jail cells after she thought he was dead. Touching fingers through a hole in the plaster.. something about 'Why did you marry my best friend, Sassenach?' And William helping them escape. So I kept waiting, smugly thinking this scene has got to play out soon.. and then the master/mistress Gabaldon changed it on me… and a whole new scene appeared in Echo… I loved it! And what a hoot — the joke was on me… so don't think this is the only possible scene in the fabulous Gabaldon brain! Keep 'em coming!
And in those few words I'm reminded what I love most about your writing: the characters.
Thank you, you evil woman. :o)
Actually, this confirms what I've thought all along…LJ and Claire comforted one another, there was no change in orientation for LJ and Claire, if you remember, only comforted him in the second session in bed and he understood, she would not betray Jamie.
Her deep grief combined with intoxication led to the first episode and it would never have been repeated IMHO.
I hope Jamie is quite upset and overcomes his anger when he learns that they came together grieving his death. The 'why' really rankled me at the end of Echo, and this only rankled me further!!
Loved it Diana, cliffhanger after cliffhanger…
I was the type of kid who never went looking for hidden Christmas presents when I was little, because I didn't want anything to spoil the wonderful magic of Christmas morning. But the pull of these excerpts is beyond anything I can resist… I simply MUST read them the second they hit! This was another wonderful "sneak peek," and I (along with everyone else) am alternately joyous and more tortured for it!
Thank you so much for your interaction with your fans, Diana!
I miss Jamie and that teaser was torture.
Diana,
Thanks for the teasers! I love reading them and trying to fit them into where I think the story may be heading. You must love Lord John to torture him so.
I also enjoy reading about your travels…thanks for being so, um, prolific with your online writing. I am hoping to see you in Winston-Salem in September!
Diana,
Are you a fan of John Mellencamp's music? If so, I know the perfect song to go with this and all the other snippets you are giving us: "Hurt So Good".
Love it!
Diana,
It'll be amazing whenever you (and the characters) decide to end the story, and I am most definitly enjoying all the other amazing 'Outlandish' stuff you've given us in the mean time! (My CD is on its way!)
Thanks for putting your heart so fully into this story that we love so much!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Now we have to "wait and see"!
Mean, mean, mean.
Thank you for the excerpt
Thank you for the excerpt…Just like most who have commented here I cannot wait for the next book.
I am so addicted that I check the blog everyday (along with a few other choice blogs). I love getting all the latest on the books. Keep up the good work! BTW my husband is a HUGE fan of yours also.
Thank you so much for writing such fantastic stories! I just finished Echo (after re-reading the entire series again), and of course am very sad that I must wait for book 8. Maybe it's a little odd, but my favorite part of Echo was when Roger opens Claire & Jamie's books. The description of the authors' prints made me cry, cry, cry! Again, thank you so much for my favorite series! I love recommending them to all my reader friends.
Dear Diana,
I confess that as soon as i realised Jem's whereabouts in one of the very last chapters i totally skipped it and went on reading the others.
It took quite some time to sum up my courage and find out what happened to him. He may be a brave wee lad like his father and grandfather but a wee lad nevertheless!
I discovered your books three years ago, and was thrilled to know that the first two of them had been translated also in Greek. As soon as i was hooked and addicted to them, i had to read the rest of them in English, ordering them via Internet. That was till ABOSAA. I was so content to find out last fall that all big book stores in Athens- Greece had – at last- "Echo" available on shelves and ofcourse some of your previous books as well….
Looking forward for number Eight !
Cordially saluts !
I have just turned another friend into a fan. That makes quite a few so far. It's not my doing, however. The deed is yours. All I have to do is wax poetic and swoon. And then my husband starts in about how much he enjoys the series as well. Really, they never stand a chance.
"Absolutely infamous" – you couldn't have described it better! Jamie's calmly uttered "why" was the one cliffhanger that sent me right over the edge. Loved the teaser and wonder where your incredible imagination will take us in the next and hopefully not last book.
OK My husband of 47 years and I are coming to a crisis in our lives; for a long, long time, we've read at least one "Outlander" chapter aloud before we turn out the light to sleep. We're nearing the end of Echo and we're going to go into withdrawal and not be able to sleep at all until book 8. My husband did suggest that we start all over again….mmmmm…that's a thought. We've tried other books, but they're so deadly dull after yours; that won't do at all. Keep stoking your inner fires and sharing them with us. Thank you!!!
I'm trying to find the excerpt/cliffhanger that Daina wrote about Jem in the tunnel from book Eight-where is it? anyone…? Would love to read it! thx!
Diana I LOVE all of your books, but I do have one question about Echo that I found didn't quite sit well with me, and that was Claire sleeping with Lord John. Still processing that one…
What a way to start the work day – with this lovely torturous tidbit! I have my daily Outlander fix because I listen to your books while I knit – but this isn't going to be fixed by listening…..I think I am going to have to re-read Echo. Again!
Really Diana, you are a master of suspense!!
Reading the comments here I see that everybody (or almost) are thinking of what Jamie will do or feel. He is a great caracter I love it, but I think that Claire an LJ are much more interesting, clever an intelligent.
Each one of your characters has somthing special, but Claire and LJ are the best
Dear dp–
Well, everyone has his or her favorites–and sometimes they change. [g] From my point of view…
Well, there's a group of local fans who take me out to tea every spring, to pick my brains about what I'm up to. On one of these occasions, they got started on the character of Black Jack Randall: "Oh, he's so _loathsome_…he's disgusting! He makes my skin crawl..etc."
And I sat there placidly sipping my Earl Grey and thinking, "You have no idea that you're _talking_ to Black Jack Randall, do you?"
Bear that in mind, won't you? [g]