Oookay, then!
Sorry to be so late in getting this post up; I’ve been in New Mexico for the last week, and the internet connection there was Just Abysmal; could barely keep it open long enough to tweet, let alone upload anything longer.
First things first: Upcoming appearances.
I’m flying to New York on Monday, and will be appearing (briefly) at the RWA convention, held at the Marriott Marquis. Appearances will be:
The Literacy Signing, where most of the published authors taking part will be available to sell/sign books—this is from 5:30-7:30 on June 28th, at the Marriott Marquis. This event _is_ open to the public, and I _believe_ that you’re allowed to bring in up to three of your own books from home to be signed, if you like.
The opening panel of the convention, where I’ll be taking part in a discussion with two other Random House authors, Steve Berry and Tess Gerritsen. This is part of the convention and open only to convention attendees. It’ll be from 8:30-10:00 AM on June 29th.
Then on July 5th—publication date for the cool new 20th-anniversary OUTLANDER edition!—I fly to Laramie Wyoming, where I’ll be doing the keynote speech for the Sir Walter Scott conference at the University of Wyoming. The conference program is here http://www.uwyo.edu/scottconf2011/program.html , but I don’t yet have a detailed personal schedule. I _will_ be doing at least one public book-signing, though; will post time and place as soon as I get them.
On July 8th, I fly _back_ to New York, for ThrillerFest, at the Hyatt. There, I’ll be doing a Livestream event with James Rollins (Powell’s Books is supplying books to be sold during this event—and I certainly _hope_ they’ll have the 20th-anniversary edition!) from 2-4:00 PM on July 8th.
On the evening of July 8th, I’ll be doing a joint signing with several other authors for a collaborative mystery novel called NO REST FOR THE DEAD. (This is one of those for-charity efforts—proceeds for this one go to cancer research—where a number of well-known authors take turns writing chapters, and the editor then goes through and kind of smooths things out so the story is coherent. Or so we hope, anyway.)
The signing will be held at 7:00 PM at the Center for Fiction, (17 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017), and authors attending will include Peter James, Marcia Talley, John Lescroart, RL Stine, Diana Gabaldon,Jeffery Deaver, Gayle Lynds and Andrew Gulli. (Just for my own part, I’m fine with people bringing their own books to be signed, too.) This is open to the public.
Aaaand, on July 9th, I’ll do a Spotlight Interview (at the Hyatt) for ThrillerFest, Kathleen Antrim being the interviewer. That’s from 1:00-1:50 PM. And then I’ll do a book-signing for the convention (open only to convention attendees) from 5:00-6:00 PM at the convention bookstore in the hotel.
Then I rush home on the 10th {g}, and do the Official Launch Party for the 20th-anniversary OUTLANDER on July 11th, at The Poisoned Pen bookstore in Scottsdale. 7:00 PM!
Righto. Now, I had promised to show you the two openings I have for SCOTTISH PRISONER. As it stands, I’m opening the book with Jamie’s point of view—but I _could_ open with Lord John’s first chapter instead, and do Jamie’s second. I did it this way because I’d like people to realize right away that this is Jamie’s book, as much as Lord John’s—but it _is_ a Rather Unusual {cough} way to open a book.
So—those of you who don’t read excerpts should stop Right Here.
Those of you who _do_…here you go, and hope you enjoy them! Let me know what you think: Jamie first, or Lord John?
THE SCOTTISH PRISONER
(Copyright 2011 Diana Gabaldon)
Chapter 1:
Helwater, the Lake District
April 1, 1760
It was so cold out, he thought his cock might break off in his hand. If he could find it. The thought passed through his sleep-mazed mind like one of the small, icy drafts that darted through the loft, making him open his eyes.
He could find it now; had waked with his fist wrapped round it and desire shuddering and twitching over his skin like a cloud of midges. The dream was wrapped just as tightly round his mind, but he knew it would fray in seconds, shredded by the snores and farts of the other grooms. He needed her, needed to spill himself with the feel of her touch still on him.
Hanks stirred in his sleep, chuckled loudly, said something incoherent, and fell back into the void, murmuring, “Bugger, bugger, bugger…”
Jamie said something similar under his breath in the Gaelic, and flung back his blanket. Damn the cold.
He made his way down the ladder into the half-warm, horse-smelling fug of the barn, nearly falling in his haste, ignoring a splinter in his bare foot. He hesitated in the dark, still urgent. The horses wouldn’t care, but if they noticed him, they’d make enough noise, perhaps, to wake the others.
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, grunting and whickering. Overhead, a murmured “‘ugger” drifted down, accompanied by the sound of someone turning over and pulling the blanket up round his ears, defying reality.
Claire was still with him, vivid in his mind, solid in his hands. He could imagine that he smelled her hair in the scent of fresh hay. The memory of her mouth, those sharp white teeth …he rubbed his nipple, hard and itching beneath his shirt, and swallowed.
His eyes were long accustomed to the dark; he found the vacant loose-box at the end of the row and leaned against its boards, cock already in his fist, body and mind yearning for his wife.
He’d have made it last if he could, but he was fearful lest the dream go altogether and he surged into the memory, groaning. His knees gave way in the aftermath and he slid slowly down the boards of the box into the loose piled hay, shirt rucked round his thighs and his heart pounding like a kettle drum.
[end section]
(more stuff in this chapter, of course)
Chapter 2: The Fate of Fuses
London
Argus House
Lord John Grey eyed the ribbon-tied packet on his knee as though it were a bomb. In fact, it couldn’t have been more explosive had it been filled with black powder and equipped with a fuse.
His attitude as he handed it to his brother must have reflected this knowledge, for Hal fixed him with a gimlet eye and raised one brow. He said nothing, though, flicking loose both ribbon and wrapping with an impatient gesture and bending his head at once over the thick sheaf of densely-written sheets that emerged.
Grey couldn’t stand to watch him read through Charles Carruthers’s post-mortem denunciation, recalling each damning page as Hal read it. He stood up and went to the window of the study that looked out into the back garden of Argus House, ignoring the swish of turning pages and the occasional blasphemous mutterings behind him.
Hal’s three boys were playing a game of tigers and hunters, leaping out at each other from behind the shrubbery with shrill roars, followed by shrieks of delight and yells of “Bang! Take that, you striped son of a bitch!”
The nurse seated on the edge of the fish-pool, keeping a tight grip on baby Dottie’s gown, looked up at this, but merely rolled her eyes with a martyred expression. Flesh and blood has its limits, her expression said clearly, and she resumed paddling a hand in the water, luring one of the big goldfish close so that Dottie could drop bits of bread to it.
John longed to be down there with them. It was a rare day for early April, and he felt the pulse of it in his blood, urging him to be outside, running bare-foot through young grass. Running naked down into the water… The sun was high, flooding warm through the glass of the French windows, and he closed his eyes and turned his face up to it.
Siverly. The name floated in the darkness behind his eyes, pasted across the blank face of an imagined cartoon major, drawn in uniform, an outsized sword brandished in his hand, and bags of money stuffed into the back of his breeches, obscene bulges under the skirt of his coat. One or two had fallen to the ground, bursting open so that you could see the contents–coin in one, the other filled with what looked like poppets, small wooden doll-like things. Each one with a tiny knife through its heart.
Hal swore in German behind him. He must have reached the part about the rifles; German oaths were reserved for the most stringent occasions, French being used for minor things like a burnt dinner, and Latin for formal insults committed to paper. Minnie wouldn’t let either Hal or John swear in English in the house, not wanting the boys to acquire low habits. John could have told her it was too late for such caution, but didn’t.
He turned round to see Hal on his feet, pale with rage, a sheet of paper crumpled in one hand.
“How dare he? How dare he?”
A small knot he hadn’t known was there dissolved under John’s ribs.
“You believe Carruthers, then?”
Hal glared at him.
“Don’t you? You knew the man.”
He had known Charles Carruthers–in more than one sense.
“Yes, I believed him when he told me about Siverly in Canada–and that–” he nodded at the papers, thrown in a sprawl across Hal’s desk, “–is even more convincing. You’d think he’d been a lawyer.”
He could still see Carruthers’s face, pale in the dimness of his attic room in [town], drawn with ill-health but set with grim determination to live long enough to see justice done. Charlie hadn’t lived that long, but long enough to write down every detail of the case against Major Gerald Siverly, and to entrust it to him.
He was the fuse that would detonate this particular bomb. And he was all too familiar with what happened to fuses, once lit.
[end section]
My vote is for LJG. I love them both, but Its very refreshing to read about what trouble LJG is going to get into!
I agree with those who have said that the Lord John chapter should come first since the book is “Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner”. Therefore, it should start with Lord John’s perspective and then that of the Scottish Prisoner aka Jamie.
But one thing jumped out at me when I read the excerpts. Did they actually use the term “bomb” in the 18th century to refer to an explosive? I thought it was a much more modern word.
Dear Peggy–
Oh, yes; usage of “bomb” to mean a packaged explosive dates back to at least the fifteenth century, if not earlier. For someone with Lord John’s artillery experience, he may well be thinking of a sort of canister shot, in which gunpowder and shrapnel (though the word “shrapnel” _didn’t_ come into use until later) were bundled up into a sort of oblong package, or “bomb”, which was shot from the cannon into the midst of the enemy.
–Diana
Diana,
Thanks so much for the clarification. We can always trust your historical research to be complete and accurate! It really makes the books come alive. Can’t wait to hear more about Lord John, Jamie and the rest of the gang!
I would start with Jamie, I find his opening very captivating. Also, I am super excited to finally get to meet you at the Marriott tomorrow! I hope your travels go well.
Correct me if I’m wrong but I understand that The Scottish Prisoner is about Jamie’s story from Lord John’s point of view, ergo it will make more sense to open with Lord John, but I go with Jamie’s beginning. I told you this before, I love the “not around the bushes” style of yours… this is not about which character I love the must -I love them both- but about how I want to be taken into this story. For those who have not read the Outlander series before- hardly anyone- they will be intrigued to know what is behind Jamie’s pain and longing for Claire, I know I would.
Start with Jamie !
I vote for the Jamie opening.
In my opinion, if someone is hesitant to read the Lord John books, because all they want is to read about Jamie and Claire, and they happen to pick this one up and read the first few paragraphs, it will hook them.
Whatever way you choose, I know it will be wonderful and I can’t wait to read it!
John is what I vote for.
I agree with voters for John for all the same reasons. Plus, it leaves you turning the pages for Jamie.
Definitely Jamie!!!
As an avid fan of your books,I must confess that I have not kept up with the Lord John books like I should have. I really neeed to the following ones after the first book. I do agree with Sherrie though,as I think both Jamie and Claire would trus you to make the right decision. Also,since you say that neither is a full chapter and just an excerpt of said chapters, how would both of those fit into the rest of the book,or is either one going to open the book. It depends how you you want to present it. Personally,I like Jamie’s version,but in the end you have to go with your gut.
My first thought was to go with LJ but for those who haven’t read the LJ series (GASP shame on you!) I guess it would make more sense to start with Jamie. I personally would read it any way you put it.
P.S. I’m hoping to hear more about Tom Byrd, he’s one of my favorite characters.
I vote for Jamie’s chapter! I know he will capture my attention immediately (and I believe others’ as well) and that would show, that this book is as much about him as Lord John. And overall I think it would make a better beginning, considering what you said about John’s and Jamie’s chapter at Compuserve.
Thanks for asking!
As to which should come first, I trust your judgement as the author. I (along with many others I’m sure) will read and enjoy it with either start. I’m looking forward to Scottish Prisoner, but I’m DYING for book 8 to come out!
Carruthers…has he or the name made an appearance in another book?? It sounds familiar, but I cannot place it.
I have to laugh, because when I read the first few words of the Lord John excerpt, I was thinking that John was holding his niece Dottie! I love the way you draw us into a scene and as a ‘fan’ of both series, I would vote for the Lord John opening, just because it follows Lord John’s return from Canada and is intriguing on so many levels
On the other hand (cough), I wrote a scene in a writing class that started with a post coital cuddle and the instructors comment was that she loved that I got the sex scene right at the start!
You know your fans…if your name is on it they’re gonna read it!
Safe travels and thanks for asking!
VickiB
Either is great, write fast, can’t wait.
hard choices! The bit with Jamie is taunt, we feel his loneliness and pain but we already know it, unless of course the reader has not yet fallen under Outlander’s spell.
However, having spent a bit of last month reading Dorothy Sayers and Josephine Tey, I have a new appreciation for those who venture into mystery. I am currently searching for “Saint books” by Leslie Charteris though I am not sure those are always mysteries.
John’s opening is smoother, the bits that bite are hidden but not obscured during a peaceful day with children. Very good.
I will see which comes out when the book is released.
Anna
NEVER thought I’d cast my vote this way, but I think the Lord John story is a great way to start it – a soft opening, and then the more intense opening of Jamie. Just my two cents
Lord John should start the book off. Then, let the Scottish Prisoner free.
Depends upon the tone you wish to set at the onset.
Lord John’s selection invites the mind to open and seek the continuum rather than stimulates glands to secrete in titillation and completion.
I vote Lord John’s piece, which is not the least peaceful or self absorbed and which leads forward.
Jamie.
Jamie.
Jamie.