A couple of publishers asked me this week to write a brief bit of catalog copy for them, describing MOBY–so I did. For those of you wondering What to Expect from the eighth book in the OUTLANDER series:
WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD is the eighth novel in the world-famous OUTLANDER series. In June of 1778, the world turns upside-down. The British army withdraws from Philadelphia, George Washington prepares to move from Valley Forge in pursuit, and Jamie Fraser comes back from the dead to discover that his best friend has married Jamie’s wife. The ninth Earl of Ellesmere discovers to his horror that he is in fact the illegitimate son of the newly-resurrected Jamie Fraser (a rebel _and_ a Scottish criminal!) and Jamie’s nephew Ian Murray discovers that his new-found cousin has an eye for Ian’s Quaker betrothed.
Meanwhile, Claire Fraser deals with an asthmatic duke, Benedict Arnold, and the fear that one of her husbands may have murdered the other. And in the 20th century, Jamie and Claire’s daughter Brianna is thinking that things are probably easier in the 18th century: her son has been kidnapped, her husband has disappeared into the past, and she’s facing a vicious criminal with nothing but a stapler in her hand. Fortunately, her daughter has a miniature cricket bat and her mother’s pragmatism.
The best of historical fiction with a Moebius twist, WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD weaves the fibers of a family’s life through the tapestry of historical drama.
NB: I’m still _writing_ this. With luck, it will be published in fall of 2013. (Update from the webmaster: This book will be released by the publisher on June 10, 2014, in the U.S.A.) Hope you enjoy it! (In the meantime, if you’re the sort of reader who likes to see bits and pieces as we go along, I do post brief snippets–from this book and other works in progress or coming up for release–most days, on both Twitter (my ID there is @Writer_DG) and Facebook.
NB2: I told my editor I want an octopus on the cover of this book. (There are eight main characters whose stories are told–and they’re all linked together.)
NB3: I call the book MOBY for short. My Own Heart’s Blood = MOHB = MOH-B = Moby. Geddit?
From the webmaster: Visit the MOBY home page for the latest information.
Diana – I’m on my third round of your books and other than skipping parts that I don’t have the heart to read again (like Roger getting beat up unnecessarily by Jamie and Ian), I’ll be through long before 2013. Despite that, it will be a great year…MOBY and The Hobbit in the same year! But hurry, last Saturday I found myself following a strikingly handsome tall man with a pony tail around Walmart before I realized what I was doing! He looked about 30 and I’m 57! Lordy, Lordy!
I first read Outlander on a plane ride, picked up that first book at the airport years ago, and I was hooked. I gave it to my sister and she was hooked, and then we read it in bookclub and THEY were hooked. We have the whole collection and can’t wait to read MOBY. I too think Jamie and Claire need to be together!!!
My sister got me started with the Outlander series last fall and I was hooked from the beginning. I have just finished the 7th in the series and cannot wait for number 8!! I absolutely LOVED each and every book. So well written and so descriptive that I could literally just lose myself in those characters and their episodes. I look forward to checking out the Lord John series as well. I am also very excited about the possibility of this series becoming a mini series on one of the cable networks…already trying to picture who would play Jamie, Claire, Ian, Lord John, etc! Please keep us up to date on that!
Oh boy. Fall 2013? That’s a long wait ahead of us. I always re-read the previous books when a new one is coming. In anticipation of an early 2013 release, I started reading all the books again this summer and am on book #5 now. My husband thinks I am nuts and now I will “have to” re-read them all over again next summer in preparation for fall 2013. Oh well, more Jamie, Claire and me time, I guess. Plus they finally started translating the books into my mother tongue and it did not take me long to persuade my mother what a great series this is. She is finished with the Voyager and is anxiously awaiting the release of Drums of Autumn this fall. I just have to be careful what I tell her so that I don’t leak any info she has not had a chance to read yet. Can’t wait for #8. You sure left us hanging
Thank you!
I had totally forgotten the ghost of Jamie! 8 books in and no mention of this again!
NB2: I told my editor I want an octopus on the cover of this book. (There are eight main characters whose stories are told–and they’re all linked together.)
You state that a main characters but there are nine listed
Earlier this year, I searched the internet for a ranking of “must read” books hoping to find some gems I’d never read. Well, your books were ranked at the very top for this genre and I’d not had the pleasure, so I began the journey and am currently on #5. From the very first book through number 4, a different librarian at our local branch has told me how much I’d enjoy this series as I checked it out. I guess by number 5, they must have figured I’d finally caught on. Fortunately for me, by the time I catch up I shouldn’t have to wait too long for MOBY. There’s something to be said for being a newbie.
Haven,
I’m a new reader of the series just like you. I also did a search on the internet for “Best Series” and the Outlander series came up. I’m on Voyager and just over Half way through. I am also hoping that by the time I catch up it won’t be long until MOBY comes out. I am trying to read them in order and include the Lord John books in the middle where Diana said they should go. And for Diana…
Diana,
Will MOBY explain why Jamie’s ghost is looking up at Claire’s window in Outlander before she takes her first trip through time? Or will that be yet to come? Wonderful stories!
Bonnie
Bonnie, I cant wait for that question to be answered!
I dont know the correct answer to this but if i had to guess, i would go along the lines of…..
By the time he comes to her in ghost form he would have already met her and been through everything that we have read and if he kept on going on year by year (without jumping through time via the stones) then eventually he will reach the time just before her first trip through the stones, of course he would have died though because you can’t live up to 200 years old…he would remember her but she wont remember him because she was born after they met etc….however if i remember correctly she did think there was something familiar about him when she saw him in ghost form…after all she would have been in the past but just didnt know it because she had been reborn again. (started her whole life from the beginning)
i guess in some ways it can depend on which time you are reading the story from. if you are reading it from the past then she was technically never alive back then so she has to be reborn on her birth date in the future after they have both died in the past.
The way I see it, the story could go around and around in circles. she will go back and live in the past, they die, she is reborn in her birth year, he visits her in ghost form, she goes back to the past, they die, she is reborn in her birth year, he visits her in ghost form and so on…..
I’m sorry, I’m not very good at explaining things but i have done my best with the way i see it. Maybe Diana could explain it better? or even tell us the correct answer?
Dear Kat–
Claire never saw the ghost; Frank did, and told her about him.
–Diana
bonnie, your post is old, so you may never see this, but jamie outside the window and frank seeing him stare up at claire has been my main question for a couple decades! i hope i find out before i am dead! there was a post above by a woman in her 80s, waiting for MOBY….i hope she makes it to publication!
kathie
Absolutely the best books I’ve ever read! Story line is always interesting, characters are believable and endearing, and your writing style is stimulating to say the least. Spot on!
I’ve read through the series a few times already and also have the audio books narrated by Davina Porter. She really brings the characters to life… the perfect accompaniment to your beautiful stories. I really hope she will be narrating the eventual audio book for MOBY! I commute an hour each way to work every day and generally travel with Jamie and Claire, et al. :->
Thanks for the heartwarming entertainment (and historical education).
“Claire Fraser deals with… the fear that one of her husbands may have murdered the other.”
Ha ha! Can’t wait to read that part.
Just finished the Scottish Prisoner. I read it in less than a week. I can’t wait until Fall 2013 for the next in the Outlander series. Just have to re read the rest in the meantime! I am so excited to hear the series will be made into a television series. Who will be cast as Jamie? Can anyone fill those shoes? Anxiously awaiting…..
Oh I am so excited- not original- but true story! You left Echo on such a cliff hanger- I literally threw it across the room when I realized it was over- I just finished the Scottish Prisoner and loved getting a fix of my favorite two guys, and per your suggestion downloaded the Custom of the army- didnt even know about that one! you snuck it in on me! I just turned a friend of mine who said- I need something good to read- on to Jamie and Clair and she in the middle of dragon fly at the moment and texts me constantly wanting to know what will happen- hahaha That is why I LOVE your books- a person really gets to know the characters through all of the details. I cant wait for MOBY and think Ill journey with my friend on a re read to get ready for it. Thank you for your gift and sharing with us all
I await the next instalment of Claire & co. with longing. I have just finished An Echo in the Bone and am delighted to know there is more!
It’s taken me a couple of years to read all book, because once i get started nothing else gets done, I hardly even sleep for wanting to read. My family complain… so I have to spread them out. Right now i feel as if there’s a hole inside me and I keep peeking at your website to satisfy my hunger for more. I feel like a child who’s discovered where the Christmas presents are stored and can’t stay away but sneaks back to squeeze them guiltily. I’m unsure if I actually want to know in advance what happens in the next book. Nothing could compare to the finished work.
I’m full of admiration for your skill in writing rollocking adventure with just the right amount of romance thrown in
Keep at it! I shall look forward to next autumn like never before.
Dear Diane,
I absolutely LOVE your Outlander series; actually my son bought me the entire set a couple of years ago, because he knows how much I re-read them and my old books were rather tattered! Best gift ever (besides my grand daughter!)
I simply CANNOT wait for the eighth book – please don’t let this series ever end! I even named my rabbits Jamie and Claire! In many ways, Jamie reminds me of my husband who transcended 4 yrs ago…So I am a little in love with him and Claire is an astonishing icon for womyn everywhere on the planet.
You are such a talented writer – your descriptions make me feel like I am part of the story…Namaste and thank you for sharing your gifts with us!
BLISSings,
Lynn
My wife, Audette, and I are long time fans of the Outlander series and are anxiously awaiting the next volume. I worked with the U.S. Army for forty-two years, twenty-three years in uniform, most of it overseas. Relaxation is important to us. Your stories contain the historical context, human nature, and touch of fantasy that we look for. We also find the diversity, openess, and tolerance, the reality that all humans are not, nor should they be, of the same set of values, ethics, or beliefs, to be a more accurate reflection of the complexity of “ordinary” life. I believe that God has a keen sense of humour but rarely warns of the punchline. Two authors we look to for for continuing saga’s;you and Mercedes Lackey.
I’ve just finished rereading the series yet again! Eagerly awaiting the 8th in line! I’m getting quite old, but I’ll do my best to see how the new one plays out. I know that you have to write it as it comes to you and no faster, I’m just hoping for some “brain grease”!! Thank you for many enjoyable hours of great story telling! The series stays on my e reader no matter what else goes on there.
Okay…….You covered most of the cliff hangers, and so far there has been one other to mention my interest. What about Jem!?!?!? I think you once referenced that his father, Roger, writes him a letter in what I think (I may be in error) was a newspaper (perhaps Fergus’s?). I also wonder will there be a story line that develops into a book on Fergus and his family. Hugh Monroe’s widow’s family has also tickled my wondering interest, as do many others as I re-read your enjoyable books. I look forward to reading your story on Michael Murray. Life stories, real and imaginary, and how they bump or interweave into others are fun and miraculous (sp) to ponder and explore in my imagination and it is always a treat to see where your imagination and insights take us through the stories and characters you so enticingly craft and share. I don’t care how long you take. I am enjoying the ride like a kid with unlimited access to the rides in an amusement park. Many sincere thanks!
P.S. I don’t twitter or facebook, so if you covered these questions there I am sorry for re-addressing them.
Dear D.G., I have read all your “Outlander” books starting in 2001. That’s whenI fell in love with Jamie and Claire. Then one day when I was rearranging my book shelf I decided to re-read the whole series again (it is now 2010). The only difference is that I re-purchased the whole series on my Kindle. Even nine years later it was just as exciting to be back with the Fraser’s as the first time. I will never tire of reading these classic books. You are a most outstanding author, and, I recommend your ‘Outlander’ series to anyone who asks me “do you know any good books to read?” Thank you, and I am so looking so forward to “Moby”.
I can’t wait for the next book. I’ve read all seven of them twice. I just finished listening
to them on cd, and I’ve gotten a whole new perspective on them. These are my all time
favorite books.
Diana,
After reading the majority of the posts it seems everyone agrees with what I have been saying for years….you’re books are wonderful!!!! They are the best stories I have ever read or heard in my life. I hope you caught the “heard” part because that is the reason for my post. I have read a few books in my life (mainly way back in high school!) But I listen to tons of audio books as it is the only way I can keep my sanity during my long commute to and from work. You may find this hard to believe but I actually look forward to my commute whenever I listen to one of your books (Outlander or Lord John). The reason for this is two fold: you’re writing and Davina Porter (to those that haven’t had the pleasure Davina is the narrator in the Outlander series audio books). Davina Porter is amazing…It is unbeleivable how she can create a different sound for each character. You must, I beg you, have her do the next book as well. Also if you have any say what-so-ever in any filmed series please push for Davina to be Claire!!! If any of the millions who have read any of the Outlander books would like a real treat they need to listen to one of the audio books….Davina brings each character to life in a way I know everyone will enjoy and are available at The Poison Pen or I have gotten the majority from my local library! Thanks for helping with my sanity even when most will argue that point!!
Gary
Did you say all 8 characters were all Inked together?
Wonderful News about Ron Moore and the TV series!!! He’s brillian, your books are brilliant! I am very happy to hear it….been a reader since the mid-1990s. Looking forward to MOBY.