I’m pleased to announce that WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD (aka MOBY) will be published by Random House (US) on June 10th, 2014.
To answer a few questions that I _know_ the answer to:
Canada always publishes on the same date as the US.
UK Cover
The UK (and its territories, Australia and New Zealand) usually publishes very near the US date, but not invariably on the _same_ day. It might be, it might be a few days earlier, it might be later, I don’t know. Will tell you as soon as I do.
Germany will likely publish quite close to the same date as the US, perhaps a little sooner. I don’t know about that yet.
Almost all other non-English publishers will publish about a year after the US/English edition, because they have to allow time for translation, and a Big Book takes a long time to translate. (Germany gets much faster translation because I have a close personal relationship with the German translator, and she works with me while I write.)
The book-tour for MOBY is being rescheduled as we speak. The launch party will be held in Scottsdale, AZ, by the Poisoned Pen bookstore, at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, 6-10 PM, June 10th.
That’s ALL I know for now. As soon as the dates are re-set (spoke to the Random House publicist this morning and she says she thinks most of the dates and events previously scheduled will be the same), I’ll post the list everywhere.
I’m very happy to hear a new book is coming out. I discovered this series by presenting my family with the following challenge, “I’m sorry I you’re upset that I finished the book you gave me this morning. It was really good.” Next thing I knew my grandma presented me with “A Breath of Snow and Ashes” and said, “This should take you more than a week.” She was right I read it my freshman year of college in 8 days. I then rediscovered the series when An Echo in The Bone came out and I was shelving it at work. I got one of the 1st copies. Recently I started reading the series from the beginning and have had to check “The Fiery Cross” out twice. Sadly, my grandma is not around for me to thank for such a good find.
I first read Outlander in 1991. It was a copy that was borrowed from a friend of mine. ( I now have 3 copies of my own, along with at least one of all of your others). Over the years it was hard to wait for the next installment of Jamie and Claire, etc. In the past 22 years, I have learned much patience. I enjoy your books so much. I talk about them to anyone who will listen ( and many who don’t want to!). I am, however, so glad that you recognize and respect the fact that you need to take a little more time to finish writing MOBY. Why would we, the readers, the fans, _want_ a less than perfectly written book? Great things come to those who wait patiently! I am positive we won’t be disappointed!
I love you Diana. And I love your responses to the haters ..ahem.. I mean… impatient fans. Thank you so much for this beautiful series. It puts a lot of happy in my life everytime I reread them. Can’t wait to read MOBY. Xxxoo
Dear Diana,
While it seems like we’ve been waiting forever for this next chapter, you’ve given me the chance to (once again) dig out all the previous books in the series and immerse myself in Claire and Jamie’s lives. By the time I’ve finished, MOBY may just be about ready for publication. I’ve been to the Scottish Highlands and your books take me back every time. Thanks for years of great reading and more to come! All the best to you this holiday season!
Dear Diana – I have never posted on any blog or website before but after reading some of the disrespectful comments above I felt the need to add my own comment – the sense of entitlement some people have amazes me. My family, friends, and I have enjoyed your books for years and to me the characters are like old friends that I keep going back to. I first started reading Outlander while I was commuting into New York and I could not wait to get on the train to immerse myself in the world you had created. Thank you so much for the time, effort, and love that you put into these books and characters, they are wonderful – every time I read them I find things that I missed or didn’t quite get previously so I’ll be rereading them all again prior to June.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas! Arlene
I can wait until June for my new book to come out. I treasure your books and have read them 2 times already. So one more time won’t hurt. Every time I read them I see or hear something I missed or didn’t quite understand before. Can’t wait!! Stay safe and healthy so we can find out how it all ends. Blessings on you, your family, and all your endeavours.
I think it is absurd that anyone could presume to demand that an author produce a book within a specific amount of time. This series is Diana’s intellectual property and she chooses to share it with us when she feels it is ready. Writing is not like baking a cake, there is no set recipe and you can’t simply set a timer and ‘ding’ it’s done! Obviously her process is working because the books are well loved and people anxiously await them. All of you who are demanding that she rush, or chastising her for not pushing the book out as quickly as you want, remind me of the movie Misery.
I’ve only just discovered this series, and am 3/4 of the way through the first book, what a great adventure to have all these wonderful books ahead of me to read.
Many thanks, Diana.
I will admit I was disappointed when I just saw that the release date of MOHB was pushed back. Right now, I’m sitting here trying to figure out how to tell my mother about it as she’s 84 and going to be disappointed also. However……………I’m so excited to learn that there will be a ninth book! We’ve both read and re-read the series and learn something new each time through. Don’t pay any attention to the grumblers and just keep up the fantastic work, Diana. I hope you have a blessed holiday season.
Dear Ms. Gabaldon,
I, too, am a little disappointed that the publishing date has been postponed. BUT:
A dear friend of mine gave me the first book (in German) and I have been hooked ever since. I once saw you in Altona, Hamburg, Germany, when you signed a German translation for this aforementioned friend, which took ages, too, my husband sitting patiently for hours, waiting, so if he can be patient, so can I.
You do write some awesome books! I, too, have read the series up and down again, in German (Frau Schnell is a fantastic translater) and English, so as we Englishmen say: KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON!!!! or as the German say: weiter so!!!
Just one of your loyal readers,
Yvonne
Diana,
You are by far the best author I have ever read and I tell people that all the time. Your attention to detail is amazing and makes each word such a pleasure to read. There is no insignificant detail. I like many others appreciate the fact that you are focused on putting out the best story you can and I can tell that you are not taking the delay in the publication date lightly. Keep doing what you are doing. I am happy to continue on with the story of Jamie and Claire as long as you will keep writing them. (I am currently reading An Echo in The Bone). Keep doing what you are doing the way you do it. That is why we all love your work anyway. I am also exciting about your reluctant part in the TV series
I am glad to know STARZ is trying to keep you close and I hope they are honoring the amazing story you have written. I tell people all the time when they ask me what genre these books are the if/when it comes to screen men and women alike will watch. It’s hard to put them in one category. Thank you for everything that you do. All the best to you!
Very disappointed with delayed publication date. I was all set up for reading this book at Christmas 2013 as last publication date I was aware of was December 2013. Now it is 6 months further away – very disappointing and I have already paid for the book as I have pre-ordered it!!!!
June
Dear June–
They don’t actually charge your credit card until they ship the book.
–Diana
Do you possibly know when it will be published as an ebook?
Dear Kelsey–
The ebook and audio versions should be published at the same time as the hardcover. Trade paperback usually follows 6-9-12 months later, followed by mass-market (small) paperback some months after.
Hope you’ll enjoy it, whatever the format!
–Diana
Thank you! This makes it easier for me, living in South Africa certain books are hard to find as much as I prefer them as physical books!
Dear Diana,
I’ve only discovered your series a mere 3 years ago….have read and enjoyed every last one. I named a red breasted hummingbird that came to visit each day, Jamie….and when I use body lotion, shampoo, etc., that is made with natural ingredients….I think of Claire. You have a gift and I want to be among the other fans in saying “Thank you for sharing”. It’s because of you and your next book I am investing in an E-Book and while I’m waiting for MOBY, I will refresh my memory with the last book. There were days when I’d be nervous about opening the book because I knew I would be reading until 4:00 a.m. (that’s after starting to read @ 7:00 p.m.). I’m retired now, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Wishing you a healthy and happy 2014 and beyond.
Dear Diana,
For me, when a book or series is really good, it not only is enjoyable, entertaining, or an emotional fix or get away. (Although I may want all those things in a book series, and that your books have been). I seek to be inspired!
Something much much more has resulted for me in reading the Outlander series, (which I only became aware of when my neighbor loaned me the first, then all 8 books in June, finished in October).
I digress to say your artful stories have inspired me to learn more about my and my husband’s family history, about the history of the countries threaded into the saga, including a more purposeful interest in our own American legacy. I have a deeper appreciation for my forefathers and their struggles. Jamie and Claire have helped me to appreciate my loved ones, and all that I value as truly important in life.
I too am anxious for the chapters in their lives to unfold.
So while I wait, my garden will boast more herbs, and I will live my own ” real life” more richly for having stepped into theirs!
Thank you for the inspiration,
Melinda
P.S. I waited something like 8 years for the last Clan of the Cave Bear Earth’s Children book, I can wait the next 6 months for “In My Life’s Blood”
I just got new (used) copies of the first four books to reread, since my other copies fell apart. Plus “Dangerous Women”. I really enjoy the little tidbits you give us online, and the stories that fit in in other books.
I am very curious about what you mean by betrayal. I can’t imagine any of the main characters betraying each other, but now am wondering what is happening with Lord Ellesmere.
Thank you for all your books and stories.
Listen, avid readers, did you ever stop to consider it may well be Diana that doesn’t live long enough to finish the saga. Stop complaining.
I just finished An Echo In The Bone/ It by far, took me the longest to read. I wanted to linger on every page, knowing MOBY was on the way. Now I see the publication date has been moved, and while I must admit a fleeting moment of impatience, it has subsided into the realizarion I now have time to re-read every line written to this point.
Who am I to question the need for more time? As a fan, I have loved each book because of the exquisite detail Diana weaves into the characters. All I can say is Thank You. You owe us nothing, but I am personally grateful, eight monster books into the series that you still care enough to make it your best.
Everyone is rushing Diana to get all the books done. Yes, I’m sorry if people die waiting for the next one (in corpus or just in their own heads). But think about this – - once Diana is finished writing the Last Book, there will be no more.
I’m still waiting for One More in a series from a favorite science fiction author, and there will never be any more. Ever. She’s done with that series. And although I enjoy her latest series, I have a special place in my heart for those characters from the earlier series, and would love to see Just One More. But it will never, ever be. Ever.
So – - I’m eagerly (and sometimes impatiently) awaiting MOHB, but I can’t see raising my blood pressure over it. Yes, I’ve read all the others: Outlander, more times than I can count and the rest in descending order as far as frequency. Ever time I re-read one of the series, I become aware of something I missed, so I highly recommend the “exercise.”
Take good care of your health, Diana. I’m also eagerly awaiting all the prequels, sequels, related stores, unrelated stories, and hope you write into your very old age!!!!
MY daughters bought me the series for Mother’s day 3 years ago in paperback…Yes I have wonderful daughters.
I am finishing my third read, but doing on the hardbacks that I have been acquiring over the past year. I have one thing on my Christmas list and that is An Echo in the Bone. I had already pre-ordered the final book and hey there was one spot left in paperback. Looking forward to finishing in time for the release date in June. And hey my 43 anniversary is in June so it is perfect timing.
Thank you for your detailed research, your vivid characters and beautiful story telling.
My two personal favs are the segment with Jamie and William roughing it while Lord John recovers, the moment he thinks about the picture, the quite memory that comes to mind and is forever in our minds and hearts is so moving. And my fav love scene is when Claire speaks of coming home, and home again and being together and not alone. Best said with so few words. Bravo madame.
Ruthann
Dear Diana,
I am waiting very patiently (well, o.k. maybe not as patiently as I should) for the release of MOBY and am thrilled to now hear that this isn’t the end – there is a book #9 coming!!
Realistically I know it isn’t possible for you to say when book #9 will be released, but if you were to give it an “educated” guess, what would you say?
Since my memory isn’t what is used to be, it is my intention to re-read the series before I read MOBY, and now if there is to be another, I just don’t know what to do. Do I wait…..
Thanks Diana!