Social Media Hashtags: #DailyLines, #FirstSundayofAdvent, #2019
Today is the First Sunday of Advent. Advent is the period just before Christmas, when we turn inward in prayer or contemplation, seeking the Light that is within us, and awaiting the great Light to come.
[Excerpt from GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE, Copyright © 2019 by Diana Gabaldon.]
Rachel had explained the basic working of a Friends Meeting to the attendees—that one sat in silence, listening to one’s inner light, unless or until the spirit moved you to say something—whether that was a worry you wished to share, a prayer you wanted to make, a song to sing, or a thought you might want to discuss.
She’d added that while many meetings both began and ended in silence, she felt moved of the spirit to begin today’s meeting by singing, and while she did not pretend to do so with the skill of Friend Walter Cunningham or Friend Roger, (the MacKenzies had come, of course, but the Cunninghams had not, which didn’t surprise me), if anyone wished to join her, she would be grateful for their company.
A good deal of warmth having been enkindled by the song—and Bluebell’s contribution—everyone had sat quietly for a few minutes. I’d felt Jamie, beside me, draw himself up a little, as though having made a decision, and he’d told the congregation about Sylvia Hardman, a Quaker woman he’d met by chance at her house near Philadelphia, and who had cared for him for several days, his back having chosen to incapacitate him.
“Besides her great kindness,” he said, “I was taken by her wee daughters. They were as kind as their mother—but it was their names I liked most. Patience, Prudence, and Chastity, they were called. So I’d meant to ask ye, Rachel—do Friends often call their children after virtues?”
“They do,” she said, and smiling at Jemmy, who had started to twitch a little, added, “Jeremiah—if thee wasn’t called Jeremiah, what name would thee choose? If thee were to be named for a virtue, I mean.”
“Whassa virtue?” Mandy had asked, frowning at her brother as though expecting him to sprout one momentarily.
“Something good,” Germain had told her. “Like…” he glanced dubiously at Rachel for confirmation, “…Peace? Or maybe Goodness?”
“Exactly,” she’d said, nodding gravely. “What name would thee choose, Germain, while Jemmy is thinking? Piety?”
“No!” he’d said, horrified, and amid the general laughter, people had begun proposing nommes-de-virtu, both for themselves and various family members, with ensuing outbursts of laughter or—once or twice—heated discussions regarding the appropriateness of a suggestion.
Click here to visit my official BEES webpage which has up-to-date information about this book and access to the sixty-plus excerpts (aka “Daily Lines”) that I have released so far.
This excerpt is from GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE, Copyright © 2019 by Diana Gabaldon, the ninth book in my Outlander series of novels. All rights reserved.
If you wish to share this excerpt, “Piety,” with others, please copy and paste this link (URL) below:
http://www.dianagabaldon.com/books/outlander-series/book-nine-outlander-series/piety/
Please do not copy the text from this excerpt (whole or in part) and paste it to share on personal or fan webpages, blogs, social media, in printed or digital documents, or anywhere else, publicly or privately. And please do not translate this excerpt into another language and publicly post, publish, or share it. Thanks!
-Diana
Photo by and © Diana Gabaldon.
can I preorder Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone? thank you.
Hi, Sandy,
The Poisoned Pen, my local independent bookstore, is offering pre-ordered copies of GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE which will be signed by me.
My signature is free, and those who buy from the Pen pay the list price of the book plus the cost of the shipping method that you prefer.
And the Pen ships anywhere in the world! Your book will be sent to you within a few weeks of the publication date.
Click here to pre-order BEES from the Poisoned Pen.
Keep in mind, though, that no publication date has been set. Some time in early to mid 2020 is possible.
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Diana
NB: For those not familiar with a “pre-order,” it is a process where a reader buys and pays for a book from a bookstore or other seller before it is released by the publisher. The bookstore or seller reserves one of the copies that they expect to receive for the pre-order buyer. Once the book is published and sent to the seller, the buyer may then receive the book. Pre-orders from other online vendors do not include my signature in the new book.
I’m 71 and eagerly awaiting The Bees. Been a fan since 91′. Have & continually re read all paperbacks & audio’s. Tried to watch STARZ; once they brought Murtagh back to life & bed Aunt Jocasta I was done. Back to re reading. Hope I can live long enough for book 10 you promised….. Keep up the excellent work. More Lord John & his colorful valets mysteries.
Hi, Pam,
I’m soon to be 68 years old, in January, 2020!
So you’ve been reading my books since Outlander was first published! Almost thirty years now.
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Diana
2019 is almost over when is book 9 being released? I keep looking for it! Love your books. I have read them from the start and just found after show come out that Norma Stanton my long time neighbor is your cousin. Small world. God bless
Dear Twilla,
As my Webmistress and I have said (multiple times, actually, in multiple forums), all news about GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE is posted on my official BEES webpage.
I am trying to finish writing and researching BEES by the end of 2019. Still working on that, and BEES is coming along very nicely; will let you know if I make that goal. (I did NOT say that BEES would be published and available at bookstores at the end of 2019.)
Once I have finished writing BEES, my new book will then go through the complicated process of publication, with a U.S.A. release date set by my publisher (not me).
Publication dates for international editions are then decided upon by the publishers in each individual country or publishing area.
So please bookmark my official BEES webpage and check it periodically for news from me about the new book, and for access to all of the sample excerpts that I have released so far from it, about sixty so far!
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Thanks,
Diana
On behalf of the “female” in ALL… slange, my sister!
There must be a fantastic story behind the birth of, “The Baby” excerpt for claire to be wondering about her hair color and her “full power”. I cant wait!