Dear Readers and Fans of the Outlander tv series,
Thank you so much for all of your sweet birthday wishes!
My 70th birthday on January 11, 2022, was a very happy one, and I celebrated it with my husband and family.
Blessings to each of you,
Diana
Original post from Diana’s Webmistress:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIANA!
Today is her 70th birthday. If you’d like to send her a greeting, there are two ways:
Send birthday wishes to Diana in a public web comment using the form below on this blog post, where it says “Leave a Response.” The comments are moderated so your comment will appear in a few hours. (“Moderated” means someone makes sure a human wrote the comment and it isn’t spam.)
And/Or send an email to Diana at dgabaldon@aol.com. Emails are not public.
Diana reads all emails and web comments and loves to hear from you.
Myth and Mountain Birthdays
If you haven’t read it already, Diana’s essay titled “Myth and Mountain Birthdays” describes how her young parents met and married, and tells the story of her birth in northern Arizona on “the coldest day of the year:”
http://www.dianagabaldon.com/about-diana/myth-and-mountain-birthdays/
Image at upper right: Diana at the Grand Canyon in winter. Photo by her husband, Doug.
I also am 70 years old. I’ve been saying that if it takes as long for the 10th one as it did for the 9th book, that I would be too feeble to read it. Since I now know that we are the same age, I realize that you might want to see the book born sooner rather than later as well. Happy birthday!
Hi, Jamie,
Can you rush baking a cake? Or building a skyscraper? No. Unless you want it to fail.
My creative process takes the time it takes. My Outlander novels are quite large, and there is also a lot of historical and other background research that goes into each of them. They take a lot of work to create.
To rush creating one of my books would sacrifice quality, and I will never do that.
Thanks,
Diana
Hi Diana,
Have been an avid fan of your books from the beginning. Happy 70th Birthday. Great to be older, being 77 myself but mentally about 36!
Hope to live long enough to read the 10th and final book, so you have said.
Hope you and your family are coping with the COVID drama. It’s certainly taken hold here in Queensland just lately when the border was opened.
My best regards and Birthday wishes to you.
Cheers
Rene
1/18/22
Diana: Happy Belated Birthday! I have been a fan!!!! since Voyager, (or was it Dragon Fly in Amber) picked up at a drugstore (when they had lots of books and magazines; after that I went to the used bookstore that I frequent and purchased the 1st Outlander. I’ve been a huge fan, needless to say ever since. It looks like I am two and a half years older(7/7/49) you so I hope that I hang in there till book 10 comes out. I have asked my girlfriends if I can’t be here to read it that they need to tell me all about it in heaven. (My belief)
Happy belated Birthday, again!
Your Fan, Ann B.
Happy belated birthday, Diana! Though you should celebrate this whole year! I hope your year is wonder-filled. Thank you for enriching my life these many years.
We both were born on the same day January 11, but with me being 4 years older. Just finished 7 Stones and enjoyed it immensely. First encountered you (Outlander) in the TV series and was hooked. Bought all 8 of the Outlander series, read them, and now have Tell the Bees and Virgins left. You are a truly unique and talented person with an extreme gift and ability at communicating life as it actually happens, even if it is entirely constructed in you head, all the more so. Thank you for giving me many hours -days -months of enjoyment!
Jim
I love your books. I have ancestors both maternal and paternal who settled inNC in the 1700s. My Grant ancestor was the first in NC and lived near Chimney Rock. The other side lived in Cleveland county. Through your stories I can now imagine what their lives were like. Both fought in the Revolution
A belated Happy Birthday Diana!
I am 80 years old and a retired teacher. I can honestly say that of all the novels I have read in my life, none have impressed me like yours. Your descriptions of the people and places are so well written that I feel I know them and am part of their lives.
I finished Bees and have read all the others. Looking forward to the last one. I hope I shall be alive to read it. I intend to read your series about Lord Gray next.
Thank you so much for giving us this beautiful saga and know that you are the best!
Sincerely
Rosemary Dallas
Happy happy belated birthday, Diana! Wishing you all the very best and love and health above all. And just want to tell you how much I love your books! You are a treasure and and a creative genius and will always have a special place in your readers’ hearts. Yours would be the books I would take to a deserted island ❤️❤️❤️
Congratulations Diana!! On the night of my latest birthday (Nov 27) just after the stroke of midnight my husband gave me a present – well, can you guess what it was?
I was so happy and surprised that he had got hold of it (we live in Sweden so I thought I had to wait a bit longer) and made a little happy dance in bed! Just in the beginning of our relationship over twenty years ago he was the one who found the first four books in a summer outlet store while on vacation and called me over to say “I think you would like these” – he has since jokingly said that maybe he shouldn’t have since he didn’t see much more of me that vaccation 
But truly, I do thank you for the bottom of my heart that you share your world with us. I so often think of all the people and history and I really do feel that they exist, just not exactly in this world. They (and well, you) have given me such a pleasure and I’m thrilled that one of my bookshelves at home now has an entire “Diana shelf”. One of them (voyager) has become a bit of a talisman, it’s my very favourite and I tend to take it with me when I feel I need some emotinal support, just to read a section here and there helps. I can tell you that that book is now somewhat battered at the edges
I’m a bit late with my gratulation, I know, but it’s no less heartfelt.
All in all – Thank you and I wish you a really happy year to come and many more thereafter!
Best,
Lotta
Happy Birthday to you. Given that so many of your books’ scenes are heart pounding, you are keeping us (your fans) a little bit healthier? but at least happier. Thank you and many more years to you.
Happy belated birthday!
I could not believe when the blog post reported you had turned 70! You are the youngest 70 year old I’ve ever see (it must be the creativity and all the activity you’re involved with to create these wonderful books).
I have been reading these books from nearly the beginning, and have avidly followed the series since I started. These are some of my favorites- you have an extraordinary talent for “drawing pictures” with your words. I can practically smell some of the scenes you’ve described.
Thank you so much for your hard work, perseverance (not Percy necessarily!) and generosity in sharing this world with us all.
May you have many happy healthy birthdays in the years to come…
Connie
Ms Diana, I truly hope that your special day was exceptional, enjoyed with family & friends. I promised myself I’d take my time reading Bees, but I could not help myself and finished it. Sooooo, very good. Stay well.
Enjoyed watching Outlander on Netflix and immediately bought the Outlander sereies. Thoroughly enjoyed the books also. I am now reading the Bees.
I am 86 years young and live with my daughter. Since she spoils me I have lots of time to read!
Thank you for sharing your talents with all of us. I agree, you are a treasure.
Happy Belated Birthday. I turned 70 last July. I have just finished reading the ninth Outlander book and can’t wait for the next. I have read more books than I could even count in my lifetime and yours are in the top three authors. Probably the best. Thank you so much for telling a truly wonderful story so well. It is almost certainly the best love story I’ve read. I am of Scottish ancestry, my mother being a Fraser and that makes it even better to me. Thank You, Sincerely Janet Broadbent
I am just about through reading the 9th book of Outlander, (my daughter gave it to me for Christmas) and am enjoying it as much as I have all the other 8 previous ones! I am anxious to see the 6th series when it comes out next March 6th as much as I have enjoyed the previous 5. You are amazing!!! I would love to know how you came up with the idea and how you continue to keep it going. Whatever it is, Keep it Going! You have a wonderful gift!