• “The smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting 'Scrooge McDuck' comics.”—Salon.com
  • A time-hopping, continent-spanning salmagundi of genres.”
    —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
  • “These books have to be word-of-mouth books because they're too weird to describe to anybody.”
    —Jackie Cantor, Diana's first editor

ECHO is out–and the party’s at the BILTMORE!

Very exciting!

I’ll be back later with observations on Game Day [g], but wanted to let y’all know right away that the launch party for the book is tonight _at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel_, not at the Poisoned Pen bookstore. (The Pen is organizing the event and selling books, but they can’t possibly cram hundreds of people into the bookstore.)

Rosana, my webmistress, sent out an email this morning to the website subscribers, welcoming them to the party, but mistakenly ended it with “…at the Poisoned Pen.” I’m sure she’ll be sending out a quick PS shortly [g], but wanted to put in an early word here, since I don’t know when she’ll get my email about it.

Hope to see many of you in person, tonight and on the road–and I hope ALL of you will enjoy the new book! Thanks for buying it. [smile]

Posted on September 22, 2009 6:39 PM 93 Comments

Quick Dog Update


For those who’ve asked after Homer and JJ, I’m pleased to report that all is well.

JJ (the idiot) ate about a quarter-pound of kapok pillow stuffing a month ago. Kapok is not the benign fluff they fill dog-toys with. Four thousand dollars and a foot of small intestine later, though, the hound is fine, and the house once more resounds to the thunder of racing dachshunds and the crash of what my son describes as “puppy-Sumo.”

(That’s JJ standing on my lap, and Homer wallowing on the floor, in our living room in Santa Fe.)

Posted on September 17, 2009 9:29 AM 25 Comments

Facebook

OK, I have _no_ idea what I’m doing here, none. As part of the promotion for ECHO, though, Borders asked me if I’d come talk to people during a two-hour online chat thingie on their Facebook page next Tuesday. “Sure,” I said–despite the fact that I’ve never been on Facebook in my life, have no idea how to get there, nor yet what to do when I _am_ there. But following initial advice from Youngest Daughter (who certainly _does_ know all about Facebook, and a good thing, too…), I created a “Celebrity” page, as well as making an individual account (which the Random House publicist said I’d need in order to do the chat on Tuesday).

So I did, and pretty darn confusing it is, though I imagine things will become clearer as I muddle around in it. I did somehow manage to link the page to this blog–thought I’d mention it in case any of y’all wondered what the heck that “Fan box” is doing there.

I’ll try to put some actual content on said page, as soon as I figure out how to do that…so if there’s anything you’d like to see there, let me know!

Posted on September 16, 2009 8:36 AM 32 Comments

THE EXILE – graphic novel is DONE!



Great news! The artwork for the graphic novel is done (bar little tweaks here and there) and it looks terrific! We don’t have a specific pub date for this yet—sometime in 2010—but we do at least have a title. This is called THE EXILE (An OUTLANDER graphic novel).

I took some of the artwork with me to DragonCon last weekend (I did the Decatur Book Festival and DragonCon more or less simultaneously, which made for an interesting time all round), and was very pleased that everyone who saw it raved about it.

In celebration, here are two more sample pages, to show off Hoang’s mastery of color and light (and anatomy). One small note: Please don’t nab these pictures and go posting them all over the net. I don’t own the copyright; that belongs to the artist, Hoang Nguyen, and these are posted here by his kind permission and that of the Ballantine editor. If you’d like to share these with your friends—and I’m all for it [g]—please just send them a link to this page.

Posted on September 12, 2009 6:55 AM 88 Comments

And Some of Australia

I don’t yet have a complete listing of places and events for Australia, but this is what we have so far:

Diana Gabaldon Australian Tour Schedule

1. Monday 9th November 2009 – Perth
10 am – 12 noon
Venue: Tompkins on Swan Function Centre
Address: Corner Dunkley Ave and Canning Highway, Alfred Cove (free parking is available)
Contact: Dymocks Garden City
Phone: 08 93647387
Email: gcorders@dymocks.com.au

2. Tuesday 10th November – Adelaide TBC

3. Wednesday 11th November – Melbourne TBC

4. Thursday 12th November – Melbourne TBC

5. Friday 13th November – Melbourne TBC

6. Sunday 15th November – Hobart
1.30pm for 2pm
Venue: Hadley’s Hotel
Address: 34 Murray Street, Hobart
Contact: Dymocks Hobart
Phone: 03 6231 6656
Email: hobart@dymocks.com.au

7. Monday 16th November – Sydney
12.30pm – 3pm
Dymocks Literary Lunch
Four Seasons Hotel
Address: 199 George Street, Sydney
Contact: Judy Benson
Phone: 02 9449 4366
Email: judybenson@bigpond.com

8. Tuesday 17th November – Sydney
1pm – 2pm
Stanton Library (free event)
Address: 234 Miller St. North Sydney
Contact: Constant Reader Bookshop
Phone: 02 9438 1763
Email: bob@constantreader.com.au

9. Wednesday 18th November – Canberra TBC

10. Thursday 19th November – Brisbane TBC

11. Friday 20th November – Brisbane TBC

Posted on September 12, 2009 6:43 AM 27 Comments

And one more…NEW ZEALAND events!

NEW ZEALAND
Event Details

Monday November 2 – CAMBRIDGE
Cocktail event in association with Wrights Bookshop Cambridge
Time: 7.30pm
Location: St Peter’s School, SH1 Cambridge
Entry $25, for more information phone Wrights Bookshop, 07 827 4360

Tuesday November 3 – DUNEDIN
A Conversation with Diana Gabaldon in association with Dunedin Public Libraries and Whitcoulls
Time: 5.30pm
Location: Sir Clifford Skeggs Gallery, Municipal Chambers, The Octagon
Entry free, RSVP essential, ph: 03 474 3690 or library@doc.govt.nz

Wednesday November 4 – CHRISTCHURCH
An Evening with Diana Gabaldon in association with Women on Air on Plains FM and Paper Plus Merivale
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Christchurch Girls’ High School
Entry $12, to buy tickets phone Ruth, 03 384 4721 or Morrin, 03 329 9789

Thursday November 5 – AUCKLAND
An Evening with Diana Gabaldon in association with North Shore Libraries Foundation and Paper Plus Takapuna
Time: 7pm
Location: Westlake Boys High School
Entry $15, tickets from Event Finder (click http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2009/nov/auckland-north/an-evening-with-diana-gabaldon )

Friday November 6 – PALMERSTON NORTH & WELLINGTON
An Hour with Diana Gabaldon in association with Palmerston North City Library and Whitcoulls
Time: 12pm
Location: Palmerston North City Library
Entry free, RSVP essential, ph: 06 351 4519 (leave a message) or promotions@pncc.govt.nz

Books and Bubbles hosted by Kerre Woodham in association with Paper Plus
Time: 7.00pm
Location: The Duxton Hotel, Wellington
Ticket price to be confirmed, contact Paper Plus Lower Hutt for more information 04 569 8406 or lowerhutt@paperplus.co.nz

Posted on September 11, 2009 9:25 AM 9 Comments

CANADA Book-Tour Dates and Events, 2009

Tuesday October 13th (Halifax)

7:00pm EVENT: Chapters/Indigo, Halifax
188 Chain Lake Drive / (902) 450-1023 / Contact: Karolyn
This is a speaking event, short Q & A, and book signing

Wednesday October 14th (Ottawa)

7:00pm EVENT: An Evening with Diana Gabaldon
Centurion Conference Centre, Main Ball Room
170 Colonnade Road, Nepean
$10 Tickets / Call Leishman Books for tickets: 613-722-8313
This is a speaking event, short Q & A, and book signing

Thursday October 15th (Toronto)

EVENT: An Evening with Diana Gabaldon
McNally Robinson, Don Mills / 416-384-0084
The speaking component of this event will be held outdoors
The book signing will take place in-store following the talk

(no time was attached, but it’s probably 7:00 PM, too. Check with the bookstore to be sure, though.)

Friday October 16th (Winnipeg)

7:30pm EVENT: McNally Robinson, Grant Park
1120 Grant Avenue / (204) 453-0424
This is a speaking event, short Q & A, and book signing

Saturday October 17th (Calgary/Edmonton/Saskatoon)

10:00am EVENT: Calgary WordFest
Vertigo Theatre Playhouse, 161, 115 – 9 Avenue SE
Contact: Anne Green / 403-237-9068
Tickets are $20 in advance and can be purchased through the box office at 403-237-9068.
The suggested program is 30 minutes of speaking, to include a ten minute reading, followed by a signing.
www.wordfest.com / 403-237-9068

4:00pm EVENT: Costco, Edmonton
South Edmonton, 2616 91st Street NW
This is a signing ONLY event

Sunday October 18th (Saskatoon/Kelowna)

10:30am EVENT: Chapters/Indigo Saskatoon
3322 8th Street East / (306)244-5317
This is a speaking event, short Q & A, and book signing

7:00pm EVENT: Mosaic Books
Kelowna Community Theater, 1375 Water St, Kelowna
Contact Mosaic Books for Tickets: (250) 763-4418
Tickets are $20.00 or $40 for book AND ticket
Books will be 25% off at the store
This is a speaking event, short Q & A, and book signing

Wednesday October 21st (Victoria)

7:30pm EVENT: An Evening with Diana Gabaldon
Alix Goolden Performance Hall
907 Pandora Avenue, Victoria
Tickets are $10/each
Contact Bolen Books for Tickets /(250) 595-4232

Thursday October 22nd (SIWC)

(SIWC is the Surrey International Writers Conference, where I’ll be a presenter over the weekend. See their website at www.siwc.ca, if you’re interested. This is a very neat conference; I do it every year.)

12:00pm EVENT: Black Bond Luncheon
Customers receive entry ballot with purchase of book
WIN a seat at a luncheon with Diana Gabaldon
15 winners + Cathy Jesson and Don Hoglung
1381 Guildford Town Ctr. /(604) 589-3680

Sunday October 25th (SIWC/Surrey)

2:00pm EVENT: Save-On Foods #918
9014-152nd Street, Surrey / 604-930-1133
Contact: Maureen
This is a SIGNING ONLY event

Posted on September 10, 2009 8:53 AM 33 Comments

US TOUR DATES!

US BOOK TOUR – DATES AND EVENTS

Just a note: Putting on a big signing event is not just a hassle for bookstores—it’s expensive! They need to hire extra staff, often rent a larger venue, and always do a lot of local advertising. For that reason, some bookstores require a ticket to the event (though the ticket usually includes the price of the book), or will only allow you to have a book signed if you bought it from the store (though buying it from their online website is perfectly fine, too). I’d love to sign your books, but please do check with the bookstore ahead of time, just in case.

Tuesday, September 22nd
Scottsdale, AZ

6:00 p.m.
Poisoned Pen at the Arizona Biltmore
Arizona Biltmore
Grand Ballroom
2400 E Missouri Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Contact: Barbara Peters, (480) 947-2974
*This will be a reading/signing with Poisoned Pen to sell.

Wednesday, September 23rd
Denver, CO

7:30 p.m.
Tattered Cover Highlands Ranch
9315 Dorchester St.
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129-2521
Contact: Charles Stillwagon, 303-322-1965 Ext. 2736
*This will be a reading/signing.

Thursday, September 24th -
Nashville, TN

7:00 p.m.
Davis-Kidd Bookstore
The Mall at Green Hills
2121 Green Hills Village Drive
Nashville, TN 37215
Contact: Catherine Robinson, 615-385-2645
*This will be a reading/signing.

Friday, September 25th
Lexington, KY

7:00 p.m.
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
161 Lexington Green Cir., Ste. B1
Lexington, KY 40503
Contact: Brooke Raby, 859 271 5330
* This will be a reading/signing.

Saturday, September 26th
Dayton, OH

1:00 p.m.
Books & Co.
The Greene Shopping Center
4453 Walnut Street
Beavercreek, OH 45440
Contact: Sharon Kelly Roth, 937-429-6302
*This will be a reading/signing.

Sunday, September 27th
Asheville, NC

7:00 p.m.
Malaprops Bookstore at Diana Wortham Theater
2 South Pack Square, Asheville
Contact: Alsace Young-Walentine Events, Coordinator
828.254.6734/alsace@malaprops.com
Hotline to order tickets (for fans): 800.441.9829 or 828.254.6734 (pre-pay for book and get complimentary ticket)
*Note: This theater is within walking distance of Malaprops Bookstore so you will walk to this event from your stock signing at the store.

Tuesday, September 29th
Washington, DC

12:00 p.m.
Howard County Library Lunch
6600 Cradlerock Way
Columbia, MD 21045
Contact: Lisa Bankman, 410-313-7798 (office)/ 410.313.7750 (reception)/ 410.428.0217 (cell)/ lisa.bankman@hclibrary.org
*This will be a reading/signing.

7:00 p.m.
Borders Bailey’s Crossroads
5871 Crossroads Center Way
Baileys Crossroads, VA 22041
Contact: Laurie White, 734-477-1828
*This will be a reading/signing.

Wednesday, September 30th
Chicago, IL

12:00 p.m.
Bookstall “Women Writers” Lunch Series
Location: Mirani Restaurant, 727 Elm Street
Contact: Roberta Rubin, 847.446.8880/ Books@thebookstall.com

7:00 p.m.
Anderson’s Bookshop at North Carolina College
North Carolina College
Pfeiffer Hall
310 East Benton Ave.
Naperville, IL 60540
Contact: Candy Purdom, 630-355-2665
* This will be a reading/signing.

Thursday, October 1st
Minneapolis, MN

7:00 p.m.
B&N Roseville
2100 North Snelling Ave.
Roseville, MN 55113
Contact: Janet Waller, 651-639-9256
*This will be a reading/signing.

Friday, October 2nd
Phoenix, AZ

7:00 p.m.
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S. McClintock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283
Contact: Cindy Dach, 480-730-1142
*This will be a reading/signing.

Saturday, October 3rd
Scottsdale, AZ

6:00 p.m.
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore
4014 N Goldwater Blvd. Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Contact Patrick Millikin, 480-947-2974
NB: This is the launch party for Phoenix Noir,
an anthology of urban-crime short stories, and many
of the other contributing authors will be present to sign books, besides me.

Monday, October 5th
Portland, OR

12:30-2:00 p.m.
Salem Public Library
Loucks Auditorium
585 Liberty Street
Salem, OR
Contact: Sonja Somerville, 503.588.6083/ ssomerville@cityofsalem.net
*This will be a reading/signing. The library is approximately 1 hour from Portland.

7:00 p.m.
Powell’s Books Cedar Hills
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd
Beaverton, OR 97005
Contact: Michael Drannen, 503-228-4651 Ext. 5889
*This will be a reading/signing.

Tuesday, October 6th
Seattle, WA

7:00 p.m.
Third Place Books
17171 Bothell Way NE, Ste. A 101
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
Contact: Wendy Manning, 206-366-3316
*This will be a reading/signing.

Wednesday, October 7th
San Francisco, CA

7:30 p.m.
Books Inc. Mountain View
301 Castro Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
Contact: Contact: Rob Garcelon, 650-428-1234
*This will be a reading/signing.

Thursday, October 8th
San Francisco, CA

7:00 p.m.
Copperfield’s Books
2316 Montgomery Drive
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
Contact: Stephanie Deignan, 707-823-8991 Ext. 215
*This will be a reading/signing.

Saturday, October 10th
Tucson, AZ

2:00 p.m.
B&N Tucson
5130 E. Broadway
Tucson, AZ 85711
Contact: Dena Roy, 520-512-1166
*This will be a reading/signing.

7:30 p.m.
B&N Scottsdale
10500 N. 90th Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Contact: Larry Siegel, 480-391-0048

Posted on September 09, 2009 9:14 PM 65 Comments

BWANGGGG…..

BWANGGGGG……feeple, feeple, ploop.

Which is—lest you not recognize this masterly example of onomatopoeia—the sound made by a rubber band that’s been tightly wrapped around a newspaper and is suddenly pushed off to shoot across the room, spin slightly and fall limp. It’s also the sound of my brain, suddenly decompressing.

Which is to say—it’s DONE. AN ECHO IN THE BONE went to press a couple of weeks ago, and the first hot-off-the-press copy arrived on my doorstep a few days ago (and a jolly good thing, too, since it’s due out on the 22nd of this month). It’s absolutely beautiful (huge thanks to Virginia Norey, the book-designer) and I’m Way Thrilled with it.

All my books come together differently; this one was undoubtedly written in more different places than any of the others. I wrote part of it during a short night aboard a plane to Scotland (the stewardi were most concerned, and kindly brought me endless Diet Cokes all night; if caffeine does anything bad to you, I expect we’ll find out here shortly)—thus arriving in the Highlands next day having slept only two hours out of the preceeding 36, which gives a whole new meaning to jet lag.

I wrote another part of it on the floor of the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament, though this was more or less an accident (I was kindly invited to witness the first-ever Clan Convention (a gathering of all the clan chieftains, and heads of clan societies), and was walking along with the chieftain of clan MacKenzie, whom I’d been fortunate enough to have dinner with earlier in the week, and was inadvertently shooed into the main chamber with him, rather than up to the Visitor’s Gallery—and then was unable to get out. So I nonchalantly sat down at a delegate’s desk, took out my netbook and flipped it open, in hopes that people would assume I was a journalist reporting on the proceedings. And…well, there I was, and there the computer was, and…

The more-or-less final bits were written during a long night in the Algonquin Hotel in New York (very appropriate, given the hotel’s literary history) on our way home (we have to break trips to Europe, as my husband is very tall, and Suffers Intensely on long flights, even in business class). I emailed the last chunk of manuscript to my editor just after dawn, and just before running out the door to catch a cab to the airport.

In the cab, naturally, I realized that I’d left out a couple of short bridges—and on the flight back to Phoenix, realized that there really had to be another scene in Part Six, and…well, anyway, I tidied up all the little subsidiary chunks and addressed the (luckily, very few) editorial comments on the earlier parts, all this while reading the copy-edited and/or already-typeset versions of the earlier chunks, which had been chasing me around Scotland for the preceding two weeks.

All of which is why I haven’t written anything but answers to interview questions and replies to (some of) the backed-up email for the last couple weeks. But my brain is beginning to twitch feebly again, and bits of this ‘n that are bubbling up. Just in time—I have a short story (well, sort of. Maybe. We hope) under contract for a new anthology (edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois) titled STAR-CROSSED LOVERS. I don’t yet know what my story will be titled, but at least I do know what the story’s about: I’m going to tell the story of Roger MacKenzie’s parents.

In other words….I’m baa-aack. [g]

Posted on September 09, 2009 10:21 AM 66 Comments

DRUNK CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

I hope y’all had an excellent Easter, Passover, or Rite of Spring, depending. We had a wonderful time, with family, friends, a number of exceedingly Odd Easter eggs (owing to combinng the family and friends with a large quantity of champagne mojitos during the coloring), and a lovely Easter Vigil service. Followed, of course, by the Easter Feast.

We do Italian for Easter. Antipasto, Entertaining Olives (red Cerignolas this year, plus the usual Greek salad mix), berry salad, Lasagna, mini-pizzas, and Drunk Chicken Pasta Salad. Since that last is on my favorites of ’08, and it’s fresh in my mind (but not, alas, the refrigerator; we ate the Whole Thing on Easter Sunday, which is too bad, because it makes excellent leftovers), I figured I’d post the recipe. Hope you enjoy it!

DRUNK CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

3-4 large chicken breasts (well, one per person, really, but you’ll have to
adjust the other ingredients upward if you use more than four.)

tequila (any kind)

bottled margarita mix

garlic (lots)

1 medium red onion

2 green onions, chopped

artichoke hearts – two small jars, or one large one

1 lb. asparagus

6-7 large mushrooms (just the usual white or brown ceps type,
though if you really like other kinds, you can certainly substitute
or use them in addition. Just be careful if you use portabella, as
the gills will shed dark stuff all over the pasta)

about a cup of olives – pitted, preferably, and strong-flavored,
but any kind you like. Spanish queen olives are good; so are
kalamata and the big green Greek olives. I don’t recommend the
little Sicilian ones, just because they’re such a pain to cut up.

rosemary
basil
marjoram
oregano

extra-virgin olive oil

a good balsamic vinegar

2-4 T. butter

one pkg. Good Seasons Zesty Italian salad dressing mix

1 large box farfalle (bow-tie) pasta (I like Barilla, myself)

fresh romano or parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

1 very large bowl

OK. To start, you mince up four or five (or six or seven,
depending on size and how much you like garlic) cloves of garlic,
plus about a third of the red onion. Saute’ 2/3 the minced garlic
and chopped green onion in a deep frying pan with enough
olive oil to cover, and add some rosemary.

Trim the chicken breasts, then gash each one deeply several
times on both sides. Put chicken in the saute’ pan to brown, and
pour a tablespoon or so of tequila over each breast. As the
chicken cooks, alternate additional applications of tequila with
equal applications of margarita mix. As the chicken browns, the
liquid in the pan will cook slowly down into a thick blackish
glaze; make sure the breasts are well coated on both sides with
this. Cook until chicken is completely cooked through, then set
aside on chopping board.

While the chicken is browning, saute’ the remaining 1/3 of the
minced garlic and green onion in a couple of tablespoons of melted
butter. Break cleaned asparagus into small pieces (one or two
inches long) and add to saute’. Add herbs, finely minced. Add
sliced mushrooms, stirring frequently. When asparagus is tender
and mushrooms have absorbed all the butter, set aside.

Cook the pasta in a large quantity of boiling water. While
it’s cooking, quarter the olives, halve the artichoke hearts, and
slice the remaining red onion into thin rings.

Mix the Good Seasons salad dressing mix with balsamic vinegar and
Extra-virgin olive oil.

Dice the cooked chicken breasts.

In a very large bowl, combine a) the sliced olives, artichokes
and onions, b) the sauteed asparagus and mushrooms, c) the diced
“drunk” chicken, and d) the cooked bow-tie pasta. Slosh about 3/4
of the salad dressing over the mixture and toss thoroughly.

Serve warm, with fresh romano or parmesan cheese grated or
shredded on top, and additional dressing as desired.

It’s not at all difficult, but it _is_ time-consuming; it
normally takes me about an hour and a half to do. Worth it,
though!

–Diana

Posted on April 19, 2009 7:28 AM 38 Comments