My best wishes for a good New Year to everybody.

I’m sorry that I have to begin the year myself with bad news; my lovely dog JJ died this afternoon (complications from a freak accident he suffered two weeks ago) and we buried him next to my garden, where he loved to hunt rabbits and toads with his brother, Homer.

Homer is bereft and so are we.

-Diana

In the upper-right image, JJ and Homer take a nap together. In the next photo, JJ looks for critters to chase in a prickly pear cactus:

In the photo below, JJ and Homer were not sure of a visitor in 2012 and tried to hide:

Posted on January 02, 2019 5:20 AM 95 Comments

It’s a short Advent season this year, Christmas coming so soon after the Fourth Sunday, but we are the more expectant in our anticipation, and deeper in our gratitude for the blessings of home and family.

May the blessings of the season be with you and yours!

This excerpt is from the end of THE SCOTTISH PRISONER (aka DIE FACKELN DER FREIHEIT, in German).

Social Media Hashtags: #DailyLines, #FourthSundayofAdvent, #Rejoice

It was cold in the loft, and his sleep-mazed mind groped among the icy drafts after the words still ringing in his mind.

“Bonnie lad.”

Wind struck the barn and went booming round the roof. A strong chilly draft with a scent of snow stirred the somnolence, and two or three of the horses shifted below, grunting and whickering. Helwater. The knowledge of the place settled on him, and the fragments of Scotland and Lallybroch cracked and flaked away, fragile as a skin of dried mud.

Helwater. Straw rustling under him, the ends poking through the rough ticking, prickling through his shirt. Dark air, alive around him.

Bonnie lad…

They’d brought down the Yule log to the house that afternoon, all the household taking part, the women bundled to the eyebrows, the men ruddy, flushed with the labor, staggering, singing, dragging the monstrous log with ropes, its rough skin packed with snow, a great furrow left where it passed, the snow plowed high on either side.

Willie rode atop the log, screeching with excitement, clinging to the rope. Once back at the house, Isobel had tried to teach him to sing “Good King Wenceslaus,” but it was beyond him, and he dashed to and fro, into everything until his grandmother declared that he would drive her to distraction and told Peggy to take him to the stable, to help Jamie and Crusoe bring in the fresh-cut branches of pine and fir. Thrilled, Willie rode on Jamie’s saddle-bow to the grove, and stood obediently on a stump where Jamie had put him, safe out of the way of the axes while the boughs were cut down. Then he helped to load the greenery, clutching two or three fragrant, mangled twigs to his chest, dutifully chucking these in the general direction of the huge basket, then running back again for more, heedless of where his burden had actually landed.

Jamie turned over, wriggling deeper into the nest of blankets, drowsy, remembering. He’d kept it up, the wean had, back and forth, back and forth, though red in the face and panting, until he dropped the very last branch on the pile. Jamie had looked down to find Willie beaming up at him with pride, laughed and said on impulse, “Aye, that’s a bonnie lad. Come on. Let’s go home.”

William had fallen asleep on the ride home, his head heavy as a cannonball in its woolen cap against Jamie’s chest. Jamie had dismounted carefully, holding the child in one arm, but Willie had wakened, blinked groggily at Jamie and said, “WEN-sess-loss,” clear as a bell, then fallen promptly back asleep. He’d waked properly by the time he was handed over to Nanny Elspeth, though, and Jamie had heard him, as he walked away, telling Nanny, “I’m a bonnie lad!”

But those words came out of his dreams, from somewhere else, and long ago. Had his own father said that to him, once?

He thought so, and for an instant—just an instant—was with his father and his brother Willie, excited beyond bearing, holding the first fish he’d ever caught by himself, slimy and flapping, both of them laughing at him, with him in joy.

“Bonnie lad!”

Willie. God, Willie. I’m so glad they gave him your name. He seldom thought of his brother; Willie had died of the smallpox when he was eleven, Jamie, eight. But every now and then, he could feel Willie with him, sometimes his mother or his father. More often, Claire.

I wish ye could see him, Sassenach, he thought. He’s a bonnie lad. Loud and obnoxious, he added with honesty, but bonnie.

What would his own parents think of William? They had neither of them lived to see any of their children’s children.

He lay for some time, his throat aching, listening to the dark, hearing the voices of his dead pass by in the wind. His thoughts grew vague and his grief eased, comforted by the knowledge of love, still alive in the world. Sleep came near again.

He touched the rough crucifix that lay against his chest and whispered to the moving air, “Lord, that she might be safe; she and my children.”

Then turned his cheek to her reaching hand and touched her through the veils of time.

[end section]

Want to read more? Click here for my “Fourth Sunday of Advent” blog from 2012, which features an excerpt from WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLODD.

Copyright © 2018 and © 2011 by Diana Gabaldon. All Rights Reserved.

Please do not copy and paste this text and post it anywhere else including other websites and social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

If you’d like to share this passage with others, please copy and paste—and share—this link (URL, text version):

http://www.dianagabaldon.com/2018/12/fourth-sunday-of-advent/

Thanks!

-Diana

Posted on December 23, 2018 10:03 AM 9 Comments

Social Media Hashtags: #DailyLines, #Prologue, #MasterRaymondsBook, #NOitisntwrittenyet, #HappyHALLOWEEN

In the chilly season, when the air grows cold and the spiders die, comes a thin time. The days are short, so all the light of them is concentrated, squeezed between the dawn and dark. This is why the light is different, and each thing has a Shadow. This is when the other worlds draw close, and the barriers between grow thin. In a thin time, they say, you must be careful, because you might walk through a cobweb unthinking, and find yourself Elsewhere.

There is more than one other world; no one knows how many. Some beasts can see one; the dogs will sometimes stare at a blank space on the wall of a cave, and their hackles rise at what they see.

Sometimes, I think I see it, too.

Los Dias de los Muertos

In the Southwest, for those of us of Hispanic descent (or inclination), today and tomorrow are Los Dias de los Muertos—the Days of the Dead.

Today (Nov. 1) we celebrated the presence in our lives of those who’ve gone before and await us in heaven; the Feast of All Saints. Tomorrow (Nov. 2) is the Feast of All Souls, when we commune with our own beloved dead.

May all your own families be with you in love today, no matter on which side of the veil.

From November 2, 2018. Also posted on my official Facebook page.

Posted on November 03, 2018 2:01 AM 12 Comments

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

MAN, what a week it’s been! First off, let me thank ALL of you who did such great work, voting in the PBS “Great American Read” program. I know a lot of you voted day after day, and often multiple times a day; I appreciate that HUGELY—and your votes were not in vain!

PBS filmed the finale on Sunday night (swearing the audience to secrecy, which apparently worked; I didn’t see any leaks), but aired it this evening (Tuesday). It was an interesting format: they invited a number of authors from nominated books to come and introduce segments of the list (with light running commentary)—by “segments,“ I mean they had two writers count down the list from the book that ended up in 100th place, to the book that was #81. Then they did a video about one or another of the five finalist books, shuffled their screen of intriguing book-covers, and called up the next set of authors to comment on books 80-61, and so on.

When they got to the last (or first, depending how you want to look at it) ten books, they counted down to the final five, then called the representatives of those books out on stage for the final countdown. I say “representatives,” because the authors of three of the finalists are dead, and J.K. Rowling, who was in the list, wasn’t there. I was the only author representing my own book. <g>

If you’d like to watch the finale episode yourself, here’s a link to it:

https://www.pbs.org/video/grand-finale-q4ij7z/

But for those who don’t want to sit through the suspense <g>—OUTLANDER came in second, behind TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (the PBS people noted that MOCKINGBIRD had been #1 on the list from the very first day of voting, and never wavered from that position).

Personally, I was thrilled—we beat PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, LORD OF THE RINGS (!!) and HARRY POTTER! TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is a great classic, a wonderful read—and a book that means a lot to a great number of people in the current political climate, owing to its themes of racial and social justice. It totally deserved to win.

Besides, as my lovely editor said in an email to me this morning (retrieved in JFK airport on my way home),

“You are officially the most beloved living writer! … We are so thrilled and proud to be your publisher!”

I’m thrilled and proud to have the support of a great publisher—but most of all, to have the support of so many wonderful readers! MORAN TAING! (that’s “Thanks a lot” in Gaelic)

And if you’d like to see the final results of the “Great American Read”here’s the complete list:

https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/results/

-Diana

Posted on October 25, 2018 1:39 AM 20 Comments

Anybody going to New York Comic Con this weekend? If so…

Come by and see me! NYCC has invited me to participate on a panel called “Pages to Pictures”—to do with adaptation, screen-writing, etc. this will be at 10:00 a.m. on SUNDAY, October 7th, at the Shop Studio location.

The panel will be FOLLOWED BY a signing event at the Penguin Random House booth in the Javits Center, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m..

I’ll put up room/hall numbers for you tomorrow—at the moment, I’m at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Which is wonderful, dramatic, utterly lacking in WiFi (I’m writing this on my iPad in a general store at the nearby campground) and Utterly Wretched phone reception.

See you in New York!

-Diana

P.S.: My Webmistress, Loretta, says sorry, but all entry badges to NYCC are already sold out. She has written up some pointers for those attending a large comic-con like this one for the first time in the NYCC entry on my official appearances page.

My future events are also listed on my official appearances webpage as they are confirmed:

http://www.dianagabaldon.com/appearances

Posted on October 05, 2018 2:54 PM 2 Comments

Well, alrighty, then… So, the voting for your favorite book(s) in the PBS “Great American Read” series goes on until October 19th! That’s a whole lot of voting, and I hesitate to urge anybody to DO it every day…. but I feel that I should tell you that you can if you want to. <g>

You can vote for as many of your favorite books as you want, every day. But—

You can vote ONCE PER DAY PER VOTING METHOD for any given book. (So you could vote five times per day for any given book(s), though I must say that sounds like a lot of trouble…)

As for HOW you can vote… the many possibilities make my head swim. Choose your favorite(s):

Method 1: Voting Using Social Media (Your Facebook and Twitter Accounts)

An easy way to vote for my OUTLANDER series (if you use Facebook and/or Twitter) is to create an original Facebook post (on my Facebook page, your Facebook page, or anywhere else on Facebook) that includes the hashtag:

#VOTEOutlander

You can do the same thing via Twitter—just add #VOTEOutlander to one of your tweets that day for another vote.

(Note that if you don’t have a Facebook and/or Twitter account, you cannot use these voting methods.)

Click here for a list of hashtags for all of the 100 book finalists (PDF format).

Method 2: Text Message (SMS) Voting

Send a Text Message (SMS) to 97979 with a unique hashtag for your favorite book in the message. For OUTLANDER, it is:

#VOTEOutlander

Click here for a list of hashtags for all of the 100 book finalists (PDF format).

Method 3: Phone Voting

Each of the 100 finalist books in the Great American Read has an assigned toll-free number.

To vote for OUTLANDER, dial (855) 443-6574 (U.S.A., U.S. territories, and Canada only).

Method 4: Vote On The PBS Great American Read Website:

Visit the PBS voting webpage for the Great American Read where you can vote for multiple favorite books each day by pointing and clicking. (You will need to log in to the PBS website to vote using your account, by email address, or using your Facebook account login).

In your web browser application, go to:

https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/vote/

Scroll down and click on a book, such as OUTLANDER, and select all your favorites.

Note that after choosing your favorite book(s) you must click the Confirm button for your votes to be submitted and counted. You will asked to log in if you haven’t already.

Information on all the ways you can vote is on the PBS website at:

https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/about/how-to-vote/

AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH INDEED!!!

-Diana

Posted on September 30, 2018 6:08 AM No Comments

A Big Honor

September 14, 2018

Life gets weirder by the minute—but in a GOOD way! Today I was honored to throw the first pitch at the Yankees game. (They beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11 to 0 in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.)

Thanks, Yankees! It was the thrill of a lifetime!

From the celebratory wine:

“Growing up in distant Arizona, without a hometown team to follow, young Diana dreamed of one day playing for the Yankees. As the years passed, she dabbled in different fields: marine biology, zoology, hoping the phone would ring. Finally, with the playoffs in sight, Gabaldon was called up to anchor the bullpen. Joined by family and friends, Diana tossed out the first pitch for the New York Yankees.”

Photos on this blog post by Diana Gabaldon and her husband, Doug.

Posted on September 14, 2018 7:53 PM 14 Comments

Good News!

The good news for today (every day has at least some…) is that SEVEN STONES TO STAND OR FALL is now available in trade paperback format (that’s the large size paperback) in the U.S. and Canada! (It’s already out in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand.) The yellow cover is U.S./Canada; the blue cover is U.K./Australia/N.Z.

If you haven’t come across this book yet—here’s a bit from the Introduction.

Introduction to SEVEN STONES (Excerpt):

If you picked this book up under the misapprehension that it’s the ninth novel in the main Outlander series, it’s not. I apologize.

So, if it’s not the ninth novel, what is it? Well, it’s a collection of seven…. er…. things, of varying length and content, but all having to do with the Outlander universe. As for the title… basically, it’s the result of my editor not liking my original title choice, Salmagundi. Not that I couldn’t see her point… Anyway, there was a polite request via my agent for something more in line with the “resonant, poetic” nature of the main titles.

Without going too much into the mental process that led to this (words like “sausage-making” and “rock-polishing” come to mind), I wanted a title that at least suggested that there were a number of elements in this book (hence the “Seven”) and “Seven Stones” just came naturally, and that was nice (“stone” is always a weighty word) and suitably alliterative, but not a complete poetic thought (or rhythm). So, a bit more thinkering (no, that’s not a typo), and I came up with “to Stand or Fall,” which sounded suitably portentous.

It took a bit of ex post facto thought to figure out what the heck that meant, but things usually do mean something if you think long enough. In this instance, the “stand or fall” has to do with people’s response to grief and adversity: to wit, if you aren’t killed outright by whatever happened, you have a choice in how the rest of your life is lived—you keep standing, though battered and worn by time and elements, still a buttress and a signpost…. or you fall and return quietly to the earth from which you sprang, your elements giving succor to those who come after you.

So. This is (as the front cover suggests) a collection of seven novellas (fiction shorter than a novel but longer than a short story), though all of them are indeed part of the Outlander universe and do intersect with the main novels.

Five of the novellas included in this book were originally written for various anthologies over the last few years; two are brand-new and have never been published before: “A Fugitive Green” and “Besieged.”

Owing to differences among publishers in different countries, some of the previously published novellas may subsequently have been published in print form as a four-story collection (in the U.K. and Germany), or as separate ebooks (in the U.S.). Seven Stones provides a complete print collection for those readers who like tactile books, and includes the two new stories. (“A Fugitive Green” and “Besieged” will eventually be published separately as ebooks in the U.S., too, for those who prefer that mode of reading, but it might be awhile.)

Buy-Links:

If you’re interested, here are some buy-links for SEVEN STONES:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Poisoned Pen Bookstore (autographed copies)

Or check out my SEVEN STONES webpage for more buy-links and information. Thanks!

This post also appeared on my official Facebook page on August 7, 2018.

Posted on August 08, 2018 2:02 PM 13 Comments

Dear Readers,

If you’re in the Phoenix area, the Poisoned Pen Bookstore is hosting two upcoming events that I will be part of: 1) a “pop-up” signing event in a few days on August 10, and 2) a celebration for the release of the special 25th Anniversary Hardcover Edition of VOYAGER on October 28.

Below is more information about the August 10 event.

More details on the October VOYAGER celebration and all of my appearances are available on my official Appearances Webpage.

Thanks!

-Diana

Friday, August 10, 2018 – SCOTTSDALE, AZ

Mew! Susanna Kearsley signs BELLEWETHER, Hosted by Diana Gabaldon!

Event begins at 7:00 p.m.

Event Host and Event Webpage: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore

Ticket purchase is required. See below for details.

Venue:
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore
4014 North Goldwater Boulevard
Suite 101
Scottsdale, Arizona 85251
U.S.A.

From Barbara Peters of the Poisoned Pen Bookstore:

The Poisoned Pen Bookstore is hosting a “Pop-Up Event” With TWO New York Times Bestselling Authors on August 10!

Diana Gabaldon will host Susanna Kearsley on Friday, August 10, 2018 at the Pen. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. Both authors will discuss their works, and a book signing will follow.

Diana admires the wonderful novels of Canadian author Kearsley whose gig it is to write time-jump novels, with some mystery at their heart, taking you from a story in the present to one in the past… and back. Kearsley is a New York Times best-selling Canadian novelist who writes historical fiction and mysteries, as well as thrillers (under the pen name Emma Cole). In 2014, her novel THE FIREBIRD received the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best Paranormal Romance.

Diana has said, “I’ve loved every one of Susanna’s books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly’s delicate touch with characters—sure recipe for historical fiction that sucks you in and won’t let go!”

Event Tickets:

Tickets are required, at $20 per person, and seating is limited to 125 persons, so purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended. Tickets could very well sell out before the event.

Purchase your tickets by calling the Pen at (480) 947-2974 or toll-free at (888) 560-9919.

Your ticket includes entry to the event and your choice of one of these three paperbacks for signing:

1. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOAQUIN MURIETA, THE CELEBRATED CALIFORNIA BANDIT (Penguin Classics, $17 value). Diana has written a new foreword to this classic from the mid-1800s
2. SEVEN STONES TO STAND OR FALL ($18, paperback edition value), a collection of seven of Diana’s Outlander short stories and novellas, or
3. Kearsley’s BELLWETHER ($16.95, paperback edition value).

Additional books by both authors will also be available for purchase and signing, including the three paperbacks listed above, Diana’s hardcover and paperback titles, and the hardcover edition of Kearsley’s novel, BELLEWETHER.

For more information or questions, please contact the friendly staff at the Poisoned Pen by phone at (480) 947-2974 or toll-free at (888) 560-9919

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(Please do not contact my Webmistress for questions about this August 10 event by email. She does not have any further information.)

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Posted on August 04, 2018 3:21 AM No Comments