In honor of the date, a song of the American Revolution: A Junto Song ‘Tis money makes the members vote And sanctifies our ways, It makes the patriot turn his coat And money we must raise, and A-taxing we will go, will go And a-taxing we will go. More taxes we must sure impose To raise the civil list; Also pay our ayes and noes, And make opposers hist, and A-taxing we will go, &c. The power supreme of Parliament Our purpose did assist. And taxing laws abroad were sent Which rebels do resist, and A -taxing we will go, &c. Boston we shall in ashes lay, It is a nest of knaves; We’ll make them soon for mercy pray Or send them to their graves, and A-taxing we will go, &c. Each colony, we will propose, Shall raise an ample sum; Which well applied, under the rose, May bribe them—as at home, and A-taxing we will go &c, We’ll force and fraud in one unite, To bring them to […]
Tag Archive for ‘Diana Gabaldon’ 
Historical Sex Scenes
Historical Sex Scenes Now, don’t start hyperventilating. This isn’t about how to write historical sex scenes (though I might show you a sort-of one, in a bit*). It’s a solicitation. {g} I was going to start out by saying that I have no idea how this happened, except that I do. I just don’t remember who to blame for it. What did happen was that six(ish) years ago, the Historical Novel Society (of which I am a member) held its biannual conference in Albany. It was the first conference of the HNS that I’d attended, and in my usual amiable way, I’d told the organizers that I’d be happy to do whatever they liked, in the way of panels, etc. So they put me on three or four panels, and one of those was a panel on writing sex scenes. There were six people assigned to the panel—which is kind of a lot, really; you get a great variety of input, but with such a large number, it’s hard to […]
Willkommen!
I’m delighted to announce that we now have a German-language version of the Diana Gabaldon official website! Thanks to Jeremy Tolbert for the design, and to Barbara Schnell, who is the German translator for the Outlander novels, for not only translating the relevant information from this site, but adding a lot of special bits, such as the many photographs she’s taken of German book-tours, fans, and readings (Barbara is also a wonderful photo-journalist; be sure to check out her own website at www.bschnell.de for her gorgeous horse photography!). Even those of you who don’t speak German may want to visit the new site to check out the great visuals. {g} And for those who do speak German—Willkommen! Oh–there’s upposed to be a German flag on the home page that will take you to the German site. If it’s not there yet, though, here’s the URL: http://www.schnellphoto-2.de/dianagabaldon.de/
METHADONE LIST: BLACK HALO
METHADONE LIST: BLACK HALO Last year, I mentioned Sam Sykes’s first book, THE TOME OF THE UNDERGATES. BLACK HALO is the second book in the AEON’S GATE trilogy, and even better than the first. These books are epic fantasy. Meaning—I’m told—that characters and storylines are writ large. This is certainly true of BLACK HALO, which includes the most striking assemblage of vivid misfits ever to try to save the world (or at least themselves) from demons—and a jaw-dropping array of creepy opponents, ranging from six-foot purple-faced female elite troops and jewel-wielding sexual sadists to the Akaneed, a giant cross between jelly-fish and sea-serpent, especially dangerous when mating. Add in the Omens, a chorus of harpy-like doom-sayers, giant cockroaches with rainbow-colored farts, and green Schicts (don’t ask), and you can be reasonably sure that Our Heroes are in for adventure on a grand scale. Add in the heroes’ personal problems—Asper, a priestess with a lethal left (not as in a talent for boxing; as in, people she touches with her left […]
As Seen on TV!
Many thanks to whichever nice reader is a scriptwriter for “General Hospital”! Earlier this month, a number of people called my attention to the fact that one show featured a young girl bringing books to her older sister in the hospital—at one point, pulling a copy of the trade paperback edition of OUTLANDER out of her bag and saying, “It’s really long—but really good!” {g} I did have someone ask whether this was product placement by the publisher, but I can assure you it wasn’t. With the dire state of publishing these days, nobody has ¬that kind of money, even if they thought it would be a good idea (which I kind of doubt). Random House does have a lot of great promotional ideas—they’re giving away mass-market copies of OUTLANDER in all kinds of venues, in anticipation of the new 20th-anniversary edition (more about that in a separate post, a little later), doing Google-TV ads, and other entertaining things—but I’m sure they would have told me if they’d figured out […]
Language, Language….(Part I)
It doesn’t happen often, but I do occasionally get email from people asking—always very politely (well, almost always very politely)—whether I have ever considered producing a bowdlerized edition of my books. Mind, none of them uses the word “bowdlerized”; I doubt most people under the age of forty have ever heard it. It comes from: Thomas Bowdler (pronounced /ˈbaʊdlər/) (11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825), who was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare’s work, edited by his sister Harriet, intended to be more appropriate for 19th century women and children than the original. He similarly published an edited version of Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His edition was the subject of some criticism and ridicule and, through the eponym bowdlerise (or bowdlerize),[1] his name is now associated with censorship of literature, motion pictures and television programmes. [Source: Wikipedia] Now, what these readers would like me to expurgate from my own work, in order to accommodate their desires and sensibilities, ranges […]
BLACK RIVER, NAKED MAN
Let me be clear about this: I didn’t even see the naked man when I took a picture of him. “Did you just take a picture of that naked man?!?” my husband said, startled. “What naked man?” said I, more startled still. “That one,” he said, pointing over my shoulder at the shore. Sure enough. I _had_ been taking a picture of the picturesquely-thatched boat-rental place from which we’d just departed, embarked upon a cruise up Jamaica’s Black River (so called, according to the guide, because of a thick layer of decomposing peat moss at the bottom; the water is clear, he said—the bottom is black. It also releases methane gas as it decomposes, which is temporarily trapped under the water. When this gas bubbles suddenly up, it’s often ignited by lightning, which (the guide said) “burns down the whole swamp several times a year.” I don’t suppose the crocodiles care, one way or the other, but it must be a nuisance to the people who live next to it). […]
A Pleasant Sunday in Paradise
The gecko is in his usual place, clinging to the slanted wooden ceiling twelve feet above my head. The living room of our cottage is open in front, and I’m looking out into a blackness filled with the sound of the sea. People who live next to it probably get used to it; I don’t think I ever would. I’m thinking the gecko could be a bit more proactive in his hunting; I’ve been gnawed by mosquitoes the last two days, and I see them now, tiny things casually floating around, pretending to be bits of dust. Our charming hostess has given me a bottle of oil of citronella, though, and this seems to help, though I don’t know whether the scent puts them off (luckily my husband finds it attractive; also luckily, he has nothing whatever in common with a mosquito), or whether they find the oil impenetrable. If oil gums up their little probosces, so much the better. I had a massage this afternoon, in the massage hut—a […]
APOLOGIES!
APOLOGIES! Mostly to Dana Stabenow, but also to those of you planning to attend her book-launch at The Poisoned Pen on Feb. 1st, for her new book, THOUGH NOT DEAD (which is a great book, btw—one of her best!). I was scheduled to be at the launch as well, to interview Dana about the book, but had an unexpected conflict (well, I got invited to go to Jamaica, and totally forgot that I was supposed to be doing this, is what happened. I’d already booked the tickets before I realized, though). So I unfortunately won’t be at The Poisoned Pen on Feb. 2nd. I strongly urge you to go, though. Dana’s book is wonderful, but Dana herself is a treat not to be missed. {g} (And for those who might be wanting signed copies of my books, I’m going by the Pen this afternoon to sign all their stock, so there should be plenty of everything available. I’ll also leave them with a number of signed bookplates, just in case.) […]