Diana Makes the Funnies!

I was both flattered and amused to get an email from Bruce Tinsley, who draws (and writes) the "Mallard Fillmore" comic strip (it's syndicated by Knight, so appears in a number of newspapers), saying that he'd done a strip on me and my books, inspired by a conversation he'd had with his wife, who is a fan of the books.

Here's a link to the strip, which appeared in newspapers yesterday:

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/strips/mallard/2000/mallard1.asp


Lest anybody think that he was making fun of me or the books (well, hey, it's a comic strip!), I asked Bruce if I could quote his email to me, which he kindly allowed me to do:


Dear Ms. Gabaldon,
My wife loves your books so much, that I had to put one in my comic strip, Mallard Fillmore, which is syndicated nationally by King Features.
The strip will appear on Feb. 11, and feature Chantel's righteous indignation at Mallard's stereotyping one of your books as a bodice-ripper. I, of course, had committed the same sin in real life, without having actually read your books, and gotten the same response.
I've read some now, and realize that you've got a great gift. I also really respect the time you seem to take encouraging other writers.....
Bruce Tinsley

So--Thank you, Bruce! This is even better than being the subject of Trivial Pursuit questions. [g]

(I showed the strip to one of my editors, who said, "Next thing, the New York Times crossword puzzle!" [g])