tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28615752608470505982024-03-17T00:24:18.765-07:00Voyages of the ArtemisDiana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-42240232711599409482011-01-11T12:55:00.000-08:002011-01-11T12:57:03.963-08:00Directions to New BlogAaaand...<br /><br /> As part of the new website thingy, my blog has become an integral part of said site. To read and post comments to the new blog (it's got all the older posts there, too), you want to go <a href="http://www.dianagabaldon.com/blog/">here.</a><br /><br /> See you there!Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-6275048076875557312011-01-11T12:30:00.000-08:002011-01-11T12:31:24.033-08:00Welcome to the New Website!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> 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Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">WELCOME to the All-New, Completely Redesigned, and—with luck—Totally Updated Diana Gabaldon Official Website!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Many, many thanks to the very talented Jeremy Tolbert of Clockpunk Studios (www.clockpunkstudios.com), who did the new design (and guided me through the maze of learning to work with WordPress).<span style=""> </span>And many thanks to the lovely Rosana Gatti, who designed (more than once {g}) the original Diana Gabaldon website, and has run it for more years than I care to count.<span style=""> </span>(Thinking especially of longevity these days, as a) it’s my birthday {g}, and b) OUTLANDER (the novel) was published twenty (yes, 2_0) years ago!)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Now, there will be a few spots where I’ll add new material, links, excerpts or whatever as we go on, but I think the new site is essentially complete.<span style=""> </span>(There will be a link to a Facebook page, for instance, but that’s not <i style="">quite</i> available yet.)<span style=""> </span>And my blog will now be an integral feature of the website, as well.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I hope you enjoy exploring the new site!<span style=""> </span>Do please let me know—there’s a place for comments, below, and on other parts of the site—if you see anything that doesn’t work, or have suggestions for things we may not have thought of that you’d like to see.<span style=""> </span>(And you can use the “Follow” links to talk to me via Twitter, if you’d like.)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Thanks,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style=""> </span>--Diana</span></p>Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-10077900578105038622011-01-08T10:27:00.000-08:002011-01-08T10:40:25.057-08:00And for the Corgi Lovers...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Q1ZzLxgMEcfiKhfXh_C1Bw3CeqIWtxcCtA2V6EmLt5uRVJDpmzjGqHI-vYRMjlL8zBLvrpqwcWxIo5D-DcK8qmNIh73fuCVZ5h0HLJYuVv1tYGXpCDgXJE7lz65t7xa8FDptqyc5/s1600/Porrie+and+Badger.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Q1ZzLxgMEcfiKhfXh_C1Bw3CeqIWtxcCtA2V6EmLt5uRVJDpmzjGqHI-vYRMjlL8zBLvrpqwcWxIo5D-DcK8qmNIh73fuCVZ5h0HLJYuVv1tYGXpCDgXJE7lz65t7xa8FDptqyc5/s320/Porrie+and+Badger.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559886785545538002" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4VOCeSZdxvowMxbezMTjGDn9usjWa__s4bQxIT9VxENnb2KGPHQr-wl_LQtjYG6hE3QfVMBN8zQv0IVUKdCxeJix1p3mKs_WPZzcMpafmBe3-iLb4dD7qOVkd3l2uCn2CH77F2oo/s1600/Charlie+2+%25282%2529.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4VOCeSZdxvowMxbezMTjGDn9usjWa__s4bQxIT9VxENnb2KGPHQr-wl_LQtjYG6hE3QfVMBN8zQv0IVUKdCxeJix1p3mKs_WPZzcMpafmBe3-iLb4dD7qOVkd3l2uCn2CH77F2oo/s400/Charlie+2+%25282%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559884604241820002" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAoy_DT8O9b98ge7EQjUVBsNhI-d45hfPuGFpeBbNnRS_9w57denRMxH46FKi-pPfT7kL7iXU-a_CFA8pEGkB7qY7MvzE1VUKH-zZVAUuraIZ-vnwaQ4odw5eklgyOaanQzJmfxUL/s1600/Charlie+1.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAoy_DT8O9b98ge7EQjUVBsNhI-d45hfPuGFpeBbNnRS_9w57denRMxH46FKi-pPfT7kL7iXU-a_CFA8pEGkB7qY7MvzE1VUKH-zZVAUuraIZ-vnwaQ4odw5eklgyOaanQzJmfxUL/s320/Charlie+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559883973134875474" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />For the Corgi-lovers....the elusive Charlie! (hiding under the coffee-table while being molested by a nosy dachshund)--and also, Elder Daughter with her corgi, Badger.<br /><br />And now I must be going and adding the finishing touches to the new website!Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-4600311827295502672011-01-04T00:59:00.000-08:002011-01-04T01:07:59.405-08:00HAPPY NEW YEAR!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWjB3XBQqb621ofBOStoEslHPGibqTPHMQ-hocIj4ZMQbxHzL1zc7qmiZ7MB5l31g_j3RCk2EillCq-rXW4Z8_XkTdwd_TiIJPzDqeMj4cuatrhiSE_OQhXs0FLjnqRyntM60wPLN/s1600/otis2+%25282%2529.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAWjB3XBQqb621ofBOStoEslHPGibqTPHMQ-hocIj4ZMQbxHzL1zc7qmiZ7MB5l31g_j3RCk2EillCq-rXW4Z8_XkTdwd_TiIJPzDqeMj4cuatrhiSE_OQhXs0FLjnqRyntM60wPLN/s320/otis2+%25282%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558253566988312706" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The tree is undecorated, the leftovers are frozen (except for the chocolate), the pipes froze but luckily didn't burst, the adult kids have all returned to their respective domiciles, and as soon as we all recover from the holidays, Normal Business will resume.<br /><br />(That's Otis in the foreground, there--my son's pug; the two black lumps just visible behind me are Homer and JJ. Charlie--son's corgi--doesn't like to get on the couch, and a good thing, too; he's under it.)<br /><br />(Yes, my T-shirt does say, "She Who Sleeps with Weenies.")Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-3550944263378292902010-12-26T00:03:00.000-08:002010-12-26T00:08:42.888-08:00Christmas in Santa Fe<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qYarwLIJMYuaZZM2rNdh33Pbb7Qv4eUHhICW5WBf_XDvIruYOUQg5nG8BaPmRQ1o6uN_tlQkW-s34wkZh8Av9i0c9fD6fRLSJpT9gp4yamdltTHCu2A8Zwbdze4jRSSPuOj_8PPE/s1600/Xmas+2010+me+and+plate.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" 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mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""> </span>We started Christmas around 5:30 PM on the 24<sup>th</sup>, with chipotle corn soup and pork sliders for a quick pick-up supper to sustain us through an arduous evening. Then we filled the family flasks ({ahem} we don't actually use these except on Christmas Eve, but everybody has one, to be filled with the evening's choice of beverage. Laura's therefore was full of Alabama Slammer (a hideous concoction made of Southern Comfort, Amaretto, Sloe Gin <yak> and Orange Juice), Sam had Edradour, Doug and Iain (Jenny’s boyfriend from Edinburgh) both opted for cognac with a splash of B&B (Jenny chose to nip off Iain's flask), and I _had_ been intending to go with Bailey's Irish Cream (on grounds both that I like the stuff, and that it's a good deal less alcoholic than the straight stuff), but since Iain at this point presented me with my Christmas present--a Very Special bottling of Laphroaig (reputed to be from the notorious cask in which one of the brewmasters drowned, but they bottled it anyway)--I really had no choice)--and set out for Canyon Road. </yak></p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><br />This is a very steep road, lined with art galleries on both sides, about a mile long. And on Christmas Eve, all the galleries festoon their premises with millions (literally) of <i>farolitos</i> (aka luminarias--paper bags with lighted votive candles inside), lighted crimson <i>ristras</i> (clusters of hanging dried chili peppers--though the ones meant for display are often red chili-shaped lights), etc. The whole town (and not a few surrounding settlements) turns out to walk up and down the road, pausing to sing Christmas carols wherever one is breaking out (the occasion is an invitation to anyone who thinks they can play a musical instrument; they stake out a street corner and haul out the old trombone, accordion, fiddle, or ocarina and have a bash at “Old King Wenceslaus”) or--if a kilt-wearer (Doug and Iain both went in full kit) to warm one's knees (or dangly bits, as the case may be) over one of the bonfires lit here and there along the street. All very sociable, especially after a few nips, and you get to see your fellow man attired in Just About Anything you can imagine, and quite a few things you wouldn't dream about after a late lobster supper with horseradish.</p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal"><br /><br />On from this to church--where you want to show up when the doors open at 10:30 PM, because it's your only chance to get a seat, the midnight services at the Basilica Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi being one of the Sights of Christmas in Santa Fe, and thus heavily patronized. Random carol-singing 'til 11:00, then the more formal "Lessons and Carols," featuring readings from Isaiah, interspersed with a longish cantata by Vivaldi and few audience-participation numbers to keep everyone from falling asleep before Mass proper gets underway at (logically enough) midnight.<br /></p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal"> Midnight Mass is normally a much snazzier production than the ordinary Mass, even though the structure of the proceedings is exactly the same. More music, assorted processions, celebrated by the bishop (complete with mitre and staff), etc., though. This one featured bilingual music (alternating verses and/or phrases in English and Spanish--often switching with bewildering rapidity), the Las Posadas procession (when the santos peregrines (the “traveling saints”) who have been going house to house for the last nine days, seeking a place for the baby Jesus to be born, finally come rejoicing into the church and everyone sings, "Vamos Todos a Belen" (Come Everyone to Bethlehem--which we always find funny, because my father was in fact born in a tiny town a hundred miles south of here, called Belen), and a Native American dance (done by Laguna Indians from the San Juan Pueblo, in traditional dress and solemnly waving fans of turkey feathers, while drumming and chanting down the center aisle) for the offertory (they circled the altar, and then the bishop, who seemed somewhat startled), incense, small orchestra (with more kettle drums than you could shake a stick at. You want kettle drums for something as dramatic as Christmas), choir, etc. </p> <p face="arial" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"> Came home under starry skies (very warm here--it was shirtsleeve weather outside today; the boys and Doug were playing football in the street, egged on my Jenny and Laura) and had brownies and milk, then everyone (other than Santa {yawn}) retired. I retired too, around 3 AM, stockings all filled and the dogs kept from investigating them (just to be safe, I put the package of smoke kangaroo jerky up on the mantel).<br /></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"> Was rousted at 8 AM to come and open presents (see attached; the plate was the hand-made gift of Elder Daughter), then puttered pleasantly and made lunch--machaca tacos, enchiladas and tamales, all washed down by quantities of Mexican beer. Spent a pleasant afternoon napping, reading, and nibbling, watching everybody watch football, and trying to induce my new iPad to work (“intuitive,” my left foot.<span style=""> </span>Technology is one of the things bad language was intended for.<span style=""> </span>Sufficient poking and muttering, though, and I Have Prevailed).<span style=""> </span>Leftover enchiladas, a handful of Dutch chocolate mints, and a sense of quiet bliss reigns.</p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>It was a wonderful Christmas, and I hope all of yours were likewise!</p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">(Oh, the hat? It's supposed to be a Christmas tree, though I'm told I resembled the Queen of the Universe in it.)<br /></p>Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-83878154661604238832010-12-16T09:49:00.000-08:002010-12-16T09:52:05.962-08:00Oh--another nice thing online this morning<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/reviews/2010-12-16-roundup16_ST_N.htm">This</a> being a nice piece in USAToday, doing a round-up feature on recent graphic novels, in which they included THE EXILE, and said nice things about it. {g}<br /><br /> They did misspell Jamie's last name (though they got mine right, for a wonder)--but you can't have everything.Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-4397975866834137152010-12-16T09:22:00.000-08:002010-12-16T09:35:36.904-08:00Warm rolls with minced pigeon and trufflesWell, here's an entry for the new website feature, 'Entertaining Things Fans Do.' {g}<br /><br /> (Yes, I really_ am_ working on the new website; have had out-of-town company for the last couple of days, though, and much as I enjoy them, they do take up time in which I could otherwise be going blind typing up descriptions of the seven big OUTLANDER novels....)<br /><br /><br /> I may have mentioned that I get interview requests All The Time? Well, this one came in from the Canadian publicist a few weeks back, with a note saying, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."<br /><br /> I read it, laughed, and emailed back, "Are you kidding? This is the most interesting interview I've had in months, if not years!" At last, an interview that didn't start out with some variation of, "Soooo....how did you get the idea to write these books?", didn't ask me "whether you've thought of making a movie of these books?", and didn't want to know who I'd cast to play Jamie Fraser!<br /><br /> (You know that feature on my website called "FAQ"? It'll be on the new site, too. It stands for "Frequently Asked Questions," and the point of it to supply answers to the Questions That EVERYBODY Asks Me. You'd think someone preparing to do an interview with somebody would go look at the somebody's website first, wouldn't you? But noooooo......) But I digress.<br /><br /><br /> This interview was from a nice person named Theresa Carle-Sanders, for her food website, www.IslandVittles.com, and she wanted my permission to run a short excerpt from VOYAGER, describing a particular 18th century dish, to accompany a brief interview about the food in my books.<br /><br /> The interview is<a href="http://islandvittles.com/2010/12/16/food-from-fiction-voyager-by-diana-gabaldon/"> here</a><br /> and I hope you'll enjoy both that, and the website, which is drool-worthy.Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-7171794922591372762010-12-11T15:16:00.000-08:002010-12-11T15:19:03.105-08:00BLOODY MENY'all have asked some good questions in the comments to the last post, but most of them will require a bit of time and thought to respond to properly. 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mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Book Eight</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Copyright 2010 Diana Gabaldon</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Stay,” he said sternly to Rollo, turning back for an instant.<span style=""> </span>The dog, who had not stirred from his comfortable spot at Rachel’s feet, twitched one ear.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>William was standing by the roadside, looking hot, tired, disheveled, and thoroughly unhappy.<span style=""> </span>As well he might, Ian thought with some sympathy.<span style=""> </span>William was likely bound for England—if he was lucky—or for parole in some rough lodging somewhere far to the south.<span style=""> </span>In either case, his active role as a soldier was over for some time.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>His face changed abruptly at sight of Ian.<span style=""> </span>Surprise, the beginnings of indignation, then a quick glance round, decision clamping down upon his features.<span style=""> </span>Ian was surprised for a moment that he could read William’s face so easily, but then remembered why.<span style=""> </span>Uncle Jamie guarded his own expression in company—but not with Ian.<span style=""> </span>Ian’s own face didn’t show his knowledge, though, anymore than William’s now showed more than an irritable acknowledgement.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Scout,” William said, with the briefest of nods.<span style=""> </span>The officer to whom he had been talking gave Ian a brief, incurious look, then saluted William and plunged back into the trudging stream.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“What the bloody hell do <i style="">you</i> want?” William drew a grubby sleeve across his sweating face.<span style=""> </span>Ian was mildly surprised at this evident hostility; they’d parted on good terms the last time they had seen each other—though there had been little conversation at the time, William having just put a pistol-ball through the brain of a madman trying to kill Rachel, Ian, or both, with an axe.<span style=""> </span>Ian’s left arm had healed enough to dispense with a sling, but it was still stiff.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“There’s a lady who’d like to speak with ye,” he said, ignoring William’s narrowed eyes.<span style=""> </span>The eyes relaxed a little.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Miss Hunter?”<span style=""> </span>A small gleam of pleasure lit William’s eyes, and Ian’s own narrowed slightly.<span style=""> </span><i style="">Aye, well,</i> he thought, <i style="">let her tell him, then.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>William waved to a corporal down the line, who waved back, then stepped off the road after Ian.<span style=""> </span>A few soldiers glanced at Ian, but he was unremarkable, the double line of dotted tattooing on his cheeks, his buckskin breeches, and his sun-browned skin marking him as an Indian scout—a good many of these had deserted the British army, but there were still a good many left, mostly Loyalists<span style=""> </span>like Joseph Brant who held land in Pennysylvania and New York, though there were still some ranging parties from the Iroquois nations who had come down to fight at Saratoga.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“William!”<span style=""> </span>Rachel flew across the little clearing and clasped the tall captain’s hands, beaming up at him with such joy that he smiled back at her, all irritability vanished.<span style=""> </span>Ian hung back a little, to give her time.<span style=""> </span>There hadn’t been any, really, what with Rollo roaring and tearing at Arch Bug’s miserable auld carcass, Rachel sprawled on the floor, frozen with horror, himself lying on the floor pouring blood, and half the street outside screaming bloody murder.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>William had pulled Rachel to her feet and thrust her into the arms of the first woman available, who as it happened, was Marsali.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Get her out of here!” William had snapped.<span style=""> </span>But Rachel, Ian’s nut-brown maiden—her brownness much splattered with blood—had pulled herself together in an instant, and gritting her teeth—he’d seen her do it, bemused by shock as he lay on the floor, watching things happen as though in a dream—as she stepped over auld Arch’s body, had fallen to her knees in the mess of brains and blood, wrapped her apron tight about his wounded arm and tied it with her kerchief,<span style=""> </span>and then with Marsali, had dragged him bodily out of the print-shop and into the street, where he’d promptly passed out, waking only when Auntie Claire began stitching his arm.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Ian hadn’t had time to thank William, even had he been able to speak, and he meant to convey his own thanks as soon as he might.<span style=""> </span>But clearly Rachel wanted to talk to him first, and he waited, thinking how beautiful she looked, her eyes the clouded hazel of thicket and green-brier, face clever and quick as flame.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“But thee is tired, William, and thin,” she was saying, drawing a finger disapprovingly down the side of his face.<span style=""> </span>“Do they not feed thee?<span style=""> </span>I’d thought it was only the Continentals who went short of rations.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Oh.<span style=""> </span>I—I haven’t had time of late.”<span style=""> </span>The happiness that had lit William’s face while he talked with Rachel faded noticeably.<span style=""> </span>“We—well, you see.” <span style=""> </span>He waved an arm toward the invisible road, where the hoarse chants of the sergeants rang like the calling of disgruntled crows above the shuffle of feet.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“I do see.<span style=""> </span>Where is thee going?”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>William rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth, and glanced at Ian.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“I suppose he oughtn’t to say,” Ian said, coming across and touching Rachel’s arm, smiling at William in apology.<span style=""> </span>“We’re the enemy, <i style="">a nighean donn.</i>”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>William looked sharply at Ian, catching the tone of his voice, then back at Rachel, whose hand he was still holding.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“We are betrothed, William—Ian and I,” she said, gently pulling her hand out of his and putting it on Ian’s.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>William’s face changed abruptly, losing its look of happiness altogether.<span style=""> </span>He eyed Ian with something remarkably close to dislike.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Are you,” he said flatly.<span style=""> </span>“I suppose I must wish you every happiness, then.<span style=""> </span>Good day.”<span style=""> </span>He turned on his heel, and Ian, surprised, reached out to pull him back.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Wait—“ he said, and then William turned and hit him in the mouth.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>He was lying on his back in the leaves, blinking in disbelief, as Rollo hurtled over him and sank his teeth in some soft part of William, judging by the yelp and the brief cry of startlement from Rachel.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Rollo!<span style=""> </span><i style="">Bad</i> dog—and thee is a bad dog, too, William Ransom!<span style=""> </span>What the devil does thee mean by this?”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Ian sat up, tenderly fingering his lip, which was bleeding.<span style=""> </span>Rollo had retreated a little under Rachel’s scolding, but kept a yellow eye fixed on William and a curled lip raised over bared teeth, the faintest rumble of a growl coming from his huge chest.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“<i style="">Sheas</i>,” Ian said to him briefly, and got to his feet.<span style=""> </span>William had sat down and was examining the calf of his leg, which was bleeding through his torn silk hose, though not badly.<span style=""> </span>When he saw Ian, he scrambled to his feet.<span style=""> </span>His face was bright red and he looked as though he meant either to do murder or burst into tears.<span style=""> </span><i style="">Maybe both</i>, Ian thought in surprise.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>He was careful not to touch William again, but stood back a bit—in front of Rachel, just in case the man meant to go off again.<span style=""> </span>He <i style="">was</i> armed, after all; there was a pistol and sword at his belt.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Are ye all right, man?” he asked, in the same tone of mild concern he’d heard his Da use now and then on his Mam or Uncle Jamie.<span style=""> </span>Evidently it was in fact the right tone to take with a Fraser about to go berserk, for William breathed like a grampus for a moment or two, then got himself under control.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“I ask your pardon, sir,” he said, back stiff as a stick of rock-maple.<span style=""> </span>“That was unforgiveable.<span style=""> </span>I shall…leave you.<span style=""> </span>I—Miss Hunter…I--”<span style=""> </span>He turned, stumbling a little, and that gave Rachel time to dart round in front of him.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“William!”<span style=""> </span>Her face was full of distress.<span style=""> </span>“What is it?<span style=""> </span>Have I—“</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>He looked down at her, his face contorted, but shook his head.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“You haven’t done anything,” he said, with an obvious effort.<span style=""> </span>“You…you could never do anything that…”<span style=""> </span>He swung round toward Ian, fist clenched on his sword.<span style=""> </span>“But <i style="">you</i>, you fucking bas— you son-of-a-bitch!<span style=""> </span><i style="">Cousin!</i>”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Oh,” said Ian, stupidly.<span style=""> </span>“Ye know, then.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Yes, I bloody know!<span style=""> </span>You could have fucking told me!”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Know what?”<span style=""> </span>Rachel stepped round Ian, looking from him to William and back again.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Don’t you bloody tell her!” William snapped.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Don’t be silly,” Rachel said reasonably.<span style=""> </span>“Of course he’ll tell me, the minute we’re alone.<span style=""> </span>Does thee not wish to tell me thyself?<span style=""> </span>I think perhaps thee might not trust Ian to say it aright.”<span style=""> </span>Her eye rested on Ian’s lip, and her own mouth twitched.<span style=""> </span>Ian might have taken offense at this, save that William’s distress was so apparent.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“It isna really a disgrace…” he began, but then stepped hastily back as William’s clenched fist drew back.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“You think not?”<span style=""> </span>William was so furious, his voice was nearly inaudible.<span style=""> </span>“To discover that I am—am—the…the get of a Scottish criminal?<span style=""> </span>That I am a fucking <i style="">bastard</i>?”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Despite his resolve to be patient, Ian felt his own dander start to rise.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Criminal, forbye!” he snapped.<span style=""> </span>“Any man might be proud to be the son of Jamie Fraser!”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Oh,” said Rachel, forestalling William’s next heated remark.<span style=""> </span>“That.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“What?”<span style=""> </span>He glared down at her.<span style=""> </span>“What the devil do you mean, ‘<i style="">that’</i>?”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“We thought it must be the case,<span style=""> </span>Denny and I.”<span style=""> </span>She lifted one shoulder, though keeping a close watch on William, who looked as though he was about to go off like a twelve-pound<span style=""> </span>mortar.<span style=""> </span>“But we supposed that thee didn’t wish the matter talked about.<span style=""> </span>I didn’t know that thee—how could thee not have known?” she asked curiously.<span style=""> </span>“The resemblance—“</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>“Fuck the resemblance!”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com116tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-10054002022803943512010-12-09T03:00:00.000-08:002010-12-09T03:03:26.504-08:00Jamie and the Rule of Three<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> 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</w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"> I had a male reader (Justin Brady (@RandomAngst), who runs the Random Angst book review/rating site at www.randomangst.com) on Twitter just today who said he'd just finished reading OUTLANDER and enjoyed it a lot "until the prison chapters." I tweeted back that I'd be kind of worried about him if he'd _enjoyed_ the Wentworth part {g}, to which he said, "but why put our hero through such pain and suffering? :)", adding in the next, "I know I'm late to the #Outlander party & you've probably already addressed this; but that was intense emotional, physical pain."</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><br /> I was on my way out to dinner, so said I'd reply to him later (haven't done that yet), but have been thinking at brief moments just _how_ to reply to that. The simple answer is just that that's what I saw happening, but that's not enough for the reader. There always _is_ a reason why things happen or are necessary, whether I know what that is when I write it or not. So what is it here?<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> In part, it's because it's a High Stakes story. Almost everybody understands that you have to have _something_ at stake for a story to be good. And way too many thrillers and sf/f novels assume that nothing less than the Fate of the Known Universe will do {g}, these authors mistaking scale for intensity. No matter what the background may be, a story that focuses on the impact of events on one or two individual _lives_ will be--generally speaking--much more engaging and emotionally intense than one where everyone is just rushing around trying to save a planet or get their hands on the fortunium bomb that could Destroy Everything!!<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> So OUTLANDER is a high stakes story--on an individual level--throughout. It's a love story, sure, and it's all about what people will _do_ for the sake of love. Claire, for instance, chooses to abandon the life she knew (and was about to reclaim post-War), the safety of the 20th century (and she of all people would value that safety, having come through such a war), and the husband she'd loved. She chooses hardship, danger, and emotional pain, in order to be with Jamie.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> But love for these two is always reciprocal. It's not about one partner making a sacrifice for the other's sake. Throughout the story, they keep rescuing each other. And the stakes are high. Jamie marries Claire originally in order to save her from Black Jack Randall. Would that be a striking thing to do, if Jack Randall was not, in fact, a serious threat? He _is_ a serious threat; we learn that from Jamie's backstory. The man's a genuine sadistic psychopath, who has essentially destroyed Jamie's family and seriously injured him, both physically and emotionally. And here's Jamie swearing to give Claire everything he has; the protection of his name and his clan--and the protection of his body--in order to save _her_ from this man.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> He then does save her, physically and immediately, from Randall, when Randall captures her and assaults her at Fort William--even though by doing so, he puts not only himself, but everyone with him, in serious danger, _and_ does so at some emotional as well as physical cost. "I was tied to that post, tied like an animal, and whipped 'til my blood ran...Had I not been lucky as the devil this afternoon, that's the least that would have happened to me. ....[But] when ye screamed, I went to you, wi' nothing but an empty gun and my two hands." The stakes are higher; the threat to Jamie (and Claire) from Captain Randall is increased.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> One, two, three. The Rule of Three. It’s one of the important underlying patterns of story-telling; one event can be striking.<span style=""> </span>The next (related) event creates resonance.<span style=""> </span>But the third brings it home—WHAM.<span style=""> </span>(That is, btw, why classic fairy tales always involve three brothers, three sisters, three fairies, etc.—and why the most classic form of joke always starts, “A priest, a minister and a rabbi…” <span style=""> </span>The climax of the story, the punchline of the joke, always comes on the third iteration.)<span style=""> </span>The third encounter with Black Jack Randall is the climax, the point where the stakes are highest. Jamie's been captured and seriously hurt, Claire's come to save him, but Randall turns up and takes her captive, threatening her life.<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> OK. This -has- to be a credible threat. Ergo, we have to have seen (and heard about) the real damage Randall has done to Jamie thus far; we have to be in no doubt whatever that he'd do real damage to Claire. We can't just _say_, "Oh, he's _such_ a nasty person, you wouldn't believe..." We _have_ to believe, and therefore appreciate _just_ what Jamie is doing when he trades what's left of his life for Claire's.<span style=""> </span>(Show, don’t tell, you know?)<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> And because we do believe that, we share both Jamie's despair and Claire's desperation.<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> So, OK. Throughout the book, we've seen that love has a real cost. Jamie and Claire have built a relationship through honest struggle, a relationship that's _worth_ what it's cost them. This is the final challenge, and Jamie's willing to pay what will apparently be the ultimate cost.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> Why would I throw that away? To have him escape rape and torture (he--and we--_know_ what's coming) by the skin of his teeth would be to undercut his sacrifice, to make it of little moment. (It would be like someone turning up in Gethsemane and telling Christ, "Hey, buddy, you don't _really_ have to do this. Come with me, I got a secret way outta here...")<br /><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> So love _has_ a cost, and it's a real one. But they do rescue each other, and Claire saves not only his life, _but his soul_. (Yes, it is redemption and resurrection, and yes, there's Christ imagery all through the story--it was my first book, OK?) His soul wouldn't have been in danger, had he not been really and truly nearly destroyed by his sacrifice.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> I.e., had Claire shown up with reinforcements in the nick of time and saved him before he'd been put through such pain and suffering....well, then it would have been a nice, heart-warming story in which Hero and Heroine conquer evil and ride off into the sunset together. But it wouldn't have half the power of a story in which Jamie and Claire _truly_ conquer _real_ evil, and thus show what real love is. Real love has real costs--and they're worth it.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /> I've always said all my books have a shape, and OUTLANDER's internal geometry consists of three slightly overlapping triangles. The apex of each triangle is one of the three emotional climaxes of the book: 1) when Claire makes her wrenching choice at the stones, 2) when she saves Jamie from Wentworth, and 3) when she saves his soul at the Abbey. It would still be a _good_ story, if I'd had only 1 and 2--but (see above), the Rule of Three. A story that goes one, two, _three_ has a lot more impact than just a one-two punch.<br /> <br /> </p>Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com64tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-88684920606437173862010-12-08T17:01:00.000-08:002010-12-08T17:09:14.289-08:00AVAILABILITY ISSUES<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> 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mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">There’s been a lot of discussion lately about availability issues: Will THE EXILE be available as an audiobook? <span style=""> </span>Is there a Large Print edition of the books?<span style=""> </span>Why can’t you get an unabridged audiobook of THE FIERY CROSS or A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES?<span style=""> </span>Why can’t you get the OUTLANDER: The Musical CD from amazon.co.uk?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I don’t have answers to _all_ the availability questions, of course, because I don’t actually publish and distribute everything out of my garage {g}; I have contracts with a great many different publishing companies, all of whom deal with those issues in their own territories, and usually I have No Idea.<span style=""> </span>But I can answer _some_ questions!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style=""> </span>The Audiobooks.<span style=""> </span>OK, follow me like a leopard here.<span style=""> </span>Back in the day, nobody had any idea whether audiobooks would amount to anything; it was new-fangled technology, nobody was familiar with the concept as anything beyond the material for the blind that the Library of Congress’s Talking Books program does, nobody was sure it would ever be worth anything—and it cost a lot to produce one.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">That being so, when Bantam-Dell (a subgroup of my US publisher, Random House) contracted with us (me and my agent) fifteen (or so) years ago for audiobooks, they did so very cautiously—and only for the rights to make an abridged version, because the thought of anyone being willing to listen to (let alone pay for) an unabridged version of something the size of OUTLANDER was laughable.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Now, in my naivete, I had no idea that “abridged” actually meant, “butchered into little bloody shreds, one-quarter of which will then be scraped up into a pile and kind of patted into the rough semblance of a story, rather like a sculpture made of raw hamburger.”<span style=""> </span>I did, though, insist on keeping the Unabridged rights, having faith that at some far distant date, someone might be willing to take the gigantic gamble of recording the Whole Thing, down to the last word.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Bantam-Dell fussed about this—publishers hate to give up _any_ rights, whether they know what to do with said rights or not; they might come in handy someday, after all—but eventually gave in, since they were positive that the unabridged rights were worthless.<span style=""> </span>They did, however, insist on a non-compete clause in the contract, just in case:<span style=""> </span>to wit, that if anybody _did_ ever do an Unabridged version, this version could not be sold in retail outlets where the abridged version was sold.<span style=""> </span>(They reasoning—correctly—that if anybody saw the two versions side by side on a shelf, they’d instantly realize that ¾ of the story had been omitted from the abridged version.<span style=""> </span>(Not kidding, here; the FIERY CROSS abridged audiobook contains only 23% of the original book’s text.<span style=""> </span>Just so you know…))</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">OK.<span style=""> </span>A few years later, I happened to meet some representatives of Recorded Books, Inc. (well, actually, I engineered an “accidental” meeting at a librarians conference, having ascertained that Recorded Books was the biggest of the only two companies who even <i style="">did</i> unabridged books), got them interested (though they were a little goggle-eyed at the sheer tonnage involved; OUTLANDER was the longest book they’d ever done), and…well, Bob’s your uncle.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Recorded Books has done a <i style="">magnificent</i> job with the Unabridged audiobooks.<span style=""> </span>They found marvelous readers (the hugely talented Davina Porter, who reads the OUTLANDER novels, and the equally talented Jeff Woodman, who does the Lord John books), and have risen nobly to the challenge of getting the audiobook versions produced more or less simultaneously with the print versions (no easy job, given how close I always come to the pub date in delivering the manuscript).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Now, going back to the original Bantam-Dell contract for the abridged audiobooks:<span style=""> </span>my agent (who was an excellent agent) reasoned that since no one actually <i style="">knew</i> how the audiobook market might develop, he didn’t want to lock me into the usual sort of semi-permanent contract that we’d do for a book (i.e., you essentially grant the publishing company the right to publish your book as long as it sells.<span style=""> </span>Only if it stops selling and they allow it to go out of print, can you get back the rights to it), and instead sold the audiobook abridged rights on a ten-year license.<span style=""> </span>Meaning that we gave Bantam-Dell the right to produce an audiobook of each title (six books were covered under the original contract; they weren’t all written then, but were all under contract as print titles) for a period of ten years, from the date of publication of each title.<span style=""> </span>So the license for VOYAGER, for instance, expired in 2004, as that book was originally published in 1994.<span style=""> </span>And so on.<span style=""> </span>We could then, if we liked, renew the license for an additional period.<span style=""> </span>Or not.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Well, having seen what a travesty the abridged books are (meaning no offense either to the reader or the production team; there’s just no way of doing a good version of a book from which you’ve essentially omitted every other word), the answer was a resounding NOT, and we’ve been canceling those licenses the instant they come due.<span style=""> </span>(Bantam-Dell is allowed a certain period post-cancellation during which they can still sell whatever stock they have on-hand, but they can’t produce any more.)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Result being that we’ve pretty much stamped out the abridged versions of OUTLANDER, DRAGONFLY IN AMBER, VOYAGER, and DRUMS OF AUTUMN.<span style=""> </span>But THE FIERY CROSS was published in 2001.<span style=""> </span>Which means that its license doesn’t expire until 2011.<span style=""> </span>Which (hahahaha!) happens in a month!!<span style=""> </span>So we’ll get to cancel _that_ license Right Soon, leaving only ABOSA to go.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">But that’s the reason why you haven’t been able to get FIERY CROSS or A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES from Audible.com—it’s considered a retail outlet that sells the abridged versions.<span style=""> </span>[I’m putting the following in caps, because I keep telling this to people, but they often don’t seem to notice or understand:]</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">YOU _CAN_ GET THE UNABRIDGED VERSIONS OF FIERY CROSS AND ABOSA!!<span style=""> </span>You just can’t (yet) get them from Audible.com, which is most people’s default supplier of audiobooks.<span style=""> </span>You totally _can_ either rent or buy the unabridged audio of both books, right <a href="http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rb.show_prod&book_id=54847&prod_id=CD731">here </a>(and <a href="http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=rb.show_prod&book_id=71792&prod_id=03402">here</a>). <span style=""></span>But I admit that it will be much more convenient for everyone when the license on ABOSA expires as well, and all the Unabridged audios can be found on Audible.com.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">(You can get AN ECHO IN THE BONE and all the Lord John books in Unabridged form on Audible now, because none of these books were covered in the original contract with Bantam-Dell, and thus no abridged version of them has ever existed.<span style=""> </span>It’s not going to, either, I can tell you that much….)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Well, no, I really don’t think there will be an audio version of THE EXILE, unless it’s made by Recording for the Blind or the Talking Books program (in which the reader describes all illustrations for the benefit of a visually impaired reader).<span style=""> </span>This book is a graphic novel.<span style=""> </span>And while I was quite surprised to discover that there are a lot of people (judging from the one-star reviews on Amazon.com) who have never heard the term “graphic novel” (and didn’t bother to find out what it meant, or to scroll down far enough in the product description to <i style="">see</i> what it meant, and thus were shocked—shocked!—to find that it was A COMIC BOOK! (and thus concluded that this was calculated fraud on my part…people are Very Strange on occasion))—a graphic novel is, in fact, a comic book.<span style=""> </span>For adults, but it is a novel told largely in visual images.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Ergo, kind of hard to do as an audiobook, I mean.<span style=""> </span>Reading just the dialogue part of the script might not be all that effective.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Large Print editions.<span style=""> </span>Well….let’s just think about the logistics here for a minute, OK?<span style=""> </span>How much bigger is Large Print than the normal typeface?<span style=""> </span>50% bigger?<span style=""> </span>Twice as big?<span style=""> </span>Let’s say 50%, just as a start.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">OK.<span style=""> </span>OUTLANDER runs about 700 pages, and that’s the <i style="">shortest</i> book in the series, at 305,00 words.<span style=""> </span>(FIERY CROSS is the longest, at 508,000, but A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES runs it a close second, at something like 498,00.<span style=""> </span>Those two books are at the physical limit of how many pages you can reasonably bind between covers.)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">To get all of ABOSA into one volume, the German publisher was obliged to print it on “Bible” paper—the thin, tough paper they print Bibles on.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">So.<span style=""> </span>Multiply those lengths by 1.5, and we’re talking something the equivalent of 750,000 words (just the space that many words would take up, I mean).<span style=""> </span>Chances are that you’d need even more space than that, because of the leading and kerning issues (those are the spaces between letters in a word and between the lines of print—all of which need to be magnified in a Large Print book), but leave that aside for now.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Even OUTLANDER, therefore, would have to be published in two volumes, for a Large Print edition, and several of the later books in the series would need to be done in three-volume sets.<span style=""> </span>The cost of producing a book of X size remains the same, whether it contains _all_ the words in the original text, or only one-half or one-third of them.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">So the cost of producing a Large Print edition of the OUTLANDER novels would be 2-3 times the cost of the normal book, the set would sell for 2-3 times the cost of the original ($50-75)—and how big a market is there for such an edition?<span style=""> </span>(There’s also the consideration that many people who might need a Large Print edition would have problems physically _holding_ books of this size.)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Beyond these economic considerations, there’s the simple fact that if you have an ebook reader (and all my books are available in just about any ebook format—true, you need a Kindle app to read them on an iPad, but there _is_ one), the thing is light and easy to hold—and you can adjust the print to be whatever size is comfortable for you, including sizes MUCH bigger than any printed Large Print version could offer.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Anyway.<span style=""> </span>Bottom line is that the only one of my books ever done as a Large Print edition was LORD JOHN AND THE PRIVATE MATTER, which I wrote under the delusion that it was a short story. <g></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Amazon.co.uk.<span style=""> </span>Well, now here I’m just reporting, because I have no relations with Amazon.co.uk myself.<span style=""> </span>I do have some correspondence with Amazon.com, and everything seems to be running very well there.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";">However, Mike, the guy who handles the OUTLANDER:The Musical CD sales for the UK, established an Amazon.co.uk account for it, but hasn’t had as much luck in coming to an agreement with them regarding price, or in having his other concerns addressed.<span style=""> </span>So he’s asked me to let y’all know that he’s suspended that account for the time being, but that if any of you in the UK or Europe want CDs, you can get them <a href="http://www.outlanderthemusical.com/purchase.htm">here</a>. (Scroll down a bit.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="">5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Oh!<span style=""> </span>This isn’t really an availability issue, but fwiw, I was notified this morning that all my e-books are now available on google.books.<span style=""> </span>No idea whether this is a Good Thing or not {g}, but there they are.</span></p>Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-71461237542216271212010-12-04T14:00:00.000-08:002010-12-04T14:16:38.476-08:00Christmas Awakening<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xsHk_Tl1lezPExoLwWXak8ThTl4NZU3yj0SrklHItDMOglpARIoa9JLnRSI-G1ZNMmFK_wLVIay9x-g9C2F_1iHkI_EYCtMnaYtqOeM7MJP4aYScNy_tm5oD7OSooXqiJ-AjbOwY/s1600/Korean+Outlander+cover.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8xsHk_Tl1lezPExoLwWXak8ThTl4NZU3yj0SrklHItDMOglpARIoa9JLnRSI-G1ZNMmFK_wLVIay9x-g9C2F_1iHkI_EYCtMnaYtqOeM7MJP4aYScNy_tm5oD7OSooXqiJ-AjbOwY/s320/Korean+Outlander+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546952401971540178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try 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class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >Goodness, already the 4<sup>th</sup> of December!<span style=""> </span>I’m deeply impressed that I’ve so far managed to write, address, and actually mail twenty-six Christmas cards.<span style=""> </span>(Mind, I only succeeded in doing this because I was nagged by the resident elf, who did the actual mailing, and needed the cards to insert in the boxes of dates that I send to the various publishers, editors, and other professional acquaintances around the world at Christmas time.<span style=""> </span>(In which respect, may I recommend the<a href="http://www.sphinxdateranch.com/"> Sphinx Date Ranch,</a> who produce dates (and other dried fruits and nuts) that cause widespread slavering upon receipt from the UK to New Zealand, and who will in fact ship things for you, but we do it ourselves because of needing to stick hand-written cards and notes into the boxes.))</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >I’ve also bought presents for eleven children (aided in this process by the <a href="http://store.doverpublications.com/">Dover Publications Company</a>, which has the world’s biggest selection of Entertaining Coloring and Origami books)—none of them mine (mine are all old enough that they just want money…and the occasional iPad).<span style=""> </span>This still leaves a horrifying amount of Stuff to be done (like the other 38 Christmas cards on the list), but it does give me a pleasant glow of accomplishment, since I don’t usually get this far this early.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >It did make me think, though, that there must be others of you in the early stages of Christmas Awakening (that’s when you sit bolt upright in bed, crying out, “Oh, crap, I forgot my mother-in-law!”), and thus perhaps wanting useful gift suggestions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >Just in case that’s the case [cough], I thought I might list a few Interesting Items for the OUTLANDER Fan on Your List.<span style=""> </span>I thought of this, because I was just down at The Poisoned Pen, my local bookstore in Scottsdale, signing everything in sight, in preparation for their annual Christmas Shipping Frenzy.<span style=""> </span>So I can assure you that they have</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style="">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style=""> </span>First-edition copies of THE EXILE, signed both by Yours Truly, and by Hoang Nguyen, the illustrator of that splendidly vivid volume,</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style="">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >Brand-new copies of the just-released anthology, SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH, featuring a short story (by me) that tells the story of Roger MacKenzie’s parents, and solves one of the mysteries raised by AN ECHO IN THE BONE (and of which there is a brief excerpt, a few postings back in this blog).<span style=""> </span>Also autographed by me.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style="">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style=""> </span>OUTLANDER: The Musical CD’s (see <a href="http://www.outlanderthemusical.com/">www.outlanderthemusical.com</a> for details and song samples), also signed by me (not that I had anything to do with the composing or singing, but the people who did are all in Scotland.<span style=""> </span>Since I’m here and they aren’t, I signed the things on their behalf).</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style="">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style=""> </span>A selection (and a pretty random selection it is, too) of Foreign Editions of various of my books.<span style=""> </span>Foreign publishers are required by contract to send me X copies of each of my books that they publish; in practice, this means sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t.<span style=""> </span>But when they do, they often send a lot of them.</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >The Pen said they had had an increasing number of inquiries from people about foreign editions—they ship worldwide—and would like to have whatever I had on hand, just in case.<span style=""> </span>So the elf and I gathered up whatever we could lay hands on easily, and I took these down to the store, where I signed all of them.<span style=""> </span>(I know there are several Really Entertaining-looking Finnish editions of AN ECHO IN THE BONE, and at least two full sets of the Spanish editions, from FORASTERA (OUTLANDER) up through VIENTO y CIENDRES (This is A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES, though the title really means “Wind and cinders”).)</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >Anyway, if any of these items sounds like a great stocking-stuffer (I recommend a really big stocking, if you’re drawn to the notion of the Finnish ECHO), you can get them either <a href="http://www.poisonedpen.com/">here</a>, or by calling the Poisoned Pen at 480-947-2974 , or emailing them at <a href="mailto:patrick@poisonepen.com">patrick@poisonedpen.com</a> (Patrick’s the manager).</span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style=""> </span>(You would have to contact them, I’m afraid, to find out exactly which foreign editions they have, because I didn’t think to list them.)</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >I should add that I’ll be going back in there next week to sign all the new orders, so if you happen to want any of these things (or any of the OUTLANDER or Lord John books, for that matter—these are all available in hardcover, trade paperback, or mass-market (including ECHO, if you want the UK mass-market paperback, which has entertaining maps, biographical sketches of the main characters, and an excerpt from Book Eight in the back)) personalized or done with an inscription.<span style=""> </span>(I only know four bits of Gaelic to put in people’s books, but one of these is “Nollaig Chridheil”—aka “Merry Christmas.”<span style=""> </span>I only get to use that one at this time of year, so would be delighted at the opportunity.)</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><br /></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >Oh--and I mustn't forget <a href="http://www.oldwilmingtontea.com/Lord-John-Grey">The Old Wilmington Tea Company,<br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" >whose delightful "Lord John Grey" blend will warm the hands, if not the hearts, of recipients who don't even read my books. [g]</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><br /></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:";font-size:14pt;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Nollaigh Chridheil!</span><br /></span></p>Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-84634716322454272032010-11-30T12:32:00.000-08:002010-11-30T12:35:04.661-08:00Canadian Giveaway of Signed EXILE - Today Only!Someone just sent me this link to the Random House Canada website: They're having a "Reader's Gift" giveaway during November--a different book being given away each day--and TODAY (only) are giving away five signed copies of THE EXILE. (You do have to have a Canadian address to enter.)<br /><br />Details are<br /><br /><a href="http://www.booklounge.ca/features/giftsforreaders/25days/day12.html?ref=twitter_25Days">here</a>. Good luck!Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-37189806442745132472010-11-27T10:31:00.000-08:002010-11-27T11:11:27.653-08:00Christmas is coming--And the goose isn't the only thing getting fat. As Younger Daughter said a few minutes ago (with a beatific look on her face), "Chocolate truffles for breakfast, turkey with gravy for lunch, and did you say there's pie left? Do we have any whipped cream, or shall I go get some?"<br /><br /><br />We haven't even hit the marshmallow-walnut fudge season, yet, let alone tamales, enchiladas, machaca and green chile. (We're traditional; we eat Mexican for Christmas, in honor of our roots. Bar the fudge, which has no ethnic allegiance.) ("Gabaldon" is my own name, btw; my husband's' name is much easier to pronounce, but after spelling "Gabaldon" for twenty-five years, I was attached to it and didn't intend to give it up. Being a Hispanic name, that means that were we speaking Spanish, it would be pronounced<br /><br /> "gah-vahl-DOHN" <br /><br />(probably originally had an accent mark over the "don," but that's been lost sometime over the last 500 years in the New World).<br /><br /><br />Since we are for the most part speaking English here, it's normally pronounced<br /><br /> "GAA-bull-dohn"<br /><br />(still with the long "o" sound at the end, right? Rhymes with stone? Amazing how hard it is for people to wrap their heads around that, no matter how often I tell them. No one in New York City, for instance, can make themselves not say "don" (as in mastodon) at the end. Just can't do it.)<br /><br /><br />But I digress...<br /><br /><br />Rather than join in the gluttony (well, rather than join in it right _then_), I drove up to the Rim country yesterday--about 90 miles north of Phoenix, 50 south of Flagstaff. That's where the Pinon (there's a tilde over the first "n" in Pinon, btw, but I haven't figured out how to insert one and am too lazy to go find out)/Juniper woodland begins, and thus the closest place in which to cut greenery for the family Advent wreath.<br /><br /><br />Beautiful day. Still, warm air--perfect for hot-air balloons, and I saw six of them floating over the Valley, just hanging in the air like slow-moving cherries. I could walk the woods in my shirt-sleeves, even that far north.<br /><br /><br />Now, one of the things I enjoy about wandering around in the wild is that you never know what you might see. I've come round a small tree and face-to-face with a surprised pronghorn antelope (I was pretty surprised, too), met mule deer and elk--once came upon a fresh elk carcass, sans head, neatly butchered, guts buried, backbone standing white like the keel of an overturned ship--with the hair on the lower legs all fresh and shining and the hooves black and still caked with dirt, as though those legs might spring up and the hooves carry off the ghostly skeleton. Eerie.<br /><br /><br />Met a porcupine once--but not as closely as the dog who came down the trail and thought that was One Strange Thing that ought to be barked at and closely inspected. Helped the owner pull quills out of the poor dog's nose; I have five of them in a dish on my mantelpiece in Flagstaff.<br /><br /><br />You also find a lot of broken glass in the woods, because people go a little way off the road to make a fire and drink beer (and stronger stuff). Most of the people I meet in the woods are hikers, occasionally hunters--I try _not_ to go into the woods in hunting season, but what qualifies as "woods" varies, and so does various people's notion of what constitutes hunting season--but by and large, nice folk. I do carry a gun, though, because I'm alone and nobody knows exactly where I am (that being part of the charm of woods-walking). Never needed it, never expect to need, HOPE never to need it--but I do have it (and the concealed-carry permit and sixteen hours of training that goes with it).<br /><br /><br />Anyway, yesterday I passed a small group of men and boys gathering firewood for sale, waved to them, drove on up a "primitive" road (one that's not maintained, so could be anything from drivable to morass--but the weather was dry), and found a promising looking stretch of land, so pulled off, parked, and went agathering, pruning shears in hand.<br /><br /><br />And I found toilets.<br /><br /><br />Three brand-new, pristine, white toilets, crouched under an alligator cypress. One standing (ready for some passing bear, I suppose), two fallen on their sides. And a big mess of heavy-equipment tire marks in the clearing where these were dumped.<br /><br /><br />Your guess is as good as mine. [g] My own guess would be--given the tire marks--that the toilets were dumped by someone working on a subdivision or building a house in the neighborhood (there were houses within a half-mile). Whether these were stolen toilets, and the dumper planned to come back and retrieve them under cover of darkness, or whether the general contractor suddenly shut down construction and they were dumped in disgust...who knows? Maybe the lady of the house saw them, insisted she'd chosen _green_ toilets, not white ones, and the plumber figured it was easier to dump them than return them to Home Depot.<br /><br /><br />Anyway, I got my Advent wreath cuttings: Pinon Pine, juniper (with big, blue, aromatic berries), Arizona holly, buckbrush, and saltbush (I'm sure that will prove to be a huge mistake--it has fluffy, airborne seeds, and they'll be _all_ over the house within hours--but it was beautiful, with the seeds shining in the sun), with a handful of tiny Pinon cones for decoration.<br /><br /><br />And what I started out to tell you--before I got sidetracked by toilets in the woods--was that Christmas is coming--and so is a brand-new, spectacular, completely redesigned website!<br /><br /><br />The designer finished work on it this week, and as soon as I can put in all the new content (kind of a massive job, but I'm on it), we'll unveil it--with luck, December 1st!Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-37314078820550234922010-11-26T01:38:00.000-08:002010-11-26T02:02:18.434-08:00Ooookay....You sure you want to Know, now?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisX-uUDbkmbbc5U9tX53OzgKiXo_vSSduErUstMJYCHWZJ7pPktO_Z-rlZ5gBIuV3Y0Hi3Mz2jnueXWOWffHJMSDQWhz7WZ7l9jCaCm-uIGdjGT5TL7d2GF8CB-P4Dfj1PB5bw0nlR/s1600/page22+%25282%2529.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisX-uUDbkmbbc5U9tX53OzgKiXo_vSSduErUstMJYCHWZJ7pPktO_Z-rlZ5gBIuV3Y0Hi3Mz2jnueXWOWffHJMSDQWhz7WZ7l9jCaCm-uIGdjGT5TL7d2GF8CB-P4Dfj1PB5bw0nlR/s320/page22+%25282%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543796223274180610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxCQBtI2LbFKDFOiE_vx9T6oxx-RGW2zI0gYLJc-CTT9NJhUnV2VxgNeiBU3Dvs2z7PztegZiqE0GweucIO2LLwXJyt7LS4aehMvs5Si2pP5uZkXb_v4HY7Wu76T6tDAyR1AJ5Sxp/s1600/the+exile+final+cvr+%25282%2529.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOxCQBtI2LbFKDFOiE_vx9T6oxx-RGW2zI0gYLJc-CTT9NJhUnV2VxgNeiBU3Dvs2z7PztegZiqE0GweucIO2LLwXJyt7LS4aehMvs5Si2pP5uZkXb_v4HY7Wu76T6tDAyR1AJ5Sxp/s320/the+exile+final+cvr+%25282%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543795875821716834" border="0" /></a><br />Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful time with family and friends (to say nothing of the pleasant company of a twenty-pound fruit-stuffed, herb-rubbed turkey), after which the football fans sank into a contented stupor on the living-room couch and the dogs and I went off to enjoy a similar state of nirvana on the Taos bed in the lounge. (Dogs presently including Otis the pug and Charlie the corgi, as well as Homer and JJ, the two standard dachshunds. Charlie prefers to sleep -under- the bed, which is a good thing. Eighty pounds of assorted caninery generates a lot of heat.)<br /><br /><br />Anyway...I said that if nobody guessed the error I mentioned in THE EXILE, I'd tell you tonight, and as of last checking, nobody had. (I must say, y'all must be _terrible_ at those "find six things that are different between these two pictures" kind of puzzles...) But if you _do_ want to know....<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br />.<br /> Which of Jamie's shoulders is wounded? It's the left one, right? Until Claire starts doctoring it at Castle Leoch, when it's the right one. Then during the fracas in Hall (and after), it's the left one again.<br /><br /> Told ya it was a head-smacker. [g] Happy Thanksgiving!Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-20934750988736467932010-11-18T13:28:00.000-08:002010-11-18T13:44:25.348-08:00Jamie's Butt Model<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7LasiLt46rbBhw_nRj5n3ETrpRygFMBfZlVMiPBGHuuny0iUkGHLQ2LLpzh96wFNSm36PhL_bKN1LLPM2mjM2IsWHLe6PVxONShvd8R40wPgOrxK8Px1PbJY6LKuP_81-P9gPWjr/s1600/the+exile+final+cvr+%25282%2529.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7LasiLt46rbBhw_nRj5n3ETrpRygFMBfZlVMiPBGHuuny0iUkGHLQ2LLpzh96wFNSm36PhL_bKN1LLPM2mjM2IsWHLe6PVxONShvd8R40wPgOrxK8Px1PbJY6LKuP_81-P9gPWjr/s320/the+exile+final+cvr+%25282%2529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541008342778459266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Two things:<br /><br />1. The editor of THE EXILE tells me that the book has been on the NYT Bestseller list for seven weeks so far. This is Very Cool Indeed, and thank you very much!<br /><br />2. As a secondary thank you [g], <a href="http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/french-an-academie/352043">here</a> is a link to the original French painting that supplied the model (literally) for page 5. (It took a -lot- of hunting to find the right butt, believe me. I kept sending the illustrator, Hoang, links to Rober Mapplethorpe sites and the like, but Random House's porn filters wouldn't let Betsy, the editor, look at them.)<br /><br /> I would post the image itself, but am really not sure about the copyright of an image of a painting held by a museum--I mean, the museum certainly owns the painting, but not sure about the image. Don't want to infringe inadvertently, though--and the web page has some interesting information about the painting, anyway.<br /><br />(No, if you want to see Page 5, you'll have to borrow somebody's copy, or sneak into the graphic novels section at Barnes and Noble.)Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com129tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-35074665614434878132010-11-17T02:11:00.001-08:002010-11-17T02:19:52.187-08:00"Leaf" is out today!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-sn7dlDYjCkjKh2XNioUtzYyBbXYtxwCQGuxJy7ZfAKPTYVh7zU-3og2UT_fzDDkuuNKbWEcjw21dEng4vjqyGMCqFKBiwI4N_i3dpotVm3O5evL0lFv29OfhXPdJvuWyGh_Tsl4/s1600/Songs+of+Love+and+Death+cover.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-sn7dlDYjCkjKh2XNioUtzYyBbXYtxwCQGuxJy7ZfAKPTYVh7zU-3og2UT_fzDDkuuNKbWEcjw21dEng4vjqyGMCqFKBiwI4N_i3dpotVm3O5evL0lFv29OfhXPdJvuWyGh_Tsl4/s320/Songs+of+Love+and+Death+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540459465526892258" border="0" /></a><br /><br /> The new anthology, SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH, is out as of today! It has a number of great stories, by wonderful authors from Neil Gaiman to Carrie Vaughn and Robin Hobb (all enthusiastically recommended)--and it does, of course, have one by me.<br /><br /> This story is titled "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows," and tells the story of Roger MacKenzie's parents. It also fills in the interesting hole I opened in ECHO, wherein we learn that Jerry MacKenzie probably <span style="font-style: italic;">wasn't</span> shot down in his Spitfire during the War, and there is Much Speculation as to what really did happen to him.<br /><br /> This story will tell you. (Though one rather perceptive--if cynical--commenter observed that while I may have filled in that particular hole, I undoubtedly did it with dirt dug from another one. How well you people know me....[g]). I think you'll enjoy Jerry MacKenzie, though, and his story.<br /><br /> The book is available in both hardcover and Kindle e-book formats,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Love-Death-All-Original-Star-Crossed/dp/1439150141/ref=si_aps_sup?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289989007&sr=1-1"> here</a>.<br /><br /> Thanks to all those who've read the story already and written to tell me what you thought!Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-10479307863593192312010-11-11T02:11:00.000-08:002010-11-11T02:15:12.988-08:00St. Simon's Island writers conferenceSomeone asked for a repost of the information about the Scribbler's Retreat writers conference this weekend, on St. Simon's Island, GA. I haven't been to this conference before (basically, I said I'd go because I've heard about St. Simon's Island and wanted to see it [g], but I'm sure we'll have fun), so can't tell you a lot about it.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://scribblersretreatwritersconference.com/content/schedule-november-2010">Here</a>, though, is the link to the conference website, which has details and schedule.<br /><br /><br />See some of you there!Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-71035853127715454032010-11-02T02:30:00.000-07:002010-11-02T02:33:40.350-07:00Days of the Dead and Ginger Rodents<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> 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class="MsoNormal">Hope y’all had a happy All Saints Day!<span style=""> </span>Here in New Mexico, today and tomorrow are Los Dias de los Muertos—the Days of the Dead. Today we celebrated the presence in our lives of those who’ve gone before and await us in heaven.<span style=""> </span>Tomorrow (Nov. 2) is the Feast of All Souls, when we commune with our own beloved dead.<span style=""> </span>May all your own families be with you in love today, no matter on which side of the veil.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And for a change of mood….</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Got the following message yesterday from a British (and half-Scottish) friend [g]:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Light the Fiery Cross Diana,<br />An insult beyond bearing has been flung down at the feet of all things red and hairy!<br /><br />At the Labour Party's annual Scottish Conference yesterday Harriet Harman MP (Dep. Leader of the ousted Labour Party) declared Scottish MP Danny Alexander a "ginger rodent", adding that while she was all for conservation she didn't want to see one in the Highlands again. And this from the former Equality Minister, who has previously been known for being so politically correct that she more usually goes under the name of Harriet Harperson.<br /><br />Said rodent, Danny Alexander, came back fighting Tweeting "I am proud to be ginger and rodents do valuable work cleaning up the mess others leave behind."<br />I know, not exactly pistols at dawn is it?<br /><br />So on behalf of our beloved gingers, I'm inviting you to lead the call to arms. (I would have asked Allan SD, but typically, where's the Big Yin when ye need him? Likely basting himself on a Madeiran beach, probably resembling a smoky bacon crisp by now if I know Scotsmen in the sun.)<br /><br />Is it to be borne that the English seek to rubbish Scots Pride once more with impunity ... I think not (although it has to be said that Danny Alexander is more usually likened to Beaker from the Muppets and may therfore prefer this comparison)<br /><br />Jamie wouldn't stand for it ... Claire would have her guts for garters<br /><br />Light the Fiery Cross and gather the Clans!<br />Declare yourselves ...The McDowall's are here!<br /><br />Sorcha<br /><br />(Here's a link to the full story should anyone be interested <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-11658228" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-11658228</a>)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>*********</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dear Sorcha--<br /><br /> As soon as I get up off the floor, I'll go dig through the woodpile for a couple of suitable sticks. [G] Though as it's Halloween, were I to march down San Antonio Street tonight with a fiery cross, people would likely just applaud and shout "EEEha!", rather than inquiring into the just cause of such an incitement to riot.<br /><br /> As for the Big Yin, he tweeted once to say he'd survived the flight, wasn't so sure about his job--and wouldn't have internet until next week. You're likely right about the beach, though I just went and looked, out of curiosity as to just how warm Madeira _is_ in almost-November. It's 68 degrees F. as of 6 PM today, so probably quite toasty enough for a basking Scot. (It's about that on my back patio in Santa Fe just now at noon; I'm wearing a sweatshirt and calf-high Uggs.)<br /><br /> May I have permission to quote your rallying call to arms on my blog, though? Would hate anyone to miss such eloquence. <g><br /><br /> Ginger rodents of the world, UNITE!!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; color: darkgreen;">-<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-Diana</span></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";"><span style=""> </span>********************</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">And another friend, Ron Wodaski, helpfully supplied<a href="http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Ginger"> this Uncyclopedia page </a>on the subject.</p>Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-22385405001764060032010-10-31T20:48:00.000-07:002010-10-31T20:53:15.791-07:00Samhain<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> 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mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">PROLOGUE</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Copyright 2010 Diana Gabaldon</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"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.<span style=""> </span>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.<span style=""> </span>In a thin time, they say, you must be careful, because you might walk through a cobweb unthinking, and find yourself Elsewhere.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There is more than one other world; no one knows how many.<span style=""> </span>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.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span>Sometimes, I think I see it, too."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Happy Samhain!<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p>Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-29975814032224622832010-10-30T00:59:00.000-07:002010-10-30T01:10:44.709-07:00A LEAF ON THE WIND OF ALL HALLOWS<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3DjBLIBq1tClAFGIaTfqam84frIs7B_fGRfhYsCmWL3QZU3pzYT69lWhAh3MTG-01ly-Bi-SO3DJD4KQxzk6hyphenhyphenxdvhPii6Fkb0zeQzY8qCEMuFVOglGb5gJTK9w_QXp1BxeGkkD1/s1600/Songs+of+Love+and+Death+cover.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3DjBLIBq1tClAFGIaTfqam84frIs7B_fGRfhYsCmWL3QZU3pzYT69lWhAh3MTG-01ly-Bi-SO3DJD4KQxzk6hyphenhyphenxdvhPii6Fkb0zeQzY8qCEMuFVOglGb5gJTK9w_QXp1BxeGkkD1/s320/Songs+of+Love+and+Death+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533745906817809106" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /> Oookay. For those of you who've already read THE EXILE several times (and _thank_ you, btw! The editor tells me that the book is still hovering around the top of the NYT list--at #2 next week--and we're still beating the author of Captain Underpants, which gratifies me deeply), and are beginning to write me, wanting to know When Is The Next Book Coming Out....<br /><br /><br /> Well, not immediately. It does take me 2-3 years to write one of the big OUTLANDER novels, and about a year to write a Lord John novel (and I do work on more than one project at once; keeps me from having writer's block, and makes me much more productive. So I've been working on both Book Eight _and_ LORD JOHN AND THE SCOTTISH PRISONER). It'll be a little while.<br /><br /><br /> However, I do have a suggestion to offer. A new anthology titled SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH (edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois) is coming out on November 16th (i.e., in a little over two weeks). This includes a story of mine titled "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows." It's a little unusual, in that it's about Roger MacKenzie's parents--but it does fill the interesting hole regarding Roger's father that I opened up in AN ECHO IN THE BONE.<br /><br /><br />Here's a brief sample:<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> 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mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">A LEAF ON THE WIND OF ALL HALLOWS</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">It was two weeks yet to Hallowe'en, but the gremlins were already at work.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Jerry MacKenzie turned Dolly II onto the runway--full-throttle, shoulder-hunched, blood-thumping, already halfway up Green leader’s arse--pulled back on the stick and got a choking shudder instead of the giddy lift of takeoff.<span style=""> </span>Alarmed, he eased back, but before he could try again, there was a bang that made him jerk by reflex, smacking his head against the perspex.<span style=""> </span>It hadn’t been a bullet, though; the off tire had blown, and a sickening tilt looped them off the runway, bumping and jolting into the grass.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">There was a strong smell of petrol, and Jerry popped the Spitfire's hood and hopped out in panic, envisioning imminent incineration, just as the last plane of Green flight roared past him and took wing, its engine fading to a buzz within seconds.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">A mechanic was pelting down from the hangar to see what the trouble was,<span style=""> </span>but Jerry'd already opened Dolly's belly and the trouble was plain: the fuel line was punctured.<span style=""> </span>Well, thank Christ he hadn’t got into the air with it, that was one thing, but he grabbed the line to see how bad the puncture was, and it came apart in his hands and soaked his sleeve nearly to the shoulder with high-test petrol. <span style=""> </span>Good job the mechanic hadn’t come loping up with a lit cigarette in his mouth.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">He rolled out from under the plane, sneezing, and Gregory the mechanic stepped over him. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">“Not flying her today, mate,” Greg said, squatting down to look up into the engine, and shaking his head at what he saw.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">“Aye, tell me something I don’t know."<span style=""> </span>He held his soaked sleeve gingerly away from his body.<span style=""> </span>"How long to fix her?”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Greg shrugged, eyes squinted against the cold wind as he surveyed Dolly’s guts.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">“Half an hour for the tire.<span style=""> </span>You'll maybe have her back up tomorrow, if the fuel line’s the only engine trouble.<span style=""> </span>Anything else we should be looking at?”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">“Aye, the left wing-gun trigger sticks sometimes.<span style=""> </span>Gie’ us a bit o’ grease, maybe?”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">“I’ll see what the canteen’s got in the way of leftover dripping.<span style=""> </span>You best hit the showers, Mac.<span style=""> </span>You’re turning blue.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">He was shivering, right enough, the rapidly evaporating petrol wicking his body heat away like candlesmoke.<span style=""> </span>Still, he lingered for a moment, watching as the mechanic poked and prodded, whistling through his teeth.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">“Go on, then,”<span style=""> </span>Greg said in feigned exasperation, backing out of the engine and seeing Jerry still there.<span style=""> </span>“I’ll take good care of her.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">“Aye, I know.<span style=""> </span>I just—aye, thanks.”<span style=""> </span>Adrenaline from the aborted flight was still surging through him, thwarted reflexes making him twitch. He walked away, suppressing the urge to look back over his shoulder at his wounded plane.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">^^^</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Jerry came out of the pilots’ WC half an hour later, eyes stinging with soap and petrol, backbone knotted.<span style=""> </span>Half his mind was on Dolly, the other half with his mates.<span style=""> </span>Blue and Green were up this morning, Red and Yellow resting.<span style=""> </span>Green flight would be out over Flamborough Head by now, hunting.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">He swallowed, still restless, dry-mouthed by proxy, and went to fetch a cup of tea from the canteen.<span style=""> </span>That was a mistake; he heard the gremlins laughing as soon as he walked in and saw Sailor Malan.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Malan was Group Captain and a decent bloke overall.<span style=""> </span>South African, a great tactician—and the most ferocious, most persistent air fighter Jerry'd seen yet.<span style=""> </span>Rat terriers weren't in it.<span style=""> </span>Which was why he felt a beetle skitter briefly down his spine when Malan's deep-set eyes fixed on him.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">"Lieutenant!"<span style=""> </span>Malan rose from his seat, smiling.<span style=""> </span>"The very man I had in mind!"</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">The devil he had, Jerry thought, arranging his face into a look of respectful expectancy.<span style=""> </span>Malan couldn’t have heard about Dolly’s spot of bother yet, and without that, Jerry would have scrambled with A flight on their way to hunt 109’s over Flamborough Head.<span style=""> </span>Malan<span style=""> </span>hadn’t been looking for Jerry; he just thought he’d do, for whatever job was up.<span style=""> </span>And the fact that the Group Captain had called him by his rank, rather than his name, meant it probably wasn’t a job anyone would volunteer for.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">He didn’t have time to worry about what that might be, though; Malan was introducing the other man, a tallish chap in army uniform with dark hair and a pleasant, if sharp, look about him.<span style=""> </span><span style="">Eyes like a good sheep dog, </span>he thought, nodding in reply to Captain Randall’s greeting.<span style=""> </span>Kindly, maybe, but h<span style="">e won’t miss much.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">“Randall’s come over from Ops at Ealing,”<span style=""> </span>Sailor was saying over his shoulder.<span style=""> </span>He hadn’t waited for them to exchange polite chat, but was already leading them out across the tarmac, heading for the Flight Command offices.<span style=""> </span>Jerry grimaced and followed, casting a longing glance downfield at Dolly, who was being towed ignominiously into the hangar.<span style=""> </span>The rag-doll painted on her nose was blurred, the black curls partially dissolved by weather and spilled petrol.<span style=""> </span>Well, he’d touch it up later, when he’d heard the details of whatever horrible job the stranger had brought.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">His gaze rested resentfully on Randall’s neck, and the man turned suddenly, glancing back over his shoulder as though he’d felt the stress of Jerry’s regard.<span style=""> </span>Jerry felt a qualm in the pit of his stomach, as half-recognized observations—the lack of insignia on the uniform, that air of confidence peculiar to men who kept secrets--gelled with the look in the stranger’s eye.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Ops at Ealing, my Aunt Fanny</span></i><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">, he thought.<span style=""> </span>He wasn’t even surprised, as Sailor waved Randall through the door, to hear the Group Captain lean close and murmur in his ear, “Careful—he’s a funny bugger.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">Jerry nodded, stomach tightening.<span style=""> </span>Malan didn’t mean Captain Randall was either humorous or a Freemason.<span style=""> </span>“Funny bugger” in this context meant only one thing.<span style=""> </span>MI6.</span></p> <br /> [end section]Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-83041326013375027952010-10-30T00:08:00.000-07:002010-10-30T00:08:34.381-07:00Fake Hair-Product ReviewHm. Someone just emailed me to ask whether I had posted a fulsome review of a hair product online. I hadn't (as should be obvious to anyone who's read my books. As IF I would write run-on sentences...!), but the name on the review was Diana Gabaldon.<br />
<br />
Now, in all justice, I'm not the only person in the world with that name. [g] I've met at least two others, and there may be more. But I definitely didn't make positive comments about any sort of hair product, ever. Just so you know.Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-48260206257258252802010-10-29T10:13:00.000-07:002010-10-29T10:13:06.311-07:00Pictures?Just a general question, to anybody who might know:<br />
<br />
<br />
Where has the image-importing capability gone? When this site changed (ahem, "improved") its posting software, the little icon that allowed you to add images to your postings disappeared from the toolbar at the top of the post box. Boldface, italics, strikethrough, Link, and Quote (which seems of dubious use, but who knows?) are there, but no image icon.<br />
<br />
<br />
So--is it still possible to attach images to postings or not? And if so...how?<br />
<br />
<br />
Many thanks for all suggestions!Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-48121753625575926152010-10-27T15:49:00.000-07:002010-10-28T04:10:07.014-07:00Back From the Road - new excerpt!I’m Baa-aack!<br />
<br />
Had a lovely time in Canada, despite losing one (luckily inessential) bag, that followed me faithfully from city to city like a dog, but never caught up. With luck, it’ll come home tomorrow. Of course, I’m leaving home again tomorrow morning…(but for New Mexico, where I propose to hide out for the next couple of weeks, not speaking to anybody but husband and dogs, peacefully eating green chili, and picking up the threads of Book Eight and SCOTTISH PRISONER).<br />
<br />
Speaking of SCOTTISH PRISONER…I recently posted a longish excerpt from that book (during the 24 hours I was home, between the West Virginia Book Festival and whatever happened next (things tend to blur when you’re book-touring)) on the Compuserve Books and Writers Forum. Since I know not all of y’all go there, I figured I’d also post it here.<br />
<br />
Now, a word about excerpts. I love for people to read them, but I do have an agreement with my publisher about how much of a book is up on the internet at any one time—which means that I need to control said excerpts, and try to make sure they aren’t reposted elsewhere. So excerpts from my books appear (with rare exceptions), only in three places: the Diana Gabaldon folder in the Compuserve Books and Writers Community (community.compuserve.com/books -- NB: _no_ "www" on that), on my website (www.dianagabaldon.com –and btw, we hope to have the All New Spectacular Cool New Website up and working by the end of November, very exciting!), and here.<br />
<br />
So if you want to share or discuss with your friends, please just give them the link to this page, my website, or the Compuserve folder.<br />
<br />
Thanks!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
SCOTTISH PRISONER excerpt<br />
Copyright 2010 Diana Gabaldon<br />
<br />
<br />
He was carrying a huge basket of rotted manure up to the kitchen garden when Robert, one of the footmen, appeared from behind a wall and hailed him.<br />
<br />
“Hoy, MacKenzie! You’re wanted!”<br />
<br />
He was surprised; it was mid-morning, not a usual time for visiting or errands. He’d have to catch that wee bitch Venus, presently enjoying herself in the back pasture. And the thought of driving the pony-trap, with Lady Isobel’s slitted eyes burning holes in his back, was less than appealing. It wasn’t as though he had a choice, though, and he set the basket down, safely off the path, then straightened up, dusting his hands against his thighs.<br />
<br />
“Aye, I’ll have the trap round in a quarter-hour.”<br />
<br />
“Not the trap,” Robert said, impatient. “I said <i>you’re</i> wanted.”<br />
<br />
He glanced at the man, startled.<br />
<br />
“Who wants me?”<br />
<br />
“Not me, I assure you.” Robert had a long nose, and he wrinkled it ostentatiously, looking at the greenish-brown crumbles and smears on Jamie’s clothes. “If there was time, I’d make you change your shirt, but there’s not. He said at once, and he meant it.”<br />
<br />
“Lord Dunsany?” Jamie asked, ignoring the footman’s barb.<br />
<br />
“Who else?” Robert was already turning away. He looked back over his shoulder and jerked his head. “Come on, then!”<br />
<br />
<br />
[end section]<br />
<br />
<br />
He felt strange. The polished wood floor echoed under his tread and the air smelt of hearth-ash, books, and flowers. He smelled of horses, horse-shit, and his own bitter sweat. Since the day he’d come to Helwater, he’d only once been further into the house than the kitchen where he took his meals. <br />
<br />
Lord Dunsany had received him and John Grey in the study on that first day, and now the butler—back stiff with disapproval—led him down the corridor to the same door. The wooden panels were carved with small rosettes; he had noticed them so intensely on his first visit that seeing them again recalled his feelings on that day—and gave him now a feeling as though he had missed the bottom step of a flight of stairs.<br />
<br />
His immediate assumption on hearing the summons was that somehow Dunsany had discovered the truth of William’s paternity, and his heart was in his throat, his mind filled with half-formed notions between outright panic and…something else. Would Dunsany cast the boy out? If he did….a faint, breath-taking vision of himself stealing away from Helwater, his son in his arms, came to him—but vanished at once as the door opened.<br />
<br />
There were three men in Lord Dunsany’s study. Soldiers, in uniform. A lieutenant and two private soldiers, he thought at once--though it had been a long time since he’d troubled with the distinctions of English uniform.<br />
<br />
“This is MacKenzie,” Lord Dunsany said, with a small nod at him. “Or <br />
rather…Fraser.”<br />
<br />
The officer looked him up and down, assessing, but his face gave nothing away. A middle-aged man, with a sour look. He didn’t offer his name. <br />
<br />
“You’re to go with these men, MacKenzie,” Dunsany said. His face was old, his expression remote. “Do as they tell you.”<br />
<br />
He stood mute. Damned if he’d say “Yes, sir,” and double-damned if he’d knuckle his forehead like a servant. The officer looked sharply at him, then at Dunsany, to see whether this insubordination was to be punished, but finding nothing but weariness in the old man’s face, shrugged slightly and nodded to the privates.<br />
They moved purposefully toward him, one taking him by each arm. He couldn’t avoid it, but felt the urge to jerk loose knot the muscles of his arms and spine. They led him into the hall and out the front door; he could see the butler smirking from his pantry, and two of the maids hanging wide-eyed and open-mouthed out of the upper windows as the men emerged onto the drive, where a coach stood waiting.<br />
“Where are ye taking me?” he asked, with what calmness he could. <br />
The men glanced at each other; one shrugged.<br />
<br />
“You’re going to London,” he said.<br />
<br />
“To visit the Queen,” the other said, and sniggered.<br />
<br />
He had to duck to enter the carriage, and in doing so, turned his head. Lady Isobel stood in the window, mouth open in shock. William was in her arms, small <br />
head laid in sleep on her shoulder. Behind them, Betty smiled at him, maliciously triumphant.<br />
<br />
<br />
[end section]<br />
<br />
<br />
They gave him a serviceable cloak to wear, and food at the taverns and inns, shoving it indifferently across the table toward him, ignoring him while they talked, save an occasional sharp glance to be sure he wasn’t getting up to something. What, exactly, did they think he might do? he wondered. If he’d ever meant to escape, he could have done it much more easily from Helwater.<br />
<br />
He gathered nothing from their conversation, which seemed mostly regimental gossip, bawdy remarks about women of a sort indicating that they’d seldom touched one, and low jokes. Not a word as to their destination.<br />
<br />
At the second stop, there was wine—decent wine. He drank it cautiously; he hadn’t tasted anything stronger than small-beer or the occasional glass of ale in years, and the lush flavor clung to his palate and rose like smoke inside his head. The soldiers shared three bottles—and so did he, welcoming the slowing of his racing thoughts as the alcohol seeped into his blood. It would do him no good to think, until he knew what to think about.<br />
<br />
He tried to keep his mind off their unknown destination, and what might await him there, but it was like trying not to think of a—<br />
<br />
<i>“Rhinoceros,” Claire said, with a muffled snort of amusement that stirred the hairs on his chest. “Have you ever seen one?”<br />
“I have,” he said, shifting her weight so she rested more comfortably in the hollow of his shoulder. “In Louis’s zoo. Aye, that would stick in the mind.”<br />
</i><br />
<br />
Abruptly, she vanished and left him sitting there, blinking stupidly into his wine-cup.<br />
<br />
Had it really happened, that memory? Or was it only his desire that now and then brought her so vividly to life, in snatched moments that left him desperate with longing, but strangely comforted, as though she had in fact touched him briefly.<br />
He became aware that the soldiers had all stopped talking and were staring at him. And that he was smiling. He looked back at them over his cup, not altering his expression.<br />
<br />
They looked away, uneasy, and he went back to his wife, for the moment tranquil in his mind.<br />
<br />
<br />
[end section]<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
They did take him to London.<br />
<br />
He tried not to gawk; he was aware of the soldiers casting covert glances at him, sly smiles. They expected him to be impressed, and he declined to give them the satisfaction—but he was impressed, nonetheless.<br />
<br />
So this was London. It had the stink of any city, the narrow alleys, the smell of slops and chimney-smoke. But any large city has its own soul, and London was quite different than either Paris or Edinburgh. Paris was secretive, self-satisfied; Edinburgh solidly busy, a merchants’ town. But this…it was rowdy, churning like an anthill, and gave off a sense of pushing, as though the energy of the place would burst its bonds and spill out over the countryside, spill out into the world at large. His blood stirred, despite his fears and the tooth-jolting ride.<br />
<br />
The Jacobite soldiers would talk about London, early in the campaign, when they were victorious and London seemed a plum within their grasp. Wild tales—almost none of them had ever seen a city, before they came to Edinburgh. Talk of gold plates in the taverns, streets with gilded carriages thick as lice …<br />
<br />
He remembered Murdo Lindsay, bug-eyed at the description of the London boozing-kens, where the poor clustered in dark cellars, drowning the misery of life in Holland gin.<br />
<br />
“Whole families!” Murdo exclaimed. “All of them, dead drunk! If even the poor folk can afford to stay drunk for days at a time, what must the rich ones be like?”<br />
<br />
He’d smiled then, amused. He smiled now, bitter.<br />
<br />
As the campaign had turned, withering in the cold, when the army camped at Derby, shivering while the commanders argued whether to push on or not, the soldiers had still talked of London. But they talked in whispers, and not of gold plates and Holland gin. They talked of the gallows, of the famous Bridge, where the heads of traitors were displayed. Of the Tower.<br />
<br />
That thought sent a qualm through him. Christ, could they be taking him there? He was a convicted traitor, though paroled these past three [ck] years. And he was the grandson of Lord Lovat, who had met his death on the block at that same Tower. He hadn’t been fond of his grandfather, but crossed himself and murmured “[Gaelic]” under his breath. [May your soul be with Jesus.]<br />
<br />
He wondered what the devil the Tower of London looked like. He’d imagined it, of course, but God only knew what the reality was. It was big, though, he thought, it had to be big. So he’d have a bit of warning, seeing it. He’d be prepared.<br />
Aye, prepared for prison? he thought. The thought of it, of cold stone and small spaces, endless days, months and years in a cage as life and body dwindled inexorably away, shriveled his heart. And William. He would never see William again. But they might kill him instead. At the moment, that was his only hopeful thought.<br />
<br />
But why? Had his parole been revoked? That last, disastrous conversation with John Grey…his fists curled up without thought, and one of the soldiers started, looking at him hard. With an effort, he unclenched his hands and pulled them inside his cloak, gripping his thighs under its cover hard enough to leave bruises.<br />
He hadn’t seen—or heard from—Grey since that day. Had the man been nursing a grudge all this time, and finally decided to put paid to Jamie Fraser’s account, once and for all? It was the most likely explanation—and unforgivable things had been said on both sides. Worse, both of them had meant the things they said, and both of them knew it. No excuse of hot blood speaking—though in all justice, his own blood had boiled, and…<br />
<br />
There it was. He gasped, couldn’t help it, though it made all the soldiers look at him, conversation interrupted.<br />
<br />
It had to be. He knew the look of a prison well enough. Huge, round towers set in a grim, high wall, and the filthy brown water of a broad river flowing past, flowing under an iron-barred gate. The Traitor’s Gate? He’d heard of it.<br />
All of them were grinning at him, maliciously enjoying his shock. He swallowed hard and tensed his belly muscles. They wouldn’t see him cower. His pride was all he had left—but he had enough of that. Enough to last until he was alone again, at least.<br />
<br />
But the carriage didn’t leave the road. They bowled past the grim bulk of the moated Tower, the horses’ hooves ringing suddenly on cobbles, and he blessed the sound because it drowned the wrenching gasp when he realized he’d stopped breathing and started again.<br />
<br />
It wasn’t a warm day, but he was drenched in sudden sweat, and saw the private behind him wrinkle his nose and glance sideways at him. He reeked of fear; could smell himself.<br />
<br />
Could ha’ been worse, <i>a allhamarach borb</i>, he thought, coldly meeting the man’s eye and staring ‘til he looked away. I might have shit myself and ye’d have to ride into London smelling <i>that.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
[end section]<br />
<br />
<br />
What with the tangle of foot-traffic, barrows, carriages, and horses that thronged the narrow streets, it was more than an hour before the coach finally pulled up outside a massive house that stood in its own walled grounds at the edge of a huge open park. He stared at it in astonishment. If not the Tower, he’d certainly expected to be taken to a gaol of some kind. Who the devil lived here, and what did whoever it was want of him?<br />
<br />
The soldiers didn’t tell him, and he wouldn’t ask.<br />
<br />
To his amazement, they took him up the marble steps to the front door, where they made him wait while the lieutenant banged at the knocker, then spoke to the butler who answered it. The butler was a small, neat man, who blinked in disbelief at sight of Jamie, then turned to the lieutenant, plainly about to remonstrate.<br />
“His Grace said bring him, and I’ve brought him,” said the lieutenant impatiently. “Show us in!”<br />
<br />
His Grace? A duke. God…Cumberland? His heart had already been in his throat; now his wame tried to follow it. He’d seen the Duke of Cumberland just once. When he’d left the battlefield at Culloden, hidden under a load of hay in a wagon. The wagon had passed through the edge of the Government lines, just at evening, and he’d seen the big tent, a squat, vigorous figure just outside it, irritably waving away clouds of smoke with a gold-laced hat. The smoke of burning bodies.<br />
<br />
He felt the soldiers jerk and glance at him, startled. He froze, fists at his side, but the chill and the fear were gone, burnt away by the sense of rage that rose abruptly, drawing him upright with it.<br />
<br />
His heart beat painfully, eager, for all at once, the future had a shape to it. No more long days of mere survival. He had purpose, and the glow of it lit his soul with a smoky flame.<br />
<br />
The butler was falling back, reluctant, but unable to resist. Aye, fine. All he need do was behave circumspectly until he got within grip of the Duke. He flexed his left hand, briefly. There might be a knife, a letter-opener, something…but it didn’t matter.<br />
<br />
The lieutenant jerked his head, and he moved, just in time to keep the privates from grasping his arms. He saw the butler’s eyes fix on his feet, mouth twisted in a sneer of contempt. A door opened in the hallway and a woman’s face appeared for a moment. She caught sight of him, gasped, and closed the door.<br />
He would in fact have wiped his sandals, had they given him time; he’d no desire either to foul the house nor to look like the barbarian they plainly thought him. The men hastened him along, though, one on either side, and he had even less wish to give them an excuse to lay their hands on him, so he went, leaving dusty prints crumbled with dry mud and caked manure along the Turkey carpet.<br />
<br />
The door to the room was open and they propelled him inside without ceremony. He was looking everywhere at once, gauging distances, estimating the possibilities of objects as weapons, and it was a moment before his eyes met those of the man seated at the desk.<br />
<br />
For a moment longer, his mind refused to grasp the reality, and he blinked. No, it wasn’t Cumberland. Not even the passage of years could have transformed a stout German prince into the slender, fine-featured man frowning at him across the polished wood.<br />
<br />
“Mister Fraser.” It wasn’t quite a question, nor was it quite a greeting, though the man inclined his head courteously.<br />
<br />
Jamie was breathing as though he’d run a mile, hands shaking slightly as his body tried to burn away anger that now had no outlet.<br />
<br />
“Who are you?” he asked rudely.<br />
<br />
The man shot a sharp glance at the lieutenant.<br />
<br />
“Did you not tell him, Mr. Gaskins?”<br />
<br />
Gaskins. It was a minor relief to know the bugger’s name. And a distinct pleasure to see him go red and then white.<br />
<br />
“I…er…I…no, sir. He...er…didn’t ask.”<br />
<br />
“Leave us, lieutenant.” The man didn’t raise his voice, but it cut like a razor. He’s a soldier, Jamie thought, and then, I ken him. But where…?<br />
<br />
The man stood up, ignoring Lieutenant Gaskins’s hasty departure.<br />
<br />
“My apologies, Mr. Fraser,” he said. “Were you mistreated on your journey?”<br />
<br />
“No,” he replied automatically, scrutinizing the face before him. It was remarkably familiar, and yet he would swear he didn’t know this man. “Why am I here?”<br />
<br />
The man drew a deep breath, the frown easing, and as it did, Jamie saw the shape of the man’s face, fine-boned and beautiful, though showing the marks of a hard life. He felt as though someone had punched him in the chest.<br />
<br />
“Jesus,” he blurted. “Ye’re John Grey’s brother.” He groped madly for the name, and found it. “Lord…Melton. Jesus Christ.”<br />
<br />
“Well, yes,” the man said. “Though I don’t use that title any longer. I’ve become the Duke of Pardloe since we last met.” He smiled wryly. “It<i> has </i>been some time. Please sit down, Mr. Fraser.”<br />
<br />
<br />
[end sectionDiana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-67641420654763062222010-10-20T09:19:00.000-07:002010-10-20T09:19:19.385-07:00Guest Post! (to entertain you as I wing my way North)I'm sitting in an airport on my way to Vancouver, bound for the Last Week of formal book-touring (insert maniacal laugh). Blogging may be summat spotty--but for today, you have a special treat: a guest blog from a young time-traveler. [g] Welcome Darby--take it away!<br />
<br />
<br />
Hello Intrepid Artemis Voyageurs!<br />
<br />
My name is Darby Christopher, and I'm massively excited to be here. See -- my latest book is out, and I'm on a mondo-blog tour to celebrate, but this is the FIRST time I get to visit someone who is an expert in time travel.<br />
<br />
If you're here, I'm guessing you might have read about some of the adventures of Jamie and Claire. Most particularly Claire's interesting proclivity for stepping through time.<br />
<br />
Well, I'm here to tell you that I have had a few experiences of my own along those lines. Since the adventures in my very first book, A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW, I learned I've got a bit of a talent. Not really like Claire's ability with standing stones, though. I'm more inclined to surf up close to the time-space continuum on a skateboard, and I've come to learn that walking through windows is something to be approached with extreme caution...<br />
<br />
Anyway, today, I’m here to celebrate the launch of my new book. It’s called FACING FIRE.<br />
<br />
<br />
FACING FIRE picks up the story of what happened to me after the magical summer that you may have read about in A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW. And if you haven't read it, you can find out more about both the books – at www.kcdyer.com <br />
<br />
<br />
Or better still, would you like to win a copy as a prize? If you leave comment on this post, Diana will put your name into a draw to win a signed copy of FACING FIRE. And if you actually link to this post somewhere else [like in another blog, or facebook post or even a tweet] we’ll put your name in for the draw for BOTH of my books.<br />
<br />
Why not?<br />
<br />
<br />
By the way, if you’re into looking for prizes, [especially if you like making videos], check out my blog HERE at Darby Speaks. I have an AMAZING contest going with some totally fantastic prizes. And if you like twitter, you can follow all the latest on the contest and the blog tour and launches @DarbyWalking.<br />
<br />
<br />
See you there.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks for having me, Diana!<br />
<br />
~DarbyDiana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com65tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2861575260847050598.post-49160848502089478492010-10-15T15:28:00.000-07:002010-10-15T15:28:00.344-07:00CRUDO y CREDO y Muchas Gracias!I had an absolutely wonderful time with a lot of y’all at Comics-Con (nearly went _deaf_, but had a good time) in New York last week! (And if I could figure out what blogger has done with the image-adding facility, I’d put up a few pictures taken by kindly folk there, but as it is, I can’t find anywhere to add a picture to postings anymore.)<br />
<br />
<br />
Then had a _delightful_ few days with my delightful husband [g]—amazing what sleeping for ten hours a night instead of five will do for you (well, that, plus great food, walking miles and miles, excellent wine, and the sort of thing that happens after a certain amount of excellent wine…[cough]…). <br />
<br />
<br />
As part of this, a kindly friend with connections got us a reservation at ESCA, one of New York’s premier sea-food restaurants, and we had a memorable evening, starting with an exquisite flight of “crudo”—this being (I’m told) Italian for “raw seafood” (aka sashimi, in this case). We thought this hilarious (well, we’d already had _some_ wine), since in Spanish, “<i>Yo tengo crudo</i>,” means “I have a hangover.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, I hope y’all know the basic rule of drinking—one glass of water to each one of wine, _two_ of water if you’re drinking Scotch or hard likker. In case you’re wondering why that works…the pituitary glan produces a hormone called ADH (Anti-Diuretic Hormone). Diuresis means peeing, basically (well, the filtering of blood by your kidneys and excretion of excess water, along with various waste products, but you get the idea), so the ADH keeps you from just draining water out through your kidneys nonstop, and thus maintains a proper fluid balance in your body.<br />
<br />
<br />
OK. Alcohol _inhibits_ the production of ADH. (This is where it gets mildly confusing, because we’re inhibiting something that’s already inhibiting something else…so the first thing _isn't_ inhibited anymore) That means your hypothalamus doesn’t produce as much ADH as usual—and you pee more. (Surely you’ve noticed this side-effect of drinking a lot.) <br />
<br />
<br />
Right. Your body is trying to get rid of the alcohol, which is a toxin (and hard likker is more toxic than wine—just ask someone who’s been drinking gin or vodka all night) and that’s why this happens. BUT, if you don’t replace the extra water that’s being used to wash out the alcohol, you _do_ get dehydrated, your fluid balance is no longer balanced, your blood vessels constrict, and a lot of other physiological things happen as a result that make you feel, well….crudo.<br />
<br />
<br />
So mind what I say, and always order water along with your drink.<br />
<br />
<br />
Anyway—next morning we went (_sans_ hangover) to church at St. Patrick’s on Fifth Avenue, and happened to hit High Mass, said by the Archbishop, attended by three visiting bishops, and generally sporting a good deal of the ceremonial appurtenances that the Catholic Church is Really Good at. The feature I most liked, though, was that the Credo (this is the Nicene Creed, which contains a recitation of the various things Catholics believe—btw, papal infallibility is not one of ‘em) was sung in Latin.<br />
<br />
<br />
I haven’t sung the Credo in Latin in…oh, thirty years at least. Was very pleased to find it came right back to me, though—and very moving to hear it again.<br />
<br />
<br />
Had a quick breakfast after Mass, and then watched a couple of hours (Lord only knows how long it actually went on) of the Hispanic Day Parade up Fifth Avenue, which was only a block from our hotel. I tell you what; I never realized there were that many Bolivians in the _world_, let alone in New York City. A few small groups from Galicia (with bagpipes. Galicia is, as y’all doubtless knew, one of the seven Celtic nations. Also—we think—where Los Gabaldones originally came from. As I tell people, I’m not Scottish—but I am an Iberian Celt! [g] (I have the stubby feet to prove it, too…)), Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, etc.—but rank upon rank, row upon row of Bolivians, in between _everything_, all the ladies wearing bowler hats and very short skirts (displaying either satin panties or buttocks, depending on size of latter relative to former, with each gyration; they wiggled their heinies all the way up Fifth Avenue, which must have taken amazing endurance), the gentlemen either wearing something resembling a super-hero costume with a lot of embroidery and boots studded with bells, or attired in a costume like a cross between the Main Street Electrical Parade and a particularly depraved bumblebee—possibly they were meant to be demons, judging from the expressions on the masks—and whirling noise-makers. All I can say is, they must have a lot of fun in Bolivia on public holidays.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ended up with a much less adventurous but still delicious dinner (a really good lobster risotto is the only thing I remember with any clarity), and then packed for Boston, where we spent the next couple of days wallowing in clam chowder (and good wine), tootling around on trolleys, and enjoying the actual sensation of chilliness (it’s 91 in Phoenix today).<br />
<br />
<br />
Returned after all this lovely R&R to the news that THE EXILE is once more #1 !! on the New York Times bestseller list—for the third week in a row! To which I can only say, MUCHAS GRACIAS to all of you for the kind reception of this book, and I hope you’re enjoying it !<br />
<br />
<br />
So I’m off again tomorrow, to the West Virginia Book Festival:<br />
<br />
<br />
I’ll be talking/reading/whatever at 2:00 PM, signing books afterward. I’m sorry—I’d intended to bring OUTLANDER: The Musical CDs with me, as well as taking some to Canada next week, but it’s a good news/bad news kind of thing: I don’t have any to bring, because we’ve sold all I had (and thank you all kindly for _that_, too!!). We do have a new batch coming in early next week, but not, alas, in time for me to ship them to Canada.<br />
<br />
<br />
The good news is that you _can_ get CDs easily; they’re available <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Outlander-Musical-Kevin-Walsh/dp/B00434DA56/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287181540&sr=1-1">here</a> , through Amazon.com, or if you want one signed by Mike Gibb (the lyricist who wrote the songs) [g], you can order one directly from him in Scotland via Paypal. See the <a href="http://www.outlanderthemusical.com/">OUTLANDER: The Musical website </a>for details.<br />
<br />
<br />
And I think I’ve already put up the schedule for Canada. So see y’all there! Muchos besos! (or, as Hobbs—of Calvin and Hobbs—would put it, “Muchas Smoochas!”)Diana Gabaldonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09537964955785653500noreply@blogger.com22