Off Down Under

Whew. My apologies for being absent so long-I'm halfway through seven weeks of a four-country tour (am presently on a three-day furlough between Canada and New Zealand-hope to see many of you Down Under! (Australia to follow on after New Zealand), and madly dealing with all the Stuff that normally gets dealt with over a month or so when I'm at home.

I love talking to the folk who read the books, but man, getting to y'all is a major grind. On one notable day last week, I arose at 4:30 AM in Winnipeg, caught a flight to Calgary, where I did a performance at 10:30 AM for a packed house at the Vertigo Theatre (part of Calgary's WordFest literary festival), then was driven (pausing briefly to acquire a roast-beef sandwich from Subway en route) to Edmonton, where I signed books in a Costco warehouse for 250-odd people (actually, they weren't any odder than the people I normally meet on book tours ), all of whom had brought their entire OUTLANDER/Lord John collections, and then had a couple of hours breathing space before the flight to Saskatoon was meant to leave. This was great; I actually got to eat dinner at dinner time for the only time in three weeks (normally, I eat around 11 PM, when I get back to the hotel from the evening events), but we then went to the airport, discovered our flight to Saskatoon was delayed...for an hour and a half...after which, we were informed that it was no longer a direct flight to Saskatoon, but would be routed through Calgary (the airline had just changed to a new computer system. I tell you what, you Do Not want to travel on airline on their first day of using a new computer system, you really don't)...got to Calgary and sat on the ground for another hour and a half, waiting for the final flight of the day to come in, so those people wouldn't be stranded at the airport overnight, which was all very humane of the airline, but the bottom line was that we arrived in Saskatoon at 2 AM.

Up at 4:30AM, in bed at 2:30 AM. Uh-huh-22 hours. Mind you, not all days on tour are like that, but most of them aren't a whole lot better. Up at 5:30, down at midnight is the Canadian average. Which is why when I tell people I'm on a book-tour and they say, "Oh, how EXCITING!", I want to hit them with a dead fish.

Anyway-I'm off to New Zealand and Australia in a few hours (having had Three Whole Days at home-and more importantly, Three Whole Nights of eight-hour sleep!), but wanted to leave you with a brief bit of AN ECHO IN THE BONE .

This being a Scottish-related blog , I chose an excerpt that takes place in Edinburgh, where Jamie and Claire have gone for the purpose of retrieving Jamie's printing press-in the process encountering Jamie's old friend, Andrew Bell.

Now, Andrew Bell was a real person-one of the three men responsible for the original Encyclopedia Britannica; he was the printer/engraver who produced that noble three-volume project. He was also one of Edinburgh's more colorful characters, in a time when colorful characters abounded. Everything I've written about him here is a matter of historical record (with a quick caveat to note that just because something is written down in the historical record doesn't necessarily mean it's the truth), with the exception of the purple stars. We call that artistic license.

I hope y'all will enjoy the excerpt and this brief glimpse of Edinburgh, circa 1778!

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Susanne Matthews 11/02/2009 09:19 AM

Hi Diana
So glad you got to Saskatoon eventually, and I am feeling bad for you that it was such an ordeal. I am positive though that you made a lot of people, very happy. I hope you have a more enjoyable experience getting to New Zealand and Australia. Good luck and thanks again for Jamie, Claire, and the rest.

Adele McLennan 11/02/2009 11:21 AM

Hi Diana - I am so enjoying Echo in the Bone, savouring each page as I know it will be a long dry spell till your next book. I think most of us who have either read it or in the process of doing so will say they want the next book very soon - and we all know that's impossible.
I do wish your many fans who are making comments on your blogs would not give away any of the storyline - there are many who haven't begun to read yet and don't want to know.

Having met you several times at our Fergus Games, and also at a bookstore 3 hours from home, I can speak for so many others who look forward to meeting you and getting their books signed.
Slainte!

Susanne Matthews 11/02/2009 04:44 PM

Sorry Diana and Adele, I was one of those fans who talked about parts of the book on this blog, I am sorry for spoiling anything.

stephen fraser 11/03/2009 01:12 PM

Your such a busy wee lass! you enjoy down under.
Stevie

Adele McLennan 11/03/2009 02:17 PM

No worries Susanne - if you or anyone else wants to ask a question about a certain part in the book, perhaps you should begin with "SPOILER ALERT" - that way those who don't want to know will skip it;)

Carol Taylor 11/04/2009 06:05 PM

Diana..have been borrowing your books through my local library and am whizzing through them..finding it hard to put them down..so l see you are hitting my shores and was wondering when you are hitting Melbourne, if you are, and when and where we can see you..my last view of you was as you were walking up to your box at the performance in Edinburgh back at the homecoming..it would be nice to see you if you are coming to Melbourne and to perhaps catch up with you..

yours from down under..Carol Taylor

Malcolm Buchanan 11/08/2009 10:23 PM

Hi Diana,
We'll see you on 18 Nov in Canberra.
Cheers,
Malcolm & Judy

Kathy Carbone 11/19/2009 03:19 PM

Finished Echo in the Bone on vacation last week. Amazingly fabulous read--impressive to maintain such consistent quality through seven large volumes! Am so glad that some of the most disturbing crises were resolved (sort of) before the end...but we're left with enough teasers that we know an excellent 8th book is coming (as you've said...). I really enjoy your "string of pearls" writing style--where fascinating scenes are strung together... Thank you!

Carol Taylor 12/07/2009 12:15 AM

hi Diana...l have read Echo in the bone..borrowed it from the local library, like ll of the rest of the series..l am thoroughly enjoying them all..unfortunately, with borrowing, l have not been able to read them in order..started with number 1, then 3 and 4, then echo and back to 6..have got to go to library and pick num 2 and 5..so l am treating each one as an individual, but still enjoying it as a whole..l did the lord Johns before Claire and Jamie..it is all so out of whack, but there you have it..the important thing was that l started with the 1st one first..the rest make sense regardless..and of coarse, you get to the end of echo and, yep, there is more to come..

so when are you hitting Aussie shores and where..??

from down under..Carol..

Diana Gabaldon 12/08/2009 02:31 AM

Hi, Carol!

Glad you enjoyed the books--and I'm very pleased to hear that they make sense, even read out of order. <g> As for when I'm hitting Aussie shores...umm...well, you did notice the title of the blog post above? As in--I just came -back- from Australia. Probably won't be there again until Book Eight is out, which may be a little while. See you then, though!

Dalma Postigo 12/29/2009 11:38 AM

Hi Diana,
I can't imagine those trips!! It must be very hard. But thank you so much for the wonderfull work you do . I'm writing to you here, because for some reason I can't post any comments on you Blog.
I've read Echo a couple of times, and is a fantastic book, that you get really when you read it more, is full of hiden clues and interesting ideas, all the treads that you left hanging, are not so much so. I liked very much LJ as its best when relating with the Frasers.
an Mandy and Jem connection? fascinating!
Thanks and have a Happy New Year and best luck on 2010

Jennifer Laverdiere 12/29/2009 07:44 PM

Hi Diana!
I just wanted to say thank you so much for writing these wonderful novels! My friend introduced me to them a year ago and I cannot seem to put them down! All I can say is thank god An Echo in the Bone is not the last one! Keep up the great works!!

JoAnn Mackintosh 02/09/2010 03:39 AM

So I finally broke down and bought your new book as a gift for myself after Chrismas, and an excellent read it was too!

Amy Oxley 02/15/2010 04:01 PM

Hi, Diana!
There's a song done by Alison Krauss called "My Ain True Love" which I think you might find very appropriate for Jaime & Claire. I'd be interested to know what you think of it.

Dana Sidell 04/04/2010 03:22 PM

Hi Diana,

I have not had the good fortune of meeting you yet, but I can tell you here what a profound affect you have had on me with your books. Outlander was recommended to me by a friend and I have never been so addicted to a story or their characters as I have with this series. I just read Outlander for the 3rd--yes 3rd time because I always discover something new each time I read it. I then get on wikipedia and start educating myself on all the historical references you make mention of. Starting Dragonfly for the 2nd time now.

After visiting and falling in love with Edinburgh last summer, I am now in the midst of planning my return trip to Scotland to visit the HIghlands this summer. I can't wait to go to the places--real or fictional that I imagine your stories have taken place. You've turned me into a bonafide 'Scot-o-phile' okay I made that up! But seriously, thank you for bringing me such joy with these books.

Don't keep us waiting too long for the next one.
All the best to you and safe travels.
Dana

Lynlee Darby 06/13/2010 11:16 PM

Diana, I have read and reread Echo in the Bone and I loved it as the rest of the books! Thank you so much for enriching my life with your books....I too look forward to the next one! And understand how a book of that size and content can take a long while but I am waiting not quite patiently for it! Thank you .

PANALBA

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