Diana Gabaldon's Blog, page 26
September 12, 2011
In Case You Thought All A Writer Does is Write…
Home again, after DragonCon, with different kind of work to hand: The publisher sent _both_ the copyedited ms. _and_ the first-pass galleys to my hotel in Atlanta, with the request that I process them simultaneously (ak!), to save time. Which means, theoretically, reading the copyedit and responding to queries, checking marks, etc.–then transferring all markings to the first-pass galleys, and in the process, proof-reading the galleys, in case of errors introduced by the typesetting. ...
September 4, 2011
BOOK EIGHT HAS A TITLE!
Which is….
WRITTEN IN MY HEART'S OWN BLOOD
(I still want an octopus on the cover, but we'll deal with that later.)
September 1, 2011
DRAGONCON/Decatur SCHEDULE
Gonna be a busy weekend!
First off–I'm not doing the Decatur Book Festival this year, only DragonCon. I _will_ be doing a signing in Decatur, though, for those who don't want to brave the zoo (I walked through the lobby of one of the five host hotels for DragonCon last year, and remarked to a friend, "It doesn't just _look_ like the cantina scene in "Star Wars"–it _is_ the cantina scene in "Star Wars."), or pay for the privilege of rubbing shoulders with Darth Vader, young girls with pink...
August 26, 2011
Bubonicon, DragonCon – and an Excerpt
Ooookay. THIS weekend (August 26-28) is Bubonicon, which takes place in Albuquerque, NM, at the Airport Sheraton Hotel. I'll be there from Friday evening through Sunday, and will be doing several different appearances:
8:30 PM on Friday night—a panel on "Beyond Goddess/Whore"
1:00 PM Saturday–a panel on Jules Verne
4:00 PM – Mass Autographing (with other authors) – I _think_ this is open to the public, but can't swear to it, and
10:00 AM Sunday – a 70-minute talk/reading (with Sam Sykes)
I'll...
August 21, 2011
Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games: Dingbats and Whale Penises
Had a wonderful (if very busy!) time at Fergus last weekend! Thanks to everyone who came, and my apologies to all the Very Patient People who waited in line for _hours_. (Not that I was slow signing, but there were a heck of a lot of people, and many of them took me at my word when I said I'd sign anything they felt like lugging through the fairgrounds. {g})
I had a good time speaking to y'all–and for those who asked about the whale penises {cough}–
I was explaining about what-all goes on...
August 20, 2011
Yes, I'll be at DragonCon!
Title: Whiskey, Haggis, & Madmen: Myths & Reality of the Scottish Highlands
Description: The stories that made Scotland famous: why kilts, why Braveheart was an inspiring fairy tale, and how the Scots invented everything. Yes, everything.
Time: Sat 08:30 pm Location: International C – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
——————-
Title: An Hour with Diana Gabaldon
Description: The best-selling author discusses her time-traveling Outlander series, and more!
Time: Sun 07:00 pm Location: International C – Westin ...
August 12, 2011
Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games
Made it to Canada last night! Getting ready for the Tattoo tonight at the Fergust Scottish Festival and Highland Games (I'm not performing at the Tattoo–this is mostly pipes and drums, "heavy" event exhibitions (like caber-tossing), the calling of the clans, and singing, none of which I'm qualified to do), and for the various talks/readings and signings I'll be doing tomorrow.
Thought I should post the times–now that I have them–for the talks/signings:
I'll be in what they call the...
August 2, 2011
ABERDEEN = Sex Capitol of Scotland (who knew?)
Which is to say that our hotel was apparently _the_ hotel in Aberdeen for wedding nights, anniversaries, and less-licit occasions. The wallpaper in the halls is hot pink, with black-lace flocked appliques–it looks like naughty underwear–and the rooms are done in a tasteful mixture of dark tartan and black velour, with a suggestive tray holding two goblets and a bottle of wine (with a label reading "L13.95″ round the neck. (In case this is insufficient stimulus, Reception sends a fresh...
July 25, 2011
Loch Ness, Naked Man
I don't know why _I_ never see naked men emerging from bodies of water. Not looking at the right moment, I suppose.
Doug and I had a lovely dinner on the 19th at Castle Stuart (which sort of has to be seen to be believed), with Alastair Cunningham and his merry tour group of Australians, all of whom _had_ been looking at the right moment, earlier in the day, when they paused to have a look for Nessie and instead beheld a local gentleman emerging from the loch "in all his glory," as one...
June 30, 2011
A Literary Three-Way
By popular demand….
Ummm….OK. This one really _was_ Chris Humphreys's fault. A couple of weeks ago, a number of game (and fairly uninhibited) people kindly took part in the Late-Night Sex-Scene readings at the Historical Novel Society conference in San Diego. Owing to circumstances I claim not to remember {cough}, I've been Mistress of Ceremonies for this now-traditional feature of the conference _twice_.
This time around, I had a lively lineup of volunteers, including Laurel Corona's...
