Book 9?

March 20, 2012 at 2:28 pm (Outlander Related)
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I’ve been feeling pretty anxious lately, desperate even, thinking about Book 8 / Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (MOBY).

I know the Outlander saga began 21 years ago in 1991, but for me it only began in October 2010;  I was spoiled by reading each consecutive book as fast as my little fingers could download them onto my Kindle. I devour MOBY Daily Lines from Diana Gabaldon’s facebook page like they’re Scooby snacks and I want more more more!

I have a lot of questions that need answers, like will Jamie & Claire overcome their immediate-vicinity-challenged relationship?  Will they grow old peacefully somewhere or die tragically-but-oh-so-romantically?  Will Jem & Roger be reunited with Brianna & Mandy?  Will Jenny & Claire rekindle their close friendship?  Will Jamie & Willie bond now that he knows Jamie’s his father?   What about Ian & Rachel?  I hope they get married, poor Ian deserves to be happy.  And don’t even get me started on ***MOBY SPOILER (skip ahead 2 lines if you don’t want to see)*** Roger turning up @ Lallybroch when Jamie was a little boy!

SO  many storylines to tie up and, silly me, I assumed that I’d get all of  the answers when MOBY is released sometime in 2013.  (I can just hear Herself  saying, “Ha!  That’s what you think…”)

Check this out:

  • February 1st 2012, DG said in her blog post ‘State of the Wicket’:

“I don’t know yet if WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD is the last book in this series!!”  (http://www.dianagabaldon.com/2012/02/the-state-of-the-wicket-february-2012/)

  • March 14th 2012, someone asked on Diana Gabaldon’s facebook page:

“I thought that I read on this page that MOBY would be the the last book of this series. Can anyone confirm or deny?”   Herself replied:  “I deny it categorically. <g> That is–I don’t yet _know_ for sure whether Book 8 (MOBY) is the last or not…but I’m beginning to think there might just be a Book 9.”  (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDianaGabaldon/posts/347439301965579)

I don’t even want to consider that Jamie & Claire might NOT manage to live together under the same roof (or at least sky?) yet.  And what would this mean for our other favorite characters’ predicaments?  I know what it would mean for me:  TORTURE.  But also:  ELATION.  As much as I want everything to be wrapped up neatly and Jamie & Claire to have their happy ending, I admit I would like a 9th book  a wee bit more.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d probably still whine about how long Book 9 was taking, and how hard it is to wait, but it would be worth it.  Oh aye, Jamie Fraser is always, worth the wait, sigh.  I need a Jamie fix…

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But Who Does DIANA Think Jamie Looks Like?

February 28, 2012 at 4:11 pm (Outlander Related)
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Well, I was working on part II of “How I See the Characters” when the admins-that-be decided to start all the ‘virtual casting’ brew-ha-ha still going on Diana Gabaldon’s facebook page(btw- have you been over there lately? They should rename her page “Outlander Casting Wars” lol). Needless to say I decided to put it on hold for the time being.  Instead I thought it would be nice for us to get inside Herself’s head & see which man she thinks Jamie Fraser most looks like. Here’s what she said on her blog “Voyages of the Artemis,” Sept 10 2008:

“…Among these was a photo of Gabriel Aubrey, and I’d mentioned in re this photo that Mr. A. did in fact have a strong resemblance to Mr. Fraser, in terms of facial physiognomy. So yesterday, an enterprising person named Grace who inhabits one of the “Outlander” discussion boards evidently came across my idle remarks and decided to see if she could make something of them. So she dragged Mr. Aubrey into her PhotoShop for a little revision, and….OK. Yeah. That’s very much what he looks like. In case you were wondering. [g]”

 

I found another photoshopped pic of Gabriel Aubry w/red hair. I think this one’s sexier:

The truth is, no matter what we may think or how we envision him, Jamie Fraser was created by Diana. And I don’t know about you, but I think she has good taste (I certainly wouldn’t kick Gabriel Aubry out of my bed for eating crackers, would you?) ☺

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How I see the characters, Part I (Jamie, Dougal, Jack & Frank Randall)

January 14, 2012 at 9:38 pm (Outlander Related)
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How many times have you heard this: “Gerard Butler would be the perfect Jamie!” Or: “Gerard Butler could never play Jamie because he’s too old.” Or my favorite: “No one could ever portray the characters as well as I imagine them.”

Well, that all may be true, but I think it’s fun to find out how other fans envision the characters while they’re reading about them.  Here’s a glimpse inside my head, how I picture our beloved characters inside the Outlander Universe…  KEEP IN MIND I’m only talking about physical appearance, NOT current age-appropriateness, acting ability or personality…

When I think of Jamie I think TALL, a head taller than other men, powerful physique, blue eyes slanted like a cat & high cheekbones. Add some red hair, a little length & “Chris Hemsworth” fits that bill for me! (photo/exposay.com)

Slap a kilt on him & call me Sassenach! (photo/handsomemasculinemen.com)

When I think of Dougal Mackenzie, I think commanding presence.  Doesn’t “Gerard Butler” look like Dougal Mackenzie, War Chieftain in this pic? (photo/flaminghorses.blogspot.com)

Now, in my opinion this is the face of the evil, sadistic Captain Jack Randall.  “Jason Isaacs” plays such a good a-hole… (photo/aarkangel.wordpress.com)

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My Outlander-Appreciating Husband

January 1, 2012 at 3:23 pm (Outlander Related)
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My husband Craig SO gets my Outlander obsession.  Here’s my proof-  lookie what he got me for Christmas!

The wine glass charms are my favorite.  On the front are the American book releases and on the back are the UK versions!  That’s GENIUS, and duly appreciated by this Outlander fan.  Plus, they combine 2 of my favorite hobbies,  Outlander & vino  = )

The coffee mug is awesome, it just doesn’t get much better than starting off your day with a little Outlander java- am I right?

The T-shirt says it all:  “Jamie and Claire make Edward and Bella look like casual acquaintances.”  In your face twihards! (just kidding, I love Twilight too lol)

I hope Outlander fans everywhere had happy holidays too.  Happy New Year everyone!

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The Scottish Prisoner (no spoilers, dinna fash yerselves!)

December 15, 2011 at 9:37 am (Outlander Related)
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As you may know I own a Kindle, and having preordered  The Scottish Prisoner  was able to read it the day it was released, November 29th 2011.  My intention was to take my time with it, read only perhaps a chapter every couple of days, really draw it out.  This would be, after all, the last time I could savor brand new things about Jamie, get inside his head *cough* kilt until the release of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, due out in 2013.  (That being said I really do appreciate Herself’s Daily Lines from MOBY- they keep me going!)  Well, that opening scene; I mean just the thought of him desperately aching with longing/loneliness for Claire- it was all downhill after that.  I devoured it, finished it in like 2 days.  I had to keep reading until I got my next Jamie fix!

Yes, I was happy to learn more about Willie.  And yes, I do so love Lord John and enjoyed his scenes too.  But let’s be honest, what I love most about The Scottish Prisoner is that Jamie is in it, a lot, and that’s good enough for me.  I got my Jamie fix!

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Enter to win a SIGNED, GIFT-WRAPPED Outlander 20th Anniversary Edition!

December 14, 2011 at 4:55 pm (Contests/Sweepstakes, Outlander Fan Related, Outlander Related)
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Don’t forget to enter the OUTLANDER 20th Anniversary holiday giveaway!  And best of all it’s signed by Herslef, Diana Gabaldon.

Here’s the link:  https://apps.facebook.com/dianagabaldon/Giveaways/Enter/2145

They”ll be announcing winners on Friday/Dec 15th, so you have until the end of the day tomorrow to enter. Good luck to the lot of ye!

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Kindle

August 23, 2011 at 9:43 am (Outlander Fan Related, Outlander Related)
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I love to read.

And I love to own the books that really resonate with me.  The big pine bookshelf in our bedroom is completely stuffed and underneath our bed is a sea of storage containers full of even more books.  (The books under our bed are mostly Craig’s- he tends to like murder mysteries and I refuse to have that be the last thing I see before I fall asleep.)

We were running out of room in our house to store any more books and  I’d been hearing about Kindle this, Nook that, Kobo yada yada yada…  I liked the idea of storing thousands of books in the amount of space only one book would use.  Ultimately I went with a Kindle because I like Amazon.com, I always use it to find used books & they have great customer service.

I was SO excited to get one.  I was going to request it for my birthday in December, but  didn’t want to wait the two months (I’m impatient like that).  So I went ahead & bought the Kindle 3G (free 3G & Wi-Fi) from a local store where I had some store credit.  I’m not a techie AT ALL  (please, I still need help with my ipod) so I was relieved to discover how user-friendly the Kindle was.  The very first thing I did after it was charged was purchase Pillars of the Earth, by “Ken Follett.” (I’d wanted to read it ever since I saw Oprah talk about it on her show years ago).

It was so easy to do, literally just a few clicks and *poof*  it magically appeared on my Kindle.  I immediately loved the story & finished it in a few days.  I was hungry for more historical fiction, and as I was browsing Amazon/Kindle’s list of free titles (they routinely list the top 100 purchasable & free titles) Outlander caught my eye.  What the heck, it was free so I had nothing to lose.  I was up until 2:00 am almost every night until I finished the book, I just couldn’t put it down!  And somewhere along the way I realized that it was a series, and there were 6 more books to read!!  (And Diana Gabaldon is currently writing the as-yet-untitled eighth book due for release in 2013).

Needless to say all I asked for on my birthday was Amazon.com gift cards.  I finished the seventh book in January, and have been in Outlander (ok Jamie Fraser) withdrawal ever since.  I try to stay connected to the story & characters by sharing the books with my friends.  I got my sister hooked, and currently two of our friends are reading the series.  Even my husband has read Outlander, he gets how much I love it.   Now if they would only make an HBO miniseries about it…But that’s for another post.  = )

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And so it begins…

August 8, 2011 at 7:36 pm (Outlander Fan Related, Outlander Related)
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I’m forever grateful to Diana Gabaldon for writing the Outlander series.

I first discovered it in October 2010 as a free e-book for my Kindle.  (OMG- can I just tell you how much I love my Kindle?  Greatest invention ever.  But that’s for another post.)  The books could be classified as Romance, or Historical Fiction, or even Science Fiction for the time-travel element.  Here’s how Amazon.com describes the plot of Outlander, the first book:

“In Outlander, a 600-page time-travel romance, strong-willed and sensual Claire Randall leads a double life with a husband in one century, and a lover in another. Torn between fidelity and desire, she struggles to understand the pure intent of her heart. But don’t let the number of pages and the Scottish dialect scare you. It’s one of the fastest reads you’ll have in your library.  While on her second honeymoon in the British Isles, Claire touches a boulder that hurls her back in time to the forbidden Castle Leoch with the MacKenzie clan. Not understanding the forces that brought her there, she becomes ensnared in life-threatening situations with a Scots warrior named James Fraser. But it isn’t all spies and drudgery that she must endure. For amid her new surroundings and the terrors she faces, she is lured into love and passion like she’s never known before.

I was lame and sore in every muscle when I woke next morning. I shuffled to the privy closet, then to the wash basin. My innards felt like churned butter. It felt as though I had been beaten with a blunt object, I reflected, then thought that that was very near the truth. The blunt object in question was visible as I came back to bed, looking now relatively harmless. Its  possessor [Jamie] woke as I sat next to him, and examined me with something that looked very much like male smugness.”

Now, I’m normally a nonfiction/spiritual awakening kind of reader (with some exceptions like Twilight & Southern Vampire series), so I surprised myself when I clicked on the book title;  I mean, my closest living example of someone who reads romance novels is my late grandmother who rarely left her home (ok, kitchen chair) & had stacks of them piled up around her house.

The first couple of hundred pages were a little slow, but holy crap once it picked up it RAN!  I was hooked.  Like a druggie. Outlander is like “my own personal brand of heroin,”(Edward to Bella in Twilight).  The characters are so real.  I’m convinced they absolutely must have existed, and Diana Gabaldon somehow channeled their essence into the books.  They’re so real to me.

I laughed, cried, raged,  lusted…Oh yes.  Jamie Fraser.  (Cue dreamy sigh…)

A funny thing happened as I read the books—I became aware that I was less critical of myself.  And I looked at my husband differently, felt closer to him.  I initiated sex much more often—something about this story affected me in a such a way that I’m not the same.  And I like it (so does my husband!).

Now GO READ THIS BOOK SERIES!

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