Books, books, books, more books, and oh! – some books.
I went back to work full time, temporarily, but I’m working 40 hours a week again. I’m still freelance writing. I’m still acting as a marketing consultant. I’m still homeschooling my daughter. I’m still working on my novels.
I’m also still reading.
I’m a busy sort of gal – I’ll never stop reading.
So on the docket this last week was Stolen by Kelley Armstrong, Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (gee, you’d think I was a romance reader, which is funny, I never thought I’d join that crowd), and Lies That Make You Pay (a title I reviewed for Money-fax.com).
To be fair, I was pleased that book two in the Otherworld series was far more action oriented than it’s first book Bitten. The romance and sex scenes took a back burner to the story which made for a much better book. Having read Stolen, however, I began to be a little irritated Alone from the Girl in the Box series. Stolen was published first (June 2010) and Alone (December 2013) seems like a bit of a rip off of Kelley Armstrong’s work. This may be a complete coincidence, but I’ll have to read more of each series to find out.
I’m still enjoying Bill Bryson’s The Mother Tongue and I just started reading Edward Rutherford’s Sarum. I’ll be sure to post reviews when I’m finished, but sneak peek review for Bryson: he’s marvelous and I adore this book. I’m taking my time and savoring every glorious word.
I’ve currently completed reading 75 books this year. I know that not everyone reads that much. I also know plenty of people who read a lot more than that. So I nearly choked on a laugh when a lady told me today that she had read too many books to keep track, like 75 books too many. Ever. Not this year, not in the last two or three years, but ever. If you’ve made it to your mid-forties and have only read 75 books ever, I want to know what school you went to and how this travesty happened. To be honest, however, I think she has read quite a bit more than that, I think people who don’t work in bookstores don’t really have realistic views on book quantities and what that looks like. 75 sounds like a lot to people, until you look at 50,000 – 100,000 every day.
What have you been reading?
Voyager
Title: Voyager
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Defies Genres, but most commonly found in Historical or Romance sections, sometimes Fantasy
Length: 1059 pages
Seriously, the first thing I exclaimed when I was done reading via illness induced three day marathon was “Holy Crap on a Cracker!” Clearly I need to find new expletives. That particular one was not worthy of the book it came on the heels of.
As always, Diana Gabaldon is fabulous and a wonderful storyteller. Where I’ve usually plucked my way through her books, reading a little here and a little there as a fairy tale adventure before bed – this time I just plowed right through until I was done.
I picked up the third installment of Gabaldon’s book – a first edition mass market paperback from November 1994 that life threw in my lap somewhere along the way – after watching the new Starz series to date. Putting Gabaldon’s story to film has been a long time coming, but it was worth the way. I watched 6 episodes in a row, tucked neatly in my bed with a bag of jalapeno chips and lots of hot tea. Don’t let me fool you, I’d been planning my all-day cave viewing for nearly two weeks, and it would have happened whether I’d been sick that day or not, but being sick definitely helped me get away with it.
See, I planned on writing a review for the show to accompany my other Diana Gabaldon related posts. But the show doesn’t really need one. They’ve done so well, in my opinion, and followed the story hook, line, and sinker. Although I find my fairly prude self fast forwarding through the sex scenes, I think the show is wonderful.
Especially awesome was seeing the author – Diana Gabaldon – pop up in The Gathering episode. She has such a lovely and obvious face, I was so excited for her to be IN her own creation in that manner.
Naturally, when I ran out of episodes I sought out the next installment of the book – having started reading the series ages ago, but never finished. (I can’t finish it all at once, I have to savor it.)
Diana Gabaldon Interviews with Anakalian Whims!
Diana Gabaldon
1. You’ve made it clear that you don’t like your books catalogued as romance (completely understandable – and I agree that they are so much more than that!). What genre would you prefer them to be classified?
Well, so far, I’ve seen them classified and sold (with evident success) as: <deep breath> Literature, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical NON-Fiction (really), Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Military History (really; the Military History Book Club has carried several of my titles), Gay and Lesbian Fiction, and…Horror. (No, really. A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES beat both George RR Martin and Stephen King for a Quill Award a few years back. Very gratifying. <g>)
On the whole, I’d just like to see them classified as “Fiction.” If you call them anything related to a specific genre, you’re just asking for half the people who encounter them to shrug and go, “Enh…I don’t really read that kind of book.” No point in alienating an audience a priori, I mean.
2. The Outlander Series has been a best-selling series for twenty years. Is this what you imagined for yourself? Did you ever think Jamie and Claire’s story would reach this level of fame?
Well, no. I wrote OUTLANDER for practice, in order to learn how to write a novel. I didn’t intend even to tell anyone I was writing it, let alone try to get it published. But you know, Things Happen. <g>
3. There is a lot of detailed history in your novels. Do you enjoy doing the necessary research involved when writing these books? Outside of your research for these novels do you read a lot of history?
I love doing research. I chose to write a historical novel for practice because I was a research professor (though in the sciences), and knew my way around a library. I figured it was easier to look things up than to make them up—and if I turned out to have no imagination, I could steal things from the historical record. <g> (This works really well, btw.)
I enjoy history in general, but am a dilettante reader; I just pick up books I’ve read good reviews of or hear well-spoken of, in just about any period. Reading for pleasure is a whole different animal than doing research—the latter is kind of guerrilla warfare, as opposed to a nice stroll through the scenic landscape.
4. I read that a Dr. Who episode inspired the setting for your books. I’ve been a Dr. Who fan since childhood, so I’ve got to ask: Which actor plays your favorite Doctor?
Oo, hard to choose! I suppose David Tennant wins by a bit—though I _really_ liked Chris Eccleston in his single season, and who doesn’t like Tom Baker? Matt Smith’s very enjoyable so far, but I’ve only seen his first season, as yet.
5. I am completely fascinated by the Geillis Duncan/ Gillian Edgars character. What was your inspiration for including this character in the story?
Oh, a real Scottish witch <g> named Geillis Duncan. See—“steal things from the historical record,” above.
6. I read on your website bio that you hold degrees in various sciences and were actually a college professor. Did you enjoy teaching? Any favorite anecdotes from that life?
I loved teaching; it’s the only thing I miss about academia (and thus I enjoy teaching workshops at writers conferences and the like). Anecdotes…well, there was the class I taught in Philadelphia some years ago. I was teaching a class in Human Anatomy and Physiology, to nursing students from Temple University. One of my favorite students was a black guy in his mid-thirties—all the students were a big older than the usual run of college students; these were mostly people returning to school for a nursing degree—who had a colorful background, but looked rather like the owner of a successful bar: slightly overweight, balding, glasses, conservatively but casually dressed, very outgoing and genial. His name was…well, I’ll call him Wally.
Now, all my students took the same curriculum of nursing classes, so they’d often come in talking about what had happened in the class before mine, which was something like applied techniques—a lab class where they learned to take each other’s blood pressure, draw blood, do CPR, and practice various bedside techniques. This particular month, they’d been doing bedside procedures, with a life-size dummy, demonstrating that they knew how to change a bed, check vitals, check the patient’s general well-being, take care of any personal issues, and do it all while addressing the “patient” in a kind, respectful, informative way.
On this one occasion, they came in very excited, having had an important exam in that class—they _had_ to pass that class, or they’d be thrown out of the nursing program and have to re-apply and start over. And at the end of the influx came Wally, flushed and wild-eyed, in a Complete State.
“What on earth happened?” I asked, whereupon he waved his arms and shook his fist at the heavens.
“I ran with gangs! I been in jail twice! I’ve been shot, I’ve been stabbed! I been married twice and I got three kids, I got out of the gangs, I come back to school—and now I’m about to be kicked out of school and RUIN MY LIFE…because I FORGOT TO WIPE A GODDAMN DUMMY’S ASS!!!”
7. How did your teaching career and background in science affect your approach to writing fiction?
It didn’t. At least, not in any direct or describable way. There are certain parallels between science and art, but part of that is just the way the world _is_, and part of it is just the way my mind works.
8. Do you have any nonfiction publications (other than The Outlandish Companion) in the works? (If so, I can’t wait to read them!)
Not other than a handful of scientific papers. <g> Now, in the fullness of time, I will have THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, Part II, and am also working on a book about writing, called THE CANNIBAL’S ART. Neither of those will be out ‘til after I finish WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD, though.
9. I read that your 8th Outlander book will come out sometime next year. You also have another series, Lord John, which has become popular. You’ve become quite prolific! Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
It’s the same advice for _any_ writer, no matter what their level of experience:
Gabaldon’s Three Rules for Becoming a Writer:
- Read. Read a lot, read everything. This is where you find out what you like and what you don’t like (and it’s a total waste of time to try to write something you don’t like just because you think it might sell—it won’t, believe me)—and also where you begin to learn the craft of writing. You read two books in the same genre, for instance, and think, “I like this one a lot, that one, not quite so much. Why is that?” Well, the first one has better characters; they seem realer. Oh? And why is that? Mmmm….I think it’s the way they talk. These people sound like people really sound, and the other one’s kind of wooden. OK. How did the writer do that? ‘Cuz everything a writer does is right there on the page; there’s no way to hide your techniques. <g> If you look carefully and read with attention, you’ll start to see things—for instance, that good dialogue usually consists of short sentences and brief paragraphs, while bad dialogue tends to drone on and have convoluted sentences. Or that good dialogue never tells you stuff that the characters already know—whereas a bad writer will often use dialogue as a way of info-dumping on the reader. That kind of thing.
- Write. Unfortunately, this is the only way of actually learning to write. You can read all the books you want, and take classes in creative writing, and they may be useful—but nothing will actually teach you to write, except the act of putting words on the page.
- And the last rule is the most important: DON’T STOP!!
10. I truly appreciate you taking time to interview with me. (Feels kind of like I won the lottery!) Do you have anything you would like readers to know about you and your novels that I haven’t already covered?
Let me see…Oh! We (me, my agent, and Random House <g>) are releasing a series of novellas—originally written for various anthologies—as individual e-books. These are for the benefit of readers who either didn’t see the original anthologies, or who perhaps don’t want to experiment with a collection of unknown-to-them writers just to get one story by a favorite author.
Anthologies usually only keep the reprint rights for a year or two, and once those expire…I can do anything I like with the stories. So. Those stories are beginning to come back to me, and as they do, we’ll make them available individually.
Right now, you can get “The Custom of the Army” as a separate e-novella, for any common e-reader format (i.e., Kindle, Nook, etc.), _in the US and Canada_, and you’ll be able to get “A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows” (this is the story of Roger MacKenzie’s parents, Jerry and Dolly, during WWII, wherein you learn what _really_ happened to his father) as an e-novella in October.
Because there are different rights in different geographical territories, often I get the international rights to something back well after I get the US rights back. And there are sometimes differences between the print rights and the e-rights. What THIS means is that while UK/Australia/NewZealand fans can’t (yet) get the e-novellas—BUT they’ll be able to get a print collection in October that includes not only “Custom” and “Leaf”—but also “Lord John and the Plague of Zombies” and “The Space Between” (a long novella involving Marsali’s younger sister Joan, Young Ian’s elder brother Michael, the Comte St. Germain (no, of course he isn’t dead; don’t be silly), Mother Hildegarde (and Bouton) and…Master Raymond. (NB: “The Space Between” will be available for the US and Canada in both print and e-book form in February 2013, when the anthology for which it was written comes out—the anthology is titled THE MAD SCIENTIST’S GUIDE TO WORLD DOMINATION, edited by John Joseph Adams. <g>)
Male Readers for Outlander Series
After I posted my review for Dragonfly in Amber, I got a Twitter response from author Diana Gabaldon. She stated that although it was a “lovely review” she doesn’t like her books classified as romance because “a) they aren’t b) doing so cuts off ALL the male readers and the female readers who don’t think they read THAT kind of book.” While working in a bookstore and being taught to shelve her books in the romance section, I’d often heard the author had this preference against it, but had never done very much research concerning the matter.
The books are lovely. There is sexual content, but it’s not all ripping bodices and whatnot typical of a romance novel. In that regards I completely agree with her. The truth is, I can’t think of a good section for this astounding author’s work. I think they would get lost in the fantasy section and many bookstores don’t have their own historical fiction department.
What I love most about the books, is that even the store I worked, housed in the romance section, people sought her books out. I agree that placing them in that section cuts off certain new readers, but once introduced, there is no stopping a man from waltzing into that wall of pink and half exposed breast covers to pick out the next in the series. I’ve seen it happen over and over again.
That being said, I wanted to share this fan letter Diana Gabaldon has available on her site:
Thank you from an American Soldier (UNCLASSIFIED)
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE
Ma'am,
I don't know if you will personally read this. I hope and pray you do. No, I am not an obsessed fan. But I am someone who enjoys your work. It has touched me on a very personal level. Please allow me to explain.
I am a soldier in the United States Army and have been for about 18 years. I had my first of three long deployments in 2003. I have deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. And each time I took your books with me. When I first bought Outlander, I am ashamed to say I only bought it because it was a very thick book. Getting ready to deploy I know that I would have a very long journey ahead of me. On the plane from Louisiana (where I was stationed) To New York to Maine to Italy then into Kuwait I couldn't put the damn thing down.
While I was deployed it was my escape. I sent a message home to my mother to find other books in the series. Lucky she found more. I have to say that your books helped me escape the reality that war can be. When I suffered personal hardships (IED blasts, fire fights and death of my friends) your books were a way for me to escape and even if for a brief few moments a way for me to keep my sanity. I am so very grateful to you for that.
Since my first deployment each time I had to say goodbye to my son, your books were in my rucksack. They are dog-eared and a bit worse for the wear...think Dragon Fly in the Amber even has a huge blood stain on it from when I got hurt. But I repaired them lovingly with what we call 90mph tape. Anyway they have traveled all over the world with me.
It is because of your writing that I have chosen to get my degree before I retire (when ever that will be). I have chosen history for my course of study. Once again...thank you.
I know you are busy but I wanted to let you know how much your work means. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. God bless you and yours.
Very Respectfully,
SSG [name and unit omitted by request]
P.S. enclosed is a picture of me in Iraq on my most recent deployment and one of me at Gettysburg, Pa on mid tour leave.
Staff Sergeant [name and address omitted] Attachment Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Attachment Caveats: FOUO
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE- http://www.dianagabaldon.com/from-the-fans/readers-letters-2/
Isn’t that the most wonderful thing? To have the spawn of one’s imagination be so inspiring and comforting to so many people is such a glorious privilege. That’s something that would inspire any writer to attempt to be such a story-teller. And if that didn’t do it for you, read her bio, its quite impressive: http://www.dianagabaldon.com/about-diana/bio/
The 8th of The Outlander Series is thought to come out sometime next year. I will be reading the 3rd (Voyager) in the next few months. Anyone interested in a readathon?
Post Edit: I found this Outlander Reading Challenge and joined. http://www.thelitbitch.com/?page_id=1314
A Romance to Last the Ages
Title: Dragonfly in Amber (second in The Outlander Series
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publisher: I am reading from A Dell Book, pocket papberback, published in 1992.
Length: 947 pgs
Although the book covers are a bit outdated and have been revamped and republished, The Outlander Series itself will never be outdated… will never get old. Often shelved in the romance sections for its sexual content and love story, its a little more dramatic, a little more fantasy, and has a little more historical detail than your average romance. Gabaldon has written a saga that is a “little more” no matter where you house it in your bookstore.
Where I devoured Outlander (the introductory book of the series, published in the UK as CrossStitch), Dragonfly in Amber I mosied through. I kept it on my nightstand and read 20-30 page here and there, until I finally finished it this morning over breakfast. But not because it wasn’t good.
Jamie and Claire Fraser are the kind of characters you like to let linger with you. By book two you see more of their faults and weaknesses as well as their strengths, and they are less token flat romantic leads strictly enamoured with each other. Still definitely a romance, these books are also clearly about a marriage tried by time travel, war, and witch hunts, and more. There’s a real element to them that traditional romances don’t have, the Outlander Series is all adventure but never fairy tale. Knowing there’s a whole series of nearly 1000 page books, its easy to set it down after a little bit, assured they will be there when you come back.
Of course, the moment you get to the end of one, Gabaldon has teased you with some lingering story line that makes you want to immediately start the next. I recommend having several of the series set aside before you begin so when that moment comes you aren’t left with the deep urge to leave your house and run to the nearest bookstore hoping they have the one you need in stock. Just buy them all up whenever you see them, and toss them (in order) on your TBR pile.
Like Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel, I think The Outlander Series will be a romance that lasts through the ages.
Anakalian Whims 