Echoes, kilts and stones

Those in the know will immediately realise I am talking "Gabaldon speak" (a new term I think I just invented). To those who aren't quite sure where I am going with this - last night a couple of Warkworth Librarians went down to listen to Diana Gabaldon who is author of the Cross Stitch (also known as the Outlander) series of novels.

Diana Gabaldon is an extremely clever woman, and not just because she has written one of the most popular series in Rodney Libraries. Dr Gabaldon has three degrees in Zoology, Marine Biology, and Quantitative Behavioral Ecology, worked as university professor for over 10 years and has written several textbooks. If you have ever read a Scrooge McDuck comic book, you may have also been reading her words as she has written many scripts for Walt Disney.

It is fabulous to actually listen to an author and get an insight into how the stories came about. For instance, Jamie was inspired by a kilt clad character in an early Dr Who episode (the second Doctor - Patrick Troughton). Claire was not initially a modern woman, but when she wouldn't stop giving "smart-arse" answers, Diana decided that was who she was, so it is all Claire's fault that there is time-travel in the books. She was adamant that Jamie will NOT visit the future and is surprised herself that quite often she will write in characters and happenings that her research later reveals to be true.

A common question Diana is asked is "How do you manage to do it all?" This was especially true with the first novel because at the time she was working full time as University Professor, writing scientific books and articles, was a wife and a mother to three young children. Diana quips that she "didn't sleep and didn't do housework" (and she adds, she still doesn't do housework). Sleeping is also something that she doesn't appear to do a lot of as she often does a lot of her writing between midnight and 4am. She uses a lot of visualisation to retain ideas and revealed that, to a large extent, these characters have a life of their own, taking place in a paddock next to her - sometimes she can see and hear them clearly, while at other times they are more opaque. Her husband critiques her work and she credits him with a very good literary instinct.

Many people have commented that Diana's science background and her novels are strange bedmates, but she believe art and science are simply two sides to the same coin. Both include an hypothesis and the ability "to perceive patterns from chaos". The scientist will carry out experiments to test the hypothesis whereas the artist/writer will use their imagination to create a world to prove it to the public.

We can expect much more from Diana's pen with another Lord John novel and a graphic novel which is a prequel to Cross Stitch, which are both due out next year. There is also a second non-fiction compendium for the last three books in the Jamie and Claire series due out, a contemporary crime novel in the pipeline and she confirms that Jamie and Claire will be back.

New Zealand has the highest per capita sales of Diana's books (and An Echo in the Bone has just knocked Dan Brown's latest off the Kiwi best seller lists). However Germany is the real star in her market as they seem to have adopted Jamie and Claire as one of their own.

To gain more insight into Diana Gabaldon and her works, visit her website. To search the holdings we have for her in our catalogue, click on this link for Diana Gabaldon. The latest book in the Cross Stitch series is An Echo in the Bone.

image courtesy of Hachette NZ website