Outlander [08] Written in My Own Heart's Blood

by Diana Gabaldon

  Among those whose names I did write down, I’d like to acknowledge …

  … My literary agents, Russell Galen and Danny Baror, without whom my books would not be published as successfully and widely as they are, and I would not have the edifying experience of opening cartons of books written in Lithuanian with my name on the front—to say nothing of the Korean edition of Outlander with the pink bubbles on the cover.

  … Sharon Biggs Waller, for information about the Scots Dumpy and for bringing this charming chicken to my attention.

  … Marte Brengle, for telling me about the forensic reconstruction of George Washington’s face, and Dr. Merih O’Donoghue, for notes on his disastrous dental history.

  … Dr. Merih O’Donoghue and her ophthalmologist friend, for technical commentary and useful gruesome details concerning Lord John’s eye. Also for the teaching model of an eyeball, which adorns my bookshelves and gives interviewers who enter my office the willies.

  … Carol and Tracey of MyOutlanderPurgatory, for their lovely photos of the battlefield at Paoli, which drew my attention to the Rebel rallying cry “Remember Paoli!” and the discovery of Lord John’s unpopular cousin.

  … Tamara Burke, for bits of homestead and farming lore, most particularly for her vivid description of a rooster valiantly defending his hens.

  … Tamara Burke, Joanna Bourne, and Beth and Matthew Shope, for helpful advice on Quaker marriage customs and absorbing discussions regarding the history and philosophies of the Society of Friends. Any error or license taken with regard to such customs is mine, I hasten to add.

  … Catherine MacGregor (Gaelic and French, including gruesome lullabies about beheaded lovers), Catherine-Ann MacPhee (Gaelic, phraseology and idiom, besides introducing me to the Gaelic poem “To an Excellent Penis” (see below), and Adhamh Ò Broin, Gaelic tutor for the Outlander Starz television production, for emergency help with exclamations. Barbara Schnell, for providing the German and occasional Latin bits (If you want to know how to say “Shit!” in Latin, it’s “Stercus!”).

  … Michael Newton, for permission to use his delightful translation of “To an Excellent Penis,” from his book The Naughty Little Book of Gaelic (which I recommend highly, for assorted purposes).

  … Sandra Harrison, who saved me from Grievous Error by informing me that British police cars do not have flashing red lights, only blue ones.

  … the 3,247 (approximately) French-speakers and scholars who informed me that I had misspelled “n’est-ce pas” in an excerpt of this book posted on Facebook.

  … James Fenimore Cooper, for lending me Natty Bumppo, whose reminiscences of the proper way to conduct a massacre considerably eased Lord John’s journey into captivity.

  … Sandy Parker (aka the Archivist), for faithful tracking and analysis of the #DailyLines (these are tiny snippets of whatever I happen to be working on, posted daily on Facebook and Twitter for the purpose of entertaining people during the long time it takes me to finish a book, as well as a constant helpful flow of articles, photos, and useful nits).

  … The Cadre of Genealogical Nitpickers—Sandy Parker, Vicki Pack, Mandy Tidwell, and Rita Meistrell, who are responsible for the high degree of accuracy in the beautiful family tree you see on the endpapers of this book.

  … Karen I. Henry, for bumblebee-herding and for the “Friday Fun Facts” supplied weekly on her blog, Outlandish Observations. (The FFF are a collection of fascinating bits of trivia from the books, explored and expanded upon, with pictures.)

  … Michelle Moore, for Twitter backgrounds, entertaining tea mugs, and a lot of assorted other things that can best be tactfully called “creative design.”

  … Loretta Moore, faithful and timely mistress of my website.

  … Nikki and Caitlin Rowe, for designing and maintaining my YouTube Channel (which is frankly not something I ever thought I’d need, but a handy thing to have).

  … Kristin Matherly, who is the fastest website constructor I’ve ever seen, for her Random Quote Generator, among many other beautiful and helpful Outlander-related sites.

  … Susan Butler, my assistant, Without Whom Nothing Would Ever Be Mailed, a thousand necessary things would not be done, nor would I ever show up for scheduled events.

  … Janice Millford, Sherpa of the Everest of email and rider of avalanches.

  … to my friend Ann Hunt, for lovely writing and golden wishes, to say nothing of virtual flowers and raspberry gin.

  … the title of Chapter 13 (“Morning Air Awash with Angels”) is taken from a line of the poem by Richard Purdy Wilbur, “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World.”

  … and the title of Chapter 117, “Into the Briar Patch,” is taken from the American folktale “Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby” (retold by various authors).

  … whereas the title of Chapter 123, “Quod Scripsi, Scripsi,” is courtesy of Pontius Pilate.

  … Joey McGarvey, Kristin Fassler, Ashley Woodfolk, Lisa Barnes, and a whole passel of other Highly Competent and Energetic People at Random House.

  … Beatrice Lampe, Andrea Vetterle, Petra Zimmerman, and a similar passel of helpful publishing people at Blanvalet (the German publisher).

  … As always, great thanks to those practitioners of Eyeball-Numbing Nitpickery whose time and devotion results in a much better book than this would be without them: Catherine MacGregor, Allene Edwards, Karen Henry, Janet McConnaughey, Susan Butler, and especially Barbara Schnell (my invaluable German translator) and Kathleen Lord, copy editor and unsung heroine of the comma and timeline, both of whom always know how far it is from Point A to Point B, even if I would rather not find out.

  … and my husband, Doug Watkins, who sustains me.

  By Diana Gabaldon

  (in chronological order)

  OUTLANDER

  DRAGONFLY IN AMBER

  VOYAGER

  DRUMS OF AUTUMN

  THE FIERY CROSS

  A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES

  AN ECHO IN THE BONE

  THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION (nonfiction)

  THE EXILE (graphic novel)

  (in chronological order)

  LORD JOHN AND THE HELLFIRE CLUB (novella)

  LORD JOHN AND THE PRIVATE MATTER

  LORD JOHN AND THE SUCCUBUS (novella)

  LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE

  LORD JOHN AND THE HAUNTED SOLDIER (novella)

  CUSTOM OF THE ARMY (novella)

  LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS (collected novellas)

  THE SCOTTISH PRISONER

  PLAGUE OF ZOMBIES (novella)

  Other Outlander-related novellas

  A LEAF ON THE WIND OF ALL HALLOWS

  THE SPACE BETWEEN

  VIRGINS

  Diana Gabaldon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the wildly popular Outlander novels—Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes (for which she won a Quill Award and the Conne International Book Prize), An Echo in the Bone, and Written in My Own Heart’s Blood—as well as the related Lord John Grey books Lord John and the Private Matter, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, Lord John and the Hand of Devils, and The Scottish Prisoner, one work of nonfiction, The Outlandish Companion; and the Outlander graphic novel The Exile. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband.

  www.dianagabaldon.com

  Facebook.com/DianaGabaldon

  @Writer_DG

  DIANA GABALDON is available for select readings and lectures. To inquire about a possible appearance, please contact the Random House Speakers Bureau at rhspeakers@randomhouse.com.

 

 

 
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