DIANA GABALDON Rescue to the
For those suffering from “Droughtlander”—season six of Outlander won’t air on Starz until early 2022— author Diana Gabaldon has just what you need. In Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (Delacorte Press), $36, the ninth of 10 planned Outlander novels, Jamie and Claire are in the American colonies as the Revolutionary War heads to their doorstep. “[By the end], readers should go from a feeling of profound peace and satisfaction to intense excitement,” the author says. Here, Gabaldon dishes on the fan-favorite couple and which books she recommends.
What have you enjoyed about growing alongside Claire and Jamie? One reason it takes me so long to write these books is that I need to age along with them. I'll be 70 in January, and I'm a different person than I was at 32 when I started writing Outlander. Your perceptions and experiences change and deepen as you get older. And when you're telling the story of a longterm marriage, this makes a difference. You’re writing the 10th and final book now. What’s after that? I’m also working on an official prequel dealing with Jamie Fraser’s parents and the Jacobite Rising of 1715. What can viewers expect when season six airs next year? The show did a wonderful job of sticking close to the material [the sixth Outlander book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes]. This is, I think, my most favorite season—except for season one, of course, which is special for me. What books do you recommend most to Outlander fans? I have “The Methadone List” [on dianagabaldon.com] of books I wholeheartedly recommend for people who write to me saying, “What am I supposed to read while I’m waiting for your next book?” It includes titles such as Plague by C.C. Humphreys, The City Stained Red by Samuel Sykes and The Secrets of Pain by Phil Rickman. What’s your most anticipated book of 2022? The Starless Crown [Macmillan, Jan. 4] by James Rollins [about a girl who foresees an apocalypse and a group of outcasts who help her save their worl`]. It’s his first fantasy novel, and having seen what he can do with a plot, I can’t wait.
What’s your favorite book series?
Patrick O'Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series [nautical historical novels set during the Napoleonic Wars]. Or for a living author, maybe Kim Harrison’s Hollows series [a supernatural urban fantasy]. —Megan O’Neill Melle
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