Sorry, Dr. G! You may NOT rest!
Not one to pass up the opportunity to attend ANY Outlander event within a 400 mile radius of my house, I toddled down to Los Altos for Dr. Gabaldon’s Moby Book Tour appearance at the Foothill Theater. Having only previously attended book events for author friends that are generally held in the dimly lit back rooms of a bookstore on Valencia Street, and are attended by up to and including 31 people, I did not know what to expect.
I learned a some new things about Diana, and gained valuable insight to the ins and outs of a book signing event. Hopefully, these notes can help you feel superior when engaged in an exchange of minutiae with other “fans” (or so they call themselves – pah!), and help you to maximize your enjoyment of a MOBY promotion event!
Some fun-facts about Diana:
Diana’s children have not read any of her books
At first blush, this seems really surprising, I mean, even I have endured one of my Mom’s statistics classes in the spirit of family togetherness and filial responsibility. How can her children not want some insight into their mother’s life’s work? In response to the screaming masses, outraged by the lack of interest shown by her children (that did not happen), Diana pointed out that her kids did not want to risk reading sexual imagery generated by their mother (okay, ew), especially when it involves a 6′-4” red-haired man, when their father is a 6′-4” red-haired man (double EEEEEEEEEEW!!!!)
So thank you, children of Gabaldon, for not reading these books, falling into a “graphic mental images of parents doing it” psychotic trance, and ending up wards of the state!
Diana invented computers*
* This is not true
But, it turns out that Diana did not become a ‘Dr.’ by simply sending in some cereal box tops to some PO box in Massachusetts – she is actually CRAZY-smart! (which most of us know) So in response to a question about her favorite authors she mentioned Robert Louis Stevenson, PG Wodehouse , Dorothy Sayers, and some other authors I didn’t hear because I was too busy checking to see if my pre-ordered rockerotica novel had downloaded onto my kindle (it hasn’t). She, not surprisingly, had very erudite assessments of the importance of each of these authors in strengthening aspects her writing. Again, I would share these with you, but, you know, I was on rockerotica watch. Trust me, she’s very smart.
Dr. Gabaldon, I suspect studying this could really help improve the “rocking out” aspects of your writing! (You’re welcome!)
LJG is a what?
Diana made the observation that science and writing are just two sides of the same coin in that the practice of both involves identifying underlying structures and connections. As a scientist, she catergorizes all of her characters as either an onion, a mushroom or a hard nut. Onions are strong characters, but change as layers are peeled away (Jamie and Claire), mushrooms just pop-up fully formed (Lord John), and hard nuts are characters that are important due more to their structural function in the story than for their character traits (ie Brianna exists because of the impact Claire’s pregnancy had on the events of the story).
This is fascinating! I wonder if anything interesting happens if we look at the Jamie/John/Claire triangle using the characters food designations?
Nope? Oh well, it was worth a try.
And now for some event advice:
Inadvertently sit next to awesome people
Not sure how to guide you in this, but I ended up sitting between 2 super fun ladies that made all the waiting go by (mostly) quickly. Beth (no relation to TN Beth) began reading Outlander about three years ago, and cannot get her book club to read it.
Kimberly just started reading the series this year, but is already in full-on fan mode.
There was much bonding over the fact that none of us have Starz yet. Beth’s husband wants her to see if the show will be streamed, so she can sit at her computer and watch it LIKE IT”S SOME KIND OF JOB – NO! My husband has suggested that I wait until the show comes out on DVD (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!). Fortunately, Kimberly’s husband is down with it, so we are all going to her house to watch! (that’s cool, right?)
Mwah, ladies!
This rule does not apply to you
Beth wrote a very important post for the January LA Outlander gathering in which she clarified which rules do and do not apply to you personally. I urge you to review these before attending any Outlander event.
I would like to add to this list the fact that, even though the event guidelines requested that attendees be courteous and only bring two books for signing, that rule does NOT apply to your special self! Not only are the SIX HUNDRED other people in the auditorium so thrilled that you have this opportunity to have you entire series personalized, but it is a little known fact that one of Diana’s greatest fears is that she will die before she has signed your Outlander library! So load up that tartan-print tote bag so full of books that you have to bring your husband along to carry it, and come on down! (and don’t forget the LJG books and your Outlandish Companion!)
It’s true, you are VERY special! But still, just bring two books next time, m’kay?
Sit near the front
This is the most important thing I learned! I did not understand the mechanics of the signing portion of the evening, so I foolishly chose a center seat over a side seat that was closer to the stage. BIG MISTAKE!!!! While Diana is lovely to look at, she actually does not any undergo any stunning costume changes, nor does she bust out any interpretive dance moves (although, I might suggest that to her at the next signing). So you don’t really need to see her well. What you do need is to get the hell out of there before 11pm!!!
Now, I realize that if I had sat closer I would not have had my 2 lovely friends to spend 2+ hours discussing Outlander, sharing pet photos and snarking about the variety of inconsiderate behaviors exhibited by our fellow attendees (we saw you ladies pretend you were in the 4th row when you TOTALLY were not. You know who you are, and you should feel shame!),
You do NOT want to piss her off.
but I also increased the probability of falling asleep at the wheel on the 40 mile drive home by about 400%. It’s a trade off.
Say Cheese
Finally, the organizers of the event might have someone available to take a picture of you with Diana. Make sure you don’t run out the battery on your phone posting endless selfies of you, pocket Jamie and every theater usher on Twitter. I have posted my photo with Diana on my new website: www.AwkwardPhotoswithDianaGabaldon.net (hosted by Compuserve). In the photo you will find her looking lovely as usual, and me looking like an animatronic Peppermint Patty, or, perhaps, a feminine-hygeine product spokesmodel poorly photoshopped into a book jacket photo. Enjoy!
This is actually less awkward than my photo. However, I also brought my saxophone.
Are you attending a book tour event? What question do you want Diana to answer? How many books are you bringing? Which usher do you most want to pose with Pocket Jamie?
