Another Great Outlander Chat!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the chat tonight! Wow -  LOTS of people... over 20 chatting at one point... with 5 extra viewers, too!

Lots of good speculating... from what Jamie's reaction to Claire and Lord John will be... to whether Murtagh ever saw anyone besides Claire come through the stones... to whether Roger's dad may be in the 18th century.

What say you? Come to our next chat and let your Outlander voice be heard!

Outlander Chat Tonight!

Do NOT miss Outlander chat tonight!  We're stoked to discuss the new excerpts of The Exile found in the back of the new, very green, paperback copy of And Echo in the Bone. 9PM Eastern!

New Video: THE EXILE Excerpt from "An Echo in the Bone"

SPOILER ALERT: Dinna read unless you have read the 8 page excerpt from The Exile that appears in the back of the new, verra green, paperback version of An Echo in the Bone. 

The New Green Echo has Arrived!

Do ye mean to take even more time about it, lass? Just read the damn book already.

An Echo in my Mailbox

Squeeeee!

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We thought you'd like to know that we shipped your items, and that this
completes your order. 

The following items have been shipped to you by Amazon.com:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Qty                           Item    Price         Shipped Subtotal
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Amazon.com items (Sold by Amazon.com, LLC):

   1  An Echo in the Bone: A Nov...    $9.18               1    $9.18

If you love Outlander AND Twilight...

In a way, isn't "The Exile" kindof like Twilight's "Midnight Sun"?

Discuss!

An Echo in Murtagh's Bone?

Did I see this at Costco today? Yes I did.

Did I open it? NO I DID  NOT.

Why? Because I promised Tracey I would not look until we BOTH get them on Thursday, which she now tells me might be Friday (nooooo!!!) so we can make a reaction/skype video.

I. Am. DYING to know what the Murtagh spoiler is! I have a hunch... because just this morning I listened to Claire signing the marriage contract and getting her dress on after having gotten stinkin' drunk the night before. (atta girl! Be just like one of those MEN!)

Here's my prediction:

Remember in Outlander when Claire got loaded and woke up the next morning with Murtagh standing at the foot of her bed??? I'm thinking maybe she made a drunken pass at him? Or maybe she told him she's from the future? Or maybe they HOOKED UP??? No way. Couldn't be. COULDN'T BE. But it's still fun to guess.

So... please... if I'm right - or wrong - DON'T TELL ME!! The video will be much better if Tracey and I are clueless... and I am enjoying the high I'm on whilst pondering this Murtagh fun.

PS - KAREN - do Tracey and I need to see the Murtagh spoiler AFTER the Exile excerpts in the new paperback Echo? If NOT, maybe we'll make a video later today while reading the Murtagh spoiler on Compuserve!

So Many Outlander Excerpts... So Little Time

WHAT was I thinking NOT pre-ordering The Green Slime - aka An Echo in the Bone -  in paperback?! I just ordered it - as did Tracey - and we will be making a Skype reaction video the second we see the new "Exile" excerpts. Hopefully this will be happening on Thursday... if Tracey gets her book from Borders.com by then. (I use Amazon Prime, which I LIVE for, and will most assuredly have it by Thursday.)

AS FOR THE NEW MURTAGH SPOILER.... (Something tells me I will soon be saying "LORDDDDDD the new Murtagh spoiler!") Yes. I WILL read it SINCE it's a spoiler about Outlander... and not Book 8. (I will never, ever, ever, ever, EVER read a spoiler about Book 8. Never. Ever.)

Squeeee! I don't know what I'm more excited about! The Exile excerpts from the Graphic Novel...or the Murtagh spoiler!

Another Great Outlander Chat!

Thanks to all who came to the chat last night! I had a ton of fun, as usual.

If you've never been to a chat, I put 3 of 9 pages from last night's chat on a new "Chat" tab above. Check it out and let me know if you want to see more of the chat!

OUTLANDER CHAT TONIGHT

Chat tonight - 9PM Eastern, lassies! Hope to see you there! I'm enjoying the thrilling joyride that is "The Outlander Reread". My god, it's like crack! I'm loving it even more this time; and I've been LISTENING! Much to discuss!

James Mackenzie from Edinburgh

By default, this guy should be cast as someone in an Outlander film, no??

Scottie Translator

My thanks to m'girl ANGELA who just got back from a Scottish festival and had a ScotTASTIC time! She also sent me this HILARIOUS Scottie Translator and I am giggling my goodies off. Check it out right after you check out my letter to Jamie in Scots-speak:

Hen jamie, 

i loove ye. claire loves ye. wa ye messin aroond wi' leghair? she is a whiny wee beotch an' will only cause ye pain an' misery in life. stick tae th' sassenach. she's th' a body ye want. 

love, 

carol

Somebody get me the NAIR.

SPOILER ALERT:  MOST of this is about Outlander...but there is a Voyager reference.  I will post another alert before that sentence. 

I finally did it. I caved and bought the Outlander audiobook, read by Davina Porter, and listened to it today. (Thanks so much anyway for your help, Angela!) I was headed to see my parents who live almost 2 hours away... and realized what a godsend Microsoft Sync is! The kids were happy with a DVD and I was happy with Davina.

UNTIL THAT BITCH LAOG-WHORE JUMPED JAMIE IN THE ALCOVE!

OK maybe she didn't jump him. Maybe he pulled her tighter on his lap when he saw Claire. Fine. Whatevs.

No - NOT "WHATEVS"! I couldna STAND it! What is his DAMAGE??? What kind of childish game is he PLAYING with Claire? The night before, he hands LegHair Claire's empty wine glass and basically says "Here - do something with this, will ya?" (which made me tinkle).... before disappearing into Claire's bed chamber to strip to the waist and speak so poignantly about not wanting Alec to see his back... that Claire feels the need to play Chutes and Ladders with her wee fingers all over his back.... before sharing a laugh with him about their simultaneous saying of "goodbye". BUT THIS MORNING.... it's a totally different story! BENDING TO HIS WORK!!! SPOILER: (Forgot I'd heard that before - when he was bending to Geneva 2 books later! with none other than the wee-est HO in the land!)

Seriously folks - I don't get it. Yeah yeah - he's a guy - she's a girl - and a cute one at that. Gotcha. Comprehendo. But you're the guy who stood up and got the shit kicked out of you in order to save her the embarrassment when you hadn't even done anything wrong! That's some serious INTEGRITY right there. So how do you then go and make out with her a few days later??? Negating all the good you did! And after COMPLETELY BLOWING HER OFF the night before?!?

I dinna get it.

A few thoughts:

-- I think I figured out a big piece of the puzzle. I was listening to the part where Claire is listening to the stories from William at the castle, and Jamie is translating the Gaelic (you know, right after he switched placed with Claire, bumping Wee Ho to the other side of the bench. Oh how I HOWLED at that!!!) And Claire is thinking about the 200 years timeframe and how all the stories involve women going back 200 years... and coming back. I think we ought to research old stories. That may be the key to what is going to happen ultimate with Claire (will it be Ground Hog's Day and she'll keep going through the stones and finding Jamie?) ... why she went to the 18th century...  etc etc.

-- I'm surprised Diana didn't take advantage of Jamie's turning down the oath - and make LegHair flip out because it meant he's not a clansman in her clan. Alec said her father would never let her marry outside the clan. Well now Jamie is officially remaining "outside the clan". I would have liked to have seen her go apeshit on his ass. Claire took off (once Mrs. Fitz shoved her out the door! I love that!) and that's where I left off.

-- What do you think Geillis (who I still love, I'm sorry) wrote to Dougal (when she bullshited Claire and said it was her bill that had to go to no one but Dougal or she'd never get paid)? I know she had a relationship with Dougal and she could have been saying anything... but do you think maybe GEILLIS planted the bug in Dougal's ear that Jamie should marry Claire? It's pretty soon after that that Dougal drags them away and makes them get married. Maybe BJR just played into his hands and helped him further the cooked-up marriage along.  Just a thought.

-- How funny was the "under the table kicking incident" between Claire and Jamie after she caught him with Le'Ho? I was dying. And I love how he's all smug as if nothing happened and he can go back to being Mr. Manly Man "I Can Do Nothing Wrong". That incident really took him down a notch with me. I'm looking forward to his explanation because I canna remember exactly what he said. I'm thinking he said she just wanted to thank him or something... but that would be BS because she already did in the courtyard.

GOD I CANNA STAND LE'HO!!!

Riding the Roller Coaster with Jamie Fraser

SPOILER ALERT:  Dinna read unless you've read Chapter 8 in Outlander. 

Still plugging along with the reread. And I'm dying.

Claire went to bring Jamie lunch (a-GAIN!) and fell asleep while he was talking to Alec. (Who does that? She's quite comfortable at Leoch, is she no?) I LOVE how Alec was all "and this lassie's bringin' ya wee lunch every day cuz she's diggin' your mojo" to Jamie and she sits herself up PROMPTLY so as not to hear them talk dirtily about her. I'm such an over-thinker that I'd probably do the same damn thing but honestly.. I'm thinkin' they'd have just switched to the gaelic if they wanted to talk that way about her. And it's not like it's The Exile or anything; she's not Chesty Deluxe in the regular version of Outlander.

Do you find during a reread that you feel like you're on a roller coaster? One minute I'm all up in Jamie's business and feeding him hunks of cheese... and the next I'm alone in the dreary surgery trying to figure out why there are belly buttons in jars. It's maddening. You just want to read at 90 miles an hour through those parts so you can get back to Jamie! You feel like you're back in high school and watching the clock like a hawk because you know the second the bell rings your boyfriend is going to meet you outside Spanish with Miss Sonzoni and walk you to World Cultures with Mr. Florez. And you get to flirt in the hallway for a few minutes... but then you have to go a whole hour without seeing him AGAIN.

And Alec? I'll thank ye to stop mentioning LEG HAIR in Jamie's presence, thankyeverymuch!!!!

Outlander vs Twilight Top Ten

This list from goodreads.com came in from My Outlander Purgatory reader "VilMarie" today. I cracked up (even though I will always love Edward Cullen!)

TOP TEN REASONS WHY THE OUTLANDER SERIES IS BETTER THAN THE TWILIGHT SERIES

10. Heroine is not complimented on how delicious her blood smells. Instead, she is told that her ass looks like two ripe melons. Just what every woman wants.

9. When the hero has to rescue the heroine, he doesn't merely have to run at lightning speed across the parking lot. He actually has to travel halfway across the world, kill a few dozen villains, and blow up a few buildings.

8. But that doesn't matter because just as often the heroine can rescue her own damn self.

7. Pirates are WAY better than vampires.

6. The creepy, obsessive dude is an actual villain and not the hero of the story.

5. The denouement involves actual danger, as opposed to what essentially amounts to a Rainbow Gathering gone awry.

4. The doctor doesn't come off as a pedophile.

3. Not one single Renesmee in the entire series.

2. Nobody is sparkly.

1. People actually have sex, and lots of it.

Claire and Maidenform: Perfect Together

Um... Hi. Have you seen THIS new sneak peek of "The Exile" - the Outlander Graphic Novel???  The entire chat last night was spent discussing Chesty Deluxe - I mean Claire. WHAT is with the HUGE CHONGAS???? Does anyone know?? Why yes - Diana Gabaldon does.  (Thanks, Karen, for the link!) I'll give you a hint. It's, correction, THEY'VE been toned down already. And it IS a graphic novel... which is a comic at heart... and well, think of all the comics you've seen over the years. Wonder Woman? Yeah. Exaaaaactly.

Beautiful Outlander Bracelet

Feast your eyes on this GORGEOUS bracelet our friend Lesley mentioned in her one of her comments from earlier today. Isn't it stunning?? I totally want it. It was designed by someone on Etsy.com who goes by MaryFaithPeace. Wow. I can't stop looking at it.

OUTLANDER CHAT TONIGHT!

Outlander Chat TONIGHT at 9PM Eastern! I am on a "ReRead LEGHAIR RANT" - should be a GOOD ONE!!!

Jamie Fraser: Lordddd the ReRead!

I read like a fiend on the beach today. Like a FIEND, I tell ya! So here's where I am:

Claire just left her little picnic with Jamie and is realizing she never looked at his shoulder / gunshot wound. Ugh. It's KILLING ME. I totally remember why I wasn't thrilled with Jamie (as if.... I feel almost blasphemous even SAYING that!) during the first read before they got married.  When Mrs. Fitzgibbons sent the wee dude to go find Jamie at the stables...and the wee dude came back and said Jamie said he was fine and didn't need to be seen?? UGH! I was so annoyed! James MacTavish - get your ASS up here and SAY HELLO, damnit!  And then when he stepped in for the wee ho, I was like "Ugh whatEVER Jamie. Yeah yeah - you're altruistic - whatevs - just hurry up and get ON with it so we can get back to some major cutesiness between you and Claire!"

(taking a deep breath...)

OK so Claire goes out to the courtyard to help Jamie after he gets his ASS beat... and there's all sorts of face-touching from Claire going on between ministrations from Mrs. Bug - whoops, I mean Fitz - and the leeches. LORDDDDD the leeches!! Gross - yet oddly fascinating, right?!  OK... soooo.... then - out comes THE WEE HO - and I'm thinking "UGH! HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU! HE LOVES ME!" in Liza Minelli's voice (think the movie "Arthur") and all I want is for Laoghaire to take her SORRY ASS back to wherever it is she came from. But nooooo...she's got to THANK him... and Claire steps aside to LET HER - in PRIVATE. Here's where knowing the story comes in handy: DON'T FRIGGIN DO IT, CLAIRE! I wanted to yell to her to stay RIGHT THERE and not let the wee ho have 5 SECONDS alone with Jamie. It was horrific. But there she went... and next thing we know it's the next morning, which means she has no CLUE what kind of THANKING the wee ho did. And make no mistake about it: she is a WEE HO -  of EPIC PROPORTIONS - or girlfriend wouldn't have gotten a serious PUNISHMENT from Colum!

Ooooh the reread has me in a FOUL mood - even after watching one of the greatest True Bloods of all time!!

I'd better go read more... STAT!

PS - Come to chat tomorrow!  I'll need to vent out some of this LEGHAIR FURY!

The British are Coming!

Whoa. Who watched the World Cup match between the US and England today? 1 - 1! Not too shabby!

The New York Post had the match on the front page and was calling it the Revolutionary War 2. How funny is that?? And of course you KNOW what it made me think of!

Outlander Reread: Chapter 4

SPOILER ALERT:  The following has a cryptic Echo reference...but it's a big one...so DO NOT READ if you havena read Echo.  

Oh boy. I've been reading. And it's soooo good. In some ways, a reread is better than the original read... because you just pick up SO MUCH MORE the second time around.

---Claire was NOT a virgin when she married Frank! I had no idea! Claire, you ignorant slut! How juicy. A couple months ago I'd have said it would be cool if one of Claire's previous conquests showed up in the 18th century. But that was before...nevermind.

---I miss Murtagh, who I had forgotten was "ferret faced".

---I miss the heavy Scots-speak in Outlander. "Yon wee stramash"... "dinna fash yourself"... "feisty wee bitch"...sigh. It was all so... so.... so SCOTTISH!

---I still say Frank is the reincarnated Jack Randall. Losing Claire was his retribution for everything he did to Jamie.  Karma, my friends... karma.

---Holy CRAP Jamie was funny in Outlander. "Let a stray bannock come within reach, though, and I'll no answer for the consequences."  HILARIOUS.

---The scene where Jamie is telling Claire about Jenny's run in with Black Jack Randall... and Claire stands there - hand on Jamie's shoulder - not because she's still fixing his shoulder, but because she doesna want to wake him from his reverie? Wow. Just... wow.

That's all for now, lassies.  I've got some more reading to do!

Whoops... Wrong Jamie Fraser!

Ever see a Facebook page and flip out in your head a little - until you read the fine print?

Because I just did.

PS - Remind me to use the word "gobshite" in a sentence about 80 times this week. Hilarious!

Scottish Festival, Anyone?

SPOILER ALERT: Contains info about the entire Outlander series.

Went to the Bonnie Brae Scottish Festival in Liberty Corner, New Jersey yesterday with Jenn M. and Shannon. Had a GREAT  time! We were like little kids in a candy shop. All giggly and embarrassed and full of "look over THERE!".  There were lots of things to buy, people to meet and vinegar fries to be eaten. (Wolfed down, really. They're so damn good.)

First we headed over to the Clan tents and searched for a Fraser tent (duh!) but - sadly - there was none to be found.  I was tres disappointed. But we DID find a tent for the Murray Clan and this lovely woman was kind enough to let us take her picture. We also checked out the Campbell tent  (a family which appears in Shannon's lineage) and they were verra lovely as well. Although some dude yelled out "I'm a MacDonald!" and I had a strange desire to back away slowly.

After that, we headed over to the merchandise tents where we made more than a few purchases. Jewelry... t-shirts... I even bought a Fraser hunting tartan scarf (come on, cold weather! Whoo hoo!) I also got a magnet for my hubby that boldly states "Up Your Kilt!" - a phrase he taught both of my children the second they were old enough to hold up their sippy cups and say loudly in whatever restaurant we were sitting in at the time.

Anyhoo.....while at these tables, we found a booth that sold swords and dirks. It. Was. So. Cool! Here we are, sampling the merchandise. I was a wee bit nervous about being near all this metal. And yet - it rocked.

The swords and dirks were totally cool and reminded me of Jamie  helping Roger pick out a sword with which to slit Stephen Bonnet from ear to ear.  (Must... read...scene...again!)

After that, we found our way to the historical area of the festival where we met reenactors dressed as members of the 42nd Royal Highlanders in the British army. (And there's Mrs. Bug in the background!) They were so great - gave us lots of good info - and will be doing a reenactment of the Battle of Monmouth on Saturday, June 19th in Freehold, NJ.
















All in all - we had A GREAT TIME and I urge any and all of you who a) love the Outlander series and b) have a penchant for 18th century Scottish and American history - to find a day of Scottish Games in your area. You will learn a lot - you will meet some really great people - and pick up some really great things to take home. Trust me; you will NOT be disappointed!!

Bonnie Brae or BUST!

Sorry my reread has slowed down a bit. My neighbor wrote a screenplay... and was good enough to let me read it. It's fantastic, too... so I will be finished this weekend and will get right back to my Outlander reread.

OK so get this - Jenn M, Shannon and I will be going to the Bonnie Brae Scottish Festival tomorrow in Northern New Jersey and doing Diana Gabaldon proud. We're all VERRA excited... and I hope to get some good video while we're there. We plan to storm the clan table and get some good "Fraser" info/stuff. And speaking of stuff - I plan to stuff my pie hole with as much Scottish food as humanly possible (hold the haggis, please.) And if THAT weren't enough... there are sword/fencing demonstrations! Jamie Fraser and Dougal MacKenzie REPRESENT!!!

Soooooo.... I plan to have some good stuff for you this weekend, sassenachs. Stay tuned!

New Video from My Outlander Purgatory!

Oh boy. Wait until you see these. There are six. But they're worth it because we covered a TON of ground from Echo and beyond (predictions anyone?!)

And we answered your questions!!!

And there are a couple special guests in these videos... and maybe a little surprise. :)

Channing Tatum as Jamie Fraser?

Dear Channing,

If you can do a Scottish accent, you might just be my Jamie Fraser.

Love,
Carol
PS - Please never do another movie where you don't sport a tank top through 1/2 the film. KThxBye.