Outlander author Diana Gabaldon has achieved global success with her book series, which has been adapted into a popular television show by Starz.
The characters Claire and Jamie Fraser have been brought to life on the small screen, much to the delight of fans.
The acclaimed writer, 73, has been a staunch advocate for the historical romance’s adaptation into a TV series, but many are unaware that it almost didn’t make it to the bookshelves.
Not only has she secured her own future with the worldwide success of her books, but she has also propelled the careers of lead actors Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, who portray Claire and Jamie.
But how did it all start, and what is Diana’s life like when she’s not penning novels? Gabaldon had aspired to be a novelist since she was eight years old, but life intervened, and she didn’t write her first novel until she was 35.
Her mother was the driving force behind her writing, and after starting, she “never stopped.” Inspired by a young man in a kilt on the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, she chose to set her story in Scotland.
As a researcher who couldn’t afford a trip abroad to verify her setting, Diana thought the easiest type of novel for this initial attempt would be historical fiction, as she could find all the historical information she needed in books. “I could see what I had was a fish-out-of-water story-a stranger in a strange land,” she said.
Diana’s early career
Before venturing into novel-writing, she crafted tales featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge, and other Disney characters. She even penned a comic book titled ‘Nutrition Adventures with Orange Bird’ for the entertainment giant.
Gabaldon was 39 when Outlander first graced bookshelves, reflecting on her motivation by saying, “When I turned 35, I told myself I’d better get started writing. Mozart died at thirty-six.”
The author is known for her nocturnal habits, dedicating six days a week to writing, producing around a thousand words daily. Her routine involved waking at midnight, lighting a candle, and writing until about 4:30 am before returning to sleep.
Her husband Douglas would then wake the children and prepare breakfast. Outlander quickly found its way onto bestseller lists at Walden and B. Dalton, two of the biggest bookstore chains in the 1990s, although it wasn’t until her third book that she broke into the New York Times list.
The historical romance series, originally named ‘Cross Stitch’ due to protagonist WWII English nurse Claire Randall’s time-crossing between post-WWII Inverness, Scotland, and the same location two centuries prior, has since become a literary sensation.
The publisher, Delacorte (Random House), was on the brink of scrapping the entire collection before it even took off, as executives were baffled over which market genre the best-seller would fit into. “It’s kind of like boiling a frog. It was very gradual layers of escalation,” Gabaldon remarked.
The Starz adaptation of the books to television further skyrocketed the series’ fame, broadening its fanbase significantly. To date, the book series has been sold in excess of 50 million copies across 114 countries and translated into 38 languages.
Inside her family life
Diana resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her spouse Doug Watkins and their three adult children. The author has shared that her son Sam Watkins, who writes under the name Sam Sykes, is also an author and has recently completed a fantasy trilogy.
Promoting his work, the Outlander creator tweeted: “I really love this cover artist (whose name I forget, but will find out). Here’s the trilogy, including the new one, THREE AXES TO FALL (out Dec. 6th). Btw, Sam’s doing a launch event w/ the Poisoned Pen–so you can get an autographed book, if you order from them.”
She then revealed the connection to her son: “These are written by Sam Sykes, a well-known fantasy author (also my son…).”
Renowned fantasy author Sykes has penned numerous works over the years, including An Affinity for Steel, the Bring Down Heaven trilogy, Brave Chef Brianna and now The Grave of Empires trilogy.
Kiss with Sam Heughan
Her close relationship with actor Sam Heughan, whom she affectionately calls “Sheugs”, came into the spotlight when they shared a kiss during RingCon in Germany in 2015.
This sparked a frenzy among fans, as reported by Showbiz cheatsheet, prompting Diana to clarify on Twitter: “We’d just done a successful show and everybody was kissing/hugging everybody onstage,” adding that “Gary kissed me about ten seconds after that, and Graham kissed me before Sam did.”
She further explained that she nicknamed him ‘Sheugs’ because it’s also her son’s name [Sam] and admits “it got confusing to talk to my husband,” which led her to come up with the nickname, drawing inspiration from his full name.
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