Poll

I wanted to add Wilbur Smith, but he has a new book that comes out in April so I figured I'd wait a month to put his name on the list.

I saw Ms. Gabaldon present at the National Book Festival on 25Sep10. Here is some info that was in the program, plus some comments of my own:
Diana Gabaldon is the author of the award-winning, No.1 New York Times best-selling “Outlander” novels. The “Outlander” adventure began in 1991 and has continued through six additional novels, with the seventh being “An Echo in the Bone.” These books have been published in 24 countries and have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. Gabaldon promises that there are more novels in the series to come. Returning to her comic-book roots, she has also written “The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel” (Random House), illustrated by Hoang Nguyen. Gabaldon has degrees in zoology, marine biology and quantitative behavioral ecology, and her education informs much of her work, which she refers to as “historical fantasias.” Among her many honors are Favorite Book of the Year from the Romance Writers of America, 1991 (for “Outlander”); the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, 1997; the Odom Heritage Award, 2000; and the Quill Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror, 2006. Gabaldon lives in Arizona. I found Ms. Gabaldon’s presentation charming. She is a very fast talker, and has a rather self-deprecating sense of humor, saying the choice of an 18th century Scotsman as a writing subject, was almost random, merely to have something to write about.