And Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander) - The Companion to The Fiery Cross

I love anything by Diana Gabaldon, and have been waiting for volume two of the Companion to come out. It gives the background and connections to the storylines in the last few books she has written since the volume one was published. Love, love, love it!!!

Love Ms. Galbadon's writing! This newest Outlander Companion is no exception. That the companion gets into listing characters such as pet dogs and horses and their lineage shows how much thought and detail has been given to this fictional world.

This is definitely a book for the fans, but there are so many of us, so it has a guaranteed good distribution. I think of it as a reference book for when I want to remember what 'mo nighean donn' or 'a charaid' mean and how to pronounce names. I'm not kidding. I hear the words differently when I know how they're supposed to be pronounced. The Methadone List is really good, too. No substitute for Book 9 (Tell the Bees What??) or the next Starz episode, but it helps. Also, I could read Diana Gabaldon on the process of writing forever. So yes. I love it. In between looking for the next Daily Lines on Facebook, and staving off starting all over again from Book 1 (it would be my 4th time. I'm trying to hold off). And it's a long time before #9 comes out.

This is a useful companion volume to the later Outlander books but also some interesting essays by the author where for example she explains her writing process and other philosophies. One of the things I enjoy about her is her unapologetic attitude toward her work. That doesn't mean I always agree with everything but I respect her greatly. The Outlander series is about families and adult life and relationships, and is not for children. Neither is this companion volume.