Novelist Diana Gabaldon to Visit Wellington

Media Release October 2009

The many local fans of historical novelist extraordinaire Diana Gabaldon will be delighted at the news that the Paper Plus Group is hosting a VIP event starring the bestselling international writer at the Duxton Hotel in Wellington on Friday 6 November. Gabaldon’s latest novel in the Outlander series, An Echo in the Bone, has just romped to the top of the book lists both locally and internationally.

Part of the Paper Plus Books & Bubble series, the event will be hosted by Paper Plus books spokesperson Kerre Woodham, and will be the biggest event to feature Gabaldon during her visit to New Zealand. The American writer just achieved the remarkable feat of outselling Mr Da Vinci Code himself, Dan Brown: New Zealand’s top-selling book for the week of 15 October was An Echo in the Bone, which, in pipping Brown’s The Lost Symbol at the post, showed that Kiwi readers’ adoration of Gabaldon and her Outlander series is undiminished.

At the Paper Plus Books & Bubbles event, Gabaldon will discuss her life and work with Kerre Woodham, and chat to and take questions from the audience. The evening promises to be both entertaining and erudite – few women have backgrounds as diverse as the guest and her host. In addition to writing the Outlander series, which has sold 17 million copies to date and been published in 21 languages, Gabaldon has written several books in another series and produced numerous comic-book scripts for Disney.

Lyle Hastings, Paper Plus Group Marketing Manager says ”we are delighted to host an international author of Diana’s caliber and look forward to seeing her many fans gather for what will be a fun filled evening of book banter, while enjoying a glass of bubbles.”

She also has three science degrees, in zoology, marine biology and quantitative behavioural ecology, holds an honorary PhD in Humane Letters, and spent a dozen years as a university professor of scientific computation before beginning to write fiction.

For her part, Kerre Woodham will be well-known to guests as a long-time TV and radio host and media personality. The Paper Plus books spokesperson since 2007, Kerre does monthly reviews as part of the Paper Plus Books Choices programme.

Kerre is one of the country’s best raconteurs, with a knowledge of books and authors that is second to none – making her evening with one of the world’s bestselling novelists (Gabaldon is a regular topper of the celebrated New York Times book chart) a tantalizing prospect for booklovers.

Details:

Date: Friday 6 November

Time: 7pm arrival for 7.30pm start

Location: Duxton Hotel Wellington

Tickets: Must be presented on arrival and can be purchased for $35 from any Paper Plus store in Wellington or online at HTTP://WWW.BOOKSANDBUBBLES.CO.NZ, where you will also find a schedule and details of upcoming Books & Bubbles events. All proceeds from the event go towards Paper Plus’ chosen charity Cure Kids.

About An Echo in the Bone:

This is the seventh book in the Outlander series, which explores the love affair between Highlander Jamie Fraser and wartime nurse Claire Randall, who found a way to be together despite being separated by 200 years. In the wake of a devastating fire in the mountains of North Carolina, Jamie and Claire find themselves homeless and without family in the midst of the growing storm of revolution.

Thanks to his time-travelling wife, Jamie knows what the coming spring of 1778 will bring when the snows melt and warfare resumes.

But if the tide of history cannot be changed, there is one thing Jamie must avoid at all costs: facing his son across the barrel of a gun. The only safety is in returning to his native land, but between the mountains of North Carolina and the Scottish Highlands lie blockades, battlefields, storms, shipwrecks and politics. And even if they do reach home unscathed, what is waiting for them may be the gravest danger of all.

ENDS

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