• “The smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting 'Scrooge McDuck' comics.”—Salon.com
  • A time-hopping, continent-spanning salmagundi of genres.”
    —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
  • “These books have to be word-of-mouth books because they're too weird to describe to anybody.”
    —Jackie Cantor, Diana's first editor

Possible BEES Back Cover Copy


Social Media Hashtags: #DailyLines, #GoTELLTheBEESThatIAmGONE, #Book9, #laterthisyear, #Godwillingandthecreekdontrise, #backcovercopy

Image of bee on plant by L. CornwellAt the moment, aside from madly writing the last two sections of the book (and juggling the pieces of the third), I’m messing with some sort of back-cover copy for the U.K. paperback versions of BEES (which might also be part of the flap copy for the U.S. hardcover).

This is always a problem with my books, for obvious reasons. <g>

My lovely editor made a valiant stab at it, but it ended up as a two-sentence description of each of the main characters, first sentence stating the character’s position at the end of the last book, and the second giving (what appears to be) their main motivation in this one. It’s a perfectly good summary, but not real gripping in an “and then what happens?” sort of way.

I am, needless to say, not spending a Whole Lot of time on the problem, but as I juggle my pieces, it occurs to me that it may best be solved by the same technique I’ve always used to sell my books: free samples, i.e., I’m contemplating just using a brief (as in 250 words or less) excerpt from the actual text that—while not telling you a lot about the actual plot, would shove you forcibly into it. Here’s one of my candidates:

[SPOILER alert just in case, because it is part of the actual text—though in fact there's nothing whatever spoilerish in the text itself...]

[Excerpt from GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE, Copyright © 2019 Diana Gabaldon.]

166 words, not bad…


My official webpage for GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE is:

http://www.dianagabaldon.com/books/outlander-series/book-nine-outlander-series/

My BEES webpage has links to all of the more than fifty excerpts (Daily Lines) that I have posted so far, and other information about this new book.


Thanks to Lorianne Cornwell for sending the lovely bee image!

This text and BEES excerpt in this blog entry are Copyright © 2019 by Diana Gabaldon. All Rights Reserved. You are welcome to share the web link (URL) to this blog entry, which is:

http://www.dianagabaldon.com/2019/05/bees-backcover/

But please do not copy and paste the entire text (or parts of it) and post it elsewhere. Thank you.

This blog entry was also posted on my official Facebook page on May 13, 2019.


10 Responses »

  1. Wonderful excerpt for the back cover. I can not wait till this book is available to read. I just love all of your books . I live in Australia and you are very popular here.
    Thanking you so much for writing such great books. I am a fan of yours and have now got my Mum and sister reading your books.
    Again Thanks
    From Julie-anne

  2. There is a gold bee pendant in the Heraklion Museum in Crete. It is from the bronze age (1800-1700 BC) and was discovered in the grave yard outside Chrysolakkos, a Minoan palace. You can google it if you are interested. Not sure if this form will work with a photo upload. Exquisitely beautiful, the symbolism of it’s two bees entwined with drops of honey hanging from their wings, is equally beautiful.
    The Bees pendant is one of the most famous exhibits in the Heraklion Museum, in the island of Crete in Greece.

    It’s an amazing, very detailed representation.

    This jewelry piece is an evidence of the artist’s mastery in the process of faience or granulation, the technique of soldering tiny pieces of metal, on the surface of the cast jewel.

    Bees were very important in the Minoan, matriarchal civilization. It is believed that the Great Mother of Mother Goddess was related to bees, while honey was used in rituals. As a symbol of the Mother Goddess, bees represent the mutual support and fertility.

    Later on, Greek Goddess priestesses were called melissae (bees) and bees were associated with Demeter and Artemis.

  3. I am not on Facebook or Twitter so I will say here that I am so grateful to enjoy your powerful books. Being a widow, I can stem the loneliness by spending time in your Outlander world. Thanks!

  4. Love this for the back cover!

  5. I own all the hard covers and the kindle versions have read them all at least 4 times I am now 73 this year please hurry

  6. Hello Diana,

    Thank you for your gift of Outlander to the world and now “Tell the Bees….” Beautiful title.

    I’m trying to colonize some bees now in my home in Falls Church, Virginia, still working on now.

    We recently returned from an ancestry research trip from Bath County, the highlands of Virginia. We were researching our family who came from Scotland and settled here around the same time as Outlander timeline – 1740-1800. There are many Frazers, McDougals, etc who settled here, as well as other clans we were researching from Inverness on our family tree.

    You’ve really ignited an interest in our family, and we have found our way to Bath County to find our distant relatives. Thanks again, we love your writing and you have a true talent and gift for spinning a great yarn !

    Sincerely, a fan,
    Elizabeth D.
    Falls Church, VA

  7. I just love love your Outlander series.
    I am currently reading “Written in My Own Heart’s Blood”
    I can’t wait for your next book to come out (hopefully soon)
    When reading, I imagine myself with the characters going through whatever they are.
    It’s an escape for me to say the least!

  8. This is such a wonderful series of stories, Diana! I am so respectful of your wonderful talent, and am deeply committed to reading each and every word! I hope that we both live long enough!!
    Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration! I’ve lost count of the times I have said
    “I learned that in The Books!”

    With great love,

    Robyn

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