Diana Gabaldon, a Northern Arizona University graduate and the New York Times bestselling author of the "Outlander" series, is the featured guest host for two upcoming events as part of NAU's first Writer-in-Residence program.
Gabaldon's books have been described by Salon magazine as, "the smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting 'Scrooge McDuck' comics." The latest book in her "Outlander" series, "A Breath of Snow and Ashes," is on bookshelves now.
Her first event is a free public lecture on "The Art of Research and the Craft of Writing," on Monday, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m. in the Liberal Arts building (#18), room 135. Gabaldon will focus on the role of research in shaping novels -- working with historical facts to develop plot and character. Her books will be available for signing after the lecture.
Later in the week, Gabaldon will host a panel discussion, "Publishing Your Novel," with authors Charles Benoit, Jennifer Roberson and Betty Webb. This free panel discussion is open to the public and begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, in the Liberal Arts building, room 135. The authors will address issues writers often face in their careers, including working with agents and getting published.
For information, telephone the NAU English Department at 523-4911.
About the authors:
* A former high school teacher, Charles Benoit's debut novel, "Relative Danger,"
received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and was nominated for both an Edgar Allen Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America and a Barry Award from Deadly Pleasures magazine. The book was named Mystery/Suspense Novel of the Year by the Independent Publishers Association and earned a Glyph Award for Best Fiction (Mystery) from the Arizona Book Publishers Association.
Benoit's creative writing has also earned him a Communicators Award for his weekly jazz radio program, "The Smart Set." His new novel, "Out of Order," was published this week by Arizona's own Poisoned Pen Press.
* Jennifer Roberson, a 1982 NAU journalism graduate, was first published that same year. Her primary genre is fantasy, as in her "Sword-Dancer" saga and the "Chronicles of the Cheysuli," but she has also published several historical novels, including a two-volume retelling of the Robin Hood legend with an emphasis on Marian's role, and a novel exploring the documented massacre of Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands in 1692.
Roberson has also served as editor for several fantasy anthologies, and a collaborative novel with Melanie Rawn and Kate Elliott, "The Golden Key," was a finalist for the World Fantasy Award in 1997. In April the first volume in a new fantasy series, "Karavans," will hit the shelves. In 1990, Roberson was selected as an NAU Junior Alumni Award recipient.
* Mystery novelist Betty Webb has been a journalist and book reviewer for the Arizona Tribune for the past 15 years. She is also the small press columnist for Mystery Scene magazine.
Her own prize-winning Lena Jones detective series has garnered rave reviews from the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and other national publications. "Desert Wives," a mystery set in one of Arizona's notorious polygamy compounds, is in development to become a Lifetime TV movie and series. "Desert Run," based on a real-life murder in a German POW camp in Arizona during World War II, will be released in March.
Webb appears regularly as a panelist and workshop leader at various writing conferences, including Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, Murder in the Magic City, Murder in the Grove, Society of Southwestern Writers, Oklahoma Writers Federation, the ASU Virginia Piper School of Creative Writing and University of the Pacific, in Anchorage, Alaska, where "Desert Wives" has been used as text for a Women's Studies class.
